ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY. MICROSCOPY, mC. 77 



primary bundles ; this ring gradually increases in thickness, and within 

 the enclosed tissues appear brown masses of a gum-like nature. Scliizo- 

 genous secretory passages appear first just below the cotyledons, and 

 after anastomosing, pass into the cotyledons, each of the six bundles 

 being accompanied by a secretory tube. The tubes are not found in 

 the root until later on, when several are formed near the phellogen or 

 in conjunction with secondary phloem. The first foliage-leaves have 

 five tubes each. Every inflorescence-axis has several tubes running 

 through the pith and cortex and thence into the perianth and stamens ; 

 the ripe fruit has fourteen or fifteen such tubes. The walls of the 

 tubes are exactly like those found in Vines and in the Umbelliferae. 

 The secretion, which consists mainly of ferula acid, appears to be 

 related to resin ; its function is apparently protective, while it also 

 serves to fasten the seeds firmly to the surface of the soil. 



CRYPTOQAMS. 



Pteridophyta. 



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



Loxsoma.* — K. Goebel publishes a paper on Loxsoma, and on the 

 systematic arrangement of Ferns. He gives a short historical account 

 of Loxsoma^ summing up the different views held as to its affinities ; 

 and then describes his own researches on the prothallia and germinating 

 plantlets. He holds that the prothallia of Loxsoma belong to the series 

 of Cyatheacese-Polypodiacefe. Their structure shows that there is no 

 resemblance to the prothallia of the Hymenophyllaceae. He does not 

 agree with Lotsy in regarding Loxsoma as one of the " mothers " in the 

 genealogical tree, but as a reduced form. The author then discusses the 

 formation of the sorus in Cyatheaces, beginning with Thijrsopteris. 

 In the third section of the paper the author sets forth his views as to 

 the classification of ferns. He regards the division into eu- and lepto- 

 sporangiate ferns as satisfactory. The divergent series included in the 

 latter he divides into two groups. 1. Sporangiis longicidis (sporangia 

 open longitudinally) : Osmundace^e, Schizteaceae, Gleicheniacea?. 2. 

 Sporangiis brevicidis (sporangia open by splitting obliquely or trans- 

 versely to the longitudinal axis) : Cyatheace^e, Hymenophyllacea3, Poly- 

 podiaceag. The Salviniacea3 and Marsiliaceae are not included in the 

 discussion. 



Sporangia of Seiaginella.t — Elise Kainradl describes a macrospor- 

 angium of Selagijiella helvetica with several spore-tetrads, and discusses 

 the development of macrosporangia in European Selaginellse. 1. In one 

 macrosporangium of S. helvetica were found four ripe well-developed 

 spore-tetrads as well as numerous smaller degenerate tetrads. In 

 another macrosporangium were eight large quite ripe spores. The 



* Flora, V. (1912) pp. 33-52 (figs.). 



t SB. k. Akad. wiss. Wien, cxxi. (1912) pp. 651-65 (1 pi. and figs.). 



