444 The Ohio Naturalist. [Vol. VI, No. 3, 



SOME NOTES ON MARTYNIA. 



V. Sterki. 



During the summers of 1904 and '05, I made a series of 

 observations on some plants of Martynia proboscidea, and a few 

 notes may not be without interest. The seeds sprout very 

 slowly, whether wintered in the ground or indoors. Some sown 

 in April and early May did not come up until the middle of June 

 and the first part of July. It seems that the seeds require a 

 rather high temperature. In fairly rich soil the plants grow to 

 a diameter of from four to six feet, while on poor soil and in the 

 shade they remain quite small. 



The leaves, at first opposite, gradually become more and 

 more scattered on branches of the second, third, etc., orders. 

 They are decidedly dimorphous ; those standing above and below 

 on the branches are typically symmetrical and comparatively 

 wider, while those at the sides are narrower and asymmetrical, 

 especially at the base, the proximal part being longer than the 

 distal and more or less incurved. 



The plants are decidedly heliotropic. While still quite 

 young and only a few inches high, they are inclined towards the 

 East in the morning and towards the West in the evening. 

 When they grow larger, the leaves take a conspicuous part in 

 the movements. Those standing towards the East and West 

 raise and lower their blades, while those directed North and 

 South turn on their petioles. It was especially noted that even 

 on cloudy mornings, at dawn, when the eye could hardly dis- 

 tinguish a difference of light between East and West, the plants 

 were decidedly inclined towards the East. 



All parts of the plant, except the inner surface of the deeper 

 part of the corolla tube and of the calyx, are densely beset with 

 glandular hairs containing a viscid fluid on which hundreds of 

 small insects are caught. It is a question as to whether they are 

 assimilated as food. 



Frost kills the plants and they soon decay or become dry. 

 But the immature fruits remain green and fresh for one to sev- 

 eral weeks if protected from severe frosts. There is no doubt 

 that the thick fleshy husk has an important part to play in the 

 ripening of the seed. 



The most interesting variations occur in the flower. Nor- 

 mally the calyx is split down to the pedicel or nearly so, on the 

 inferior side, with five lobes, the upper, median lobe being the 

 longest. The corolla, large and showy on strong plants, 50-65 

 mm. long and of about the same diameter, has normallv five 

 lobes, two upper ones which are the equivalent of an upper lip, 

 one on each side, and one lower which is broader than the others 



