PELLJEA. 53 



near the Rio Grande. It was first collected in 1863, by Professor Brewer, 

 near Sonora Pass, at 7000ft. to 8000ft. elevation, and afterwards in Ebbett's 

 Pass, at the same elevation, and in Mono Pass, at 9000ft. to 10,000ft. 

 elevation. The delicate little fronds, 2in. to Sin. long scarcely lin. broad, 

 narrow -oblong, simply pinnate (once divided to the midrib), borne on tufted, 

 round, very fragile, chestnut-brown stalks 2in. to Sin. long and chaffy only 

 at the base, are produced from a short, stout, ascending rootstock, densely 

 clothed with narrow, light brown scales. The leaflets are usually opposite, 

 the upper ones egg-shaped, undivided and stalkless, the lower ones cleft down 

 the centre nearly to the base into two unequal parts, of which the lower is 

 the smaller, each the same shape as the upper leaflets, and not toothed or 

 further divided, the larger part being about Jin. long and jin. broad. The 

 fronds are of a thick but scarcely leathery texture, pale green, and naked on 

 both surfaces. The sori (spore masses), disposed in a continuous, marginal 

 line, are covered by a broad, thin, and nearly transparent involucre. — Hooker, 

 Synopsis Filicum, p. 145. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, iii., p. 66. 

 Eaton, Ferns British and Exotic, i., t. 48. 



P. (Platyloma) Bridgesii — Plat-yl-o'-ma ; Bridg-e'-si-i (Bridges'), 

 Hooker. 

 Eaton says this very pretty, greenhouse species is found growing in clefts 

 of rocks in the Sierra of California, usually above 6000ft. elevation. It has 

 been collected by Professor Brewer, at Ebbett's Pa^s, at 9000ft. elevation, in 

 Silver Valley, in the Yosemite A^alley, and in other places. Its fronds, produced 

 from a short-creeping rootstock, densely chaffy with narrow scales, and borne 

 on wiry, upright, naked, bright chestnut-brown stalks Sin. to 4in. long, are 

 simply pinnate (only once divided to the midrib), 4in. to 6in. long, and lin. 

 or less in breadth ; they are furnished with six to eight pairs of stalkless 

 leaflets, rounded or heart-shaped at the base, blunt at the summit, of a 

 leathery texture, and glaucous (bluish-green) on both surfaces. The sori 

 (spore masses), disposed in a broad, marginal line, are covered by a much- 

 wrinkled, thin, and somewhat transparent involucre protruding beyond the 

 edge of the frond until they arrive at full maturity. — Hooker, Species Filicum, 

 ii., p. 238, t. 142b. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, iii., p. 66. Eaton, 

 Ferns of North America, i., t. 48. 



