The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Part 214

long); the fertile racemose-panicled at the summit of the frond.--Swamps and wet woods; common. The cordate pinnules sometimes found here are commoner in Europe. May, June. (Eu.)

[*][*] _Sterile fronds once pinnate; pinnae deeply pinnatifid; the lobes entire._

2. O. Claytoniana, L. (Pl. 20, fig. 1--3.) Clothed with loose wool when young, soon smooth; _fertile fronds taller than the sterile_ (2--4 high); pinnae oblong-lanceolate, with oblong obtuse divisions; _some (2--5 pairs) of the middle pinnae fertile_, these entirely pinnate; sporangia greenish, turning brown.--Low grounds, common. May.--Fruiting as it unfolds.

3. O. cinnammea, L. (CINNAMON FERN.) Clothed with rusty wool when young; _sterile fronds tallest_ (at length 3--5 high), smooth when full grown, the lanceolate pinnae pinnatifid into broadly oblong obtuse divisions; _fertile fronds separate_, appearing earlier from the same rootstock and soon withering (1--2 high), contracted, twice pinnate, covered with the cinnamon-colored sporangia.--Var. FRONDSA is a rare occasional state, in which some of the fronds are sterile below and more spa.r.s.ely fertile at their summit, or rarely in the middle.--Swamps and low copses, everywhere. May.

ORDER 132. OPHIOGLOSSaCEae. (ADDER'S-TONGUE FAMILY.)

Leafy and often somewhat fleshy plants; the leaves (_fronds_) simple or branched, often fern-like in appearance, erect in vernation, developed from underground buds formed either inside the base of the old stalk or by the side of it, and bearing in special spikes or panicles rather large subcoriaceous bivalvular sporangia formed from the main tissue of the fruiting branches. Prothallus underground, not green, moncious.--A small order, separated from Ferns on account of the different nature of the sporangia, the erect vernation, etc.

1. Botrychium. Sporangia in pinnate or compound spikes, distinct. Veins free.

2. Ophioglossum. Sporangia cohering in a simple spike. Veins reticulated.

1. BOTRCHIUM, Swartz. MOONWORT. (Pl. 20.)

Rootstock very short, erect, with cl.u.s.tered fleshy roots (which are full of starch, in very minute, irregular granules!); the base of the naked stalk containing the bud for the next year's frond; frond with an anterior fertile and a posterior sterile segment; the former mostly 1--3-pinnate, the contracted divisions bearing a double row of sessile naked sporangia; these are distinct, rather coriaceous, not reticulated, globular, without a ring, and open transversely into two valves. Sterile segment of the frond ternately or pinnately divided or compound; veins all free. Spores copious, sulphur-color. (Name a diminutive of ?t???, _a cl.u.s.ter of grapes_, from the appearance of the fructification.)

-- 1. BOTRYCHIUM proper. _Base of the stalk containing the bud completely closed; sterile segment more or less fleshy; the cells of the epidermis straight._

[*] _Sterile portion of the frond sessile or nearly so at or above the middle of the plant. Plants small._

1. B. Lunaria, Swartz. _Sterile segment_ nearly sessile, borne near the middle of the plant, _oblong, simply pinnate with 5--15 lunate or fan-shaped_ very obtuse crenate, incised or nearly entire, _fleshy divisions_, more or less excised at the base on the lower or on both sides, the veins radiating from the base and repeatedly forking; fertile segment panicled, 2--3-pinnate.--N. Eng. to Lake Superior, and northward; rare.--Very fleshy, 4--10' high. (Eu.)

2. B. simplex, Hitchc.o.c.k. Fronds small (2--4', rarely 5--6' high), _the sterile segment short-petioled from near the middle of the plant, thickish_ and fleshy, simple and roundish, or _pinnately 3--7-lobed_; the lobes roundish-obovate, nearly entire, decurrent on the broad and flat indeterminate rhachis; _the veins all forking from the base_; fertile segment simple or 1--2-pinnate.--Maine to N. Y., Minn., and northward; rare. (Eu.)

3. B. lanceolatum, Angstroem. Fronds small (3--10' high); _the sterile segment closely sessile at the top of the_ long and slender common _stalk_, scarcely fleshy, _triangular, ternately twice pinnatifid; the acute lobes_ lanceolate, incised or toothed; veinlets forking from a _continuous midvein_; fertile part 2--3-pinnate.--N. Eng. and N. J. to Ohio and Lake Superior. July--Aug. (Eu.)

4. B. matricariaeflium, Braun. Fronds small (3--10' high); _the sterile segment nearly sessile at the top of the_ long and slender _common stalk_, moderately fleshy, _ovate or triangular_, varying from pinnate to bipinnatifid; _the lobes oblong-ovate and obtuse; midvein dissipated_ into forking veinlets; fertile part 2--3-pinnate.--Same range as the last. June, July. (Eu.)

