OCCASIONAL NOTES ON OLD WORLD FERNS ,—

Ob ^/J>

Vol. 36, pp.169-178

^^^SOONai wlO*S5^ ^Ma

^{^ X' 1923}

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

OCCASIONAL NOTES ON OLD WORLD FERNS ^,—

^I.1

BY WILLIAM

^R.

MAXON.

Among ^the

collections of ferns

received

for identification at

the National Herbarium there

are occasional lots of

Old World specimens, among which

are

noted a few that

are of

more than ordinary

interest.

Except when a

generic or

group

revision

seemed

to require

extended treatment,

these

have usually not been

dealt with,

the

writer'sstudies

having been confined almost wholly

to tropical

American

species.

In

future,

however, minor notes

relatingto

Old World

ferns

— ^such

^as

^the

transfer of species to their

proper

genus,

the

occasional description ofothers as

new, the

restoration of valid species

from synonymy, notable exten-

sions of

range

for little

known

species,

and

inevitable

changes

of

name —

^will

^{be brought together under the}

^title

^{above. There}

will

be

included, also,

the publication

of

new

or transferred

names made necessary by the rearrangement

of

material

in

the Herbarium,

especially in

a few groups

in

which the

generic

nomenclature followed

is at

variance with that employed

in

Christensen's Index Filicum.

OPHIOGLOSSACEAE.

Ophioglossum angustatum

Maxon, nom.

nov.

Ophioglossum japonicum Prantl,Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 1: 353. 1883;

Jahrb. Bot. Gart. Berlin3: 327.pi8, f.29. 1884.

Not

Ophioglossum japonicum

Thunb.

1784,which^is

Lygodium

japonicum (Thunb.)Swartz,

1801.

Founded

on

two

collectionsfromJapan,

and

sincediscoveredinCentral China.

A

^{recent specimen receivedat the National}

^Herbarium

^is from Peitaiho,growing with Ibidiumsp. inalowsituation insand^{flats, Cowdrij} 274.

The

assignmentofa

new name

isnecessary,evenunder^theVienna Code.

iPublishedbypermissionofthe Secretary of theSmithsonianInstitution.

27—

Pkoc.Biol. Soc.Wash.,Vol.36,1923. (109)

170 Proceedings

of^the Biological Society of

Washington, SCHIZAEACEAE.

Lophidium

dichotomum

(L.)

Maxon.

AcrostichumdichotomumL. Sp. PI. 1068. 1753.

SchizaeadichotomaJ.E.

Sm. Mem.

Acad.Turin5: 422. 1793.

SchizaeacristataWilld. Sp. PI.5: 88. 1810.

In describing the

North American

Schizaeaceae severalyears ago¹ the writer restoredRichard'sgenusLophidium (1792),a smallgroupofspecies that

had

been reducedtosubgenericrank underSchizaeaJ.E.

Sm.

(1793).

This paleotropicspecies

was

thereomitted, sinceonly American

members

ofthegenusweretreated.

POLYPODIACEAE.

Dryopteris transversaria (Brack.)

Maxon.

Nephrodium

transversarium Brack, in Wilkes, U. S. Expl. Exped. 16:

187. 1854.

The

typeof this species, intheU.S.NationalHerbarium,consists of

two

sheets,representinga nearlycompletefrondfromTutuila,

Samoan

Islands, collected

by

the Wilkes Expedition.

Two

additional collections are at

hand

from Upolu, viz. C. G. Lloyd 34

and

Safford 19. In Christensen's IndexFilicumthis speciesis referred doubtfullytoD. pennigera (Forst.) C. Chr. It bears no very close resemblance to that widely distributed plant, however, thoughlisted

by

Luerssen

among

the

numerous synonyms

of

Aspidium

pennigerum.

Dryopteris setigera (Blume) Kuntze, Rev. Gen.PI. 2: 813. 1891.

CheilanthessetigeraBlume,

Enum.

PI. Jav. 138. 1828.

LastreasetigeraBedd. FernsBr. Ind. Correct.II. 1870.

Not

L.setigera Moore, 1858.

Nephrodium

setigerum Bakerin Hook.

&

Baker, Syn. Fil. 284, in part.

1867.

Not N.

setigerumPresl,1825.

Aspidium

uliginosumKunze, Linnaea^{20: 6.} 1847.

