Adiantum pedatum;Pteris aquilina;Asplenium filix-foemina, in marshy places between the dunes;Polystichum acrostichoides, very sparingly;Nephrodium thelypteris, very luxuriant, like the lady fern, in marshy ground;Nephrodium marginale, the most common fern;Nephrodium cristatum;Nephrodium spinulosum, wherever there was a rotting chunk of wood;Onoclea sensibilis, andOnoclea struthiopteris, both very rank;Osmunda regalisandOsmunda cinnamomea, these last four in marshy spots; andBotrychium virginianum, on the sides of the dunes.
I have been observing the habits ofOnoclea sensibilisfor many years, even raising plants from the spores to five years old; caring for other plants for years, changing conditions, and varying my experiments, until I have come to the following conclusions:
When the soil is constantly and evenly moist and unusually rich, and the plant is constantly shaded, it tends to produce its fertile fronds flattened out like the sterile, with all stages to those only partly rolled up. Theseunrolledfertile fronds do not differ from therolled upones, on the same plant, except in this one particular.
When a heavy screen was changed so that the plants would be in the full light and sun, the fertile fronds produced the rest of the season were as tightly rolled as usual, and it took two years of shading before these plants produced open or unrolled fertile fronds again. Varying the other conditions—moisture and nutriment, had similar results, but less marked.
Champaign, Ill.
Anyone who has seen this odd fern growing in its native haunts will probably concur in the opinion held by some, that while it is looked upon as one of the rarest of ferns its small size and its habit of growing in the midst of other low plants have no doubt caused it to be passed over by collectors in many regions where it really exists. This should be an encouragement to collectors to keep the fern in mind in their field excursions with a view to adding new stations for it to those now known. The finding of a rare plant in a new locality is always a source of especial pleasure to the discoverer, aside from being an item of value to the botanist in general.
Schizaea pusillawas first collected early in this century at Quaker Bridge, N. J. about thirty-five miles east of Philadelphia. The spot is a desolate looking place in the wildest of the “pine barrens” where a branch of the Atsion river flows through marshy lowlands and cedar swamps. Here amid sedge grasses, mosses,Lycopodiums,Droserasand wild cranberry vines the little treasure has been collected. But though I have hunted for it more than once my eyes have never been sharp enough to detect its fronds in this locality.
In October of last year, however, a good friend guided me to another place in New Jersey where he knew it to be growing and there we found it. It was a small open spot in the pine barrens, low and damp. In the white sand grew patches of low grasses, mosses,Lycopodium Carolinianum,L. inundatumandPyxidanthera barbata, besides several small ericaceous plants and some larger shrubs, such as scrub oaks, sumacs etc. Close by was a little stream and just beyond that a bog. Although we knew thatSchizaeagrew within a few feet of the path in which we stood, it required theclosest kind of a search, with eyes at the level of our knees before a specimen was detected. The sterile fronds, curled like corkscrews, grew in little tufts and were more readily visible than the fertile spikes which were less numerous and together with the slender stipes were of a brown color hardly distinguishable from the capsules of the mosses and the maturing stems of the grasses which grew all about. Lying flat upon the earth with face within a few inches of the ground was found the most satisfactory plan of search. Down there all the individual plants looked bigger and a sidelong glance brought the fertile clusters more prominently into view. When the sight got accustomed to the miniature jungle, quite a number of specimens were found but the fern could hardly be said to be plentiful and all that we gathered were within a radius of a couple of yards.
This seems, indeed to be one of the plants whose whereabouts are oftenest revealed by what we are wont to term a “happy accident” as for instance, when we are lying stretched on the ground, resting, or as we stoop, at lunch, to crack an egg on the toe of our shoe. I know of one excellent collector who spent a whole day looking for it diligently in what he thought to be a likely spot but without success when finally, just before the time for return came, as he was half crouching on the ground, scarcely thinking now ofSchizaea, its fronds suddenly flashed upon his sight, right at his feet.
The sterile fronds ofSchizaea pusillaare evergreen so the collector may perhaps best detect it in winter selecting days for his search when the ground is pretty clear of snow. The surrounding vegetation being at that time dead the little corkscrew-like fronds stand out more prominently. The fertile fronds die beforewinter sets in but their brown stalks frequently nevertheless remain standing long after.—C. F. Saunders in Linnaean Fern Bulletin, Vol. 4.