[*][*] _Sterile portion of the frond long-stalked; the common stalk short in proportion to the size of the plant. Plants usually larger._

5. B. ternatum, Swartz. (Pl. 20.) _Plant very fleshy_ (4--16' high), spa.r.s.ely hairy; _sterile segment long-petioled_ from near the base of the plant, broadly triangular, _ternate and variously decompound with stalked divisions_; ultimate segments varying from roundish-reniform and sub-entire to ovate-lanceolate and doubly incised; fertile segment erect, 2--4-pinnate.--The following varieties pa.s.s into each other:--Var. AUSTRaLE; frond ample; ultimate segments rhomboid-ovate with a denticulate margin.--Var. INTERMeDIUM; frond of moderate size; ultimate segments as in var. australe. (B. lunarioides, of last ed.)--Var. RUTaeFLIUM; frond small; ultimate segments few, ovate and semicordate.--Var. LUNARIODES; frond small; ultimate segments roundish-reniform.--Var. OBLQUUM; frond moderate; ultimate segments obliquely lanceolate, denticulate or toothed.--Var. DISSeCTUM; segments dissected into innumerable narrow lobes or teeth.--Pastures and hillsides, sometimes in dry woods, rather common, especially vars.

intermedium and obliquum.--Var. rutaefolium occurs in Europe.

-- 2. OSMUNDoPTERIS. _Base of the stalk containing the bud open along one side; sterile segment membranaceous; the cells of the epidermis flexuous._

6. B. Virginianum, Swartz. _Fronds tall and ample; sterile segment sessile above the middle of the plant_, broadly triangular, thin and membranaceous, _ternate_; the short-stalked _primary divisions once or twice pinnate_, and then once or twice pinnatifid; the oblong lobes cut-toothed toward the apex; _veins forking from a midvein_; fertile part 2--3-pinnate.--Rich woods; common.--Plant 1--2 high, or often reduced to a few inches, in which case it is B. gracile, _Pursh._ June, July. (Eu.)

2. OPHIOGLoSSUM, L. ADDER'S-TONGUE. (Pl. 20.)

Rootstock erect, fleshy and sometimes tuberous, with slender fleshy roots which are sometimes proliferous; bud placed by the side of the base of the stalk; fronds with anterior and posterior segments as in Botrychium, but the coriaceous sporangia connate and coherent in two ranks on the edges of a simple spike. Sterile segment fleshy, simple in our species; the veins reticulated. Spores copious, sulphur-yellow.

(Name from ?f??, _a serpent_, and ???ssa, _tongue_.)

1. O. vulgatum, L. Fronds from a slender rootstock (2--12' high), mostly solitary; sterile segment sessile near the middle of the plant, ovate or elliptical (1--3' long); midvein indistinct or none; veins forming small meshes enclosed in larger ones.--Bogs and pastures; not common. July.

(Eu.)

ORDER 133. LYCOPODIaCEae. (CLUB-MOSS FAMILY.)

Low plants, usually of moss-like aspect, with elongated and often much branched stems covered with small lanceolate or subulate, rarely oblong or rounded, persistent entire leaves; the sporangia 1--3-celled, solitary in the axils of the leaves, or on their upper surface, when ripe opening into two or three valves, and shedding the numerous yellow spores, which are all of one kind.--The Order, as here defined, consists mainly of the large genus

1. LYCOPDIUM, L. CLUB-MOSS. (Pl. 21.)

Spore-cases coriaceous, flattened, usually kidney-shaped, 1-celled, 2-valved, mostly by a transverse line round the margin, discharging the subtile spores in the form of a copious sulphur-colored inflammable powder.--Perennials, with evergreen one-nerved leaves, imbricated or crowded in 4--16 ranks. (Name compounded of ?????, _a wolf_, and p???, _foot_, from no obvious resemblance.)

-- 1. _Spore-cases in the axils of the ordinary (dark green and shining, rigid, lanceolate, about 8-ranked) leaves._

1. L. Selago, L. Stems erect and rigid, dichotomous, forming a level-topped cl.u.s.ter (3--6' high); _leaves uniform_, crowded, ascending, glossy, pointed, entire or denticulate; sporangia in the axils of unaltered leaves.--Mountain-tops, Maine to Lake Superior, and northward.--The leaves of this and the next species often bear little gemmae, with the lower bracts pointed, and the 2--3 uppermost broadly obovate and fleshy, as figured in 1768 by Dillenius. These gemmae fall to the ground and their axis grows into the stem of a new plant, as specimens collected in 1854 show very plainly. (For their true nature see Sachs' Lehrbuch, Engl. trans., p. 411.)

