T H F. A M l-'.R I CA N BOTA N I ST 



XI 



est gorges of the Fautua. with the tanit)u> fall iu>t far distant; 

 and I was suhse(|iiently as much surprised as I was delighted to 

 run acro>s the same hcautiful lace of Nature s[)arin*(ly alonj^ 

 the wet. shady hluffs of the northeasterly coast. As in L. 

 ohscuniin, some of the fronds are more wir\-, hri.^-hter ^n^een 

 and less lacy. The Lycopodium of dry i^round {L. cerunum), 

 is not so common in Tahati as in the Marquesas, where it 

 j^H'ows to small tree hei,£i^ht on llu' i)lateaus, forming thickets 

 like grasses or cat-tail. — /. O. Stanclijf. 



Flowkrs of" Willow -iiKRi;. — The [)urplish fiower-huds 

 of the willow-herl) {El^ilohiuiii aiu/iistifoliuiii ) have a fash- 

 ion of drooping at the ti]) of the stalk and graduall)- lifting 

 themselves up as they grow toward flowerhood. One of the 

 striking features of the purj)le flower is its long-exserted 

 j)istil. When the stamens are ripe the pistil is like a purple 

 hud on a white stem. .\s it lengthens the tip separates into 

 four sections that curl hack and are white on top. The 

 slender pods when ripe divide into four parts that curl hack 

 just like the stigma, rcxealing and releasing the small brown 

 seeds, each with a parachute to carr\- it awa>-. From the 

 hud to the ripe pod there is always a white streak on the side 

 of the pod next to the ground. — Xcll McMurray. 



