20 



listed Goebel's Venezuelar material but made no mention of the Chilean type of 

 F. tuberifera. This time he described the tuberous and leafless apices of the 

 stem and stated definitely that the inflorescence was dioicous. 



It will be seen that F. lamellata, according to the published records, has a 

 wide distribution in South America, being known from Argentina and probably 

 from Venezuela and Chile as well. Mr. Rapp's specimens seem to be constantly 

 dioicous, and the spores agree closely with Stephani's description. It seems 

 safe, therefore, to refer the plants to F. lamellata, and the discovery of this species 

 in Florida marks an interesting extension of range to the northward. The spores 

 measure 36-44^ in diameter and the spherical surface is covered over with a fine 

 reticulum, the meshes measuring 8-9^1 across. In most cases the reticulum is 

 regular, but sometimes the low ridges of which it is form.ed leave an occasional 

 mesh incomplete. The elaters are about 8^ wide and show two distinct spirals. 

 It will be seen from this description that the spores and elaters are much like 

 those of the more northern F. foveolata Lindb. This species differs, however, 

 in its annual habit, lack of tubers and monoicous inflorescence. \n F. salina 

 Lindb., a common Florida species, the spores are likewise reticulated, but the 

 meshes are coarser and are often incompletely formed. This species is likewise 

 monoicous and lacks tubers, although it agrees with F. lamellata in being peren- 

 nial. 



One of the largest of the Florida specimens is shown in Fig. i. After bearing 

 a series of leaves and a small cluster of archegonia, one of the branches abruptly 

 turned downward, ceased forming leaves, and became swollen into a spherical 

 tuber densely covered with rhizoids. The other branch, only the base of which 

 is shown, behaved similarly. In addition to these terminal tubers the plant 

 bore a number of smaller oval or clavate tubers on the tips of leafless and short 

 adventitious branches arising from the ventral surface. These tubers lacked 

 rhizoids completely although some of them showed indications of very rudi- 

 mentary leaves. 



A much simpler condition is shown in Fig. 2. In this case a tuber gave 

 rise to a leafy shoot from the apex, and this shoot, without branching, developed 

 a new apical tuber. The leaves produced were all irregular and rudimentary, 

 there were no sexual organs, and the new tuber was destitute of rhizoids; on its 

 surface it bore a series of projecting cells or groups of cells, but these were irregu- 

 larly arranged and could hardly be interpreted as leaves. The plant here figured 

 behaved in much the same way as the one shown in Goebel's /. igo, except that 

 the latter developed archegonia and much larger leaves. 



Conditions approximating those shown by Ruge are represented in FiGS. 

 3 and 4, although a change in the direction of growth is scarcely or not at all 

 apparent. The plants here figured showed a gradual decrease in the size of the 

 leaves, accompanied by a marked irregularity in their form, while the apices 

 of the stem were leafless or nearly so without being tuberous. In Fig. 3 a single 

 antheridium with a small subtending scale is shown. 



In some of Mr. Rapp's specimens the tuberiferous shoots are much more 

 elongated than any of those figured, but the more important variations have been 



