SOME HITHERTO UNNOTED VARIATIONS OF FAMILIAR 



FERNS 



By B. D. Gilbert. 



IT was a pleasure to see in the October number of the Fern- 

 Bulletin so many observations arising out of the season's 

 experience. This is the way to enlarge our knowledge of the 

 ferns and to find out whether there are not still some unnoticed 

 species or varieties among them. Let me mention a few of my 

 own observations during the past summer. 



There lies before me, as I write, a fine frond of Dryopteris 

 Goldicana, three and one-half feet long and nine inches wide. It 

 is normal in every respect except one. It bears twenty-two large 

 pinnae, and seventeen of these are proliferous near the tips. 

 These pinnae, instead of ending in the natural way, are either 

 terminated with a pinnule as large as those in the middle of the 

 pinna, or end abruptly with a pinnule on each side. At the base of 

 this or these pinnules there are one or two buds on the costa, from 

 which spring little rosettes of pinnules, so that they have the ap- 

 pearance of being tufted. It is a very pretty variation, and I 

 have looked through all my botanies for some mention of it, but 

 without success. I know the locality from which it came and 

 shall search for it again next season. If it proves to be per- 

 manent, it is deserving of the varietal name of prolifera. 



During the past summer I was led to pay some attention to 

 Asple?iium acrostichoides Sw. If you refer to the "Synopsis 

 Filicum" of Swartz (edition of 1S06), you will find at the head 

 of page 82 a description of his own species acrostichoides, and 

 next below it that of Michaux' species thelypteroides. Evidently 

 Swartz considered these as two different species. On examining 

 the descriptions it will be found that, while they are worded 

 somewhat differently, they mean about the same thing until they 

 come to the sori. Of acrostichoides Swartz says soris transversis 

 confertis, while thelypteroides has soris brevissimis parallel's. 

 This led me to observe the two ; and I am satisfied that there are 

 two quite distinct forms, sufficiently so to make a good variety. 

 A. acrostichoides has broad pinnae and pinnules, with long, rather 

 wide- spread sori, which, on the lower pinnae, often have the dis- 

 tinct athyrioid character, folding across the veinlet and extending 

 part way down the other side. The bend is so sharp that some 

 times the sorus and indusium are broken and separated at the 



