574 SUMMARY OF CUERENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



CRYPTOGAMS. 



Pteridophyta. 

 (By A. Gepp, M.A.. F.L.S.) 



Branched Prothallia in Polypodiacese.* — Elizabeth D. Wuist gives 

 a description and figures of branched prothallia cultivated from spores of 

 various ferns. Her summary of results is as follows: — 1. Branched 

 prothallia occurred in cultures of Adiantum helium, A. capiUus- Vmieris, 

 A. cardiochJsena, A. cmieattmi, A. trapeziforme, Aspleniiim halbiferum, 

 A. FtJix-femina, A. platyneuron, Camptosorus rhizophyllis, Onodea 

 setisibih's, Fhet/opteris poli/podioides, Pteridium aquilinum, ScoJopendritmi 

 vidf/are, Woodsia obtusa, Woodwardia virginica. 2. Branched prothallia 

 were not confined to one type of culture medium, but developed on 

 distilled water, on soil, and on nutrient solutions. 3. Branches were 

 not developed at any definite period in the life-history of the prothallia, 

 but were formed : («) by any cell of the filament ; \b) by divisions of 

 the last cell of the filament ; (c) from the margin and apes of the 

 expanded portion of the prothallium. 4. Branching was both dicho- 

 tomous and monopodial. 5. A definite relation seemed to exist between 

 branching and nutrition. 



Bryoph y ta. 



(By A. Gepp.) 



Treubia insignis.f — D. H. Campbell gives an account of the 

 structure of the archegonium and sporophyte of Treubia insignis, a 

 plant which is usually regarded as connecting the acrogynous leafy 

 Jungermanniaceae with the typical anacrogynous forms — Fossombronia, 

 Pet fdophy limn, Noterodada. The character of the leaves, the apical 

 cell, and the groups of archegonia bring Treubia near to the Acrogynre ; 

 and possibly the dorsal lobes may be the homologue of the dorsal lobe 

 of the leaves of 3Iadotheca, Frullania, etc. The author puts forward 

 the hypothesis that the line Fossombronia, PetalophyUum, Noterodada, 

 Treubia is a direct development of the Sphaero carpus type, through 

 GeothaUus ; and that from this line some of the Acrogynre may have 

 originated. In this case the Fossombronia group would have to be 

 removed from the Peilia line (CodoniaceaB) to the Sphaerocarpales. 



Fossil Moss from Coal Measures. J— 0. Lignier has found a single 

 section of the stem of a moss, in a silex at Grand' croix, near Sainte 

 Etienne. He calls it Muscites Bertrandi. The section passes through 

 the base of a leafy stem, of which unfortunately all the internal ptaren- 



* Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, xliii. (1916) pp. 365-83 (figs.). 

 t Amer. Journ. Bot., iii. (1916) pp. 261-73 (figs.). 



X Bull. Soc. Linn. Normandie, vii. (1914) pp. 128-31 (1 fig.). See also Bot. 

 Centralbl., cxxxii. (1916) p. 172. 



