LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDOX. 5 I 



The President aunounced that Prof. H. O. Juel, of Uppsala 

 was present as a visitor. 



Dr. A. B. Eexdle, F.K.S, Sec.L.S., showed two seedlings of 

 Horse Chestnut from wliicli the tennnial bud had been removed 

 by cutting through the epicotyledonary stem. In each ease a 

 number of minute buds appeared on the cut surface after the 

 healing of the wound ; the buds were arranged round the edge of 

 the section corresponding with the position of the cambium-layer 

 in the stem. A new shoot was also produced in the axil of each 

 of the cotyledons. These new shoots resembled the shoot which 

 is normally developed from the plumule, except that the first pair 

 of foliage leaves was produced at the second node, while a pair of 

 small scales was fortned at the first node just above the level of 

 the soil. The speaker referred to the seedling shown by him at a 

 recent meeting of the Society in which the plumule had been 

 rej)laced by one new symmetrically developed terminal bud. 



Dr. A. W. Hill, E.E..S., commented upon the exhibition and 

 compared it with his experience with the corm of Ctjdamen. 



The second paper was by Sir Akthur Shipley, G.B.E., E.E.S., 

 on " Faria infernulis" in \\hich the conclusion is reached that 

 Linnaeus was probably stung by a virulent insect whicii may very 

 well have conveyed to his system some pathogenic germs unknown 

 at the time of the great naturalist. (See Abstract, p. 6t,.) 



Mr. E. AsuBY exhibited a large series of Australian Cliitons, 

 and said that the leaf-sheaths of Posidonia and Cijmodocea were 

 the habitat of certain rare species. 



Lt.-Col. J. H. Tull Walsh, Dr. G. P. Bidder, and Prol. E. S. 

 Goodrich, E.R.S., Sec.L.S., contributed additional remarks. 



Mr. T. A. Spuague exhibited plants and illustrations concerning 

 his identitication of Sison Ammi, Linu., of which the type-specimen 

 was on view. He stated that Sison Ammi is an Umbelliferous 

 plant published by Linnajus in the first edition of the ' Species 

 Plaiitarum ' in 1753. It has hitherto been a puzzle to botanists. 



The eld 

 as Apiu 



der Jacquin in 1773 identified it with a species now known 

 ^ iiiiji leptopliijllam ; and C'aruel in 1889 identitied it with 

 Pfi/chotis amnioidcs. But examination of the type-specimens in 

 the Linnean Herbarium and the British Museum shows that it is 

 Carum copticuin, a well-known medicinal plant which yields the 

 Ajowan seeds atid Ajowan oil of commerce, from which thymol is 

 obtained. Linnaeus gave it the trivial name A7n)ni because he 

 believed it to be the source of the "seeds of the true Ammi" of 

 pharmacy: " Anunios veri semina." 



The history of the drug Annul goes back nearly 2000 years. 

 Dioscorides, \\ ho lived in the first century of the Christian era, 

 described it as having a minute seed with the fiavour of marjoram. 

 The illustration in the ' Codex Vindobonensis,' which dates from 

 the sixth centurv, represents Ammi Visiucja. The Ammi 



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