i6 
BEAUTIFUL FERNS. 
Filicum have also added the species of Cibotium to Dicksonia, 
but these have the outer half of the involucre separate from 
the lobule; and this character, with their peculiar habit, is, 
perhaps, enough to justify their being kept distinct. The 
oldest name for our plant is Nephrodium punctilobulwn, of 
Michaux, published in 1803. In 1806, Swartz called it Aspid- 
iimi punctilobulurn. In 1809, Willdenow named it Dicksonia 
pilosiuscida, and in the same year, as nearly as I can discover, 
Schkuhr figured and described it as D. pubescens, although 
attributing the name to Swartz. It was not till about 1843 
that Hooker published the name of D. punctiloba, taking the 
orthography from Willdenow’s Aspidium punctilobiim. In the 
Spring of 1848, Gray’s Manual first gave the name D. punc- 
Hlobtda, and Kunze followed in July of the same year with 
the same name. But if a species is to have the name under 
which it was first referred to its proper genus, then either 
Willdenow’s or Swartz’s name is to be chosen. 
The specimen figured was collected on the Peaks of Otter, in 
Virginia, by Mr. A. H. Curtiss. 
