By Homer D. House.
At least four stations for the Harts-tongue fern are known in the
vicinity of Owen Sound in northwestern Ontario. Specimens from these
localities are rare in herbaria, and the writer is fortunate in
receiving specimens from near Collingwood, a station twenty-three miles
east of Owen Sound. This station was first authentically reported by Mr.
Osler and described by Mr. Maxon in "Fernwort Papers" in 1900. These
specimens were collected by Dr. W. A. Bastedo and he describes the place
where they were collected as being five or six miles from Collingwood.
The plants were growing in a shady, though rather open wood, along the
course of a small stream. The altitude is given as 1635 feet above
sea-level. The plants at the time of collection, July 17th, 1903, were
nearly all young and even the mature fronds are but five to eight inches
in length, though all of them are very broad for their length. Dr.
Bastedo further notes that in the recesses of the cliff, snow was still
abundant at that date. _Polystichum Lonchitis_ and _Dryopteris
Filix-mas_ were abundant and _Asplenium Trichomanes_ and _Cryptogramma
Stelleri_ were common upon the cliffs. This station is undoubtably one
of those described by Mr. Maxon in the neighborhood of Collingwood.
However, a careful search of this entire region is very much to be
desired, as it is probable that the fern has a more general distribution
in this region than is known at present.