320 [the journal of botany 



Middlesex Plants. Cusciita europcea^ indicated in Trimen and 

 Dyer's Flora as probably extinct in the county, grows in various 

 localities at Shepperton, on TJrtica dioica, Humulus, Arrhenathei'um, 

 Fnuius spiiiosa, etc. It is noteworthy that no Cuscuta is mentioned 

 by Mr. Druce in his notes on Middlesex Flora in this Journal for 

 11)10, pp. 269-278. Caucalis nodosa var. pedunculare, above Pen ton 

 Hook. Campanula glonierata, very luxuriant and plentiful in alluvial 

 meadows, vSliepperton. The " fine trees " near Sun bury mentioned 

 in Fl. Middlesex (p. 2i51) mider the name of Populus alha are not 

 this species, but P. canescens. Jiincus comnressus, near Laleham. 

 Ff'stuca prateiisis var. pseudo-loliacea, Thames side opposite Surbiton. 

 Equisetuni arvense var. nemorosiim, near Laleham. The following 

 hybrid plants have been seen in the Shepperton district : Rubus 

 ccesius X idceus, a large patch covering a space of ground about 

 30 feet by 9 feet; Cardans crispusx nutans, associated with parent 

 species, Si/mphyfam peregrinumXofficinrile Y2ii\ ochroleucum; flowers 

 lieshy-lilac in colour, stems slightly winged — presumably Mr. Buck- 

 nail's X S. discolor — associated with the cultivated and the pale- 

 flowered forms. — C. E. Beitton. 



REVIEW. 



Morphology of Gymnosperms. By John M. Coulter and Charles 

 J. Chamberlain. Revised edition. 8vo. Pp. xi, Ai'oQ, tt. -102. 

 University of Chicago Press, 1917. Price $5.00 net. 



It is interesting to compare the thin volume, entitled Morphology 

 Spermatophytes, issued by Professors Coulter and Chamberlain in 

 1901, with the stout volume now under consideration. The earlier 

 volume formed Part i. of a larger work and dealt with the Gymno- 

 sperms, the Angiosperms being treated in a separate part issued in 

 1903. 



In 1910 the part dealing with G-ymnosperms was rewritten and 

 published under the title Morphology of Gymnosperms. The 179 

 pages of text and 106 figures of the book of 1901 grew in 1910 to 

 430 pages of text and 462 figures. In the intervening years the 

 groups ot' plants had been subjected to an extensive critical examma- 

 tion, and a number of special investigations had been cari-ied out in 

 their own laboratory b}' the authors and by workers who had studied 

 under them. The presentation in the later work was, so far as con- 

 cerned the living groups, from an entirely different standpoint and, 

 to quote the preface of 1910, was *' based upon our own work, supple- 

 mented by the work of other investigators, rather than a compilation 

 from literature supplemented by occasional personal observations." 

 The intervening period was also one of great activity in the work of 

 investigation of the Gvmnosperms — the number of titles in the 

 bibliography increased from 112 in 1901 to 420 in 1910. The 

 authors closed the preface to the work of 1910 with the remark that 

 a book of this nature is in a certain sense out of date as soon as it has 



