6o THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. 
pairs of opposite pinne, the lowest pair, of course, much 
the largest, as befits a Botrychium. The pinne are them- 
selves usually pinnatifid with lobed or sharp-toothed seg- 
ments, but show a decided tendency to vary. In general 
aspect, the blade resembles a very small specimen of the 
rattlesnake fern. The fertile portion but slightly overtops 
the sterile and is twice or thrice pinnate. Inthe southern 
part of its range, the spores are ripe about the last week 
in July. 
Botrychium lanceolatum is found from New Jersey, 
Ohio, Colorado and Washington to the far north. South- 
ward it appears to be an upland species and should be 
sought in moist level stretches of deciduous woods. In 
such places it is often found very plentifully over several 
acres. One of its constant companions isthe rattlesnake 
fern. The species is also found in both Europe and Asia. 
The illustrations for this and the following species were 
drawn from specimens collected by the author at Ararat, 
Penna., where they were found growing in company. 
Matricary Grape Fern. 
All that has been said of the lance-leaved grape fern, 
may with equal truth be applied to the matricary grape 
fern (Botrychium matricariefolium) with which it is al- 
most invariably associated. Good botanists have often 
held that the two are but different forms of the same 
species. There are many intergrading forms, but each 
type remains fairly constant in a few particulars that 
seem to warrant usin considering them distinct. The 
most important is the difference in the time of fruiting. 
The present species fruits nearly a month earlier than 
lanceolatum, its spores often ripening by the middle of 
