Pellaea microphylla Mett. ex Kuhn 
C. A. WEATHERBY 
One of the rare ferns of the United States is the little 
plant, ranging from southwestern Texas to southeastern 
Arizona, which has passed for many years as Pellaea 
pulchella. So rare is it that there are in the Gray Her- 
barium only four sheets from north of the Mexican 
border and those were collected by Wright and Bigelow 
between 1849 and 1851. In Mexico, Pringle and Palmer 
have found it at a few places in Chihuahua and Coa- 
huila. Late collections reported by Wooton and Stand- 
ley! from New Mexico and by E. J. Palmer? from Texas 
add new stations, but do not materially extend the 
local and restricted range of this plant. 
Wright seems to have made the first collection in 
1849. When his specimens reached Europe and began 
to be studied there, Hooker referred this plant to the 
Mexican Pellaea pulchella and cited it under that name 
in the Species Filicam. Mettenius was of a different 
opinion and described it as a new species. Baker, 
somewhat impressed by Mettenius’ view, treated it 
as a variety of P. pulchella?, and Christensen follows 
this reference in the Index Filicum. Eaton commented 
on the matter as follows: 
“Among the ferns named by Mettenius and published after his 
decease by Kuhn, is Pellaea microphylla, which name was bestowed 
upon the northern specimens of the species above described ‘[P ‘ 
sulcate, or furrowed; and no furrowing is visible on the Chiapas 
specimens, which are, moreover, considerably taller and heavier 
AT A ‘ 
1 Cont. Nat. Herb. 19+ 24. 1915. 
* In a paper on Texas ferns soon to be published in the JOURNAL. 
? Syn. Fil. ed. 2, 477. 1874. 
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