514 Allgemeines. 



Warning, E., Om Planterigets Livsformer (Danish.). [On 

 the life-forms in the vegetable Kingdom]. (Festkrift üdgi- 

 vet af Kjöbenhavns Universitet i Anledning af Hans Majestät 

 Kongens Tödselsdag. Kjöbenhavn 1908. p. 1 — 86.) 



Firstly, the author gives a criticalaccount of the different attempts 

 hitherto made to establish types of vegetative plant-life, from Hum- 

 boldt and Grisebach to Raunkiaer. In a second chapter, "General 

 considerations of life-form" problems of Ecolog}^ and Epharmony 

 are discussed. — Epharmonical convergence, the appearance of ana- 

 logous forms in systematically different groups, favours the belief 

 that it is the exterior conditions which impress the plant-forms. The 

 same opinion with regard to the conditions is embraced by the 

 author in discussing the causality of Epharmony. Here, reviewing 

 the natural selection, the mutation-theory and the Lamarckism, the 

 author advances many examples showing the direct influenae of 

 outer conditions, and in pointing out that the adaptations are as a 

 rule useful, he says (p. 41): „Everywhere in nature before all that 

 „arises for which there is a want of and which suits the momentary 

 „circumstances, that this is the case we learn from the Coming into 

 „existence of what just characterizes the forms which are living 

 „under the conditions in question." 



Many structures cannot be understood as useful, but some of 

 them could possibly be in correlation to useful adaptations, and 

 are to be regarded as rudiments. Proceeding farther to discuss the 

 different qualities, the author distinguishes in every organism three 

 groups of qualities, viz.: 



1. Epharmonical qualities which are inconstant and change 

 with the conditions. 



2. Epharmonical qualities which are constant and inheritable 

 under all conditions. The author holds the opinion that these are 

 acquired qualities made inheritable, and of this he gives many pre- 

 sumptive evidences. To take one of them: aqueous tissue may in 

 some instances be modified by change of conditions, in others 

 called to existence by salt, but in other cases aqueous tissue is con- 

 stant also under new conditions, hence it is likely to think, that it 

 has always been induced and determined by exterior conditions. 



3. Indifferent qualities, being not epharmonical. Of these the 

 author says (p. 50): 



„It seems likely to me that these indifferent qualities disappear 

 „by mutation and that they were retained because not contrary to 

 „the conditions, but the possibility cannot be denied that they came 

 „into existence epharmonically to conditions no more existing or that 

 „we do not yet understand their epharmose. With regard to ephar- 

 „monical qualities the inverted case seems to be the most likely, 

 „they came in existence epharmonically to the conditions, the in- 

 „constant as well as the constant ones." 



The third and fourth chapter deal with the system of life-forms. 

 The authors system is following: 



Class I. Heterophytic plants. 



Of autophytic plants there are 5 classes: 



Class IL Aquatic plants. 



Class III. Lichenoid plants. Hereto also e. g. Tillandsia usneoides. 



Class IV. Muscoid plants. 



Epiphytic plants are not regarded as a distinct group of life- 

 forms, they form a community of different life-forms. 



Class V. Scandent plants. 



