20 HUMPHREY 
on stones and rocks beside streams. It is not common in Cali- 
fornia and was first collected by Professor Underwood at Fel- 
ton, Santa Cruz County, in 1888. In July, 1906, it was found 
in fruiting condition by the author on a trip up San José Cajfion 
in the Santa Lucia Mountains in Monterey County. So far as 
is known, plants bearing receptacles had not been found in Cali- 
fornia prior to the above named date, though fruiting plants 
have been collected by C. V. Piper near Seattle, Wash. Con- 
ditions during the rainy season there and in the parts of Cali- 
fornia where Fegatelia thrives are similar. The dry season near 
Puget Sound is occasionally interrupted by summer showers 
which may in combination with other factors influence the 
development of fruiting organs. 
Fegatella may be found in many of our near-by cajions; in 
fact, it has been observed to occur along the banks of creeks 
well down upon the plain of the Santa Clara valley, but almost 
always it will be found in particularly well watered and densely 
shaded localities, a combination of conditions very essential to 
the normal development of the plant in this region of long, dry 
summers. 
Antheridial plants bearing receptacles have been collected 
from several localities, though these plants are by no means 
common. Normally, they are of such vigorous, robust habit as 
to spread over a considerable area by mere vegetative growth, 
and it is not uncommon to find several square feet entirely cov- 
ered by Fegatella to the exclusion of everything else. 
On finding female plants in fertile condition a field study was 
made relative to their habitat, and conditions affecting growth 
and development of fruiting organs. San José Cajfion is a deep, 
narrow gorge, the floor of which is well watered by a never- 
failing stream. The north wall of the cafion consists very 
largely of precipitous rock ledges that in many places come 
abruptly to the stream’s edge and are only sparsely clothed with 
Artemesita, Adenostoma and a few other plants of xerophytic 
habit. The south wall rises less abruptly into hills averag- 
ing seven to eight hundred feet in height. \Theseyhavews 
covering of rich humus and the vegetation at the base along 
the creek and well up on the south slope consists of Seguoza 
