258 THE JOURNAL OP BOTANY 



Pomerauia, S.E. Prussia, Russia (in tlie governments of Wilna, 

 Kurland, and Witebsk) and E. Asia, Australia, Mauritius, Central 

 Africa, and Madagascar. Whether it is indigenous in Europe is 

 doubtful: Nyman (Consp. Fl. Europ. Supp. ii. 285 (1890)) 

 remarks: " Patria hujus plantie est India orient., ubi frequens 

 dicitur." If not indigenous, it is not easy to suggest how it has 

 become distributed, unless the seeds become attached to the feet 

 of aquatic birds, many of which i^ange widely over the world. The 

 suggestion that it is carried in their crops seems not admissible, 

 as Danish ornithologists have shown that, as a rule, birds in 

 migration travel with empty crops. The plant occurs also in 

 Tropical Asia, Tropical Africa, the Mascarene Islands, and 

 Australia. 



The occurrence of Naias in the same lake is also remarkable. 

 We now have this species in Ireland, Scotland, and England; for 

 its distribution in Ireland and Scotland see Trans. Bot. Soc. 

 Edinb. xxiv. 16 (1909). In Europe it is rare, being recorded in 

 Finland !, North Russia, Sweden in Scania ! and formerly in 

 Upland, North Germany (Binow-See and Paarsteiner-See), Pome- 

 rania and Lithuania. It is generally distributed in the United 

 States and Canada. Hooker (Stud. Fl. ed. 3, p. 439 (1884) ) gives 

 " Asia," but Dr. Rendle names no Asian stations in his revision 

 of the genus in Trans. Linn. Soc. (Botany), vol. v. 



The accompanying plate is from a photograph kindly supplied 

 by Mr. W. H. Pearsall. 



THE INDIFFERENT COILING OF ARUM SPATHES. 

 By Miller Christy, F.L.S. 



It is now over thirty years since I first observed the fact that 

 the spathes of the common Cuckoo-pint {Arum mamdatum) are 

 coiled or rolled indifferently either way in different individuals — a 

 fact which I have not seen noticed in botanical literature, except 

 in a brief note by myself published in this Journal for 1883, 

 p. 237. The same is the case with the flowers of the common 

 greenhouse "Arum-lily " [BicJiardia africana or Calla (Bthiojnca). 

 The peculiarity is common, probably, to all the Aroidae. 



Later, I observed that the leaves of A. maculatum, on their 

 first appearance above ground, are also coiled or rolled indifferently 

 either way, and that all the leaves on any one plant are always 

 coiled or rolled the same way as the flower-spathes on that plant. 

 This is, after all, merely what miglit have been expected ; for a 

 spathe is no more than a modiiied leaf or bract. 



It may be asked, perhaps, how it is possible, without great 

 difficulty, to substantiate the statement that all leaves and spathes 

 on any one plant ai'e always coiled or rolled the same way, seeing 

 that the leaves regularly appear at least two months, and often 

 more, before the tips of the spathes are visible above ground and 

 that they uncoil very soon after their appearance. In reality, 

 however, substantiation is easy; for, when even the earliest leaves 



