55G SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Velenovsky, J.— Bryologicke prispevky z Cech za rok 1901- 1902. (Bryological 

 contributions from Bohemia for 1901-1902.) 



[Contains one species and ten varieties new to scunce, and 

 eight mosses new to Bohemia.] 



Mitt, tschech. Ahad. Wiss. Prag., xii. (1903) No. 11. 

 „ ,, Jatrovky ceske. (The Hepatica? of Bohemia.) 



[List based on the author's collections; contains descrip- 

 tions and figures of two new species and twelve new 

 varieties.] Op. cit. x.-xii. (1901-3) 3pts. Ill pp. 12 pis. 



Wheldon, J. A. — The Mosses of Cheshire. 



[The author's second contribution to the county's moss-flora ] 



Journ. of Bot., xlii. (1904) pp. 203-S. 



Thallophyta. 



Algae. 



Sporangia of Halimeda.* — E. S. Gepp describes and compares the 

 fruiting filaments of Halimeda Tuna and H. gracilis. The paper begins 

 with a short account of the structure of the vegetative thallus, especially 

 with regard to the central strand. The fruiting filaments are a continu- 

 ation of the filaments of this strand, and this fact accounts for the diffe- 

 rences in position of the fruiting filaments in the two species. In 

 H. gracilis the filaments of the central strand are chiefly confined to the 

 main axis and its lateral branches ; hence the fruiting filaments emerge in 

 isolated tufts at the angles where the strand might otherwise have pro- 

 duced new joints. In H. Tuna the filaments of the central strand 

 spread fan-wise through a joint and the fruiting filaments therefore 

 emerge along the upper margin of a joint, forming a continuous fringe. 

 The question of the fusion of the filaments which precedes all growth 

 in Halimeda is discussed, and it is pointed out that this fusion is not 

 analogous to the fusion of filaments in fungi before spore-formation, as 

 in Halimeda the fusion is equally characteristic of vegetative and repro- 

 ductive growth. 



Pleodorina in Ceylon.f — F. E. Fritsch records P. californiea, hitherto 

 only known from the United States, as occurring in two of the tanks 

 of the central low country in Ceylon. He finds two other types of 

 colonies associated with Pleodorina, one represented by spherical 

 colonies of 32 cells each, and the other of 64 cells. He thinks it pos- 

 sible they may be developmental stages of Pleodorina. 



Chlamydomonas4 — F. S. Hollis describes and analyses chemically 

 two growths of this alga in water in Connecticut. The water was turbid, 

 and had the unpleasant odour characterising the presence of this alga. 

 In one sample Chlamydomonas was present to the extent of 14,47G indi- 

 viduals, or 5790 standard units per c.cm. The contractile vacuole, oil 

 globules and starch grains were well marked in the samples from each 

 locality. 



Fragilaiia Harrisonii.§ — R. H. Philip finds among some papers of 

 the late Mr. Harrison a number of letters from Dr. Walker Arnott, of 



* Journ. of Bot., xlii. (1904) pp. 193-97 (1 pi.). 

 t New Phytulogisr, iii. (1904) pp. 122-3. 

 % Trans. Amer. Micr. £oc., xxiv. (1903) pp. 13-G. 

 § The Naturalist, July, 1904, pp. 214-6 (1 fig.). 



