574 SUMMARY OF CUREENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



retained for fimctional purposes ; and they bear pseudo-sori and pseudo- 

 indusia, which have misled botanists into describing false species ; for 

 instance, Triphlehia dimorphoj^hyUa, T. Lima, T. longifolia, Diplora 

 Cadieri. These pseudo-sori point out the affinity of Stenochkena to 

 AspUnmm, and especially to A. multilineaium, which exhibits a similar 

 multiplicity of leaf-form, a parallelism of metamorphosis. Stenochlcena 

 used to form a section of Acrostichum, from which other groups must be 

 separated ; for instance, Gymnopteris or Leptochilus must be transferred to 

 the Aspidiete, as also Polyhotrya and Stenosemia, whilst Hymenolepis and 

 Photinopteris belong to the Polypodies. The author shows that similar 

 appendages occur in two of the long-climbing Lindsaya,. In conclusion, 

 he calls attention to the aphlebia in the fossil ferns Sphenopteris and 

 Pecopteris, and again in the existing ferns Hemitelia capensis, Cyathea 

 Boivini, and Trichomanes aphlebioides. Photographs of the principal 

 forms under discussion are s^iven. 



f 



Mutations of Scolopendrium.* — C. Schroter publishes notes on the 

 mutation forms of Scolopendrium vidgare, ;->75 of which have been de- 

 scribed by Lowe, '22^ having been found in the wild state. O'Kelly 

 in Ireland records 540 variations, o68 of which occurred wild round his 

 house. Though English cultivators claim that spores of a normal 

 part of a frond produce normal plants, and spores of an abnormal 

 part of the same frond produce abnormal plants, yet this assertion has 

 not been proved scientifically. The variations of the frond can be 

 grouped. The author figures them. The variations, through their 

 sudden isolated occurrence and their spore-constancy, bear the character 

 of mutations. 



Apospory and Apogamy in Ferns.f— ^J. B. Farmer and L. Digby 

 publish some studies in apospory and apogamy in ferns, especially the 

 cytological aspects of the problem. Incidentally, the opportunity is 

 taken of correcting the spelling of the words " maiosis " and " maiotic " 

 to " meiosis " and " meiotic," in accordance with their Greek derivation, 

 A detailed account is given of each of the following : — Lastrea pseudo- 

 mas vars. polydactylaWills,., polydactyla Dadds, cristaia apospora Druery, 

 Athyrium Filix-fcemina ynvs. clarissima Jones, clarissima Bolton, uncon- 

 glomerata Stansfeld, Scolopendrium vidgare var. crispum Brummondce,. 

 A brief summary of results follows each study. The succeeding chapter 

 is a general discussion of the results, and contains a suggested classifica- 

 tion of the various apogamous and aposporous types. Finally, the authors 

 state their views as to alternation of generations. 



S" 



Sporophyte of Lycopodium. % — G. Wigglesworth has been study- 

 ing young sporophytes of Lycopodium complanatmn and L. clavatum. 

 According to her results, the first root may show a mon-arch, di-arch, 

 and tri-arch arrangement in the same plantlet. The second and follow- 

 ing roots show a diarch arrangement. The roots arise endogenously 

 near the apex of the stem, and remain arrested for a time ; their branch- 

 ing is apparently dichotomous, one branchlet generally being less vigorous 



* Verb. Schweiz. Natur. Ges. Luzern, Ixxx. (1906) pp. 321-3 (1 pi.). 

 + Ann. Bot., xxi. (1907) pp. 161-99 (5 pis.). 

 X Tom. cit. pp. 212-34 (1 pi.). 