A New Fern Pest.—According to theBritish Fern Gazettea new pest threatens the specimens of those who collect living plants. This is the larva of a small weevil which gets into the stipes of the ferns and burrowing downward into the heart of the rhizomes soon cause the death of the plant. The weevil is of Australian origin, probably introduced into Britain with imported plants. Its scientific cognomen isSyagrius intrudens. At first its depredations were confined to ferns under glass, but more recently it has taken to the ferns in the wild state. This, however, is not the only enemy of the ferns that British growers have to contend with. Another small beetle known as the vine weevil (Otiorhyncus sulcatus) is fond of the plants both in the adult and larval stages, but the newcomer has already developed a reputation for destructiveness that places it first as a fern pest.
Walking Fern and Lime.—Nearly everybody who cultivates the walking fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus), thinks it necessary to supply it with a quantity of old mortar, quick-lime or pieces of limestone under the impression that the fern cannot live, or at least cannot thrive without a considerable amount of calcium in the soil. As a matter of fact it has been reported on sandstone, shale, gneiss and granite and may possibly grow on others. Its noticed preference for limestone is apparently not due to its dependence on calcium but rather to the fact that it is more nearly adjusted to the plant covering of limestonerocks than it is to others. It will grow in any good garden soil, but in such situations it must be protected from its enemies, the ordinary weeds of cultivation, which otherwise would soon run it out. The same thing is true of many plants besides ferns. The cactus plant that cheerfully endures the intense insolation and frequent drouth of the sand barrens, succumbs very soon to the grass and weeds when planted in rich soil.
Stipe or Stipes.—When it comes to the designation of the stalk of a fern leaf, there is a wide difference in the way British and Americans regard it. Americans invariably speak of a single stalk as a stipe and they may be somewhat astonished, upon referring to a dictionary, to find that while stipe is given as a legitimate word, it comes direct from the latinStipeswhich the Britons, with perhaps a more classical education, are accustomed to use. In America the plural of stipes is stipes or, rather, the plural of stipe is stipes; but in England the plural of both stipe and stipes isstipites. In certain uncultivated parts of our own country the singular form of the word species is given as specie; but when we smile at some countryman’s description of a specie of fern, our merriment may be somewhat tempered by the thought that we still say stipe instead of stipes. If we could only believe that we use stipe with full knowledge of its derivation, it would not seem so bad, but it is very evidently a case of plain ignorance.
Apogamy in Pellaea.—Apogamy, or the production of a new sporophyte from the gametophyte without the union of egg and sperm, used to be considered a rather rare phenomenon, but as more study is given the matter, it begins to seem fairly common. Several years ago Woronin reported apogamy inPellaea flavens,P. niveusandP. teneraand still more recently W. N. Steil of the University of Wisconsin reported the same condition in our nativePellaea atropurpurea. In Steil’s specimens the young sporophytes were borne on the prothallus lobes near the notch. The same investigator is now working on apogamy in other species. A note in a recent number of this magazine asked for spores ofPellaea gracilis(Cryptogramma Stelleri) for this purpose.
Lycopodium lucidulum porophylum.—In theOhio Naturalistfor April Prof. J. H. Schaffner devotes several pages to a discussion of the specific distinctness of forms allied toLycopodium lucidulumand comes to the conclusion thatLycopodium porophylumis a good species. If one is to judge by appearances alone, there can be no question as toL. lucidulumbeing different fromL. porophylumbut if the different appearances that plants put on under different conditions of warmth, light and moisture are to be considered then there are a number of fern species in this country in need of a name. CompareWoodsia obtusagrown on a sunny cliff with the same species grown on a moist one, orEquisetum arvensein woods and on railway banks. Nobody at present can say positively whether the form calledporophyllumis a species or not. If it can be grown in moisture and shade while still retaining its characters, or if its spores will produce plants like the parent when sown in moist shades, then the case should be considered closed. Meanwhile, if one were to imagine a dry ground form ofL. lucidulumwhat kind of a plant would he construct? Perhaps prostrate stem shorter; branches in a denser tuft, shorter; leaves less notched, smaller; whole plant yellower. Well, that is the description ofL. porophylum!