Polypodium tenericauleWall.; Hook. Journ. Bot.

Kew

Misc. 9: 353, in part. 1857.

Nephrodium

teneridauleHook.Sp. Fil.4: 142, in part. 1862.

Polypodiumnemorale Brack,inWilkes,U.S.Expl. Exped.16: 16. 1854.

In a recent large collection of Tahiti ferns

by

Setchell

and

Parks therewere ^three specimens belonging tothegroupofDryopterissetigera.

One

^{ofthese (no.}277)

was

foundtorepresentD.setigerainitsstrictsense

and two

(nos.19

and

237) to belongtothecollectivespecies

known

recently asD.ornata (Wall.) C. Chr.

The

taxonomic history ofthe groupis too involved to bediscussed profitably in greatdetail; yet the

main

results, including the restoration of awell-markedspecies founded on Philippine material

by

Presl, shouldberecorded.

Dryopteris^setigeraishereregardedinitsusual senseasapplyingtoplants (firstdescribedfromJava)with

smooth

shiningrachisesthroughout, these neithermuricate norscaly,

and

atuft of lustrous,dark brown,short-ciliate

IN. Amer.Fl.16: 31-52. 1909.

Maxon —

Occasional

Notes on Old World

Ferns,

—

^I.

171

scales atthe baseof thestipe.

No

scales, howeverreduced, occur

upon

the rachisesor costae.

The

^hairy coveringof the pinnules

and

segments beneathconsists ofthelong,spreading, whitehairs

common

tothe group.

The

indusium^isminute

and

isusuallyevanescent, either

by

^earlyshrivel- lingor

by

^falling

away

^{altogether;it is}

commonly

besetwithcapitateglands atthemargin

and

withfewto

many

^fragilewhitecilia.

The

indusialcharac- tersare variable

and

difficultto

make

out,owinglargelytoageofthespeci-

mens

;butthedistinction ofsmooth,non-scalyrachisesisreadilyobserved atallstages,

and

plants agreeingthus

and

inother general characters are at

hand

fromawidearea, asfollows

:

Java,

Buysman

73, 175; Palmer

&

^{Bryant 1325.}

Sumatra,

Winkler (Rosenstock 86); Schild. British

North

Borneo, Topping 1762.

Pala- wan,

Bermejos (Bur. Sci. 282).

Mindanao, DeVore &

^{Hoover 360.}

Batanes

Islands,Fenix(Bur.Sci.3649).

Negros,

Elmer9893.

Luzon, Cuming

1; Merrill 2266; Topping636, 698, 890, 959.

Norfolk

Island, Metcalfe.

Sunday

Island,Cheeseman.

Kakeah

Island, Wright.

Samo- an

Islands,

McMullin

29;WilkesExped. 27(typeofPolypodiumnemorale)

.

Tahiti, Setchell

&

^{Parks 277.}

^{Oahu, Hapeman}

^6.

Formosa, Nakahara

51. Japan, Savatier 2579. China, Bailey 2, 6, 9; Faber 680.

Ceylon,

Ferguson134. India, Pulnies, alt. 1,590 meters,Levinge. Assam,

Mann.

Sikkim, Thomson.

Malay

Peninsula,

N

^{orris. Brazil, Luderwaldt}

1862;Rose

&

^{Russell19618,}21277;Haerchen (Rosenstock205). Florida, escapednear Oviedo,A. A.Eaton.

Thus

delimited,D.setigeraincludesPolypodiumnemorale Brack.,ofwhich the

Samoan

type specimenis athand;

Aspidium

uliginosumKunze, des- cribedfromplants raisedfromsporesreceivedfromJava;

and

apartofthe specimens listed

by Hooker

in describing Polypodium tenericaule Wall.¹

and

againcited

by him

under

Nephrodium

tenericauleHook.

Indistinctionfrom D.setigerathereisalarge series ofspecimensinwhich therachises, or at leastthesecondary

and

tertiary ones,areatfirsterinaceo- paleaceous

and

atallstages aredistinctlytuberculate or muricate. These arefoundtopertainto

two

well-markedspecies,D.ornata

and

D.leucolepis, which have beengreatlyconfused.²

Dryopteris ornata (Wall.)C. Chr. Ind. Fil.281. 1905.

Polypodium ornatumWall.; Hook.Journ. Bot.

Kew

Misc. 9: 354. 1857.

