448 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Annam, 11 species of mosses and 2 hepatics (described by Stephani) 

 being new to science. One of the mosses, EnclotricheUa Eberhardti, 

 appeared at first to deserve the rank of a new genus, but subsequent 

 study led to its inchision in EnclotricheUa, of which it constitutes a new 

 section, psei/do-Meteoriopsis. The mosses of this region are, with few 

 exceptions, Indo-Malayan, thereby manifesting a very different aifinity 

 from that of the phanerogams of the same region, which display an 

 American affinity. 



Notes on Species of Philonotis.* — G. Dismier, having received for 

 examination a series of specimens of Philonotis gathered in the province 

 of Quebec by H. Dupret, has been compelled to make a special study of 

 the types of F. MiMenhergii Schwaegr. and P. MacounU Lesq, and 

 James, and has come to the conclusion that there is no character by 

 which the former can be distinguished from the European P. marchica. 

 As to P. JIacounii, this species was wrongly referred by Kindberg to 

 P. marchica ; it is a good species, and to it must be referred as a 

 synonym P. Ryani, a Swedish species described by Philibert in 1894, 

 and recently found again in Italy. Finally, Dismier has found in an 

 old collection of plants made by Breutel in Greenland some specimens of 

 P. seriata Mitt., a species previously unrecorded for North America. 



Systematic Affinities of the European Brachytheciese.f — L. Lorske 

 discusses the systematic relationships of the European BrachythecieiB. 

 This group with its allies have the following pedigree. From Leskeaceaj 

 spring thi'ee lines of genera: (1) Heterocladium — Microthuidiimi — 

 Thuidium — Cratoneuron ; (2) Leskea — Pseudoleskea — Ptychodium — 

 Rhytidium — Lescuraa — Homalothecium — Camptothexium ; (8) Ambly- 

 stegium — Hygroambiystegium (as one offshoot), and Leptodictyon — 

 Chrysohypnum (as the other offshoot from Amblystegium). The author 

 attempted to track out the descent of the Brachytheciefe from Lescurma 

 striata through Homalothecium, Campitothecium, and Brachythecium laetum, 

 but without success. He had therefore to hark back to Crypliceacece and 

 scheme out the descent as follows : Alsiece — Lembophyllacece — Brachy- 

 theciece. The Br achy thee iece consist of three lines : (1) Scorpinriuni ; 

 {2) Eurhynchium — Oxyrrhymhium — Rhynchostegium — Rhynchostegiella', 

 (3) Paramyurium (or Cirriphyllum) and Brachythecium — Bryhnia. In 

 Brachythecium itself he discerns three sub-genera : SaUbrosium ; Eu- 

 brachythecium ; Velutinium. 



Physiology of Development in Marchantia.| — A. Dachnowski 

 publishes an account of his studies of the physiological side of the 

 development of Marchantia polymorpha. The subjects investigated 

 were growth of the rhizoids, dorsiventrality, plagiotropic orientation, 

 influences governing the production of the sexual organs, fertilisation. 

 All of these are influenced by external factors, the principal of which are 

 moisture and light, these being of far more importance than the increase 

 or decrease of nutrition and crowding of the plants. As regards the 

 gemmfe, the formation of rhizoids is mainly influenced by moisture ; 



* Rev. Bryol.. xxxiv. (1907) pp. 50-2. 



t Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr., xiii. (1907) pp. 1-3, 21-3. 



X Priugsheim's Jahrb. f. wiss. Bot., xliv. (1907) pp. 254-86 (1 pi. and figs.). 



