20 
The Ferns of South Africa . 
authorities on ferns, the great majority having sunk into the 
position of varieties. Altogether, 161 ferns and fern allies are 
described, besides 16 species described by former authors, on 
which Pappe and Ravvson had doubts. 
Lowe’s “Ferns, British and Exotic,” (i860), and Hooker’s 
“ Filices Exoticae,” (1859), include descriptions and figures of a 
few South African species. 
Mettenius’ “Re-arrangement of Ferns” (ueber einige Farn- 
gattingen, 1851-9), is followed by Kuhn, whose “Filices Africanae” 
(1868) gives a complete list of the ferns and fern allies of Africa 
and the African islands, with descriptions of new species, and the 
most complete and accurate synonomy, that materials would allow. 
In this remarkable book, 59 genera, and 683 species (including 
fern allies), are credited to Africa. So far as South Africa is 
represented in it, the materials were drawn, in good part, from 
Pappe and Rawson’s synopsis, with the result that a few species, 
which had evidently not been compared, are maintained, which 
do not deserve to be so. 
Moore’s “Index,” about the same date, gives splendid illus- 
trations of the generic distinctions, and also most complete 
synonomy so far as it goes, but it was never completed, and only 
goes on alphabetically to G. 
Hooker and Baker’s “Synopsis Filicum ” (1868), again brought 
fern knowledge up to date, and put the systematic work in such 
form, that the identification became more easy, and consequently 
the study became more popular. This splendid work contains 
descriptions of 2235 species. 
In Harvey’s “Genera of South African Plants,” 2nd edition 
(1868), the genera of Cape ferns are set down by Mr. Baker at 37, 
and the species at 132. 
McKen, immediately after the issue of Hooker and Baker’s 
“Synopsis Filicum,” prepared a small “ Ferns of Natal ” (1869), 
in which the descriptions of genera and species are transcribed 
verbatim from the synopsis, but with the addition of a good many 
Natal localities. He gives 120 species, but included several 
which were mistakes. 
