306 Anatomie. — Morphologie etc. 



Sutherland, G. K. and A. Eastwood. The Physiological 

 Anatomy of Spartina Townsendii. (Ann. Bot. XXX. p. 333 — 351. 

 7 texttig. 1916.) 



Spartina Townsendii (Townsend's Spartan Grass) has been cha- 

 racterized by its phenomenal success on the shelving mud banks 

 along the entire western shore ofSout hampton VVater, whence 

 it has spread with amazing rapidity over the available and suitable 

 mud flat between Selsey B. M. and St. Alban's Head, which 

 form the natural boundaries of the sunken valley of the Solent 

 River. It probably occurred along Southampton Water consi- 

 derably earlier than 1870: the date of the earliest recorded speci- 

 men in the Warner Herbarium. 



There are two sets of roots. The anchoring or fixing roots are 

 long, unbranched, devoid of root-hairs, and penetrate staight down 

 into the mud; the absorptive roots brauch freely, forming a dense,. 

 more or less horizontal web. Both types occasionally show marked 

 negative geotropism, and thus occupy newly deposited strata. 



In the leaves, the most active stomata which occur on the sides 

 of the furrows, show interesting auxiliary structures in the form of 

 forked papillae on the subsidiary cells. These bend over the slit, 

 forming a fringe which entangles an air-bubble when the leaves 

 are submerged, and thus prevent the flooding of the air-spaces. 



Numerous hydathodes of a hitherto undescribed type occur 

 along definite tracts in the neighbourhood of large water-storing 

 cells, These excrete large quantities of water and salts in Solution. 

 This exudation is due to some form of protoplasmic activity within 

 the hydathode rather than to root pressure. 



Hairs are abundant on the young vegetative organs, but most 

 disappear very early. They persist on the glumes, where thej'^ may 

 help in the opening and closing of the flower, and also in entang- 

 ling air bubbles when submerged. 



A remarkable feature is the presence of solid portions in the 

 deep penetrating roots, where numerous air-passages would seem 

 more in keeping with accepted views. 



Agnes Arber (Cambridge). 



Holmgren, J., Apogamie in der Gattung Eupatorium. (Svensk 

 bot. Tidskr. X. 2. p. 263-268. 1916.) 



Im Gewächshause des botan. Institutes zu Stockholm befin- 

 det sich die amerikanische Art Eupatorium glandulosum. Der 

 Fruchtansatz is hier stets auffallend reich, sodass die Vermutung 

 nahe lag, es herrsche eine asexuelle Fortpflanzung vor. Kastrier- 

 versuche bestätigten dies, auch die zytologischen Untersuchungen. 

 Eup. cannabinum erwies sich als rein sexuell. 



Matouschek (Wien). 



Narasimhan, M. J., Malformations in Casuarina. (Journ. Bom- 

 bay Nat. Bist. Soc. XXIV. N^. 3. p. 615—616. 1 pl. 1916.) 



The abnormalities described in this paper were observed in 

 Casuarina trees growing on the ^ides of deep waterwaj^s in Ban- 

 galore. After the monsoon showers in June, shoots were developed 

 shewing two types of malformation 1) fasciation and 2) spiral twisting. 

 Sometimes both abnormalities may be found on the same branch, 

 thus supporting Sorauer's Suggestion that Spiral twisting and fas- 



