290 
$ 31. Welwitschia mirabilis Hook f. 
Literature: Church (48), Hooker (72), Lignier et 
Tison (89), van der Meulen (94), Mc Nab (%), 
Pearson (112, 113), Strasburger (147), Sykes (152). 
Material: collected by N. Barends in Pforte near Swak- 
opmünd (Z. W. Africa) and present in the Botanical 
Laboratorium of Groningen. 
Since the first discovery of Welwitschia mirabilis in 1860 
a good deal has been written about this strange plant 
and especially about the morphology of the , flower’. Apart 
from the many opinions expressed as to the systematic 
position and the possible connexion with either the Bennet- 
titales or the Angiosperms, there exists a rather extensive 
literature about the construction and the morphological 
value of the different parts of the female fructification. 
And especially in this domain of the morphology it 
seems to be actually the rule that each new investigator 
gets en other insight in the matter and gives other names 
to the different parts accordingly. So it is not possible 
for me, as [ always tried to do in these descriptions to 
render the real conditions in a purily objective manner, 
without take with the names part once more of some 
inductive or deductive qualification of the ,, flower” organs. 
Therefore it seems best to me to mention a few descriptions 
from the literature and then to try to find the right inter- 
pretation with the help of my own observations. 
The female strobili are monosporangiate but the male 
strobili are morphologically bisporangiate, namely in this 
case female organs occur between the microsporophylls, 
but then they do not function. We cannot yet speak 
here of macrosporophylls on account of a reason to be 
mentioned later on. 
Both specimens of strobili are found on separate plants, 
Welwitschia therefore is dioecious. 
