— 7 1 — 



while those of the latter, owing to the deepness of the cracks in 

 which they were growing, have long stipes and shorter fronds. 



Though many cliffs have been examined no other plants of 

 this fern have been found. The cause of its presence on this par- 

 ticular cliff is undoubtedly due to the presence of sufficient root 

 moisture to counteract the drying powers of the wind . The 

 crevices are long, narrow and vertical, thus differing from the 

 generally horizontal fractures common on the other cliffs. Most 

 of the plants were deep in the recesses of the narrow cracks where 

 their roots especially were well protected. This slope exposure is 

 sufficient to account not only for the presence of this fern, but of 

 many others on these bluffs. Cutting off the trees would result 

 in their utter extermination. Of the thirty-eight species of ferns 

 now known from the vicinity of Washington, but four are not 

 known to occur about these bluffs, the two Woodwardias. Ophio- 

 glossum vulgatum, and Lygodium palmatum. — Abridged from 

 an article by William Palmer in The Plant World. 



THE OSTRICH FERN IN VIRGINIA. 



IT is more than a year since the discovery of Onoclea Struthi- 

 opteris by one of the Washington botanists, Mr. E. S. Steele, 

 on an island in the Potomac about eight miles above the city. 

 The addition of such an interesting fern to our District flora was 

 naturally welcomed with enthusiasm, and a search for other 

 stations revealed the plant growing in great abundance on the 

 Virginia shore of the river, directly above the island re- 

 ferred to. I did not at that time realize what has recently been 

 brought to my notice by Mr. W. R. Mixon, namely, that the dis- 

 covery of the Ostrich fern in Virginia furnishes us with an actual 

 extension of range for the species. I find no record of its col- 

 lection at a point farther south than this, but it may be that other 

 readers of The Fern Bulletin can contribute more exact infor- 

 mation Here it fruits rather shyly, although the sterile fronds 

 attain a large size in the rich alluvial soil of the river bank. — 

 Charles Louis Pollard, Washington, D. C. 



[The Ostrich fern was for a long time supposed to find the 

 southern limit of its range in Pennsylvania. In 1894 Mr. C. E. 

 Waters found a colony of this species on the banks of the Gun- 

 powder river, about twelve miles north of Baltimore, thus ex- 

 tending its range into Maryland. Mr. Pollard's note now sets the 

 limit further south. Do any of our readers know of stations for 

 the fern beyond this? — Ed.]. 