2. L. lucidulum, Michx. Stems a.s.surgent, less rigid, dichotomous (6--12'

long); leaves pointed, toothed, at first spreading, then deflexed, arranged, in alternate zones of shorter and longer leaves, the shorter leaves more frequently bearing sporangia in their axils; proliferous gemmae usually abundant.--Cold, damp woods; common northward. Aug.

-- 2. _Spore-cases only in the axils of the upper (bracteal) leaves, thus forming a spike._

[*] _Leaves of the creeping sterile and of the upright fertile stems or branches and those of the simple spike nearly alike, many-ranked._

3. L. inundatum, L. _Dwarf_; creeping sterile stems forking, flaccid; the fertile solitary (1--4' high), bearing a short thick spike; _leaves lanceolate or lance-awl-shaped, acute_, soft, spreading, _mostly entire_, those of the prostrate stems curving upward.--Var. BIGELVII, Tuckerm., has fertile stems 5--7' high, its leaves more awl-shaped and pointed, spa.r.s.er and more upright, often somewhat teeth-bearing.--Sandy bogs, northward, not common; the var., eastern New Eng. to N. J., and southward. Aug. (Eu.)

4. L. alopecurodes, L. _Stems stout_, very densely leafy throughout; the sterile branches recurved-proc.u.mbent and creeping; the fertile of the same thickness, 6--20' high; _leaves narrowly linear-awl-shaped, spinulose-pointed, spreading, conspicuously bristle-toothed below the middle; those of the cylindrical spike with long setaceous tips_.--Pine-barren swamps, N. J. to Va., and southward. Aug., Sept.--Stems, including the dense leaves, ' thick; the comose spike, with its longer spreading leaves, --1' thick.

[*][*] _Leaves (bracts) of the catkin-like spike scale-like, imbricated, yellowish, ovate or heart-shaped, very different from those of the sterile stems and branches._

[+] _Spikes sessile (i.e. branches equally leafy to the top), single._

5. L. annotinum, L. Much branched; _stems prostrate and creeping_ (1--4 long); _the ascending branches similar_ (5--8' high), sparingly forked, the sterile ones making yearly growths from the summit; _leaves equal, spreading_, in about 5 ranks, rigid, lanceolate, pointed, minutely serrulate (pale green); spike solitary, oblong-cylindrical, thick.--Var.

PuNGENS, Spring, is a reduced sub-alpine or mountain form, with shorter and more rigid pointed erectish leaves.--Woods; common northward; the var. on the White Mountains, with intermediate forms around the base.

July. (Eu.)

6. L. obscurum, L. Rootstock cord-like, subterranean, bearing scattered, erect, tree-like stems dividing at the summit into several densely dichotomous spreading branches; leaves linear-lanceolate, decurrent, entire, acute, 6-ranked, those of the two upper and two lower ranks smaller and appressed, the lateral ones incurved spreading; spikes 1--10, erect, mostly sessile; bracts scarious-margined, broadly ovate, abruptly apiculate.--Var. DENDROiDEUM (L. deudroideum, _Michx._) has all the leaves alike and incurved spreading.--Moist woods. Aug.--Remarkable for its tree-like appearance.

L. ALPNUM, L., or its var. SABINaeFLIUM, occurs from Labrador to Washington Territory, and is to be expected in northern Maine and Minn.

It has slender branches with rigid nearly appressed leaves.

[+][+] _Spikes peduncled, i.e. the leaves minute on the fertile branches._

[++] _Leaves h.o.m.ogeneous and equal, many-ranked; stems terete._

7. L. clavatum, L. (COMMON CLUB-MOSS.) Stems creeping extensively, with similar ascending short and very leafy branches; the fertile terminated by a slender peduncle (4--6' long), bearing about 2--3 (rarely 1 or 4) linear-cylindrical spikes; leaves linear-awl-shaped, incurved spreading (light green), tipped, as also the bracts, with a fine bristle.--Dry woods; common, especially northward. July. (Eu.)

[++][++] _Leaves of two forms, few-ranked; stems or branches flattened._

8. L. Carolinianum, L. (Pl. 21.) Sterile stems and their few short branches _entirely creeping_ (leafless and rooting on the under side), thickly clothed with broadly lanceolate acute and somewhat oblique 1-nerved _lateral leaves widely spreading in 2 ranks_, and a shorter intermediate row appressed on the upper side; also sending up a slender simple peduncle (2--4' high, clothed merely with small bract-like and appressed awl-shaped leaves), _bearing a single cylindrical spike_.--Wet pine-barrens, N. J. to Va., and southward.