THE FERN BULLETIN 



Vol. XIV. OCTOBER, 1906. No. 4 



THE FERN FLORA OF MAINE 



By Dana W. Fellows. 



The State of Maine, which forms the northeastern ex- 

 tremity of the United States, lies between 43 and 

 degrees north latitude, and contains 33,000 square miles. 

 Three important rivers flow through the southern sec- 

 tion of the State to the Atlantic, while the northern por- 

 tion, comprising about one-fifth of the entire area, is 

 drained by tributaries of the St. John. The lakes are 

 innumerable, Moosehead, which is thirty-five miles in 

 length, being the largest. The Appalachian system of 

 mountains extends across the State from southwest to 

 northeast, reaching the highest elevation in Mt. Katah- 

 din, 5,215 feet. Nearly the entire surface of the State 

 is hilly. 



The climatic conditions of the southwestern half of 

 the State are similar to those of the other New England 

 States, but the eastern coast region and the extreme 

 northern parts show a flora containing many boreal and 

 alpine species. A large section in the northwestern part 

 of the State has been explored only for its timber of 

 pine and spruce, and its flora is practically unknown. 

 This is true also of a smaller area in the eastern part of 

 the State away from the coast. 



A division of the State on the parallel of 45 30' into 

 a southern and a northern section, though quite arbitrary, 

 will be, in most cases, sufficient for the present purpose. 

 The southern section contains the entire coast region 

 and the valleys of the Penobscot, the Kennebec and the 



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