378 Transactions. — Botany. 



Description of Seedling. 



Eoot white, descending, at first with few rootlets. 



Hypocotyle 3 mm. long, succulent, terete, white tinged 

 with pink, mostly above ground. 



Cotyledons 2 mm. long, very succulent, pale-green or 

 purple-stained ; laminae oblong ; petioles fleshy, connate at 

 base. 



Leaves spathulate, connate at base of petioles and sheath- 

 ing, or with 1st leaves perhaps sessile, pale-green above, 

 purplish beneath, covered above and beneath at regular in- 

 tervals with erect stout hooked white hairs, with hooks turned 

 upwards towards apex of leaf, obtuse, entire, adpressed to 

 stem at base, then patent or semi-patent, finally apical portion 

 curving downwards. 



3rd pair of leaves 5 mm. x 2 mm. 



Development of leaves (from examination of the growing- 

 point) : In an early stage the leaves are quite linear and 

 sessile, very succulent, not marked with purple, closely im- 

 bricated round the growing-point, flattened above, rounded 

 beneath, with dorsal surface outwards ; then the base lengthens 

 out, forming the tapering base or petiole of the spathulate 

 leaf. In other cases the young leaves have the fully developed 

 form from a very early stage. 



Stem very soft and succulent, as is the whole seedling 

 plant, with short internodes 1 mm. to 1-5 mm., but longer in 

 the very early state, and continuing to lengthen after full 

 development of leaf, branching early from the lower nodes ; 

 branches semi-erect, leafy ; leaves as on main stem. 



Variations : Often the lower part of the petiole is hardly 

 adpressed to the stem, and the whole leaf is almost patent. 

 The lamin£e vary slightly in breadth. One seedling is stained 

 conspicuously with pink in nearly all its parts. 



Between the juvenile and mature plants, so far as ob- 

 served, there is no resemblance. The adult has much-re- 

 duced leaves, closely imbricating and adpressed to the stem, 

 and in shape linear-triangular, with very broad sheathing 

 connate base, fleshy, plano-convex or slightly concave on 

 the dorsal surface, ciliated, especially towards base, with 

 rounded obtuse apex, and dotted with minute hairs on the 

 ventral surface. Brought into cultivation, it quickly responds 

 to the stimulus of moisture and shade, puts forth new growth, 

 especially at the bases of the branches, which soon become 

 furnished with numerous shoots very like young seedling 

 plants, but with leaves not nearly so broad. Towards the 

 apices of the branches the young growth shows many transi- 

 tional forms, from the mature form, only slightly less imbri- 

 cating, to linear leaves, patent and spreading, except towards 



