293 
total length varying from 2—4 cM. The lower and upper 
bracts are mostly sterile, in the axil of the middle ones 
two pairs of decussate bracts of second order are borne 
by a short axillary branch. The first pair stands in the 
transverse plane and is formed by two keeled membranous 
scales, flattened in the same plane. These are followed 
by the median pair which is fused in its lower part and 
forms a bowl-shaped envelopment with two short round 
lobes. This pair encloses the innermost organs of the bud 
entirely and may be compared with a true perianth. For 
now two whorls of organs succeed, which may be called 
by the names of androecium and gynaecium. The former 
consists of a series of six, seldom four or five, stamens, 
which are fused at their base forming a tube, and each 
one ending at their top in a terminal peltate synange 
composed of three sporanges. [| will not enter into details, 
whether we have here a whorl of six segments (Hooker, 
72), or two lower stamens and four higher ones (Stras- 
burger, 147), or two decussate stamens bearing each three 
anthers (Lignier et Tison, 89; Mc Nab, %6; Pearson, 
112, 113), for this would lead me away from my proper 
subject. There are no convincing arguments to prefer the 
second and third interpretation to the first one, which is 
undoubtedly the simplest statement of the facts. 
The gynaecium looks equally simple, and at first sight 
it would not be supposed, that there is so much difference 
of opinion about it. À central cone-like mass of tissue, 
the nucellus, is surrounded by a thin integument, which 
protrudes into a tube above the nucellar-apex, reaching 
the level of the tops of the stamens, and ending there in 
something like a stigma, a flat disk covered with papillae. 
It is evident that a superficial contemplator takes this 
organ to be a pistil with stigma, as it gives entirely the 
impression of it, but also investigators, who made a more 
serious study of the flowers of Welwitschia have been 
