BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, ETC. 501 



' Causerie sur les Parmelia ' (concl.). — A. de Coincy, Boucerosia 

 Munhijana var. hisjmjiica. — (" 1-16 Sept.," received 19 Nov.). 

 A. Franchet, ' Plantarum Sinensium ' (cont.). — E. G. Camus, 



' Plantes hybrides spontanees de la flore europeenne ' (cont.). 



E. Bescherelle, ' Bryologiae Japonicae Supplementum I.' 



Journ. Linn. Soc. (Nov. 1).— (No. 234). E. S. Barton, ' Struc- 

 ture and development of Snranthera' (2 pi.). — Id., ' Fruit of Chnoo- 

 f<purafastigiata' (1 pi.). — E. S. Salmon, ' Eevision of Sijmblepharis' 

 (2 pi.). — M. Christy, ' Seasonal variations of elevation in branch of 

 Horse-chestnut.' — (No. 235). ' On the Subsubareas [sic] of British 

 India, illustrated by the detailed distribution of CyperacecB in that 

 empire ' (map). 



Oesterr. Bot. Zeitschrift (Nov.). — N. V. Archenegg, ' Zur Kennt- 

 niss der Blattborsten you Cirsium horridiiui.' — R. Schlechter, 

 ' Revision der Gattung Holothrix: — L. J. Celakovsky, ' Ueber 

 petaloidumgebildete Staubgefasse von Philadelphus und Deutzia.' — 

 A. Waisbecker, Aspleniwn Forsteri. — A. v. Hazek, Gymnadeyiia 

 Abelii, nov. hybr. — V. Schiffner, ' Neue Moose der b5hmischen 

 Flora ' (concl.). 



BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, dc. 



The activity shown by German botanists in the investigation of 

 African plants has found a new outlet in a handsome series of large 

 quarto monographs edited by Prof. Engler, two of which have been 

 issued under the general title " Monographieen afrikanischer 

 Pflanzen-familien und -Gattungen." The first, by Prof. Engler, 

 deals with the Moracem (excluding Ficus) ; the second, for which 

 Dr. Gilg is responsible, is devoted to the Melastomacem ; each is 

 illustrated by numerous excellent plates. 



Perhaps the most noticeable point in the latter is the mass 

 of additional Afdcau material that has come to hand since Prof. 

 Cogniaux monographed the order only seven years ago. The 

 African genera now number twenty-three. Dr. Gilg is responsible 

 (either here or in the Nachtuage to Engler & Prantl Pflanzenfamilien) 

 lor nine of these, namely Afzeliella, Urotheca, Petalonema, Cincinno- 

 hotrijs, Myrianthemum, Tetraphy II aster, Phceoneuron, Preussiella, and 

 Orthogoneuron. The first of these, Afzeliella, belongs to the Os- 

 beckiae, and is founded on Guyonia ciliata Hook. fil. Its nearest 

 ally is Guyonia, from which it differs in having tetramerous flowers, 

 a hairy receptacle and eight instead of ten equal stamens ; but it 

 must be remembered that neither Sir J. Hooker nor Prof. Cogniaux 

 considered this a sufficient distinction on which to found a new genus. 

 Again, Urotheca and Petalonema are interesting as being the only 

 African members of the Oxysporece, the connective in both being 

 produced below into a spur, but we doubt whether the distinction 

 alleged between the two is of generic importance. Cincimwhotrys, 

 an epiphyte, belongs to the SoyierilecB, the flowers are cymose and 

 tetramerous, The remaining new genera belong to the Dissochcet(e, 



