172 



pi. 2. f. j. 171 5] is also characteristic: Polypodiiim minus J7r- 

 giniamnn foliis brcvioribus suhtus argentcis ; he says of his plant 

 " ElcgantcDi lianc spcciein e Virgiiiia acccptain habcimis." It is 

 recorded from this region also by Gronovius [Fl. Virg. 2 : 19S. 

 1743] who described it under the name Acrosticlunii froiidc pin- 

 na ta, etc. 



In 1753, Linnaeus described the species under the name Acro- 

 stichnni polypodioidcs but it is well-nigh certain that Plumier's 

 synonym cited under Polypodiuni virginiamun properly belongs 

 here. Linnseus' remark, however, under the latter species, "ajitc- 

 ccdcnti [/. e., P. vulgar c\ siniillinia, scd minor, & subhts glabra" 

 pertains undoubtedly to some small form of P. vulgarc, so com- 

 mon in the Potomac Valley and elsewhere. This view was held 

 by the illustrious Willdenow, who makes this statement in re- 

 gard to P. virginiamim : * * * " Ex America borcali semper P. 

 vulgarc sub hoc nomine accepi." [Willd. Sp. PI. 5 : 1 74. 1 8 10.] 



The Jamaican plant described by Patrick Browne and named 

 Polypodiuni fcrrugifiosum by Linnaeus [Sp. PI., ed. 2, 1525. 

 1763] has been referred by later authors to the species in 

 question. 



Swartz described the species from the West Indies under the 

 name P. incanuni [Sw. Prodr. 131. 1788; Fl. Ind. Occ. 3: 

 1645. 1806; Syn. Fil. 35. 1806] giving as hab. " adnasci/ur 

 truncis vctustis in motitibus sununis Jamaicacy 



We find the plant under still another name, P. cctcraccinum, in 

 the works of Michaux [L. C. Rich. ; Michx. Fl. 2 : 271. 1803] 

 who records it as " parasiticum in Kentucky, Tennassee, Florida y 



Bory de Saint-Vincent included the species in his genus Margin- 

 aria [Diet. Class. Hist. Nat. 6: 587. 1824; 10: 176. 1826], 

 which name is evidently the earliest generic name for Polypodiuni 

 species having scaly fronds and the sori along the margin. In 

 1828, the same author applies this generic name to one of his 

 species Marginaria vnnima [Duperrey, Voy. 2' : 264. pi. 31. f. 

 2. 1828] of which he says : * * * " tres voisinc de cclle que les 

 botanistes ont cojnmuncinoit appelce Polypodiuni incanum, a etc 

 confonduc a7>ec ellc. Ellc en dijf'ere cepeiuiant en ce qu'elle est trois 

 on quatre fois plus petite et d'un aspect bioi plus elegant." 



