114 • American Fern Journal 



Sierra Grande in the northeast corner of New Mexico. 

 In the Brazos Canyon the species is fairly abundant, if 

 one takes the pains to look for it. The grasslike fronds 

 in crowded masses are so little suggestive of a fern that 

 one is likely to pass them by, though once distinguished 

 they cannot be confused with any other plant. The 

 plants occur in narrow crevices of the rocks, either on 

 the under side in shade or on the upper side in the fierce 

 glare of the sun. So well clown do their roots extend into 



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the crevices that it is almost impossible to dig the plants 

 out intact. The dead fronds persist for a long time. 



Equisetum arvense L. Almost anywhere along the 

 Rio Brazos this species is abundant, and the bright 

 green vegetative stems are a conspicuous feature in the 

 sandy soil at the edge of the water. In August and 

 September the fertile stems had withered, but every where 

 in the moss about the vegetative stems were the sharp- 

 pointed buds which were to develop into fruiting stems 

 the next season. Another species of Equisetum with 

 stout, simple, perennial stems w r as noticed in several 

 places, along with E. arvense, but as it was not in fruit 

 it was not collected. Probably it was E. laevigatum. 



Selaginella Underwoodii Hieron. In a single 

 locality, upon the northward face of a cliff, a few mats 

 of this plant were found. In habit and general appear- 

 ance it bears more resemblance to a moss than do 

 our other New Mexican species. It is far from rare 

 in the State, especially in the Santa Fe and Las Vegas 

 Mountains. It was described from specimens collected 

 by Fendler, in 1847, in the mountains near Santa Fe. 

 Fvited States National Museum, 



Washington, D. C. 



