75 



otti (1842) with a type locality, Orizaba, Mexico. Since 1900 

 Americans have not only considered these plants distinct from 

 the Woodzvardia radicans of the Old World, but have considered 

 them as synonyms after an examination of a wide series of ma- 

 terial from the entire range of the Sierra foothills from Guate- 

 mala to British Columbia.* Taking, however, only the species 

 whose type locality is nearest British Columbia, let us see what 

 Brackenridge wrote about it over fifty years ago. He says, 

 among other things (Wilkes' Expl. Exped. Botany 16 : 189. 

 1854). " Veins of a pale color, transparent, and not anastomosing 

 more than twice ; the venules towards the margin parallel and 

 free." These are exactly the characters on which Mr. Wright 

 depends for his so-called new species. 



But Brackenridge says further: "This has been referred by 

 Kaulfuss to the Woodzvardia radicals o( SwdiXiz [jSic] in which he 

 is followed by Hooker and Arnott, in the Botany of Beechey's 

 Voyage ; while we cannot but consider the Californian plant as a 

 distinct species, on account of the erect fronds, the total absence 

 of any proliferous bud on the rachis, the more falcate segments, 

 with a wide sinus, rounded at the base, and the pale veins which 

 are not so compoundly reticulate." In this he almost exactly 

 reproduces a number of Mr. Wright's . secondary characters. 

 IVoodzuardia paradoxa is thus the third name for our West 

 American chain-fern. 



Everyone will make mistakes sometimes but after the necessity 

 of searching type localities, making exact citations, examination of 

 types, and care of existing synonymy has been hammered into 

 the heads of Europeans for a decade, why will they go on and 

 make needless synonyms after this fashion, especially in such small 

 genera as Woodzvardia ? I am sure the English practice in the 

 seed-plants is not like this, at least so far as it relates to Amer- 

 ican plants, but among the ferns, the Hookerian system of the 

 past seventy years has reduced species to synonymy to redescribe 

 them anew over and over again. Fee's works at Kew are pen- 



* Cf. Maxon. List of Ferns and Fern Allies of North America, North of Mexico. 

 Proc. U. -S,. Nat. Mus. 23: 635. 1905 ; also Christensen, Index Filicum, 658. 

 1906. 