Nephrodium

tenericaule Hook.Sp. ^Fil.4: 142, in part. 1862.

^Polypodiumtenericauleisactuallyfoundedonaspecimenfrom China, collectedby Alexander. ThroughthecourtesyoftheDirectoroftheRoyal Gardens,Kew,ithas been possible toexaminea portionof this,as alsoofa Wallich specimenfromthe"mountainsof Sylhet,''citedby Hooker. BothareminutelyindusiateandpertainundoubtedlytoD.

setigera,ofwhichP.tenericaulethusbecomesasynonym. ThePhilippine plants citedby Hookerare discussed hereafter,under D.leucolepis.

2Anothernametobeconsidered inthisconnectionis Cheilanthes stenophyllaKunze (Bot.Zeit.6: 212. 1848),founded onZollinger 2675,fromJava. Thisiscited as asyno-

nym

ofD.setigerabyChristensen, a dispositionwhich fromthe descriptionoftherough subaculeate rachisisobviously incorrect. Severaldetails, especiallythe coriaceous tex- ture,indicate thatit isnotD.leucolepis,anditmaynot evenbea speciesofDryopteris.

KunzeregardeditasalliedtoCheilanthes pallidaBlume, whichienowreferred to Hypo-

lepis tenuifolia.

172 Proceedings

_oftheBiological Society of

Washington.

Though

includedinWallich'slist (1828)asa

nomen nudum,

Polypodium ornatumappearstohave beenactuallydescribed^first

by

Hooker, in 1857, Wallich'sno. 327,fromNepal,being thefirstspecimencited. It

was

later described

and

illustrated

by Beddome.

¹

The

descriptions agree,

and

special attentionshouldbecalledtothe characterofmuricateoraculeolate rachises, stated

by

^both. This at once sets the species apart from D. setigera.

Beddome's plateis excellent.

But

in 1862

Hooker merged

P. tenericaule

and

P. ornatum with the Philippine plant described

by

Presl as Lastrea leucolepis,assigningto thisaggregate the

name Nephrodium

tenericaule;his descriptionactuallyincludesthreespecies,D.leucolepis, D.ornata,

and

D.

setigera²,buthis illustration (pi.269) representsD.ornata orD.leucolepis, probablythelatter.

Of D.ornata fourspecimensare athand,threecollected inSikkim,at600 to1,500meterselevation

by

^SirJoseph Hooker,distributedasPolypodium ornatum;the fourthfromtheKhasiHills,Assam,alt.1,200 meters, August, 1885 (G.

Mann,

collector), distributedasPhegopterisornata.

From

D. leucolepis thisspeciesdiffersnot onlyin^itshorizontallyspread- ing pinnae, pinnules,

and

segments, but in the complete suppression of indusia

and

in the nearly or quite non-ciliate scales of the secondary rachises,costae,

and

costules.

The

scalecharacteris discussedunderthe nextspecies.

Dryopteris leucolepis(Presl)

Maxon.

Lastrealeucolepis Presl, Epim.Bot.39. 1851.

PolypodiumtenericauleWall.; Hook.Journ. Bot.

Kew

Misc. 9: 353, in part. 1857.

Nephrodium

tenericaule Hook. Sp. Fil. 4: 142, in part. 1862.

Polypodiumpallidum Brack,inWilkes,U.S.Expl. Exped.16: 18. 1854.

In describingfor the^firsttime (1857) Polypodiumtenericaule, listed

by

Wallichasa

nomen nudum, Hooker

basedhisdescriptiononaChineseplant collected

by

Alexander,

now

calledD.setigera (atthattime not

known

to

him

through specimens under its original name, Cheilanthes setigera).

Strangely enough, he included also

many

very different specimens with muricate rachises. Thus, of Cuming's Philippine plantshe cites nos. 1, 75, 114, 212, 355,

and

412. Allbut oneofthese areintheU.S.National Herbarium. No. 1isclearlyD.setigera;nos. 75, 114, 355,

and

412arethe plant described

by

Presl asLastrealeucolepis,foundedonno. 114(theonly

number

^cited), with muricaterachisesbearing minute, linear, true scales nearly throughout. It is very improbable that ^all these

numbers

were

mixed

inthesets distributed, yet Hooker'sfailuretonote the actualdis- tinctionsis otherwisehardtoexplain.

