414 Transactions. 



while smaller rosettes are springing up^all round. I have not 

 been able to examine the plant with which it has been identified, 

 but will merely give an account as fully as possible of its ana- 

 tomical structure. 



Anatomy (figs. 24a, 24&, 24c). — A transverse section through 

 the leaf shows a depression on the upper surface above the 

 midrib, and a corresponding protuberance on the lower surface. 

 Stereom (sm.) is developed in small amounts at the edges of the 

 leaf and above the lower epidermis opposite the midrib. The 

 cuticle (cut.) on the upper surface is smooth and thick, and the 

 epidermal cells (ep.) of the upper surface have also greatly thick- 

 ened walls. The lower epidermis (l.ep.) is made up of much 

 thinner-walled and smaller cells. This surface of the leaf is 

 very irregular. Peculiar hairs (h.) are developed on the surface. 

 Each hair (fig. 24&) arises from an epidermal cell, and by divi- 

 sion forms a stalk of two cells and an upper portion of elongated 

 cells. These hairs are probably glandular. Stomata (st.) occur 

 on both surfaces, but are most numerous on the lower sur- 

 face. The chlorenchyma (chlor.) consists of a palisade tissue 

 (■pal.) composed of 5-6 layers of large oval-shaped cells with 

 chloroplasts along the side walls, and a spongy tissue (sp.) 

 closely arranged and consisting of only 3-4 layers. The cells 

 are rounded, and contain few chlorophyll corpuscles. There is 

 a definite and thick-walled endodermis (endo.) surrounding the 

 vascular bundle (v.b.). There is a strong and unusual develop- 

 ment of palisade tissue, which is a modification to intercept heat 

 and light rays. 



Astelia linearis, var. subulata. 



" Growing in patches, the short stiff vertical green portions 

 of the leaf rising above the ground for about 11 mm. This 

 plant spreads into large colonies by means of its long wiry stems, 

 which creep just beneath the surface of the ground. These stems 

 are covered thickly with old decayed leaf-sheaths, and with these 

 and the roots form extremely dense mats 3 cm. or more in 

 length. . . . Just before issuing from the ground the stem 

 branches into two or three leafy shoots, each furnished with 

 2-3 green leaves. Such leafy shoots, being quite close, form a 

 rather dense turf. The leaves are +2 - l cm. long, and consist of 

 a pale-coloured sheathing base, which is rather longer than the 

 vertical or semi-vertical shining green subulate lamina. There 

 are a few hairs on the sheath, and occasionally at the base of the 

 lamina, otherwise the green portion of the leaf is quite glabrous."* 



* Cockayne (1903), p. 266. 



