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is among the earliest of our ferns to fruit, and in its 

 farthest southern haunts begins to grow shortly after 

 the new year begins. In February, 1900, I collected it 

 in fruit near Guava Ridge in the Island of Jamaica at 

 an altitude of about 3500 feet. The difference in altitude 

 between this station, which, by the way, is the only one 

 in Jamaica, and the Florida station would equalize the 

 difference in latitude between the two. Thus the fruit- 

 ing impulse may be said to begin in the West Indies and 

 the Gulf Coast in February, passing over the southern 

 States during March, reaching the northern States late 

 in April and going on into Canada in May. 



The second fruiting season appears rarely, if ever, to 

 reach very far north. Mr. Steele has noted it in Florida, 

 and in a recent publication (Torrey Bulletin 33:462, 

 1906') Mr. A. A. Eaton says (doubtless incorrectly) that 

 " Its common time of fruiting appears to be early Novem- 

 ber, as it was in full fruit in the middle of die State at 

 that date, and bore no indication of fruit in March, save 

 in the case of one plant." Mr. W. C. Dukes found them 

 fruiting about Mobile, Ala., at least three weeks earlier. 

 He, too, found the fruiting general, and says. " I have 

 run across colonies where scarcely any failed to develop 

 a fertile frond. In one place I counted over fifty plants 

 fruiting, but noticed that the fronds were not so robust 

 as those found in spring and not as tall." 



As to the cause of the fall fruiting the suggestion made 

 by Mr. Dukes seems to offer the best explanation. He 

 observes that the fall fruiting seems to be most prevalent 

 in those years when summer extends far into autumn. 

 The rains that follow form a second spring-like season, 

 beguiling the ferns to fruit. It would be interesting to 

 know just how general the fall fruiting of this species is, 

 and how far it extends northward. Do the ferns fruit 

 every year in autumn? Do the same ferns fruit again in 

 spring? Do all, or nearly all, the ferns fruit in autumn? 

 Are there more fruiting fronds produced in autumn than 

 in spring? If our readers can give answers to any of 

 these questions, we shall be glad to have them. 



