Some Ferns of Korea 17 



the genus Dicranopteris; Gleichenia itself is exclusively 

 an Old World genus, a fact recognized long ago by Sturm, 

 the capable monographer of this group. But in Di- 

 cranopteris, as regarded at present, there are many 

 radically diverse types as to systems of branching, 

 and marked differences also in soriation and in scale 

 structure; so that it is at least worthy of consideration 

 whether Dicranopteris itself ought not to be subdivided 

 into two or more genera, the characters of which would 

 indeed be quite as good as those regarded as distinctive 

 for genera in many other groups. The writer has else- 

 where 1 called attention to the need of a critical study 

 of this family. 



The synonymy of the single species now reported 

 from Alabama is as follows: 



Dicranoptekis flexuosa (Schrad.) Undenv. Bull Tor- 

 rey Club 34: 254. 1907. 



fertensia flexuosa Schrad. Goett. Gel. Anz. 1824: 

 863. 1824. 



Mertensia rigida Kunze, Linnaea 9: 16. 1834. 



Gleichenia flexuosa Mett. Ann. Lugd. Bat. 1 : 50. 1863. 



Gleichenia rigida Bommer & Christ, Bull. Soc. Bot. 

 Belg. 35: 174. 1896. Not G. rigida J. Smith, 1841. 



Mr- McNeill's specimen is in the IT. S. National 

 Herbarium, being sheet No. 692160. 





Some Ferns of Korea 



D. F. HIGGINS. 



The interests of the American Fern Society may not 

 extend beyond the limits of the United States or of 

 North America, but the writer is risking the sending 

 in of this little preliminary statement in regard to the 



1 Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 16: 52-54. 1912. 



