Pteris aquilina L. Bracken; Eagle fern. Not common; 

 short, crisp, and sturdy; in dense masses on sunny hillsides. 



Pteris aquilina var. pscudocaudata Clute. Not common; three 

 to four feet long; fronds thin, tender, green — in maturity be- 

 coming harder. 



IVoodsia obtusa Torrey. Obtuse-leaved Woodsia. Common ; 

 moist or dripping rocks. 



THE CALIFORNIA GOLD FERN. 



By A. A. Eaton. 



The genus Gymnogrammc is rather large, containing ninety 

 or one hundred species, almost exclusively tropical, one species 

 extending to Europe, three or four to Japan, two to the United 

 States, and two on the other side of the equator to the temper- 

 ate climate of New Zealand. It received its name from the 

 Greek, gymnos naked, and gramma a line, in reference to the 

 fact that the fruitage is destitute of indusium and follows the 

 veins. The fruit lines are often at first covered with scales or 

 wax. 



The goldback belongs to the division Ccropteris. the "waxy 

 ferns," and to this belong many of the "gold" and "silver" ferns 

 of the greenhouses. The color is due to little colored globules of 

 wax. easily detached, and indeed not appearing to be attached 

 to the frond at all. This wax is removed by shaking or sprink- 

 ling, is soluble in alcohol and may be melted in hot water. The 

 color is not characteristic for the species, for nearly if not all 

 the species of waxy ferns have their "'gold" and "silver" phases. 



No fern growing in the L'nited States is calculated to give 

 more pleasure to the enthusiastic collector at first sight than the 

 gold fern. Others there are that are more graceful, others yet 

 more majestic, and still others more rare, but to a person who 

 has traveled on the thirsty plains, where hardly a green thing 

 greets the eye, has toiled with lagging steps up the steep moun- 

 tain trail, and begins to feel that about the only things Califor- 



