THE FERN BULLETIN 



Vol. IX. APRIL, 1901. ' No. 2. 



THE TERNATE BOTRYCHIA IN CENTRAL NEW YORK. 



By B. D. Gilbert. 



DURING the fall of 1900 Dr. J. V. Haberer, President of the 

 Asa Gray Botanical Club of Utica, N. Y , made an exten- 

 sive collection of the varieties of Botrychium ternatum 

 (Thunb. ) Sw. within a radius of ten miles of Utica, in the valleys 

 of the Mohawk and its tributaries. Dr. Haberer's specialty lies 

 among the Cyperacecc, but he had noticed how abundant the 

 Botrychia were in that region, and was so attracted by them that 

 he felt impelled to gather them. Having done so, he put them 

 into my hands to be sorted ard named. The collection is cer- 

 tainly extraordinary in number, and in the degree of variation 

 shown. By actual count it numbers over 450 specimens, and it 

 ranges from plants not over 3^ inches high, including both root 

 and fertile panicle, to those which are 16 inches high, with a sterile 

 leaf 6 inches wide. The time of gathering extended from Sept. 

 18 to Nov. 6, most of them being obtained in October, as the 

 plants do not mature until some time in that month. 



Even a casual glance through this series of specimens is 

 sufficient to convince one of the great amount of variation that 

 occurs among these plants, and also of the fact that they belong 

 to one species. The gradations from one form into another are 

 such as to convince any but the most prejudiced observer of this 

 fact. There are four principal forms, viz : B. ternatum obliquum 

 Muhl., B. ternatum dissectum Muhl., B. ternatum intermedium 

 D. C. Eaton, B. tertiatum Oneidense var. nov. In addition to 

 these there are three other beautiful forms which are represented 

 by only one specimen each. It has seemed best to hold these 

 latter in abeyance, in hopes that further material may be obtained 

 another season. 



My observations on the collection are grouped under the sep- 

 arate varieties ? s follows : 



Botrychium ternatum obliquum Muhl. This is the usual 

 type of obliquum in this country, where it is not known tint the 

 species proper exist*. The segments of the leaf are generally 



