

TORREYA 



Vol. 20 No. 5 



September-October, 1920 



HABITS AND HA73ITATS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN 

 RESURRECTION FERN 



By E. F. Andrews 



This interesting little plant, known to science as Poly podium 

 polypodioides, is closely related to the common polypody (P. vul- 

 gar c) of the North, and one of its local names, " Little Polly," 

 is evidently a popular recognition of the relationship. Other 

 common local names are " fern moss," " moss fern," " tree fern " 

 — from its epiphytic habit of growing on the trunks of trees — and 

 more generally, " resurrection fern," from the manner in which 

 it shrivels up during dry weather as if dead, and comes to life 

 again after every shower of rain. 



It is said to be sometimes found as far north as southern New 

 York, and Pennsylvania, whence it ranges west to Illinois and Mis- 

 souri and south to Florida and Texas, and on throughout tropical 

 America. In the warm, moist climate of our southern coastal 

 plain it finds a congenial home, and is so conspicuous on the live 

 oaks there as to create the impression among tourists and other 

 casual visitors that it does not grow on any others; but this is 

 because they don't look for it anywhere else. ]\Irs. A. P. Taylor, 

 of Thomasville, Ga., a very competent observer, writes : " It may 

 be of interest, especially to those who believe in its preference for 

 the live oak, to know of the various trees on which I have found 

 it ; . . . Here (around Thomasville) it grows on oaks, beech, 

 maple, magnolia igrandiflora and glai{ca), Oxydcndron, Osman- 

 thus, tulip tree, Symplocos, Cliftonia, China tree (Melia Aseda- 



^^ rack) and red cedar. I have never seen it on Tax odium or 



~ Pinus." 



Q [No. 4, Vol. 20, of ToRREYA. comprising pp.. 67-90, was issued September 20, 



1920] 



91 



