274 SHORT NOTES. 



can account for mimicry. The only other possible hypothesis is 

 that the appendage is 'a Teservou' of nutriment for the embryo ; 

 but some experiments with Bicinus communis, made recently for me 

 by Mr. Nicholson, of Kew, experiments which we hope to renew 

 next spring, seem to show that the carunculus exercises no 

 appreciable^effect during germination — a conclusion which is borne 

 out by the diverse chemical constitution of the contents of endo- 

 sperm and carunculus-cells, in proof of which it must suffice to 

 mention that the peptone reaction, though easily obtained from an 

 aqueous solution of the macerated endosperm, cannot be obtained 

 from a similar carunculus-solution, even after eight hours' exposure 

 in a water-bath to a temperature of 100 F. 



The insect-mimicking fruit or seed may escape from its semi- 

 nivorous enemies by being passed over as an insect ; moreover, 

 insectivorous ones seizing it and finding out their mistake would be 

 almost certain to fling it some distance away, by which means the 

 species would stand a better chance of dispersion. Seeing, then, 

 the cycle of offices performed by these structures, it will, I think, 

 be admitted that they are among the most wonderul to be found 

 in the whole vegetable world. 



SHOET NOTES. 



On a two-flowered perigynium of Carex intumescens, Ritdtje, 



AND THE differences BETWEEN THIS SPECIES AND C. GrAYI, Carey. 



— In consequence of seeing a communication in the ' Gardeners' 

 Chronicle' of the 12th ult., respecting Carex Grayi and C. 

 folliculata , I examined the specimens in Kew herbarium in order to 

 be able to reply to the question raised. C. intumescens, Rudge, 

 (C. folliculata, Michaux, Schkuhr, Kuntli, and many other 

 botanists, but not of Linnaeus), and C. Grayi, Carey, the latter 

 being a more vigorous plant and flowering a month later than the 

 former, of which Dr. Asa Gray at first regarded it as a variety. 

 In Boott's herbarium at Kew is the following note from Carey : — 

 " You have never told me what you think of this [Carex Grayi, 

 Carey] as a species. There are specimens from the Cambridge 

 garden where it retains such characters as it has. It appears 

 distinct, but wants (or at least I cannot detect) strong contrasting 

 characters." Having found what I believed to be a very good 

 distinctive character not mentioned in Gray's definition of the 

 species in his ' Manual ' or in Boott's ' Illustrations of Carex,' I 

 requested Mr. N. E. Brown to examine the achenes of the two 

 species in question with care, and, in so doing, he accidentally 

 discovered a perigynium of C. intumescens containing two achenes. 

 I have not been able to find any record of a similar occurrence, 

 therefore I think a brief description may be sufficiently interesting 

 to find a i)lace in the ' Journal of Botany.' Within the utricle or 

 perigynium is the normal triquetrous achene, fully developed and 

 ai)parently ripe ; and in front of it and occupying the place of the 



