322 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



On Schistostega osmundacea Mohr. {Journ. Q.M.C., April 1918, 

 ■ser. 2, 13, 361-74, pis. 23-4).— This moss appears to be widely dis- 

 tribnted in the British Isles, and from his observations, which were 

 made on Dartmoor, G. T. Harris is led to infer that the moss prefers 

 a habitat with a northerly aspect, and apparently thrives best in granitic 

 areas. The luminous appearance of the moss is due, as was pointed 

 ■out by Noll in 1887, to certain protonemal cells, which are so constructed 

 that light rays falling upon them are refracted through the transparent 

 sap and concentrated upon the chloroplasts which are grouped at the 

 l»ase of the cell. The light rays are internally reflected from the basal 

 wall of the cell and again emitted. The fruit appears to be somewhat 

 rare, though when fertile the capsules are often produced in abundance. 

 The distribution of the plant is aided by the deciduous spore-capsule and 

 by an abundance of geminre formed by the protonema, especially when 

 ibarren conditions of the plant prevail. A. W. S. 



Thallophyta. 



Algae. 



(By Mrs. Ethel S. Gepp.) 



Rhizopodial Development of the Flagellatse. I. Some Rhizo- 

 podial Chrysomonads with Chromatophores. — A. Pascher {Archiv. 

 Frotistenk, 1916, 36, 81-117, 2 pis., 14 figs. See also Bot. CentralU., 

 1917, 135, 166). The author regards almost all series of coloured 

 riagellatse as falling into his scheme of two groups :— 1. Rhizopod 

 organization, characterized by animal nutrition. 2. Cellular organiza- 

 tion (Algfe_), characterized by holophytic nutrition. A development of 

 entirely rhizopodial organizations out of a series of holophytic Flagellatas 

 is taking or has taken place. The rhizopodial form is no characteristic 

 of primitive organization. Three new genera and species of rhizopodial 

 Chrysomonads, belonging to the Rhizochrysidinefe — namely, RMzaster 

 crinoides, Chrysocrinus hydra, ChrysotUaTcion vorax — are described and 

 figured. E. S. G. 



Rhizopodial Development of the Plagellatse. II. Dinamoeba 

 varians— a Novelty with Dinoflagella-like Swarmers.— A. Pascher 

 {Archiv. Frotistenk., 1916, 36, 118-36, 1 p]., 4 figs. See also Bot. 

 CentralU., 1917, 135, 167). A description of the new form and a 

 comparison of its developmental cycle with that of Cystodinium. 

 The Dinoflagellatfe are divided into : 1. Rhizodiniante (including 

 Dinamicha) with rhizopodial organization and animal nutrition. 2. 

 Dinophycete, with cellular organization and holophytic mode of life, and 

 comprising Dinocapsales, Dinococcales, Dinotrichales. E. S. G. 



Rhizopodial Development of the Flagellatae. III. Rhizopodial 

 Nets as Capturing-apparatus in a Plasmodia! Chrysomonad.— A. 

 Pascher {Archiv. Protistenlc, 1916, 38, 15-30, 2 pis., 6 figs. See 

 also Bot. Centralhl., 1917, 135, 167). Chnjsarachnion insidians, a new 

 genus and species, belongs to the Rhizochrysidinae, being a permanently 

 rhizopodial Chrysomonad. Whilst Chrysidiastrum Lautb. has chain- 

 like filar Plasmodia, Chrysarachnion has flattish nets. In both of them 



