NOTES ON AMERICAN FERNS- V.* 



By William R. Maxon. 



The Correct Name for the Little Ebony Spleenwort. — At 

 plate 222 in the third volume of the "Icones Plantarum," Sir 

 William Hooker described and figured a diminutive South 

 American fern to which he gave the name Asplenium parvulum. 

 This was in 1840. Two years later Martens and Galeotti in their 

 well-known "Memoire sur les Fougeres du Mexique" (Mem. 

 Acad. Brux. 15:60. pi. 15. f. 3.) applied the same name to a new 

 species from Mexico which has since been found to have a wide 

 range in our Southern and Southwestern States. Kunze 

 (Linnaea 18:331. 1844.) soon after called attention to the error 

 of the latter authors in their application of the name to a very 

 unlike plant and properly proposed the name Asplenium resiliens. 

 Liebman (Mex. Breg. 88. 1849) seems to have been the only 

 writer to follow Kunze's lead, though it appears certain that the 

 latter name must now be taken up. It is to be presumed that 

 even those who agree to priority of specific names only under the 

 "recognized" genus will hardly protest against writing A. 

 resiliens Kunze for A. parvulum Mart, and Gal. 



Phegopteris Phegopteris in Central New York. — Mr. 

 House's observation in the last number of the Bulletin on the 

 occurrence of this species in Herkimer County, New York, re- 

 calls a statement made by Dr. Underwood to me that he had 

 collected it at Cazenovia, Madison County, which is only a very 

 few miles from the exact geographical centre of the State. It has 

 been found also at Unadilla Forks, Otsego County, by Miss S. A. 

 Brown; but it must after all be reckoned a rare fern in Central 

 New York. Its rarity is not easily explained, considering the 

 varying topography of the region, the reported abundance of the 

 species in Northern New York and its occurrence at numerous 

 stations further south which are apparently no more favorable 

 to its growth. 



Marsilea uncinata in Louisiana. — To Mr. Clute's recent 

 note on finding M. uncinata at New Orleans, I am able to add an 



•Published by permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution. 



