20 ENGLISH BOTANY. 
“3. Anthericew. Perhaps without raphides, as I could not find them in a dried 
bit of Simethis ; while in both plants of 
“4, Hemerocallider, raphides are abundant. 
“ Colchicacew.—Excepting a few minute raphis-like objects in the root-fibres, the 
British plants of this order are quite without raphides. The sphwraphid-tissue 
occurs in Tofieldia; and among the foreign plants Veratrum presents beautifal 
examples of this tissue, and abounds also in raphides. 
“ Briocaulacee.—lI could find no raphides in dried leaves of Driocaulon septangulare. 
“ Juncacee.—In our indigenous species of Luzula and Juncus I have in vain searched 
for raphides. A few small raphides, or objects resembling them, occur in the leaves 
of Nartheciwm. f 
« Alismacew.—Raphides are wanting in our native species, as well as in the few 
foreign ones that I have examined. 
“ Aracee.—Raphides abound in Arum, but are wanting in Acorus. All the exotie 
Aracee that I have examined are raphis-bearers, and so are all the orders of Professor 
Lindley’s Aral Alliance. As to Acorus, it is placed by him in the Juncal Alliance o' 
his ‘ Vegetable Kingdom,’ and as the type of the distinct order Acoracew, between 
Juncacee and Juncaginacee, among our native plants in his ‘School Botany.’ And 
as I have found these last two orders, like Acorus, deficient in raphides, an additional 
reason appears for separating this genus from an order in no species of which have 
raphides yet been found wanting. I have, however, discovered a few small raphides 
like those of Narthecium in the the exotic Gymnostachys. 
© Temnacea.—Raphides occur in all our plants, more abundantly in L. minor and 
L. trisculea than in L. gibba and L. polyrrhina, and they are very plentiful, with spha- 
raphides in the tropical Pistia Stratoites, Potamogetonacee, Naiadacew, Cyperacea, 
Graminacee, and Cryptogamee Ductulose. In none of these plants, which include 
and form so large a portion of the ‘Manual of Bricish Botany,’ have I yet found 
raphides.” 
Professor Gulliver claims for the raphides an important character in plants. He 
thinks that as they invariably are found in one species and not in another, they may: 
fairly be held as specific distinctions, and he says, ‘I believe that a fair examination 
will prove that raphides may give a diagnosis at once as fundamental and universa 
and as simple as truly natural, between plants of some different and proximate 
orders as any one of the secondary characters heretofore used for this purpose i 
systematic botany. That raphides are a true exponent of an essential function of the 
cell-life is shown by their constancy in certain plants; bearing in mind, too, that the 
question is not merely one of such saline crystals as have ever yet been made by the 
act of the chemist. An excellent observer, Mr. Edwin Quekett, thought he forme¢ 
them artificially. But John Quekett, Payen, and others came to the conclusion 
raphides either have an organic basis or pellicle ; and certain it is that they commonly 
occur in bundles, within a living and beautiful cell, the whole forming an organism a 
inimitable by mere chemistry as a spore or a grain of pollen. We must attach,” 
therefore, a far higher meaning to raphides than would be implied only by the term 
crystals.’ Professor Gulliver tells us that an amusing and not uninstructive exce 
tion among plants was lately brought under his notice. A friend taking a fragme 
from a plant in his collecting-box, put it under the microscope, and told him to lo ol 
and say fairly what he saw. He did so—there were plainly many raphides. 
then learned that the plant was a dodder, in which no raphides had ever before been 
found, nor in any of the genus. Accordingly, seme flowers and bits of its stem were 
again carefully examined, but no raphides could be detected. The plant was at last 
