CASPAIIT ON THE MORPnOLOOT OF THE AEIETINEiE. 19 



lY. — On the Moephologt of the Eemale Flower of the 

 Abietine^. (De Abietinearum Carr. floris feminei .striietura 

 morphologiea. 4to. pp. 12. Eegiomouti Pr.) By Professor 

 Eobert Caspary.* 



The structure of the female flower, or iuflorescence, of Gymno- 

 sperms, has been the cause of more discussion than most questions of 

 morphological botany. In earlier times, the views of botanists on 

 this difficult subject were necessarily uncertain and ai-bitrary, because 

 no accurate observations had then been made either of the perfect 

 flower or of its evolution. As the study of morphology depends upon 

 the correct knowledge of the taxis of the leaves and branches, the 

 structure of the flowers of Grymnosperms could not possibly be under- 

 stood at an earlier period. It is not my intention here to enter into 

 details (which may be readily found elsewhere) regarding the various 

 explanations which have been proposed ; but I think it desirable to 

 state the plain truth as respects the group of Abietinese, so as to cor- 

 rect previous errors, and to obtain a basis of comparison to which 

 the flowers of other Gymnosperms may be referred. 



The true structure of the flowers of Abietineae was described by A, 

 Braun, as early as 1853, in the following terms, in a note of great 

 importance, though short and modest,t which has been entirely ne- 

 glected by subsequent writers. " The seed-bearing fruit-scales of the 

 cones of Abietinese, which lie in the axils of the bract-scales, have all the 

 appearance of one-leaved shoots, but the progressi-se modifications of 

 form exhibited by these scales in abnormally developed cones of Fimt.s 

 Larix, prove that each scale consists of two leaves imited together." 

 In 1860J he expresses himself in a similar manner, only in more 

 general terms, as to the structure of other Conifers and Cycads. The 

 woody scales of the strobili of Abietineae consist, according to A. 

 Braun, of two carpels, which originate together, and are the first 

 leaves of an undeveloped bud in the axil of the floral leaf 



Before these views of Braun were known to me I was led to the 

 same conclusions, at Bonn, in the autumn of 1858, by the examination 

 of larch cones, which Imd grown out into leafy branches in the axils of 

 the scale. My observations on these were to the following eflfect:' — 

 Along the axis of these cones or strobili are inserted linear, elon- 

 gated bracts, with the woody scales in their axils. The axis does not 

 end with the uppermost scales, but is abnormally prolonged for 

 several inches beyond the apex of the cone. Such strobili have been 

 figured by Kichard.|| The slender prolongation of the axis differs in 



* Communicated hy Dr. T. Thomson, F.R.S. An abstract of Dr. Baillon's 

 views, referred to in this imper, is given in tJie Nat. Hist. Eeview, Vol. I. Biblio- 

 graphy, p. 92. 



•f Individunm der Pflanze, p. <55. 



X Ueber polyembryonie und Keimung von Coclebogyne, p. 24.3. 



II Memoires sur les Couiferes et les Cycadees, 1826, 1. 13, f. 9, fig. repetita la 



C 2 



