ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 51 



Germination of Salvinia natans.* — W. Arnoldi treats of the mor- 

 phology of the germination of Salvinia natans. He describes the 

 germination of the microspore and of the macrospore ; the development 

 of the female prothallinm ; some experiments on the germination of the 

 macrospores. He draws the following conclusion : The prothallium of 

 Salvinia is by no means an independent formation, notwithstanding the 

 deceptive presence of chlorophyll in its cells. It is only an organ of 

 the macrospore, as in Marsilia, and even Selaginella and Isoetes, which 

 serves only to bear the archegonia, and is incapable of nourishing the 

 growing spore-bearing generation. 



Botrychium ternatum and its Allies.| — R. C. Benedict publishes 

 the third of his studies in the Ophioglossacege — namely, a key to those 

 species or forms of Botrychium which belong to the group B. ternatum, 

 the characters of which are as follows : Bud hairy, common stalk hypo- 

 gean, short, usually less than one-quarter the height of the plant ; 

 spores maturing from July to October. This represents the genus 

 Siipiridium of Lyon. The group is composed of thirteen members. 



New Species of Lycopodium.J — W. Herter publishes some additions 

 to his recent monograph § of Urostachys, a sub-genus of Lycopodiam. 

 He gives descriptions of seven new -species, and indicates the position 

 which they should occupy in the monograph cited. 



North American Fern-flora. ||— L. M. Underwood, R. C. Benedict, 

 and W. R. Maxon, contribute the first sections of the fern volume of 

 the North American Flora — namely, the families Ophioglossacese (three 

 genera — Botrychium, Ophioglossum, Cheiroglossa) ; Marattiaceae {Dansea, 

 Marattia) • Osmundacea3 ; Ceratopteridacea ; Schizaaaceaa (Lygodium, 

 Actinostachys, Schizsea, Lophidium, Anemia) ; Gleicheniacere {Dicran- 

 opteris) ; Cyatheaceae (Gyathea ; six other genera to be published here- 

 after). English descriptions are given, and careful keys to genera and 

 species. 



North American Ferns. — W. A. Poyser % gives an account of the 

 fern-flora of Pennsylvania, with some introductory remarks upon the 

 physical geography of the State. He enumerates 101 species and 

 varieties. W. C. Coker ** gives an account of Lycopodium adpressum f . 

 polyclavatum, discusses its peculiarities, and argues in favour of the 

 specific difference between L. adpressum and L. alopecuroules. W. N. 

 Clute, on the other hand, contends that L. adpressum is a mere eco- 

 logical form of L. alopecuroules . A. Prescott|| gives some simple rules 

 for the pronunciation of fern names. W. N. Clute %% discusses and figures 

 Asplenium ebeneum i.furcatum, a new forked form of the Ebony fern. 



D. L. Dutton §§ describes Osmunda cinnamomea f. augusta, a new form. 



E. W. Vickers|||| calls attention to the sparse distribution of Asplenia in 



* Flora, c. (1909) pp. 121-39 (figs.). t Torreya, ix. (1909) pp. 197-200. 



X Hedwigia, xlix. (1909) pp. 88-92 (pi.). § Englei's Bot. Jabrb. Bcibl. 98. 



|| New York Bot. Gard., xvi. pt. 1 (1909) pp. 1-88. 



^f Fern Bulletin, xvii. (1909) pp. 65-83. ! ** Tom. cit., pp. 83-5 (pi.). 

 ft Torn, cit., pp. 86-7. tt Tom. cit., pp. 88-9 (fig.). 



§§ Tjm. cit., pp. 89 90. |||| Tom. cit., pp. 97-99. 



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