36 



THE FERN BULLETIN 



North America and eastern Asia in the display of cer- 

 tain genera of Gymnospertns, no less than six genera 

 being common to these two regions and occurring no- 

 where else. A similar pairing may be noticed between 

 South America and the Australasian region. From 

 the facts I have cited it will be understood that I am 

 inclined to regard the occurrence of Asplcnium 

 altcrnans in Arizona as evidence of a greater or more 

 general distribution of a parental form in the past and 

 an unusual persistence of the decendant in widely 

 separated localities. The genus Asplcnium has had a 

 long life period upon the earth, having appeared dur- 

 ing middle Jurassic time. 

 Hammond , Ind. 



THE FINDING OF ASPLENIUM ALTERNANS. 



By James H. Ferriss. 



This Asplcnium was found in the autumn of 1908 

 in the Huachuca mountains Cochise county, Arizona, 

 probably thirty miles north of the Mexican line. At the 

 time L. E. Daniels of the Indiana geological survey 

 and I were boarding at the Berner conservatory in 

 Ramsey canyon (Hamburg P. O.) and in search of 

 land snails had crossed over to Tanner canyon, about 

 three miles westward, keeping our course as near as 

 convenient at about 7,000 feet altitude. Between 

 branches of the Brown and Tanner canyon are two 

 ranges of high cliffs, one above the other : perhaps 

 there are more cliffs, but at that time we were more 

 concerned with trails and a direct route from Berner's 

 to the Tanner canyon than in the topography. We 

 had lost our way once before on this route and for 

 safety had been driven to a longer trail on the plain 

 below which took us far into the night to get home. 



