On the American Species of Leptochilus 

 Sect. Bolbitis 



by 



Carl Christensen. 



Several authors have referred to a single genus, Gymnopteris, 

 all the Acrosticha of the „Synopsis Filicum" with irregularly netted 

 veins, while authors as Presl, J. Smith and Fée have referred these 

 ferns to a number of genera, based principally on differences of 

 the venation. The genus Gymnöpteris was founded in 1799 by 

 Bernhardi on Pteris ruff a L. (Gymnogramme Desv.) and is, as Prof. 

 Underwood correctly has shown, synonymous with the later Neuro- 

 gramme Link (1841), founded on the same species. Consequently 

 another name should be taken up for Gymnopteris af authors, and 

 newly Prof. Underwood has proposed Anapausia Presl 1 ), but this 

 author, the most modern and the most consequent also as to the 

 question of fern-nomenclature, has here evidently overlooked that 

 both Leptochilus Klf. (1824), Poikilopteris Eschweiler (1827 ; Poecilo- 

 pteris Presl 1836) and Bolbitis Schott (1834) are older names than 

 Anapausia Presl (1836, as genus 1849). The genus Leptochilus 

 was founded on Acrostichum axillare Cav. in 1824 by Kaulfuss 

 (Enum. Fil. 147), and being the oldest generic name applied to any 

 species of Gymnopteris of authors I propose it used for all the 

 species of this genus of Acrostichaceous ferns. 



Prof. Underwood has in the same publication taken up a few 

 other old names, which surely incorrectly should suspersede later 

 and wellknown generic names. Thus he prefers Alcicornium Gaud, 

 to Platycerium Desv., Callipteris Bory to Anisogonium Presl and 

 Belvisia Mirbel to Hymenolepis Klf. 



*) L. M. Underwood: A Summary of our Present Knowledge of the Ferns of 

 the Philippines. - Bull. Torr. Club. 30 : 655. 1903. 



