7 
away from the main rhizome, enclosing at their base an axillary 
bud. Another reason is, that not a single germinating plantlet 
was to be found in spite of very careful search at different seasons 
of the year, and when I later collected the fruiting specimens, 
no seed was contained in the fruits. Plate CXIII, Fig. 18 
shows then a young plant, consisting of an almost globular, tuber- 
like body, with the characteristic scar at its apex, and supporting 
a short axis, carrying a large scale-like leaf, inside of which a nor- 
mal one has been developed. One short root is coming out be- 
low the scale-like leaf, while two are to be observed at the base of 
_ the older normal one. The number of scale-like leaves seems to 
vary; we see in Fig. 19 a specimen of the same age, where three 
are present. And if we will now examine the base of the young 
normal leaves, as well of the scale-like ones, we shall again find small 
clusters of tuber-shaped leaves with rudimentary toothed blades 
(Plate CXIII, Fig. 17). A few weeks later we will see that the 
young specimens have continued their growth so as to throw off the 
scale-like leaves, while the base of the normal leaf shows a con- 
siderable swelling, forming a tuber-like body, but with the other 
parts of the leaf still persisting (Fig. 20). Later in the summer, 
for instance in the month of August, the mature plant has dropped 
the inflorescences and the normal leaves, the rhizome being the only 
surviving part. It shows now the same aspect as that figured in 
Fig. 14, but with the exception that distinct, whitish buds are to 
be observed. among the fleshy, tuber-like leaves. Plate CXIII, 
Fig. 22 shows a bud surrounded by several of these, of which 
three have been figured, the others having been removed, but of 
which thescarsshow their position upon exceedingly short branches, 
The bud itself carries four scale-like membranaceous leaves, in- 
side of which there will be developed the following year some 
normal leaves and probably an inflorescence. And at the same 
time we will observe that the tuber-like leaves show a minute but 
distinct cavity at the base which contains a bud (Plate CXIII, Figs. 
23 and 24) able to develop an independent plant as soon as it, 
together with the tuber-like leaf, has dropped from the rhizome. 
The true origin of the “tuber-like organs” has then been 
proved to be rudimentary leaves or the swollen bases of the nor- 
mal ones. 
