No. 4, February, 1922] MORPHOLOGY, ETC., VASC. PLANTS 277 



many variations such as peloria, semi-peloria, fasciations, synanthy, increase and reduction 

 in the number of parts of all 4 whorls, abortion of stamens, etc. Early in the year the tend- 

 encies exhibited are toward an increase in the number of parts, especially in the androecium 

 and gj'noecium, and toward fasciation. Such variations are usually found in the middle 

 flowers. In the autumn the commonest variation is a bifurcation in the upper lip of the 

 corolla, and specimens showing this are fewer in warm, sunny situations. In the autumn 

 also the abortion of stamens is commonest, and this is accompanied bj' a marked decrease in 

 the size of calyx and corolla, the side flowers withering without opening. Throughout the 

 year flowers with a reduced number of parts in the corolla are common. — W. P. Thompson. 



1823. DusEN, P., UND F. W. Neger. Uber Xylopodien. [Xylopodia.] Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 

 38: 258-317. PL 10, 20 fig. 1921.— In 1900 Lindman described as "xylopodia" the hard tuber- 

 ous thickenings of the underground parts of the shrubby and dwarfed plants of the steppes 

 of southern Brazil. Many plants possess these structures. Many xylopodia are described 

 as to characteristics of the bark, structure of the woody parts, and presence of reserve material 

 and other contents. The xylopodium is root as often as stem, often root in one species and 

 stem (rhizome) in another in the same family and even in the same genus. The parench3Tna 

 is remarkably developed. The unusual hardness is due to: (1) Hard bark, 1-2 mm. thick, of 

 thickwalled stone cells; (2) cell walls of the parenchjTna more or less silicified; (3) inorganic 

 substances such as calcium oxalate or calcium carbonate. The arrangement of the tissues 

 is rather regularly radial in the larger xylopodia, but in the more nearly oval ones it is not 

 always easj' to distinguish between longitudinal, tangential, and cross sections. These oval 

 ones also have fewer and smaller bundles. Growth rings appear in some, but it is not known 

 whether these are annual rings. The few xylopodia known in Europe do not differ essentially 

 from the Brazilian forms so far as investigated. — L. Pace. 



1824. Feustel, Nerm. Anatomic and Biologie der Gymnospermblatter. [Anatomy and 

 biology of gymnosperm leaves.] Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 38: 177-257. 1921. — A review and 

 discussion is presented of the literature on this subject. The Pteridosperms (Cycadofilices), 

 Cycadales, Bennettitales, Cordaitales, Ginkgoales, families of the Coniferales, and Gnetales 

 are considered, the epidermis, stomata, hypodermis, mesophyll, secretory system, vascular 

 bundle, transfusion tissue, rhachis, and bundle trace being discussed. — L. Pace. 



1825. Hofmetr, Joan. A note on the germination of the seed of Elephantorrhiza Bur- 

 chellii. South African Jour. Nat. Hist. 3: 215-210. 1921. — A hollow cotyledonary tube 

 carries the plumule and radicle down into the soil. The plumule develops within this cotyle- 

 donary tube and eventually pierces the wall, the resulting shoot coming above the ground. 

 Throughout the germination the cotyledons remain below- the ground and function as a store- 

 house upon which the developing seedling draws for its nourishment. — E. P. Phillips. 



182(3. Hollow AY, J. E. Studies in the New Zealand species of the genus Lycopodium: 

 Part IV. — The structure of the prothallus in five species. Trans, and Proc. New Zealand Inst. 

 52: 193-239. PL 12-15, 75 fig. 1920.— The species described are L. Billardieri Spring, L. 

 Billardieri gracile T. Kirk, and L. varium R. Br. Prodr. of the section Phlegmaria; and L. 

 cernuum L., L. laterale R. Br. Prodr., and L. ramulosum T. Kirk of the section Cernua. The 

 species of the former section are very similar in general shape. The central body, more or 

 less elongated, bears a number of adventitious branches. In the main body the fungal sym- 

 biont is present throughout the older portion, though more scattered forward. The tips of 

 the branches and the forward end of the central body are free from fungus. This latter is 

 the main generative region and bears paraphyses, anthcridia, and archegonia. In the section 

 Cernua, L. cernuum and L. laterale are very similar. The prothallus consists of a basal 

 "primary tubercle" supporting a shaft which terminates above in a crown of lobes beneath 

 which lies the meristem and the sexual organs. The prothallus grows at the surface of the 

 ground and has green lobes and a radial structure. The fungus is present in the primary 

 tubercle and in lateral extensions from this area, or sometimes in a second swelling part way 

 up the shaft. The prothallus of L. raynulosum varies greatly, however. The structure of all 

 5 species is described in detail. — Wm. Randolph Taylor. 



