32 Ohio Naturalist. [Vol. 1, No. S 



and the berries are thus shed at the same time. In tlie winter the 

 plant is remarkable for the few branches left and it looks like an 

 artificially pruned vine. 



The species observed belonging to this class are the following: 



Ampelopsis cordata Mx. 



" tricuspidata Seib. & Zucc. 



Parthenocissus quinquefolia (L.) Planch. 



The shedding of the twigs of woody plants may in many cases 

 be entirely an adaptation to get rid of the leaves as in the case of the 

 dwarf branches of Pines and tlie young twigs of Tamarisks. But 

 even in the Tamarisks it is doubtful whether the joints formed in the 

 older branches can be claimed to have such a purpose, since in thi& 

 case the leaves have all been shed with the annual twigs. The 

 shedding of the old woody branches may have a different purpose. 

 In regard to the trees mentioned above, we think that the process is 

 one primarily to rid the tree of surplus branches. This would man- 

 ifestly be an advantage and would give room and opportunity for 

 the developinent of many young leafy shoots every year without 

 accumulating too great a mass of useless members. This is cer- 

 tainly the case with the poplars and the willows. In no case do we 

 think it admissible to say that the adaptation is primarily for the pur- 

 pose of propagation, although this may be a very important in- 

 cidental result in such plants as the willows when growing in wet 

 places. In the case of Ampelopsis cordata, the only reasonable ex- 

 planation seems to be a preparation for the winter condition, since 

 the branches which are shed do not ripen and the plant has an ad- 

 mirable method for shedding its leaves. The slender branches 

 would be in great danger of being killed by the cold of winter. Tlie 

 shedding of the young brandies of Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich, is 

 remarkably like that in Tamarix. The slender, dwarf branches 

 clotlied with the leaves drop off in the fall or the following spring. 

 The habit must be quite ancient, as such branches of Taxodium 

 distichum miocenum Hr. are very abundantly preserved as fossils. 

 In Taxodium mexicanum Carr. the dwarf branches are not shed 

 until the second year. Glyptostrobus pendulus Endl. and G. hetero- 

 phyllus Endl. also have deciduous dwarf branches. There are other 

 conifers and no doubt many other angiospermous trees which 

 possess these interesting adaptations and by careful obsei'vations, no- 

 doubt many interesting ecological facts will be brought to light. 



