SOUTH AFRICAN H lU'ATl C'.K. 42C) 



tion of water supply, and to prevent (1_\ ing out. are extremely 

 wonderful. 



In the thalloid grouj) the mass of overlapping thalli, held 

 in position by rhizoids, is i)roof against nmch desiceation; in 

 Finibi'iarid and some others the under-surface of the thallus, 

 which curves round and comes more or less uppermost when 

 dr}'. is ])rotected by radiating plates or ridges ending in scale- 

 like a])])endages, which in youth ])rotect the growing point; in 

 -T/t'to/r/'m and m Riccia alho -luan/iiiata the margin of the 

 thallus is protected by cellular hairs, whicli. when dr\', lie Hat, 

 or fold under the thallus and form w;iter-retainers ; in many 

 foliaceous sj)ecies the leaves are closely imbricated, or even 

 julaceous ; some have the leaves finely divided, and when dry 

 curled inwards; in others the two e(|ual lobes of the leaf are 

 more or less closely pressed together and retain water between 

 them ; in others, again, the upper lobe is large and complanate, 

 protecting a smaller lobe i)ressed against its tmder-surface or 

 concave under it, and so holding moisture. In Fntllania the 

 smaller lobe is convex toward the other, but is more or less 

 pcuiched. forming a pitcher protected by the upper lol)c ; in a 

 few species succulent and almost leafless liasal shoots are pro- 

 duced as resting^ shoots in others { Lricimcac ) restino- Ijuds occur 

 as undeveloped lateral branches. In most of the foliaceous 

 species the perianth is more or less tubular and erect : in Kantia, 

 which grows on exposed clav banks, it is succulent and pendu- 

 lous, i^roducing rhizoids, while in Lindujina the tuberous down- 

 ward elongation of the sporogone enters the soil and anchors 

 that uortion of the plant, besides i)roducing rhizoids.* 



In manv species succulent gemmre are produced, which act 

 as resting buds, or idtimatelv as detached plantlets ; in others 

 the more or less succulent old stem survives and performs the 

 functions of a rhizome; while there are those which produce 

 special rhizomatous branches. In man\- thalloid kinds a water- 

 proof UDDcr surface protects a succulent formation in which 

 assimilation is performed only bv special cells enclosed within 

 protected cavities, and is most of the thalloid. as well as some 

 foliose species, oil is stored abundantly in the cells. 



By one or other of all these means, or by other means not 

 detected or not mentioned above, the apparently delicate 

 Hepaticc-e survive many climatic vicissitudes. 



Strangelv enough, a few species are so regularly aquatic in 

 their habits that they have to provide special means of obtaining 

 air. and some which are amphibious undergo modification to 

 suit their environment. 



* This peculiar structure has heeii noted elsewhere, and Prof. Shiv 

 Ram Kashyap, in reference to West Himalayan Liverworts, says : " Dur- 

 ing the rainy season 4 or 5 inches of rain in 24 hours is not unusual, and 

 occasionally the rainfall may reach 8 to 10 inches. The force of the 

 water on the slopes is naturally very strong, and the plants liave to he 

 firmly fixed in order to escape l)cing washed away." — ( A'Vzc Phylolo;^ist, 

 June-July. I9r_i, p. 207). 



