i 9 i 7 ] CHAMBERLAIN— LYCOPODIUM 57 



thallium and the anatomy of the sporeling. The varied species, 

 ranging from epiphytes to ground forms, with prothallia ranging 

 from the green, leafy aerial type to the deepest subterranean 

 tuberous type, make New Zealand an ideal plajre for such a study. 



Material and observations 



The epiphytic type is not represented in the species at my 

 disposal. Lycopodium laterale has a stout creeping rhizome, with 

 numerous erect branches, and cones borne laterally; L. scariosum 

 has a somewhat similar habit, except that the cones are terminal; 

 L. volubile is the most beautiful species of the genus, bearing a 

 striking resemblance to Selaginella as it trails along the ground 

 or over bushes; but, unlike Selaginella, it keeps well after being 

 gathered and is much used for table decoration. 



PROTHALLIA 



L. laterale. — The only reference I have been able to find in 

 regard to the prothallium of this species is in Holloway's (16) 

 paper. He says "in the case of L. laterale prothallia] plants were 

 found in two localities, growing on recently overturned marshy 

 soil. The prothallus of this species corresponds to the type of 

 L. cemuum, is small and short-lived, and is situated at the surface 

 of the ground." 



I had at my disposal 3 prothallia with protocorms attached and 

 one older protocorm entirely free from the prothallium. In the 

 first 3, each of the protocorms bore 2 fully grown protophylls; the 

 older protocorm bore 10 protophylls. Two of the prothallia with 

 their young plants are shown in figs. 1 and 2, the exact size being 

 indicated in fig. 1a. The older protocorm with its 10 protophylls 

 is shown in fig. 3. In fig. 1 the particles of sand and soil are not 

 represented. 



The upper half of the prothallium projects above the surface 

 of the soil. There is a more or less spreading crown of leafy lobes, 

 abundantly supplied with chlorophyll, and at the base of the inner 

 face of these lobes the antheridia and archegonia are borne. It 

 seems evident that the base of the prothallium was first to develop, 

 but no sharply differentiated primary tubercle, like that shown in 



