15 



Ferns of the Southeast* 

 Faiuua a. Wilhy 



In this posthumous volume another splendid botanical man- 

 ual is added to the already monumental works of the late Dr. 

 Small. This, the third manual of his to be published in a series 

 devoted to the Pteridophyta of the eastern United States, is 

 like the others in that it is designed for use either by the ama- 

 teur or advanced student. 



\A'hen we consider how very prolific are the plant forms of 

 Florida alone and multiply that fact by the very diversified 

 area possibilities included in the geographical territory east of 

 the Mississippi river and south of Virginia and Kentucky, it is 

 not surprising to find 189 species and several sub-species of 

 ferns and fern-allies described in this book. In this section of the 

 country are many type provinces such as Coastal Plain, Pied- 

 mont, Blue Ridge, Appalachian Valley, Appalachian Plateaus 

 and Interior Low Plateaus as well as the latitudinal zones of the 

 temperate and sub-tropical regions. Of the large numbers of 

 species described, 29 have never before been included in any 

 fern manual and 12 are here described for the first time. What 

 possibilities await the botanist and fern enthusiast in that pen- 

 insula of Florida where these new species have been found! It is 

 of interest to note that over half of the species included in Dr. 

 Small's "Ferns of the Vicinity of New York" are also found in 

 these southern areas. In fact 36 of the plates are the same in 

 both books but the text pertaining to these has been somewhat 

 revamped. Except for a few of the quill worts, (Isoetes) each 

 species is excellently illustrated in full page line drawings which 

 emphasize the diagnostic characteristics of each. If the species 

 are not too similar these line drawings will in many instances 

 suffice for identification without having to refer to the very 

 complete technical descriptions. For the uninitiated in the intri- 

 cacies of genera characteristics, an illustrated key based on 

 structure is given. Throughout this key are parenthentical ex- 

 planations for technical terms used, such as sporangia, (spore- 

 cases) or sori, ("fruit dots") which will save the student the 

 trouble of referring to an index. This key would have been even 

 more useful if the page reference to Order, Family and Genera 

 had been given for each. 



* Ferns of the Southeastern States — John Kunkel Small. The Science 

 Press, 1938. 517 pp., $3.50. 



