FLOYD: POLYPODIUM mink lO 
“Var. auritum Willd., P. auriculatum Schur. Low- 
er segments, occasionally the upper segments also, 
auricled on their upper sides or on both sides. .... 
eae . bse: exhibit irregularly cut and pinnately lobed 
as Very often it produces monstrous forms, | 
with a. frond forked at the apex or with the preeen nts ue 
variously forked and dichotomous.” ee 
From these descriptions and ae by eminent oe 
specialists, it seems apparent to me that ‘Mr. Merrill’s 
fronds of f Polypodium new L. with “ears ¢ on the upper oo 
edg only,” are undoubtedly true var. | 
: ‘That ds new what they were writing about is espe- _ : 
cially borne out by an examination of the original de- 
scription of the variety, which (translated) reads as 
follows: “Lower pinne of the frond auriculate on the _ 
upper basal portion, auricles lanceolate —W. ”2 Tf there 
is any reason why such a form as Mr. Merrill describes 
should bear another name, I should very — like t fo. 
have it presented. ae 
To the amateur who finda in America s some pec 
to name it, I would add a word of caution. Remem 
‘that many forms and varieties have already | 
-seribed by foreign fern psn ind before 
burdening | nomenclature with n 
_ difficulti 
