552 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



the cells of the pappus are prolonged, giving it a pinnate structure ; 

 this is especially adapted for carriage by the wind. (3) The fine 

 divisions of the pappus are themselves provided with trichomic struc- 

 tures, and these are most of all fitted for conveyance by the wind. 



Ovary of Parnassia. * — I. H. Burkill gives the result of further 

 observations respecting the variation in the number of carpels (3-5) in 

 mature fruits of Parnassia palustris. They confirm Payer's statement 

 that the flower is zygoraorphic in its early stages of development, the 

 zygomorphy nearly or entirely disappearing in the mature state. 



Seed of Hernandia.f — E. Heckel calls attention to the remarkable 

 structure of the seed in the Madagascan genus Bavensara, belonging to 

 the Lauracese [or Thymelaceae], as described by Baillon ; the seed being 

 divided into six compartments springing from the receptacle. He finds 

 a somewhat similar structure in two species of Hernandia also belonging 

 to the Lauraceee, but produced by a different process, viz. the division of 

 the cotyledons themselves into lobes, perfectly separable by septa, which 

 do not spring from the receptacle, and are not woody, as in Bavensara, 

 but are unlignified, and have their origin in the testa of the seed. 



Pneumatophores4 — The structure of the breathing pores is de- 

 cribed by M. Westermaier, especially in Sonneratia indica, and their 

 connection with respiration pointed out. That they are not true roots, 

 but organs sui generis, is shown by the cork mantle, the absence of a true 

 root-cap, and the order and place of appearance of the primordial 

 vessels. 



Structure of the Sprouts of Woody Plants. § — M. Dubard has ex- 

 amined the anatomical structure of the sprouts (rejets) which appear on 

 most trees and shrubs when in full vigour and after the cutting down of 

 the trunk : — from the root in Populus, Ulmus, Corylus, Lycium, &c. ; 

 from dormant buds in Quercus ; from the cambial zone in Quercus, 

 Populus nigra. These shoots present many of the characters of herba- 

 ceous plants ; in their rapid growth, elongated internodes, well de- 

 veloped and persistent stipules, scattered buds, a smaller differentiation 

 of the tissues, especially of those connected with protection or support ; 

 in the smaller production of phloem in comparison to the xylem ; in a 

 smaller development of assimilating tissue ; and in the much smaller 

 excretion of calcium oxalate. 



Polypompholyx and Byblis.|] — F. X. Lang has made a study of 

 these two genera of insectivorous plants from Western Australia. 



Of Polypompholyx, belonging to the Utricularieas, two species were 

 examined, P. multifida and P. tenella. They have no true root, its 

 function being assumed by runners springing from the base of the flower- 

 ing shoot and fixing the plant to the soil by their numerous slimy glands. 

 The bladders agree in their development with those of Utricularia. 

 They are of two forms, — long-stalked and adhering to the soil, and 



* Ann. of Bot., xv. (1901) pp. 186-92 (1 fig.). Of. this Journal, 1896, p. 325. 

 t Comptes Rendus, cxxxii. (1901) pp. 1584-6. 



X Bot. Unters. im Anschluss an eine Tropenreise, Freiburg, 1900 (3 pis.). See 

 Bot. Centralbl., lxxxvi. (1901) p. 392. 



§ Comptes Rendus, cxxxii. (1901) pp. 1356-8. 



;| Flora, lxxxviii. (1901) pp. 149-206 (1 pi. and SO figs.). 



