lo British Funoi 



^> 



across the tube. This oosphere is fertilized by a small 

 organ or a)ithcricUum produced in close proximity to 

 the oogonium^ or on a distinct branchy depending on 

 the particular species. It is very important to bear 

 in mind that the above account is not intended to 

 convey the idea that fungi actually originated from the 

 algal genus Vauclieria and allied forms_, but simply to 

 show that at the points indicated the homologies 

 between algae and fungi are very pronounced. 



Jn the degenerate forms of flowering plants already 

 mentioned, we find several distinct starting-points, as 

 in Orcliidacex, Scropliulariacese, Balanophorese, &c., 

 and although agreeing in the common feature of 

 having their power of developing chlorophyll arrested, 

 yet these starting-points of new plant ideas mnst have 

 been separated by long intervals of time, inasmuch as 

 the aberrent members of the two first-mentioned 

 orders would still be typical members of their respec- 

 tive orders if furnished with chlorophyll, whereas, in 

 the last order, the species have become so much modi- 

 fied that they are not in close touch with any known 

 order of chlorophyll-bearing plants, a fact implying a 

 long period of time since they broke away from their 

 normal ancestors ; because it must be remembered 

 that there is no evidence in favour of the idea that 

 plants without chlorophyll originated as such, whereas 

 the evidence in favour of the idea that all plants with- 

 out chlorophyll have descended from chlorophyll- 

 producing ancestors is very strong. 



Judging from the case of the fungi, there is no 

 reason why the side issues of floweriug plants, charac- 

 terized by absence of chlorophyll, should not become 