Affinities of Taenitis.—The genusTaenitisis one that has always puzzled botanists. It was once placed in the tribe Grammitideae along with such genera asNotholaena,Brainera,Meniscum,Vittaria,HemionitisandDrymoglossum, and it has also been considered sufficiently distinct to stand as the type of a tribe named for it, while recently it has been considered as a member of the tribePolypodicae. Now comes E. B. Copeland in thePhilippine Journal of Scienceand gives the genus another turn and this time places it in the Davallieae largely upon the relationship shown by the internal structure of the stem and the character of the scaly covering. It is likely that the new manipulator of the genus is as near right as anybody. The main thing is to discover what are the real indications of relationships. With some students it is venation, with others the shape and position of the indusium, with others the character of the vestiture and still others may have other rules by which to judge. When we agree upon the proper earmarks, anybody ought to be able to put the ferns in their proper groups.
Sporophyll Zones.—The fact is well known that some of the club-mosses, notably the shining club moss (Lycopodium lucidulum) and the fir club-moss (L. Selago), bear their sporangia in bands or zones that alternate with regions on the stem in which there are no sporophylls, but it does not seem to be equally well recognized that the same phenomena are found pretty generally among the ferns. If one will examine the crowns of the cinnamon fern, it will be readily seen that sporophylls and vegetative leaves form alternating circles. Curiously enough, the fertile fronds, which appear at maturity within the circle of sterile leaves, reallybelong to the outer circle, as befits the group that is to develop first. The sensitive and ostrich ferns are other species in which the zones of fronds are very distinct. So pronounced is this, and so far has each kind developed before unfolding, that each is usually incapable of taking up the functions of the other in cases where the destruction of one kind makes such exchange necessary or desirable. From efforts on the part of the plant to supply vegetative tissue to leaves designed originally for spore-bearing, only, we owe the various “obtusilobata” forms occasionally reported. The differences in zonation here mentioned are most pronounced in ferns with dimorphic fronds, but evidences of the same thing, more or less distinct may be found even in those ferns that have the fertile and sterile fronds essentially alike in outline. As a usual thing, the spore-bearing leaves are produced after the vegetative leaves have unfolded and when we find a plant in full fruit in late summer, that lacked spores in spring, it is due to the developing of the fertile leaves later. This is especially true and most noticeable in ferns that produce their fronds in crowns, but even in those species with running rootstocks, we commonly find evidences of zonation. Following out the idea of zonation we find among many of the fern allies that not only are the sporophylls assembled in zones but the zones terminate the central axis or branch. Under such circumstances the shoot begins to take on many of the characteristics of the flower and if we allow the definition of a flower as a shoot beset with sporophylls, it really is a flower. In the plants in which the flower comes to its highest development this structure is essentially a group of two kinds of sporophylls set round with sterile leaves called petals and sepals. Did ferns, instead of selaginellas, produce two kinds of sporophylls, the whole fern plant with its crown of fronds, would be very like a flower.
Readers are requested to call our attention to any errors in, or omissions from, this list.
Clute, W. N.Nephrodium deltoideun.illust. Fern Bulletin, Ja. 1912.
Clute, W. N.Rare Forms of Fernworts.—XXI. Another Form of the Christmas Fern.illust. Fern Bulletin, Ja. 1912.—Polystichum acrostichoidesf.lanceolatumdescribed and illustrated.
Darling, N.Observations on some Lycopodiums of Hartland Vt.illust. American Fern Journal, Ap. 1912.
Dodge, C. K.The Fern-flora of Michigan.Fern Bulletin, Ja. 1912.—Fifty-eight ferns and thirty-one fern allies listed with notes.
Cockayne, L.Some Noteworthy New Zealand Ferns.illust. Plant World, Mr. 1912.
Hill, E. J.Additions to the Fern-flora of Indiana.Fern Bulletin, Jl. 1912.—New stations for several species.
Hill, E. J.The Rock Relations of the Cliff Brakes.Fern Bulletin Ja. 1912.
Hopkins, L. S.Lycopodium Selago from Ohio.illust. American Fern Journal, Ap. 1912.—A form ofL. lucidulummistaken for the rarer species.
Prescott, A.The Osmundas.Fern Bulletin, Ja. 1912.
Safford, W. E.Notes of a Naturalist Afloat.—III: illust. American Fern Journal, Ap. 1912.—Occasional mention of common Ferns.
Schaffner, J. H.The North American Lycopods without Terminal Cones.illust. Ohio Naturalist, Ap. 1912.—Lycopodium porophylumregarded as of specific rank.