The

amplePhilippine materialat

hand

^indicates a plant

much

stouterin every

way

than D. setigera, the dimensionsbeingsimilartothoseofD.ornata.

The

rhizomescalesarenot

lFerns SouthernIndia56.pi.171. 1863-65.

^Dryopterissetigera wastakenup by HookerasHypolepis setigera (Sp. Fil.2: 62.

1852),thedescriptionbeingmerely a quotedtranslation ofBlume'sdiagnosis of Cheilanthes setigera. Specimens bearingthisnamewereevidentlynotavailable tohim andnone were cited.

Maxon —

Occasional

Notes on Old World

Ferns,

—

^/.

173

bright

brown

(as inD. setigera), butdirty-white ordull flesh-colored,

and

similar scalesextend

upward

along the

main

rachis

and

eventotheminor rachises, allthescalesbeingpale, narrow,

and

very copiouslylong-ciliate.

Inthis lastcharacterofstrikingly long-ciliate scales, as inthe presenceof small indusia

and

inthe

somewhat

oblique,narrower,

and

spacedpinnules, D. leucolepis differs constantlyfrom D. ornata.

The

longpatenthairs of the undersurface are

much more

numerous,

and

theplantis

more

freely hairy above,also.

The

indusium^ofD.leucolepis isfairlywelldeveloped,

and

though membraneous,

and

rathercompletelyobscured

by

the

numerous

sporangia,isusuallyevidentevenatmaturity,

upon

careful dissection;it is

provided with

numerous

long-stalked, capitate, marginal glands,

and

is

withoutcilia.

The

followingspecimensofD.leucolepisareintheNationalHerbarium:

Luzon,

Cuming

75, 114, 355, 412;Loher 1130; Williams 558 (5 sheets);

Topping 171, 178, 441, 757, 964; Foxworthy (Bur. Sci. 2580);

Mangubat

(Bur. Sci. 1355).

Mindanao,

Copeland 611; Williams 2280.

Negros

Elmer9889, 9941. Java,

Buysman

47, in part.

Ternate

Island, Curtis (2 sheets). Tahiti, Wilkes Exped. 32 (type of Polypodium pallidum Brack.);Andersonin 1852;Setchell

&

Parks19, 237.

Of these numbers,

Cuming

75

and

412 were cited

by John Smith

¹ as Polypodium^trichodesReinw., a

nomen nudum;

but

Cuming

1, alsoso cited

by

him,isD.setigera,asabovestated. Another

Luzon

plant(Topping171)

was

mistakenly cited

by

^Christ2 as D.flaccida (Blume) Kuntze, a

much

smallerspecies,which whollylacksscalesontherachises.

Egenolfia sinensis (Baker)

Maxon.

AcrostichumsinenseBaker,

Kew

Bull.1906: 14. 1906.

Polybotryasinensis C. Chr. Ind. Fil. Suppl. 57. 1913.

Founded upon Henry

12494,from Szemao,

Yunnan,

ofwhich

two

speci-

mens

areathand. Itisnotrelatedclosely toPolybotrya,butfallsreadily under Egenolfia, being nearest an

Assam

species that is included in the complex^ofE. appendiculata.

Tectaria gaudichaudii (Mett.)

Maxon.

Aspidium

sinuatum Gaud. Freyc. Voy. Bot. 343. 1827.

Not

A. sinu- atum ^Labill. 1824.

Aspidium

gaudichaudii Mett.;

Kuhn,

Linnaea36: 123. 1869.

The

^manuscript

name Aspidium

gaudichaudii Mett.

was

definitelypub- lished

by Kuhn

inthe ReliquiaeMettenianae,asaboveindicated, in

com-

parisonwith a

new

speciesfromTahiti,

Aspidium

tenuifoliumMett. Itis primarily achange of

name

for A. sinuatum Gaud.,

Gaudichaud

having wrongly listedHawaiian plants asA. sinuatum Labill., aspecies of

New

Caledonia.

Under A

^.gaudichaudiiMett.arecitedtheHawaiiancollections ofBrackenridge

and

ofAnderssonand,additionally,asinglespecimenfrom India. Sofarasthe writerhasexaminedmaterial,A.gaudichaudiiiscon- fined to the Hawaiian Islands, although Mettenius³ later cited it from

Uourn.Bot.Hook.3: 394. 1841.

2PhilippineJourn.Sci.C. Bot. 2: 210. 1907.

