The 



Scottish Botanical Review 



No. 4] 1912 [October 



Morphological Notes. By K. von Goebel, 

 Sc.D. (Camb.), LL.D. (St And.), 



Director of the Botanic Gardeti, Munich. 

 (With One Plate.) 



I. THE INFLORESCENCES OF THE 

 AMBROSIACE.E. 



The large family of the Compositae, as is well known, is one 

 of those groups whose individual representatives, in spite of 

 all their variation, still show such a close agreement in the 

 structure of the flowers and the inflorescences that one can 

 offhand recognise them as members of one family. Only a 

 few groups deviate to any great extent, and of these one of 

 the most interesting is the Ambrosiaceae. 



Ecologically they are interesting in the manner in which 

 pollination on the one hand and the distribution of the fruit 

 on the other hand are accomplished among them. 



The Compositse as a rule exhibit insect-pollination, but 

 the Ambrosiaceaj have reverted to wind-pollination. 



Hardly any greater contrast can be presented than between 

 the resplendent flower-head of a Helianthus or a Dahlia, with 

 its remarkable arrangements for dehiscence and for trans- 

 ference of the pollen, and the insignificant male and female 

 floral attire of a Xa7ithiuni or an Ambrosia. There is a clear 

 indication here that, quite apart from the lack of a corolla 

 conspicuous in its coloration, the structure of the floral 

 organs is in strict correlation with their functions. In the 



VOL. I. 193 15 



