diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 6eb75ad7..7e85e542 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -399,6 +399,7 @@ CVS code -
 	- Document restricted mode. (IO ERROR)  DLR: Add minor
 	  modifications to account for the above changes.
 	- Document the smart home key option. (DLR)
+	- Document the use of the SPELL environment variable. (DLR)
 - nanorc.5:
 	- Document the smart home key option. (DLR)
 	- Document the whitespace option. (DLR, adapted from
@@ -413,6 +414,7 @@ CVS code -
 	  sorting/uniqueness filtering for the internal spell chacker
 	  were added in nano 1.1.99pre1. (DLR)
 	- Document the smart home key option. (DLR)
+	- Document the use of the SPELL environment variable. (DLR)
 - nanorc.sample:
 	- Add missing mouse entry, and update the nanorc sample regexes
 	  to account for the backupdir and mouse options. (DLR)
diff --git a/doc/man/nano.1 b/doc/man/nano.1
index 605b6831..cad8a159 100644
--- a/doc/man/nano.1
+++ b/doc/man/nano.1
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ Show the current version number and author.
 .TP
 .B \-Y \fIstr\fP (\-\-syntax=\fIstr\fP)
 Specify a specific syntax highlighting from the
-.I .nanorc
+.I nanorc
 to use, if available.
 .TP
 .B \-Z (\-\-restricted)
@@ -179,6 +179,10 @@ and the example file \fBnanorc.sample\fP which should be provided with
 \fBnano\fP.
 
 .SH NOTES
+If no alternative spell checker command is specified on the command
+line or in one of the nanorc files, \fBnano\fP will check the
+\fBSPELL\fP environment variable for one.
+
 \fBnano\fP will try to dump the buffer into an emergency file in some
 cases.  Mainly, this will happen if \fBnano\fP receives a SIGHUP or
 SIGTERM or runs out of memory, when it will write the buffer into a file
diff --git a/doc/texinfo/nano.texi b/doc/texinfo/nano.texi
index 3acfed97..d1c1e7f0 100644
--- a/doc/texinfo/nano.texi
+++ b/doc/texinfo/nano.texi
@@ -213,9 +213,10 @@ from the right of the screen, allowing it to vary along with the screen
 width if the screen is resized.
 
 @item -s [prog], --speller=[prog]
-Invoke [prog] as the spell checker.  By default, @code{nano} uses its
-own interactive spell checker that requires the @code{spell} program be
-installed on your system.
+Invoke [prog] as the spell checker.  By default, @code{nano} uses the
+command specified in the SPELL environment variable, or, if SPELL is not
+set, its own interactive spell checker that requires the @code{spell}
+program to be installed on your system.
 
 @item -t, --tempfile
 Do not ask whether or not to save the current contents of the file when