3NovaraExped.Bot.1:219. 1870.

174 Proceedings

of^theBiological Society of

Washington.

Tahiti.

The

Hawaiian material at

hand was

collected

by

Brackenridge, Copeland, Lichtenthaler, Baldwin, Bartsch (56,66, 76),

and

Safford (914, 915, 916).

Tectaria gaudichaudii has usuallybeenlisted, under one genus

name

or another, as cicutaria or apiifolia. Tectaria cicutaria (L.) Copel.

and

T.

apiifolia(Schkuhr) Copel. are,however, confinedtothe

West

Indies,

and

offeronly asuperficialresemblancetotheHawaiianplantunderdiscussion.

Tectariatexmifolia(Mett.)

Maxon.

Aspidium

tenuifolium Mett.;

Kuhn,

Linnaea36: 122. 1869.

Described from Tahiti

and compared by

Mettenius

and Kuhn

with

Aspidium

apiifolium Schkuhr

and

A. gaudichaudii Mett., that is to say, Tectariaapiifolia

and

T.gaudichaudii.

From

descriptionitappearstobe well founded.

Tectaria^setchellii

Maxon,

sp. nov.

Fronds^several,recurved-ascending, 70to105cm.long;rhizomewoody, decumbent, densely paleaceous at the end, thescalestufted, 10to18

mm.

long, lance-acicular,hair-pointed, palebrown,

membranous,

distantly

and

obscurelyfibrillose-denticulate^;stipesaslongastheblades, dullcinnamon-

brown

froma darker,lightly crinite base,deeplysulcate

on

allsides^;blades 35to 50cm.long,20to45 cm.broad, deltoid-ovatetobroadlyovate-oblong, acuminate,oncepinnate,the basal

and

sometimesthesecondpairofpinnae fullypinnateatbase;pinnae2to5pairs, spreading,the basal pairlargest, 15to25 cm.long,10to18cm.broad,deltoid,long-acuminate,inequilateral, petiolate (upto3cm.),the basalpair ofpinnulespetiolate (upto 1cm.), pinnately lobedor lacerate,the other pinnules or lobes (1 to3in

number)

broadlyjoined, oblique, subfalcate, sinuate,long-acuminate, often caudate;

secondpair ofpinnae

much

smaller, sometimes with a pair of freebasal pinnules, but usually only pinnately cleft or lobed; upper pinnae lance- attenuate, sinuatelylobedto subentire, theuppermost semiadnatetoad- nate, the apex itself pinnately lobed; midveins elevated; ultimate veins prominulous, theareoles irregularlypolygonal, variableinsize, thelarger ones withincludedveins; soriusuallyfew, irregularly disposed, roundor oblong, the receptacles large; indusia

and

paraphyses wanting. Leaf tissue membrano-herbaceous, translucent, dull green, paler beneath, glabrous.

Type

intheU. S. National Herbarium,nos. 1,051,426

and

1,051,427, a singlefrond collected

beyond

Blunt's Point, Tutuila Island,on ^cliff, July 15, 1920,

by W.

A. Setchell (no. 360). Othermaterial referable tothis species is as follows:

Tuttjila:

Near

village of Niuili, atbaseofcliff, June15, 1920, Setchell 119.

Near Pago

Pago, March, 1914, Stearns; April, 1915, McMullin.

ObservatoryPoint,in richmoistsoil,

May

6, 1914,

McMullin

27.

Upolu:

Precise locality

and

collector's

name

not stated, the specimen collected inJanuary, 1885; distributedas "

Bathmium

grande

Rchb."

Tectaria ^setchellii belongs to the subgenus Arcypteris, though having

littlein

common

withT.irregularis (Presl)Copeland,whichisthe typical

Maxon — Occasional Notes on Old World

Ferns,

—

I.

175

species ofthat small group,

marked by

exindusiate sori. Habitally

and

in its venation it strongly suggests the Polynesian T. latifolia (Forst.) Copeland, described

by Kunze

as

Aspidium

forsteri

and

redescribedunder thelatter

name by

Mettenius.

