354 Transactions. — Botany. 



on the table for inspection by members. The words of Mr. 

 N. E. Brown's report are: "N.B. — G. flavida, Col., is true 

 G. 'proreiJens, Hook, f." It will be seen that the misappre- 

 hension has not been on my part. 



Mr. Kirk further says that the drupes of G. prorepens are 

 not described by Hooker as being fleshy ; but on page 66 of 

 vol. i. of the "Flora Novae ZelanditE " Hooker actually uses 

 the term "fleshy" in describing the drupes of this species. 

 In the very brief description in the Handbook this point is not 

 mentioned, and Mr. Kirk was evidently not aware that a 

 much fuller and more accurate description of the plant by the 

 same author was in conflict with his statement on this point. 



Art. XXXII. — An Inquiry into the Seedling Forms of Neio 

 Zealand Phanerogams and their Development. 



By L. Cockayne. 



[Read before the PJdlosophical Institute of Canterbury, 7th September, 

 1898, and 22nd Februarij, 1899.] 



Plates XXVIII.-XXXIV. 



Part I. : Introduction. 



The investigation of seedling forms of plants is a matter 

 which, until quite recently, has been much neglected, and it 

 was not until the year 1892 that this state of things was 

 in some degree remedied by the publication of Sir John 

 Lubbock's painstaking and admirable work entitled " A Con- 

 tribution to our Knowledge of Seedlings." In this treatise, 

 which extends to 646 pages, are excellent drawings and de- 

 scriptions of seedlings belonging to most of the natural orders, 

 together with usually an account of the seed and the embryo. 

 These descriptions in most instances treat of seedlings at 

 certain stages of their growth, but do not trace the life-history 

 of the plant from the germination of the seed to the com- 

 pleted form of the mature plant. The most elaborate portion 

 of the work in question is the classification of the Cotyledons 

 of each natural order, from which is deduced a theory to 

 account for their various shapes. Concerning this theory I 

 do not now propose to speak ; any comment will be reserved 

 until such time as my work is completed and its results sum- 

 marised. Eespecting seedling forms of our indigenous plants 

 very little has been published. In the work just mentioned 

 Linum monogynum, Forst., Pittosporum crassifolium, Banks 



