73 



the apex. The apical cell persists throughout life at 

 the ends of the main shoot and branches. 



The Reproductive Organs. Conceptacles are 

 formed by the transformation of one of the young 

 epidermal cells near the apex into an initial cell 

 resembling in all essential points the pear-shaped 

 apical cell. This initial cell is the homologue of the 

 initial cell in the development of the conceptacles of 

 the Fucacecc, but it undergoes no division and no fur- 

 ther development. The epidermal cells surrounding 

 it divide and the cortical cells in its neighbourhood 

 increase in size ; by a combination of these processes 

 the initial cell is placed at the bottom of a cylindrical 

 depression, while hairs (paraphyses) arise from the 

 youngest epidermal cells with others formed earlier 

 surrounding the mouth. The upper pear-shaped 

 portion of the initial cell stands out prominently 

 from the baso. In Fticus, on the other hand, a 

 young conceptacle with a small ostiole is formed 

 before the paraphyses appear. The conceptacle 

 enlarges by radial division of the lining cells, and 

 though the base becomes larger than the mouth, the 

 flask-shaped form seen in the Fucaeew does not 

 occur. The paraphyses are long, septate, and 

 unbranched, dividing at the base, and forming tufts 

 which emerge far beyond the mouth. The con- 

 ceptacles at this stage thus resemble in appearance 

 the cryptostomata of the Fucacetc. 



The sporangia, which are unilocular, are formed 

 among these paraphyses as protuberances of the 

 lining cells of the conceptacle. They elongate and 

 enlarge into club-shaped bodies with the base sunk 



