J. a. BAKER ON SOME KEW SPECIES OP HTMENOPUYLLACE^. 335 



true morpliological explanation of the ovarium of Myrtacece, and 

 of its placentation, that it would be unsafe to draw any inferences 

 from an isolated case such as the one before us ; and as I have 

 made no special study of this order, I content myself with a mere 

 record of the fact. 



I may, however, remark that this case differs from most that 

 have been recorded, wherein there has been a more or less com- 

 plete substitution of anther for carpel, or w^here the tissues of the 

 carpel have produced pollen, and so taken upon themselves the 

 appearance and functions of anthers. Cases of this kind are not 

 uncommon ; but here there were perfect stamens proceeding from 

 perfect and completely closed ovaries. Moquin Tandon * cites 

 from Agardh an instance which seems more closely to resemble 

 the state of things in the BcecJcea, and which occurred in a double 

 hyacinth, wherein both anthers and ovules were borne on the 

 same placenta. Probably, though the fact is not stated, the ovary 

 of the hyacinth was open ; and we are told that the flower was 

 double — that it was in fact modified and changed in more organs 

 than one ; while in the BcecJcea nothing at all unusual was observed 

 till the ovary was cut open. The style was present even in those 

 flowers where there was no axile placenta ; hence in these cases it 

 could not be, as Lindley stated it to be in the closely allied Bab- 

 ingtonia, a prolongation of the placenta. 



EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. 



ho wing 



ceeding from the parietes of the orary, which in this instance is unilocular. 



2. Transverse section of the ovary. 



3. Perfect, and 4. imperfect stamen from the ovary. All magnified. 



Descriptions of six new Species of simple-fronded Hymenophyl- 

 laceae. By John Gilbeet BAkEK. Communicated by Dr. 

 Hooker, Y.RL.S., &c. 



[Read March 15, 1866.] 



[Plate VII5 



TricJiomanes 



the section with undivided or slightly lobed fronds rery nearly 

 corresponds with four genera of Presl and Van den Bosch, viz. 

 Oardiomanes, Lecaniumy Semiphlebiumy and Microgonium, Writing 



W 



den Bosch subdivides into eight; and five additional species have 

 since been described. In the Kew collection there are five more ; 



♦ filem. Terat. Veget. p. 218. 



