Morphologie und Teratologie. 217 



Thiselton-Dyer, Sir. W. J., Morphologie al Notes. X. A 

 Proliferoiis Pinus Cone. (Annais of Botany. Vol. XVII. 

 1903. p. 779.) 



The speeimen described is a cone of Pinus pinea L., 

 found in Spain by the late H. R. H. the Comte de Paris, 

 in 1894. The cone was of small size, measuring three and a 

 half inches in length; this was due to the small number of 

 scales, not to their being ill developed The apex was continued 

 into a leafy shoot, the portion of the axes immediately above 

 the tip of the cone being free from leaves. The transition from 

 cone to vegetative shoot was an abrupt one. The shoot when 

 found was six inches long but grew to a length of sixteen 

 inches. The arrest of growth of the shoot was probably due 

 to the failure of a water supply to maintain the transpiration 

 current. 



The author discusses various theoretical explanations of 

 the morphology of the cone in the Abietineae and concludes 

 that in those with membranous cone-scales (possibly also in 

 Sciadopitys) the fruit-scale consists of the first two leaves of a 

 suppressed bud. In Pinus, however, he regards the fruit-scale 

 (carpophyll) as a modified leaf belonging to a secondary axis in 

 the axil of the bract-scale. The fruit-scale is compared with 

 the carpel of Encephalartos, the umbo in both cases being 

 regarded as the dilatation of the atrophied apex of a foliar 

 organ. W. H. Lang. 



W'ORSDELL, W. C, The Structure and Morphology of the 

 .,Ovule", an Historical Sketch. (Annais of Botany. 

 Vol. VIII. 1904. p. 57.) 



The author discusses fully the various theories which have 

 been advanced as to the nature of the ovule and gives a 

 bibliography of the more important papers. He classifies the 

 several theories thus: 



1. The axial theory. Nucellus a bud bearing the integuments 

 as lateral foliar appendages. 



2. The sui generis theory. Ovule not (necessarily) 

 belonging to any of the morphological categories, but is an inde- 

 pendent structure borne either on the stem or foliar organs. 



3. The foliar theory. Ovule belongs to the category of the 

 phyllome, and is the homologue of a three-lobed leaflet or 

 segment of the carpel; the nucellus is of the nature of an 

 emergence borne on the upper surface of the terminal lobe of 

 the leaflet. 



The latter theory as stated by Celakovsky is discussed 

 in greatest detail. The paper is illustrated by a number of 

 diagrams. W. H. Lang. 



