108 Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Flants. 



Nat. Ord. POLYPODIACE^. 



POLYPODIUM. 



P. vulgare, Linn.-— Frond linear-oblong or somewhat lanceolate, more 

 or less acuminate, deeply pinnatifid, in some forms almost pinnate ; 

 lobes (or pinnae) linear- oblong, obtuse, often acute, rarely acuminate, 

 entire or crenate or serrate ; sori large ; very variable as regards outline 

 of the frond, form, &c., of the lobes, and serrature. P. vulgare, Linn., A. 

 Gray, Moore, &c. P. virginianum of English gardens. P. vulgar 

 var. americanum, Hook,, Torrey FL N. Y., ii. 480. — On rocks in the 

 woods, not rare around the city of Kingston ; abundant on the rocky 

 banks of the St Lawrence, in Pittsburg ; in the woods at Collins's Bay ; 

 and on Judge Malloch's farm, a mile west from Brockville ; Gananoque 

 lakes and rivers ; Farmersville ; Newboro-on-the-Rideau ; Toronto ; on 

 the great boulder of the Trent Valley, near Trenton ; on rocks west from 

 Brockville, outcrop of Potsdam Sandstone at Oxford, and Hull moun- 

 tains near Chelsea, CE,, B. Billings, jr. ; near Gatineau Mills, D. 

 M'Gillivray, M.D. ; Mount Johnson, C.E., and Niagara River, P. W. 

 Maclagan, M.D. ; Brighton, in the crevice of a rock in a field, and 

 abundant on rocky banks, right bank of the Moira, above Belleville, J. 

 Macoun; Ramsay, Rev. J. K. M'Morine, M.A. ; north-west from Granite 

 Point, Lake Superior, R. Bell, jr. ; mountain top, near Mr Brydge's 

 house, Hamilton, C.W., Judge Logic ; River Rouge and lower end of 

 Gut Lake, W. S. M. D'Urban ; Cape Haldimand, Gaspe, John Bell, B.A, ; 

 Red River Settlement, Governor M'Tavish ; Pied du cap Tourmente, 

 M. L'Abbe Provancher ; L'Orignal and Grenville, C.E., J. Bell, B.A. 

 The habitats above cited show that although this fern is not so common 

 in Canada as in Britain, it is nevertheless widely distributed. It is com- 

 mon in New York State, according to Professor Torrey ; and in the 

 Northern States generally, according to Professor Asa Gray ; rarer in 

 the South, according to Dr Chapman. 



P, hexagonopterum, Mich. — Frond triangular in outline, acuminate, 

 pinnate, hairy throughout ; pinnae broadly lanceolate, pinnatifid ; lowest 

 pair of pinnse larger than the others, not deflexed ; lobes of the pinnae 

 linear-oblong or lanceolate, strongly toothed, or almost pinnatifid. The 

 decurrent pinnse have a tendency to form conspicuous irregular angled 

 wings along the rachis. Stipe not scaly except at the base. Rhizome 

 long, slender, ramifying. Whole plant much larger than P. Phegopteris, 

 and quite a different species. P. hexagonopterum, Michx., A. Gray, &c. 

 The figure in Lowe's Ferns, vol. i. p. 143, tab. 49, is a little too much 

 like Phegopteris. P. Phegopteris y. majus, Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer., ii. 

 p. 258. Hooker's /3. intermedia of Phegopteris is connectile, Willd., 

 which A. Gray refers to P. Phegopteris, L. Phegopteris hexagonopfera, ' 

 J. Sm. Cat,, p. 17. — Canada, Goldie in Hook. Fl. B. Amer. ; Chippawa, 

 C. W., P. W. Maclagan, M.D. ; Mirwin's Woods, near Prescott, rare, 

 B. Billings, jr. ; near Westminster Pond, London, W. Saunders. Not 

 by any means so general in Canada as in New York State, where, Pro- 

 fessor Torrey states, it is common. 