From

^{T. latifoliait differs initsfuscous-} stramineousor dull

cinnamomeous

stipes, rachises,

and

midveins,itsfewer pinnules (only the basal onesofthefirstoneor

two

pairs ofpinnaebeing free),

and

itsnon-indusiate

and

non-paraphysate sori,theselarge

and

not infrequentlyborne

two

orthreetogether. T. latifoliaisdistinguished

by

itspolished ebeneous vascularparts, itsregularly crenate,

numerous

free pinnules,

and

itsstrongly pulvinate-paraphysatesori,towhichtheminute indusia usually remain attached. Notwithstanding these pronounced differences it is not improbable that

some

^of the materialreportedfrom

Upolu by

Luerssen,Christ,

and

Rechingeras

Aspidiwn

latifoliumpertains tothis species.

Inthe foregoing^{it is}assumed, perhapswrongly, that the plant described

by Kunze

as

Aspidiwn

forsteri isthe

same

asthe original of Poly

podium

latifolium Forst. Thisis disputed

by

Presl,

who

refers Forster'splant to Phymatodes,

The

complicated taxonomichistoryof thisgroupisdiscussed at

some

length

by

^{Fournier,1 following his} description of

Bathmium

see- manni, a

new

species from

New

^Caledonia

^and

^Fiji, which is listed

by

Christensen as a doubtful

synonym

of

Aspidium

latifolium (Tectarialati- folia).

Tectariastearnsii

Maxon,

sp.nov.

Frondsseveral, 70 to110 cm.long, ascending;rhizome woody,

decum-

bent, densely paleaceous, the scales linear-attenuate,

up

to 2 cm. long, brown, firm, lustrous, deciduously glandular-ciliate

and

beset witha few distant, mainlyretrorse, linear teeth; stipea^littleshorterthanthe blade,

up

to6

mm.

thick, darkbrown,lustrous, deeplychanneledonthe anterior face, paleaceous atbase,clothedwithshortspreading septate hairs, these extending to the rachises throughout; blades deltoid-ovate to deltoid- oblong, acuminate, 50to80 cm.long;30to60 cm.broad, subtripinnateat base,bipinnateabove^;

main

pinnae7to9pairs,slightly oblique,the basal pairlargest, petiolate (1.5 to 2.5 cm.), deltoid, inequilateral,basiscopic, 20 to30 cm.long, 16to25 cm.broad, with10or

more

pairs of pinnules, the basal pair of these petiolate, ovate-oblong, fully pinnate at base, deeply

and

obliquelypinnatifidbeyond,thesegments(9 to14pairs)broadlyjoined

by

an increasing wing, obliquely crenate or crenately lobed; pinnulesin generaloblongor linear-oblong,acuminate, deeply

and

obliquelypinnatifid, the segments oblong, rounded at the apex or distally acutish, broadly joined, the proximal basal ones usually reduced, catadromous, usually adnate to the secondary rachis or decurrent; costae densely glandular- puberulentabove withseptatehairs, afewsimilarbutlongerhairs borne on^theleaftissueoftheuppersurface,along thecostulesbeneath,

and upon

the margins, especially in the sinuses; leaf tissue

membranous;

venation prominulous, asingle

row

ofelongateareolesbornealong the costaeofthe pinnules

and

anincomplete

row

along thecostules ofthesegments; excur-

lAnn.Sci.Nat.V. Bot. 18: 301. 1873.

176 Proceedings

of^theBiologicalSociety of

Washington.

rentveinletsmostlyfree;includedveinletsnone;sori3to7pairsperseg- ment,nearly medial, dorsalorterminalontheunconnectedvein-branches, or terminal on short spurs from the areoles, small, non-indusiate; para- physes wanting;receptacle small.

Type

intheU. S. National Herbarium, nos. 654231

and

654232,

com-

prisinga nearlycomplete frondcollectedatFagalu, Tutuila,in richmoist

soil,

May

10, 1914,

by

D.^J.

McMullin

(no. 30). Othermaterialat

hand

^is

as follows

:

Tutuila: FagasaTrail,June24, 1920, Setchell 227. Trailfrom

Ana

to Aafono, June24, 1920, Setchell 208.

"Lower

level," June, 1920, Setchell 40.

Near Pago

Pago, March, 1914, Stearns (4 sheets); April 30, 1914,

McMullin

11 (2 sheets).

Without

special locality, Wilkes Exped. (as Sageniavaria Presl?)

.

Upolu:

Fagaloa Bay,in forest,February28, 1888,Safford22 (927).

The

present species,which appears tobe not

uncommon

inthe

Samoan

Islands,isnearest relatedtoTectaria

kanakorum

(Fourn.)

