1^88 JOURyAL, BOMBAY XATURAL HL'ST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXV. 



arranged as »S'. spmoscf. S. Euniudiana, S. riticulosa, S. serpen.?, S. Marten<ii 

 and 'S'. hramtsiana : and that of the dorsiventral ones as S. paUidixsima, 'S. 

 chvysocaulos and S. c/nysorr/iixos. It has been seen that the above series show 

 the serial grades in the development of the dorsal flap of the sporophylls. 

 It seems probable, therefore, that the dorsal flap has been evolved over 

 again, in the genus Sda;/ineUa, and not inherited from ancestors resembling 

 Lycdpod'mm, as suggested by 8ykes and Stiles (9). It is quite possible that 

 it is produced on account of the gradual compactness of the cone, and the 

 consequent compression brought on the sporophylls. Besides, the better 

 protection of sporangia obtained by the dorsal flap arrangement also 

 suggests that the possession of a dorsal flap by the sporophylls is more 

 advanced. 



SUM.MARV. 



Thti cone ni Schif/mc/la ]>allidi.-<sima is a, branched stracture up to '5 cm. 

 in length. The sporophylls are very little dift'erentiated from the ordinary 

 vegetative leaves and are inserted quite loosely on the axis, so that the 

 ccme does not at all form a separate compact structure. The sporophylls 

 of the upper plane are quite sterile and only those of the lower plane have 

 sporangia, one in the axil of each sporophyll. Mega — and micro-sporangia 

 are distributed indiscriminately on the cone. Sometimes mega-spores are 

 unequal in size. Microsporangia are 'saddle-shaped.' 



The cone can be taken to be a very primitive one on account of its big 

 size, branched nature, loose insertion of sporophylls, little dift'erentiation of 

 the latter from ordinary foliage leaves, and indiscriminate distribution of 

 mega — and micro-sporangia on the aiiis. The absence of any dorsal flap 

 or ridge on the comparatively simple sporophylls of S. pnlliiUsMma and a 

 comparison of the more complex sporophylls of >^. ^plnosa, S. Emniel iana . .\ 

 serpens, >S. Martensii, S. krausxiana, 'S'. c/aysocaulos and 'S'. cliri/sorrkizos, tend 

 to show that the presence of the dorsal flap in the sporophylls of Sdaffinelln 

 is not primitive, but has been evolved in the genus. 



The writer's cordial thanks are due to Professor Shiv Ram Kashyap for 

 kindly allowing him to use his material and for many corrections and sug- 

 gestions in the paper. 



Literature Cited. 



1. Baker, J. (i. — • Handbook of the Fern-allies,' 1S87. 



2. Bancroft, N, — 'Note on Vegetative Reproduction in some Indian 

 Selaginellas.' Annals <if Botany, Vol. XXVIII. 



3. Bower, F. O.— • The Origin of a Land Flora, ' lOOS, page 315. 



4. Campbell, D. H. — ' The Structure and Development of Mosses and 

 Ferns,' 19 lo, page .j23. 



o. Goebel, K. — ' Organography of Plants, Part II.' English Translation, 

 1905, pp. o07-o08. 



0. Harvey fiibson, R. J. — "Contributions tow arils a Knowledge of the 

 Anat(miy of the (ienus >SeU((jineIla, Spr., Part I, The Stem.' Annals of 

 Botany, Vol. VTIl. 



7. Hieronymus, (!., in lingler and Prantl's ' PHanzenfamilien under 

 Selaginellacte. 



8. Mitchell, (Gertrude. — ' Contributions towards a Knowledge of the 

 Anatomy of the (renus Selaginella. Spr., Part V, The Strobilus'. Annals 

 of Botany, Vol. XXIV., No. XCIIL Jan. 1910. 



9. Sykes, M. G., and Stiles, W. — 'The Cones of the Genus Selagi- 

 nella". Annals of Botany, Vol. XXIV, No. XCV, July 1910. 



