338 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



smaller of which the rhizoid is subsequently produced. In Lygodium 

 the apical cell is terminal, appears early, and is persistent ; in Anehnia it 

 appears later, and is lateral. The lobes of the prothallium are at first 

 unequal. The development of the sexual organs is as in Polypodiaceas. 

 The first wall of the antheridium is not always flat, but sometimes so 

 concave as almost to touch the basal wall. The number of sperms is 

 large. The archegonia have two neck-canal nuclei. The conclusions 

 are that in the antheridium formation and in the unequal lobing of the 

 prothallium there is nothing to be considered characteristic of the 

 genera. But it may be peculiar to the Schizeeaceaj that the rhizoid is 

 not separated off by the first division of the spore. The large number 

 of sperms, the occasional stalk of the antheridium, and the frequent 

 occurrence of two prothallial filaments from the spores, connect the 

 Schiza3acea3 with the more primitive families of the Filicinea3. 



Monoecious Prothallia in Onoclea.* — E. D. Wuist discusses the 

 physiological conditions for the development of monoecious prothallia in 

 Onoclea siruthiopteris (said by Campbell to be regularly dioecious), and 

 sums up her results as follows : — Monoecious prothallia, as well as 

 dioecious prothallia, were observed in soil cultures ; monoecious prothallia 

 were obtained from " female " prothallia transferred at a ten-celled stage 

 from distilled water to Kuop's solution ; monoecious prothallia were 

 obtained by transferring " female " prothallia from the soil to a nutritive 

 solution ; they were also obtained by transferring prothallia from one 

 nutritive solution to another. 



Peculiar Habitat for Camptosorus.f — R. 0. Benedict publishes a 

 note on a peculiar habitat for Camptosorus, the fern having been found 

 growing epiphytically on the moss-covered trunks of two gum-trees in 

 Virginia, as shown in a photograph. The plant is known as the walking 

 fern, and spreads itself by rooting and budding at the tips of its leaves. 

 It must be very unusual for the plant to grow in such a situation as 

 described. 



Interesting Botrychium Habitat.* — J. H. Schaffner gives a short 

 but interesting account of the finding of a number of sporophytes and 

 gametophytes at a spot in Ohio that has for years been well worked 

 over by botanists. The chance finding of one Botrychium led to a careful 

 search being made. Whereupon five species of Botrychium and an 

 Ophioglossum were found within an area not over two rods square, 

 though these species are supposed to be rare or very rare. Further,, 

 several gametophytes were dug up, being detected by means of the tiny 

 juvenile sporophytes projecting above the surface of the ground. It 

 might be expected that the little plantlets would put up a generalised type 

 of first leaf. But as a matter of fact the first leaves were found to be 

 each quite characteristic of its proper species. 



New Variety of the Common Ophioglossum.§ — E. Ulbrich gives 

 an account of Ophioglossum vulgatum var. EngUrianum, a remarkable 

 new variety from the province of Brandenburg, found by him in a 



* Bot. Gaz., xlix. (1910) pp. 216-19. 



t Joum. New York Bot. Garden, x. (1909) pp. 13-15 (1 pi.). 



X Ohio. Nat., x. (1909) pp. 8-9. 



§ Fedde's Repertorium, viii. (1910) pp. 49-52. 



