• 1
. v A "
*i. 7 ti
•• V ■ H '
r T 7
t ' . ;
V'!. ' 1-
U J
I I « I
i ; ”!'
ii;,'!
i f
ll
4»
>■
•
i }\
1 *
0 m * h .1,
V : H
i il"
r. fi-
Bolrychiuni rutaccum, S w a r t z , “ in Schraders Journ. Bot. iSoo, ii., p. n o ,
in part Syn. h'il., p. 1 7 1 , in part. — N ew m an , History of Briti.sh
Ferns, ed. iii., p. 320. — M oo re , Index Filicum, p. 2 1 1 . [Here
may be found abundant references to works in which this plant
is referred to or described.]
Botrychium simplex, H o o k er & G r e v il l e , I c. F il, t. 82, left-hand figure.
[The B . simplex of American writers generally included this species
with the true simplex.']
Botrychium simplex, var. bipinnatifidum, G r a y , in Amer. Nat. Aug. 1875.
Botrychium neglectum,NIoov>, Class-Book of Botany, ed. of 18 5 1, p. 635
(and perhaps earlier editions which I have not seen).
H ar, — Dark, wet woods, and in beds of moss along rivulets: from
New Hampshire, Professor W o o d , Miss H a s k e l l , G . B. P u tn am ; Vermont,
Mrs. L. V. M o r g a n , C. G . P r i n g l e ; and Massachusetts, Rev. H. G . Jusur,
e tc .; to New York, especially Northern New York, E. H u n t , Professor
P a in e , Mrs. B a r n e s , etc .; Pennsylvania, Professor P o r t e r ; and Lake Superior,
H . G i l lm a n , M a c o u n ; Dutchess County, New York, L. H. H o y s r a d t .
Canada, Unalaska, and Europe, from Westrobothnia to Italy.
D e s c r i p t i o n . — T h i s species o f grape-fern o r moonwort is
com mon ly a som ew h a t la rg e r plant than the kind la s t described.
T h o u g h the sm a lles t specimens are on ly two inches h igh, y e t the
a ve ra g e h eigh t o f fa ir specim ens is s ix o r eigh t inches, and a few
in m y collection are fu lly ten inches h ig h ; w h ile M r . D a ven p o r t
sa y s , “ tw o to tw e lv e inches h igh , ra re ly more.” A s in B . lanceolatum,
to wh ich this species is most ne ar ly related, the gre ate r
part o f the whole h eigh t con sists o f the common s talk, th ough
the rela tive proportion o f common stalk is su b je c t to considerable
var iation . T h e sta lk is ra re ly a s little a s one-half o f the
whole, more com m on ly two -th irds to three-fourths, and sometimes
as much as five -s ix th s . I t is either slender or moderately stout,
u su a lly fleshy, and som ew h a t enlarged a t the base, wh e re it
encloses the bud for the g row th o f the next y e a r or two. T h e
bud is smooth, and in it “ the ap ex o f the fertile frond is bent
d ownwa rd toward the sterile frond, wh ich c la sp s it w ith its side
d iv is ions, and bends its apex d ownwa rd s o v er the w h o le ” {Davenport).
T h e sterile segm en t is ex trem e ly varialrle in shape, so that
M ild e has based sev e ra l “ va r ie tie s ” on the dive rs itie s wh ich it
p re sen ts ; but as these seem to be on ly indicative of s ta g e s of
development, and not v a r ia tion s t ran sm is s ib le to suc cesso r s, th ey
are, perhaps, be st omitted. In the sm a lles t examples the sterile
segm en t is s c a rc e ly three lines long, obovate-cuneate, and s lig h t ly
three- to five- toothed a lo n g the sides. S u c h specimens were fo r
a lo n g time marked B . simplex in Am e r ic a n h erbariums, and it is
v e r y probable th a t a portion of Pres id en t H itch co c k ’s o rigin a l
plants we re o f this sort. In som ew h a t la rg e r plants the sterile
segm en t is one o r tw o inches long, o blong -o vate in outline, and has
a petiole a third of its own length. T h e petiole is continued upw
a rd s into an often n a rrow ly -w in g ed midrib, wh ich bears on each
side three, four, or five o vate or oblong -o vate obtuse lobes, more
or less toothed or incised, but n e ar ly all o f one size. T h i s is the
com m onest form of the species in Am e r ic a , and is represented b y
the figure in H o o k e r and G re v ille ’s leone s F ilicum , cited alrove.
P ro fe s so r W o o d ’s B . neglectumj a specimen of wh ich he most
k in d ly placed a t m y disposa l, is a lso this form of the species.
' I t sh o u ld b e n o tic e d th a t P ro fe s so r W o o d was th e firs t A m e ric a n b o ta n is t to
s e p a ra te th is sp e c ie s from B . simplex.
■1: ] - (
■ ^ 1 f '
I
I l f
} i
‘ i {
U M!
r J ' ’C
A i , - ' l
i f ' '
-1 ; i ! ^