482 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [May, 



conspicuous buds. It was worthy of notice that the plants which 

 were too immature to produce flower and seed readily form several 

 underground buds, indicating that the latter method of reproduction 

 takes place at an earlier stage than that of seed formation. Owing to 

 this wise arrangement the danger of extermination from the ravages of 

 enthusiastic collectors is much reduced, since the plants thus reproduce 

 freely at this early stage of their existence without offering any temp- 

 tation to the hunters of wild flowers, who abound in the woods at this 

 time of year. 



By far the most interesting observations on this underground method 

 of reproduction were made on Ariscema triphyllwn. 



On the 27th of July a locality was found on Crum creek where the 

 plants were very plentiful and in the various stages of development. 

 At the time of year mentioned the fruit was formed, and while still 

 green in color it showed a tendency to turn red. Below was the 

 thick corm and the two leaves were showing symptoms of decay by 

 their yellowish tinge. In some cases the leaves had already dropped 

 off completely. In one case the corm was of the same shape as that 

 of the mature plant, namely, depressed globose, while in another the 

 form was markedly different, being decidedly elongated and at the free 

 end there was the appearance of a scar, indicating some previous 

 attachment. It was these longish corms which appeared to indicate 

 some hidden meaning and which led her to contmue the observation 

 in regard to their origin and significance. 



Some years ago, in a short paper entitled Underground Runners, she 

 had called attention to peculiar growths on Ariscema triphyllum as 

 found in April. At that time of year they were small knob-like pro- 

 jections on the corm, while in July these formations were at least an 

 inch in length. There may be several of them on the same corm, nor 

 are they restricted to the mature plants. This species also repro- 

 duces freely before it reaches the flowering age and thus decreases the 

 chances of extermination. This may partially explain the persistence 

 of the plant in our woods in spite of the fact that it is one of the favor- 

 ites of the enthusiastic collectors before mentioned. 



She had found that these structures drop off very readily, and was 

 much impressed with this peculiarity. In fact, it seemed impossible 

 to keep a corm and its growth intact. On close inspection it appeared 

 that there had been. a separation between the main body of the corm 

 and the structure even before they were disturbed. The attachment 

 was entirely superficial, being simply due to a layer of skin which loosely 

 covered and hid the point of separation. The body is somewhat 

 bean-shaped, the bulk being made up of nourishing material, while 

 the apex is occupied by the terminal bud and the scar at the base marks 

 the point where it was originally connected with the parent plant. 

 A space already indicated the separation. Although still loosely 

 united by the skin above alluded to, each of the two structures is pre- 

 pared for an independent existence. 



On the 20th of September she again observed the patches with the 

 view of determining the sequel of the interesting story. By this time 



