4 



THE FERN BULLETIN 



my plants lived and grew although it took several 

 years for them to become used to the change and show 

 their natural vigorous growth. One small plant had 

 both stipe and rachis densely covered with a downy 

 white pubescence and in after explorations I saw others 

 with the same peculiarity. In exploring the neighbor- 

 hood of Bishop's find of Asplenium I found other col- 

 onies and one of the ostrich fern with many plants, all 

 of which appeared to me to be the pubescent variety, 

 but as at the time I took no particular interest in this 

 variety I did not give them the close examination that 

 I should have done. 



In my principal fern bed this pubescent form has in- 

 creased in numbers to some eight strong plants. The 

 pubescence is so strongly marked as to be visible at 

 several rods distance and persists throughout the sea- 

 son. The common variety grows here about six feet 

 high, many of the fronds measuring six feet four in- 

 ches long, while the pubescent form growing among 

 them is scarcely four feet high and the fronds are 

 drooping like those of Clayton's fern (Osmund a Clay- 

 toniana) instead of upright and the stipe is slenderer. 

 The common form fruits abundantly, each plant hav- 

 ing from three to eight fertile fronds, while the pubes- 

 cent form has never fruited at all. I hope that in the 

 coming season I shall be able to give the wild plants 

 of this variety a more careful examination. 



Bristol, Conn. 



[The editor of this magazine has known of 

 Mr. Terry's plants for some time and can add 

 that they seem very distinct from the others so 

 far as outward appearances go. Neither of us have 

 any idea that the pubescent plants comprise a new spe- 



