which it floated, when I identified it; but there was no chance of 

 mistake. It covered the surface of the water completely, and 

 grew in much closer mats than I have ever seen those flowering 

 plants, the Lcmnas or duckmeats, which in mode of life so 

 closely resemble these flowerless ones. I tried to float specimens 

 out upon pieces of paper, but they grew too thickly, so I brought 

 home a large bundle of them to separate in a basin of water at 

 my leisure. The pool was in full sun and the plants had a bright 

 brownish red hue. I noticed, however, that on the shores, where 

 the plants also rooted in the mud, they were bright green and 

 concluded that the color was due entirely to location. In this I 

 was glad to be confirmed by a letter received a few days later 

 from Mr. A. A. Eaton, with which I will end this article by quot- 

 ing entire for its interesting bearing upon this subject: 



"I conducted a little experiment with Azolla iiliculoides last 

 winter to see just why it was sometimes red and at others green. 

 I placed a pot of earth so it was half below the surface of my jar 

 where I was wintering it. Being kept in the greenhouse it grew 

 well all winter. That over the earth threw its roots into it and 

 appeared to feed on the richness of the soil, as I had manured it 

 highly. It grew very luxuriantly and was of a vivid green, not a 

 hint of color. As soon as the edge of the pot was passed the 

 roots were suspended in water without being able to reach the 

 soil. The plants were smaller and of varying shades up to all 

 red. This demonstrated that adversity alone is accountable for 

 the color. To make assurance doubly sure, I removed all the 

 red and changed some of the green from the pot to the water, 

 where it soon assumed the red tint. The jar was in full sun all 

 the time. I find it grows extremely well on a moist surface as 

 on mud, better even than in water. I have seen ditches in Cali- 

 fornia coated two inches deep with it, mostly red. This is doubt- 

 less owing in part to the extreme competition it was subject to. 

 Cool mountain streams produced the green variety." 



— Mr. S. Rapp, of Sanford, Fla., recently sent us a most inter- 

 esting specimen of Osmunda regalis collected November ioth, 

 1901. In this specimen, which is in fruit, the sporangia are not 

 borne in panicles, but upon the backs of the dilated leaflets. It is 

 interesting to note that the sporangia are assembled in little sori 

 on the backs of the veins and at some distance from the edges of 

 the leaflets. The spore-cases are slightly smaller than ordinarily 

 and the tip of the frond looks much like that of a Nephrodium. 



