CHAP, in The Morphology of the Flower 93 



Kauffmann in 1868 on Casuarina, and their outcome was 

 to prove that the pollen sac in that genus is cauline and 

 not foliar, being developed from the tissue of the axis. In 

 1869 Magnus made the same discovery in the case of Naias, 

 and in 1873 Warming observed a similar origin for that of 

 Cyclanthera, which was confirmed by Engler in 1876. In 

 the later years of the century Campbell found other cases 

 mZannichettia, zndLilaea, and confirmed Magnus's observa- 

 tions on Naias. 



In spite of these observations, the idea that the stamen 

 is a metamorphosed leaf had not disappeared at the end 

 of the century. It was being assailed, however, in conse-. 

 quence of the recognition accorded to the sporangiophore 

 as an organ as much sui generis as Goebel had claimed the 

 sporangium itself to be. The view was tentatively enter- 

 tained in some quarters that whether arising from axial or 

 appendicular tissue it is essentially a sporangiophore. 



The first account of its anatomical development appears 

 to have been given by Warming in 1873. 



In the story of the investigation of the morphology of 

 the ovule two features especially stand out prominently. 

 The first is the domination of the earlier speculations by 

 the old theory of metamorphosis, which in this connexion, 

 as well as in so many others, acted as a hindrance rather 

 than a help to the conception of correct morphological 

 ideas, and led botanists to frame hypotheses which seem 

 almost gratuitous, to make structures fall in with precon- 

 ceived and unnatural theories of so-called laws which were 

 based on no secure foundation. The second feature of 

 primary importance was the change in the conception of 

 the morphological value of the ovule which followed the 

 gradual recognition of the importance of the sporangium 

 in the category of the members of the plant. The 

 acceptance of the contention of Goebel that the sporangium 

 is an organ sui generis freed morphologists from the neces- 



