48 JOURNAL OF THE 
On carefully digging up the plants the roots, or what I 
rather regard as prolonged subterranean stems, were 
found to be very much as Miss K. A. Taylor’ has de- 
scribed them. The plants propagate by these under- 
ground stems which are 8-15mm in thickness and similar 
to those of Commandra, but larger., These, in the cen- 
tre, are frm, tough and woody. This core of wood is 
covered with a thick, tough, though rather corky bark, 
3-4mm in thickness. Krom the lower side of this are fre- 
quent small roots, none of them over 3mm in thickness 
which form attachments to the roots of the trees and 
shrubs growing around. These slender roots are attached 
to the host by disk-shaped haustoria, somewhat similar 
in structure to those described for Commandra.* 
Miss Tayior’ gives the length of the ‘troots’’ dug up at 
Columbia, S. C., as being only a few yards. They are 
frequently very many yards in leneth, however. One 
plant I recently had dug up, had an unbroken stem 
measuring nearly 10cm, and as there wasa growing-point 
at only one end the length must have exceeded this. The 
vegetative stems are apparently developed in no regular 
order and from no evident buds. though this will bear 
farther examination. The stems lie from 12-15cm below 
the surface and fork at frequent but irregular intervals. 
The underground stems are tipped with a growing-point 
in appearance not unlike that of many of the large roots 
of plants. As this growing-point pushes forward during 
the season of growth, many small roots are developed 
from tne lower side of the newly formed stem. These 
penetrate either straight down or somewhat laterally 
until they reach the roots of some tree or shrub suitable 
for attachment, where haustoria are formed. ‘The longest 
of these roots tound was about 3cm in length. While 
‘Gard. and Forest, 7: 94. 
8 Von Schrenk, Bul. Tor. Bot. Cl. 12. 
9Gard. and Forest, 1. c. 
