Nov., 1904.] 
Notes on the Ohio Ferns. 
205 
NOTES ON THE OHIO FERNS. 
W. A. Kellerman and H. A. Gleason. 
Of the eighty-three species and varieties of ferns included in 
the flora of the north-eastern United States forty-three are known 
definitely to occur in Ohio and are represented by specimens in 
the State Herbarium. Some of the forms are quite rare, and a 
few of them are very limited so far as their distribution in the 
State is now known. It is with the hope of increasing the State 
collection and extending our knowledge of these interesting plants 
that special attention is called to^his subject. Critical inspec- 
tion of the list appended below is also solicited. Possibly interest 
and convenience may be enhanced by the publication of a State 
Fern Florula, with notes on characters and distribution, figures 
illustrating venation, fructications, and such taxonomic charac- 
ters as beginners, amateurs and students might appreciate. Par- 
tial material for such a brochure is at hand but we would much 
desire for examination a fuller set of specimens from the various 
counties of the State. Can not every teacher of Botany in Ohio 
and every one interested in our fern flora assist by sending 
specimens? 
The Fourth State Catalogue, published in 1899, lists forty- 
nine species of ferns, and a fiftieth is mentioned in the appendix, 
but not fully authenticated. Since its publication three others 
have been reported, and a fourth is added in this paper, bringing 
the total number of ferns reported from the State to fifty-four. 
Of these eleven must be excluded from the list, as they are not 
authenticated by herbarium .specimens. These are the following. 
Species to be Excluded from the Ohio List.. 
Ophioglossum engelm.anni Prantl. The specimens from 
Painesville, Lake County, labeled as this species in the herbarium, 
and upon which the publication of the species as a member of the 
Ohio flora was based, do not differ in any essential respect from 
Ophioglossum vulgatum L. The range given in Britton’s Manual 
for O. engelmanni is Virginia and Indiana to Missouri, Texas, 
and Arizona. It is thus southern in its distribution, with a range 
about like that of Polypodium polypodioides (L.) A. S. Hitch- 
cock, and may therefore yet be found in some of the counties 
along the Ohio river. 
Botrychium simplex E. Hitchcock. Included in the Fourth 
State Catalogue on the authority of the Newberrv Catalogue, in 
which it w’as reported from Lorain county by Dr. Kellogg. Its 
range according to Underwood in Britton’s Illustrated Flora is 
from Prince Edward’s Island to Maryland, Wyoming, and 
California. 
