Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts pertinent to pteridology for publication in the American Fern Journal. Manuscripts should be sent to the managing editor.

Acceptance of papers for publication depends on merit as judged by two or more referees. Authors are encouraged to contribute toward publishing costs; however, the payment or non-payment of page charges will affect neither the acceptability of manuscripts nor the date of publication.

Authors should adhere to the following guidelines; manuscripts not so prepared may be returned for revision prior to review. Electronic submission is strongly encouraged; however if it is necessary to submit hard copy, please submit one copy of the manuscript and include a review copy of illustrations and originals of illustrations. After acceptance, please submit final versions of manuscripts via FTP (contact the managing editor for instructions), email, or on diskette or CD ROM (see below for figure formatting). If submitting hard copies, use standard 8.5 by 11 inch paper of good quality, not "erasable" paper. Double-space manuscripts throughout, including title, author's names and full addresses, a short, informative abstract, key words, text (including heads and keys), literature cited, tables (separate from text), and figure captions (grouped as consecutive paragraphs separate from figures). Arrange parts of manuscript in order just given. Include author's name and page number in the upper right corner of every sheet, and provide an abbreviated running title. Provide margins of at least one inch (25 mm) all around on typed pages. Do not submit right-justified text, avoid footnotes, and do not break words at end of lines. Make table headings and figure captions self-explanatory. Use S.I. (metric) units for all measures (e.g., distance, elevation, weight) unless quoted or cited from another source (e.g., specimen citations). For nomenclatural matters (i.e., synonymy and typification), use one paragraph per basionym (see Regnum Veg. 58:39-40. 1968). Abbreviate titles according to Botanico-Periodicum-Huntianum (Lawrence et al., 1968, Hunt Botanical Library, Pittsburgh) and its supplement (1991). References cited only as part of nomenclatural matter are not included in literature cited. For shorter notes and reviews, omit the abstract and put all references parenthetically in text. Use Index Herbariorum (Regnum Veg. 120:1-693. 1990; or http://websun.nybg.org/bsci/ih/) for designations of herbaria. For more detailed instructions on manuscript preparation, see http://amerfernsoc.org.

Illustrations should be proportioned to fit page width (5 inches or 12.5 cm) with caption ultimately to be included on the same page. Halftone and color images should be scanned at a minimum of 300 pixels per inch (ppi). Line art should be scanned at 1200 ppi whenever possible. Please note that nearly all images that are downloaded from the Internet or that are in JPEG or GIF format will be 72 dpi and not acceptable for the printing process. Indicate the file format of the graphics. Please submit image files in TIFF (preferable) or EPS format. Provide margins of at least 25 mm on all illustrations. For continuous-tone illustrations, design originals for reproduction without reduction or by uniform amount. In composite blocks, abut edges of adjacent photographs. Avoid combining continuous-tone and line-copy in single illustrations or blocks. Coordinate sequence and numbering of figures (and tables), with order of citation in text. Explain scales and symbols in figures themselves, not in captions. Include a scale and reference to latitude and longitude in each map.

Instructions for downloading electronic proofs and reprint order forms are sent to authors by the printer. Authors should send proof corrections of corrected proofs to the editor and reprint orders to the printer. Authors will be assessed charges for extensive alterations made after type has been set.

For other matters of form or style, consult recent issues of the American Fern Journal and The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed. (1993, Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago). Occasionally, departure from these guidelines may be justified. Authors are encouraged to consult the editor for assistance with any aspect of manuscript preparation

Papers of longer than 32 printed pages may be sent to the Editor of Pteridologia (memoir Editor, see journal cover page 2).