—43— 



An external examination of the stems shows them to be 

 6-angled, while there are but three leaves. When examined with 

 a microscope they are found to be in reality but 3-angled, the 

 three carinal holes alternating with the three vallecular, the 

 spaces between the two rows of tubercles being without stomata 

 or other marks, while those over the vallecular holes bear two 

 regular rows with rosuke in the interspaces. I have seen no 4- 

 angled American specimens. 



By the Rochester Code this would become E. tcnellum (Lilj.) 

 as Liljeblad's £. hiemale tcnellum antedates Michaux's scirpoides 

 by five years, but it does not seem expedient to do away with its 

 appropriate and well-known name on such grounds. 



It grows usually in rich wet humus, even on decayed logs, 

 on wooded banks, often under hemlocks, amongst fine grasses, 

 which it resembles. It does not grow in dense shade under large 

 plants. It is confined to forest and mountain regions of the 

 Northern Hemisphere from 40 degrees northward, and is very 

 common in the northern part of its range. No varieties have 

 been found, a remarkable fact in a plant of such great geographi- 

 cal distribution. 



NEW OR RARE FERNS FROM THE SOUTHWEST. 



By Willard N. Clute. 



In his endeavors to secure a complete collection of the native 

 North American ferns, Mr. James H. Ferriss has made several 

 trips to the Southwest, and although he has mainly collected the 

 plants not represented in his collection, he has also found time to 

 make herbarium specimens of any striking fronds that presented 

 themselves. Having turned these over" to me for naming, he has 

 enabled me to make the following additions to the fern flora of 

 the United States : 



Pellaea aspera. — In Eaton's "Ferns of North America" it 

 is stated that "this fern has not been collected in more than 

 twenty years and is rare in herbaria." It has apparently been 

 found in greater abundance recently, for Mr. Reverchon and Mr. 

 Bush record it from several stations and Mr. Ferriss found it 

 common in Southwest Texas. With his specimens he included a 

 form v i h shorter and more compact fronds, with close set pinnae 



