St Paul's College
Sydney. Oct. 2d
Dear Sir
As I believe that portion of your great work1 which treats of Ferns is not yet printed I take the liberty of sending you specimens of two ferns which have I believe been improperly classed together under Polypodium Scandens. These ferns both grow in abundance about Mount Tomah,2 the smaller being far the more plentiful. They resemble each other in their climbing habit, in the localities in which they are found, and in both having simple as well as pinnatifid fronds. My conviction that they are different species rests on the following grounds. 1 The Sori in the larger fern are always round, in the smaller generally oval.
2 They grow side by side in exactly the same circumstances and sometimes creeping over the same rock or tree.
3 The segments of larger sort are inclined invariably at a more acute angle than those of the smaller.
4 They differ exceedingly in magnitude under exactly similar circumstances The fronds of the larger sort being sometimes 34 inches long, those of the smaller sort seldom if ever exceeding 12 inches.
5 After a very diligent search I have not succeeded in finding any intermediate forms indicating a transition from one sort to the other.
6 Although the smaller sort abounds in some of the Kurrajong Gullies there is not a single specimen of the larger sort to be found amongst them.
7 The disproportion in magnitude of the creeping stems is even greater than in the fronds.
For the above reasons I think it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that these Ferns are of different species.
Trusting that I have not troubled you to no purpose
I am dear Sir
Yours faithfully
W Scott
Hon Secy of the Royal Society
Dr Müller
Polypodium Scandens
Please cite as “FVM-71-10-02b,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on