DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS. 119 



Lskind, New Voik, by W. 11. AIcDonald, who named it 

 polyclavatitin. It is like ordinary adprcssuiu witli the 

 exception that the fertile stems each bear from two 

 to six short branches, some of \\'hich produce fruit cones 

 while others are sterile. 



Still another form of Lycopodiitvi alopecnroidcs is occa- 

 sionally considered a distinct species and called Lyco- 

 podiniii pinnatum. It is a slender plant, growing in 

 wet places, and derix'es its specific name from the sup- 

 position that its stems are pinnatcly branched. It 

 is certain, however, that while the stems may appear 

 pinnate they are not reall\- so, and that this is simply a 

 more branched form of the species. Aside from this 

 character the stem is long and slender, and the leaves 

 are inclined to stand out at right angles to the stem, 

 this being due to the watery habitat the form affects. 



Lycopodiuvi alopecnroidcs is essentially a tropical plant 

 and within our limits is confined rather closely to the 

 Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In South America it is said 

 to extend to Monte Video. The typical form extends 

 northward to Long Island, where it was first discovered 

 by the author near Babylon. The form piimatuni is a lux- 

 uriant phase of the plant found only in watery situations 

 in the Gulf States. Lycopodinin alopecnroidcs adprcssnin 

 extends to the coast of Massachusetts and is the common- 

 est form from New Jersey to Virginia. The plant is a 

 lover of the swampy sand-barrens and often covers lar^e 

 areas. So far as known, both the species and varieties 

 are absent from the interior of the continent. 



The various disguises of this plant ha\'e always been a 

 puzzle to botanists. It was first described as a variety 

 of Lycopodinin innndatnni, and when the forms were 

 discovered they too were named as varieties. There is 



