THE FERN BULLETIN 



85 



Clute can hold this opinion when we consider that 

 adpressum, like alopccuroidcs itself is more a southern 

 than a northern form, that they grow abundantly in 

 the same territory over a large part of the south, often 

 intermingling, and that it is never difficult to distin- 

 guish them in the field. The easiest way to separate 

 the two in the field is by the arching, more or less 

 clambering stems, and more flaccid texture of the 

 former. Usually of course, the long and widely 

 spreading leaves and sporophylls of the shoots, which 

 gives them a not remote resemblance to the tail of a 

 belligerent cat, will distinguish alopecuroid.es at a 

 glance: but this chaiacter is not always so pro- 

 nounced. 



The difficulty of separating adpressum from forms 

 of inundatum where the two meet in the middle and 

 northern states is admitted, but much experience with 

 adpressum and alopccuroidcs leads me to believe that 

 they have a good title to specific distinction. 



July 26th, 1900. 



[It has fallen to the editor's lot to collect the so-called 

 L. adpressum in numerous localities. He has brought 

 in specimens from Long Island, X. Y., that puzzled 

 Underwood to distinguish from L. alopccuroidcs. In 

 all the locations where has seen "L. adpressum" grow- 

 ing it has been dryer than in the spots that produced 

 L. alopccuroidcs. He is constrained to believe there- 

 fore, that adpressum is a form of alopccuroidcs due to 

 a lack of moisture, and he is strengthened in this con- 

 clusion by the statement made above by Dr. Coker 

 as regards the habitat of the two forms. Cold, as well 

 as dryness has a dwarfing effect upon plants, and it 

 may be assumed that this will account for the absence 

 of alopccuroidcs forms from northern regions. — EdJ 