Maxon,

¹of

New

Caledonia, a

somewhat

smaller plantwhich differsinits dullpale

brown

stipes

and

rachises (thesedensely hairy

and

bearing

numerous

linear

brown

scales), coarser lobation,

more

hairy under surfaces,

and

conspicuously indusiatesori.

The name

isgiveninhonor^ofCaptain Clark D. Stearns, formerly

Commandant

of the American

Naval

Station ^of Tutuila

and

Governorof

American

Samoa, through

whose

personalinterestseverallots of fernsweresenttothe U. S. National

Herbarium

from Tutuilain 1914

and

1915.

Tectaria stearnsii is one of the forms hitherto included

by

writers on

Samoan

fernsunder

Aspidium

membranifolium(Presl)

Kunze and Aspidium

dissectum (Forst). Thus, Luerssen,²in listing as A. membranifolium ten

Samoan

specimenscollectedmainly

by

^Graeffe,

assumed

aspecies ofvery wide distribution (Madagascar, the East Indies, Ceylon, the Philippine Islands,

and

alargepartofOceanica)

and

included therein plants ranging in venationfromfreetostrongly areolate. This conceptis erroneous in severalrespects, certainly so in^itstreatmentofthe

Samoan

elements.

Inthe^firstplace,

Nephrodium

membranifoliumPresl³

was

described

and

figured

upon

afree-veined indusiate plantfrom Luzon, with which

ample Luzon

materialat

hand

agreesperfectly(e. g.

Cuming

249; Copeland1994, 1994a; Bur.^Sci.1311,3655;Topping615, 616,617, 626, 641, 652, 669, 960, 976,995)^. Itisregarded

by

Copeland⁴as

synonymous

withDryopterisdis- secta (Forst.)Kuntze,adispositionwhichisfollowed

by

Christensen

and

is

probablycorrect. Thismaterialisallfree-veined,

and

in

most

respectsis

quite unlike

Samoan

^materialwitheither freeoranastomosingveins.

SubsequentlyChrist⁵listeda free-veined

Samoan

specimenas

Aspidium

dissectum, adding a note

upon

the "nearly related

Aspidium

membrani- lBathmium kanakorumFourn. Ann.Sci.Nat.V. Bot. 18: 301. 1873.

2Fil.Graeff. 183. 1874.

3Eel.Haenk.1: 36.pi.5,f.3.1825.

4PhilippineJourn.Sci.C. Bot. 2: 418. 1907. ,

5Bot. Jahrb.Engler23: 353. 1897.

Maxon —

Occasional

Notes on Old World

Ferns,

—

^/.

177

folium, distinguished

by

itssinuously joinedveins,"butcitingno

Samoan

specimenofthelatter.

He

thus followed

Beddome

inwronglyfixing

upon

a plant with Pleocnemia venation as representing Presl's species.

The

specimenwhich helistedas

Aspidium

dissectumisprobablylike thefree- veinedelementofLuerssen's"membranifolium."

Thereis at

hand

asingle Graeffe specimenfrom Upolu, receivedasA.

membranifolium. This bears little resemblance to D. dissecta (Aspidium membranifolium)ofthePhilippines,exceptinitsfreevenation. Incutting, it isalmost identicalwithTectaria stearnsii;butit is persistentlythough minutelyindusiate,has the vascular parts

more

densely

and

closelypuberu-

lent,

and

differsinotherparticulars,asidefrom having whollyfreevenation.

Itappearstobeaperfectconnecting-linkbetweenDryopteris

and

Tectaria.

Whether

itshouldbe taken

up

asa

new

species of Dryopteris, or asa

new

species of Tectaria,ora free-veined varietyof Tectariastearnsiiisnotclear from the incomplete materialavailable.

At any

rate, the settlement of thispointdoesnotaffectthe statusofTectariastearnsiiasa validspecies

—

the

common,

typical plant of Samoa, with areolate venation. This has neverbeforebeendescribedunder^.a

name

ofitsown.

The

Wilkes Expedition specimen above cited

was

discussed briefly

by

Brackenridge,

and

listed

by Hooker

doubtfullyunder Polypodiumcumingi-

anum

^(Presl)Hook.,whichisTectariairregularis (Presl)Copeland. Ithas norelationshipwiththatspecies,however.