1912} Live Oak and White Oak Seedlings 41 



N. C, a magnificent tree of Quercus alba L. that shows the 

 same peculiarity. Through a number of years I have watched 

 this tree and there are always a large proportion of its acorns 

 that contain two or three young plants. A further point of in- 

 terest is that the seedlings from these acorns show a strong ten- 

 dency to put out branches from the axils of the cotyledons. 

 Three of these young plants, all from multiseeded acorns, are 

 shown in plate III. Each has an additional shoot springing from 

 one cotyledonary bud. Usually only one of the two auxiliary 

 buds grows, but there is frequently an effort to put out both 

 buds, the second rarely reaching more than a centimeter in 

 length. As a result of this combination of peculiarities it 

 might happen that if there were three embryos and each pro- 

 duced a bud from its cotyledon, as many as nine shoots would 

 appear above the ground from a single acorn. It is probable, 

 however, that this never occurs, and the largest number I have 

 ever seen is five, consisting of three primary shoots and a bud 

 from one cotyledon of two of them. 



There is evidently a correlation between this tendency to 

 multiseeded acorns and the formation of buds at the cotyledons, 

 both being the result of an unusual tendency towards fecundity 

 or proliferation that is inherent in the nature of this tree. 



Among the three seedlings shown in the photograph, the one 

 to the right exhibits a still further peculiarity. Several latteral 

 roots have appeared on the hipicotyl — a most unusual occur- 

 rence for the oak. These roots may be seen coming from the 

 stem as far up as three-quarters of a centimeter above the at- 

 tachment of the cotyledons. 



Chapel Hill, InT. C. 