Winslow, E. J.Some Hybrid Ferns in Connecticut.American Fern Journal, Ap. 1912.
The last number of this magazine—that for October 1912—will be a comprehensive index of the publication for the past ten years. This, with the index to the first ten volumes, will form an exceedingly valuable index to the fern literature of America, covering, as it does, the whole period of popular fern study. It begins some years before the appearance of any popular fern book and has either published entire all important articles issued since or given a summary of them. Mr. S. Fred Prince, long a member of the Fern Society is already at work on the index and we hope to issue it not later than the end of the year.
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Further information received from the purchaser of the complete set of this magazine recently sent to Germany, apprises us of the fact that the set is not to remain in Europe. It was purchased for a customer in South America (Argentine), therefore the set owned by M. C. Belhatte at Paris is the only one in Europe. The recent set is also the only complete set in South America, and there are not, so far as we are aware, complete sets in other parts of the Old World though the set at the Tokyo Botanical Garden ought to be nearly complete and the set owned by D. Leroy Topping at Manila lacks only two numbers.
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Next year it will be too late to get odd numbers to complete files that lack them. When this magazine goes out of business we shall retain only complete volumes. This is the time for all who need odd numbers to ask for them. We have recently advertised to send any back volume later than volume 9 for 50 cents and this offer will hold good until the end of the year. After that time, single volumes cannot be hadunless we happen to have a surplus. We are willing to replace soiled, torn or missing numbers free if requested to do so at once, and the fact that odd volumes will soon be unobtainable should incline all whose sets are incomplete to add the missing volumes while they can.
In anticipation of the consolidation of this magazine withThe American Botanistat the end of the year, some very extensive improvements in the new magazine are to be made. Among the more important are a better grade of paper, the use of numerous illustrations, and the addition of enough pages to make it the largest magazine for the price in America. With the beginning of 1913 a department of ornamental gardening will be included in which the cultivation of our showy wild-flowers will receive adequate treatment. This magazine will continue the matter relative to ferns now appearing inThe Fern Bulletinand all manuscripts used will be paid for. No reader of Fern Bulletin should fail to subscribe for the newAmerican Botanistif they wish to keep abreast of the times in botany. Those who subscribe for 1913 before November 20th, will receive the November issue free.
Messrs. Ginn & Co. have nearly ready for publication a book on Agronomy by the editor ofThe Fern Bulletinwhich should be of interest to all who have anything to do with cultivating plants. Although the book is intended as a school book to be used in connection with gardening courses, the fact that it not only gives directions for planting and cultivating kitchen vegetables and flowering plants, but explainsthe principles upon which such directions hinge, will make it of much value to the gardener whether amateur or professional. The book, however, is not a mere gardening manual. It discusses soils and their origin, the fundamentals of landscape work and plant breeding, and the effects of heat, light and moisture upon plants in general. There will also be more than 200 illustrations.
Ferns Weighing a Ton.—In the tropics ferns often attain the height of small trees, but their trunks are usually so slender that they never are of any great weight. For the heaviest trunks we must look among lowlier species, where the circumference of the short trunk in some cases is so great that immense weights are attained. In Australia and New Zealand there grows a relative of the common cinnamon fern namedTodaea barbatawhich quite takes the palm in this respect. The trunks are great rounded mosses five or six feet high and at least twenty feet in circumference, most of the upper surface being beset with living fronds. Specimens have been found with trunks that were estimated to weigh more than a ton and a half.
Any of the above, to which a price is attached will be sent postpaid upon receipt of price.
ADDRESSWillard N. Clute & Co.JOLIET, ILL.
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Becauseit is a NEW CREATION covering every field of the world’s thought, action, and culture.The only newunabridged dictionary in many years.
Becauseit defines over400,000 Words; more than ever before appeared between two covers.2700 Pages. 6000 Illustrations.
Becauseit is theonlydictionary with the new divided page. A “Stroke of Genius.”
Becauseit is an encyclopedia in a single volume.
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Becausehe who knowsWins Success. Let us tell you about this new work.
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We have obtained another copy of Williamson’s “Ferns of Kentucky” which we offer for $4.50 postpaid. This volume, the first American fern book, compares very favorably with the most recent. It contains fifty-nine full page plates reproduced from etchings, and is the only fern book so illustrated. More than 150 pages of text give an account of the species. Valued highly for its unique position among fern books, and hard to get at any price, this copy will not remain on hand long. Order at once.
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