48 Phyllitis scolopendrium (L.) Newm.

This rather variable species occurs in Europe and adjacent parts of Africa and Asia, in E. Asia, eastern N. America and Mexico (var. lindeni [Hook.] Fem. in Mexico). The N. American population is described as var. americana Fem. Probably the Japanese population, too, forms a separate taxon. For the taxonomy see Tryon in BioScience 19:9/1969, map p. 792. The species s. lat. belongs to the circumpolar plants according to Hultén (Circumpol. I, p. 156 and map 147), although it is lacking through most of N. Eurasia and N. America. Cf. also Meusel et al. 1965, map p. 12.