PTERIDOGRAPHIA. 



Color of Fern Spores. — Fern students seldom 

 trouble themselves about the color of fern spores, 

 though familiar with the changes of color that the 

 sporangia go through in the process of ripening. The 

 spores are by no means the rusty-brown objects that 

 some may be led to think they are from a hasty glance 

 at the sporangia or sori, in fact although brown is the 

 prevailing color, there is quite a range of color outside 

 of this that the spores may adopt. According to "The 

 Book of Fern Culture" the spores of the Osmundas arc* 

 bright green, in Pteris argyrea they are quite black. In 

 most of the DavaUias the spores are yellow, in some of 

 the Gymiwgrciinmas they are nearly black while in 

 a few Adiantuins they are pale yellow. The shapes 

 and markings of fern spores are subjects that as yet 

 have been practically untouched though in allied plants, 

 as the Isoctcs, these points may serve to distinguish 

 species. A study of fern spores would be a most in- 

 teresting pastime for those who have a compound mi- 

 croscope. 



Leaf Shoots. — This is the term which Conard 

 adopts in his "Structure and Life History of the Hay 

 Scented Fern" for the curious stems that arise from 

 the base of the stipe in the fronds of Dicksonia Pilosius- 

 cula. According to this author about twenty percent 

 of the fronds produce such shoots. Occasionally a 

 stipe will produce two shoots, one on each side. These 

 shoots have a varying history : they may remain dor- 

 mant as mere bud-like protuberances or they may grow 

 rapidly into a true rhizome from which new fronds de- 

 velop. This method of vegetative reproduction is 

 rarely mentioned in discussing" the multiplication of 



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