THE FERX BULLETIN 



45 



<lition to those which are typical, certain others that 

 diverge somewhat, but not enough to form a separate 

 genus. Thus our plant was placed in the section 

 Selliguea. Sometimes, indeed, Selliguea was isolated 

 as a separate genus, but usually accompanied by the 

 statement that if it were not for the shape of the sorus 

 it would make a good addition to the section Phyma- 

 todes of Poly podium. Here, at least, is where it has 

 landed, the elongated sori being winked at, possibly, 

 or perhaps the species makers are willing to assume 

 each so-called sorus to be a series of Polypodium sori. 

 In this age. however, there are those who deny to the 

 species in the group Phymatodes the right to be in- 

 cluded in Polypodium and in certain books our species 

 appears as Phymatodes loxogramma. Just how this 

 loxo gramme came to supplant lanccolata is another 

 story, not to be detailed here. Suffice to say that the 

 new name was picked up during one of the fern's 

 numerous transfers. 



As to Phymatodes, it is likely that the species in this 

 group are distinct enough to form a genus by them- 

 selves but it would be a rash student to encourage 

 such a departure, for once started we should soon see 

 all the large genera cut up into lesser groups and then 

 what delightful times the name-tinker would have! 



By what ever name called, the species manages to 

 thrive over a wide stretch of country in the Eastern 

 Hemisphere, being found from Japan and China to 

 the Himalyas, Ceylon and the Guinea Coast and repre- 

 sented in many of the islands of the Pacific including 

 Fiji and Samoa. The specimen from which the illus- 

 tration was made was collected by K. Miyake near 

 Kyoto, Japan where it is reported "not so common." 



