218 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



and the tip of each branch forms a basidium. The two nuclei of the 

 basidial cell increase in size and fuse together when the cell has readied 

 about one-half or two-thirds of its ultimate size. The fused nucleus 

 increases still further with the growth of the cell, and migrates to the 

 apex. There are 8—12 chromosomes in the nucleus before the ana- 

 phases begin. Two successive divisions follow and the four result- 

 ant nuclei travel down to the middle of the cell, which elongates, 

 and the sterigmata bud out at its apex. The author observed occa- 

 sionally fibres extending from the nuclei to the developing sterigmata, 

 but could not determine their origin ; the nuclei are drawn up into the 

 sterigmata and each spore is uninucleate. 



There are no multinucleate cells in Hypochnus such as have been 

 described in other Basidiomycetes, but it is a very primitive form with- 

 out any carpophore, and Dr. Harper found in several species of agarics 

 that while the cells of the vegetative body were multinucleate, the culls 

 of the hymenium and the basidia were always binucleate. 



While the wide-spread occurrence of the binucleate condition in the 

 reproductive series of cells, the Keimbahn, strengthens the view of the 

 close relationship between the cells of the Basidiomycetes and the bi- 

 nucleated cells of the Uredineae, it forms a strong piece of evidence 

 against any connection with the Ascomycetes. Binucleate cells have 

 not been found in the latter group ; and any resemblance of outer form 

 between the formation of basidiospores and the development of conilia 

 in the ABcomycetes is of little value as evidence of relationship. The 

 author considers it highly probable that the fusing nuclei of the 

 basidium and of the teleutospore are of widely separated ancestry. 



Lichens. — Dr. A. Zahlbruckner * of Vienna has published a list of 

 the Lichens of Dalmatia largely from material collected by J. Bauiu- 

 gartner. He has also made use of all previous well-established re- 

 cords. He notes the entire absence of Caliciacese and the poor repre- 

 sentation of shrubby and leafy forms, which is partly owing to the fact 

 that the higher ranges of hills where these abound have not yet been 

 tully explored. In all he has as yet established only 209 species, a 

 smaller number, he notes, than Steiner has recorded for the Greek 

 mainland. 



B. P. Longinos Navas f gives a list of species of Parmelia in Spain. 

 The species are divided into two sections according to the colouring of 

 the plants. The enumeration does not aim at completeness, rather is- 

 it a gathering together of records from the scattered lists of previous 

 workers. Six of the recorded plants are new to Spain. 



Haptera of Lich.en.s4 — B. Sernauder classifies the haptera or organs 

 of attachment of the Fruticose Lichens under six heads, viz. — the 

 Cladonia type, the Thamnolia type, the Alectoria type, the Cladina type, 

 the Cetraria type, and the Physcia ciliaria type, each of which is de- 

 scribed in detail. The haptera appear to become very rapidly attached 

 to any substance with which they come into contact, after which they 

 increase greatly both in weight and thickness. 



* Oest. Bot. Zeitschr., li. (1901) pp. 273-85, 336-50. 

 + Bol. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat., i. (1901) pp. 310-7. 



% Bot. Notis., 1901, Hefts 1 and 2, 19 pp. See Bot. Centralbl., lxxxviii. (1901} 

 p. 293. 



