—19— 



sent Milde's var. sub integrum, and figure 10, collected in 

 Rhode Island by Collins and Chamberlain, is practically 

 the same as Luersen's figure g. This specimen was col- 

 lected in May (30th), before the sporophyll — which is 

 seen just emerging from the common stalk below the 

 lamina — had developed; but the lamina agrees perfectly 

 with Milde's description of his var. compositnm. 



Plate 2 is an exact photographic reproduction of Luer- 

 sen's page, and the specimens are. of course, all Euro- 

 pean, but they clearly show the absolute specific identity 

 of European plants with our own. Furthermore, an ex- 

 amination of figures 4 and 5 in Dr. Underwood's " In- 

 dex to the Described Species of Botrychium," 1903, will 

 show that while those figures faithfully represent Wood's 

 B. neglcctum, they none the less correspond very well 

 with these European figures of Luersen. 



In conclusion, a summing up of the results of our en- 

 quiry shows, first, that so far as the question of identity is 

 concerned, the evidence overwhelmingly sustains my 

 contention ; as well deny the identity of American and 

 European B. simplex — which everyone admits — as deny 

 that of B. matricarice folium. As for its nomenclature, 

 historical testimony could not seemingly be stronger than 

 that which we have reviewed, and which shows conclu- 

 sively that Osmunda ramosa Roth equals Botrychium 

 Lunaria (L.). Botrychium matricaricefolium A. Br., 

 therefore remains undisturbed. 



Medford, Mass., U. S. A., Dec, 1905. 



We have received for name from Mrs. Charles H. 

 Beach, Catskill, N. Y., specimens of Pteris serrulata 

 from Charleston, S. C. She writes that they were grow- 

 ing from the foundation to the eaves of old houses in 

 the company of Asplenium ebeneum, mosses, Marchantia, 

 etc. It was common on old houses near the wharves. 



