273 lole Svans, v.^ho he.s very kindly allowed me to rocke use of some 



of his Tihotogrephs for illustrating this article on the condition 

 that they remain his copyright. 



1>iis cun'ous plf^nt is covered v/lth a silvery v/hite pubescense 

 o"^ -^Ine, short hairs ell rointinr dovrnv/ards and closely pressed 

 to the surface, "'hen at rest the oblioue mouth formed by the shor- 

 ter leaf-tlr is closed, but v/hen the new growth develops, that 

 lesf-ti^ seT^arates from the larg"er leaf, thus resembling the lower 

 Ja-' o^ a shark's mouth, and revealing the tip of the young growth 

 inside, which, thus seen, somev/het resembles a tongue. The old 

 g-rovrt^ does not arpear to be absorbed by the new one in the same 

 manner v it is by the sphaeroids, but withers and dries up after 

 the new frrov-th h^s grovm out of it. I have never seen a flower of. 

 this /s-rour. Under cultivation, in the seedling stage, the growths 

 of these '^lants are auite different from those of the adult plant, 

 for the two leaves comT^osing each grov;th are then about equal in 

 length, and their fr'^e tins are not pressed together in the same 

 way as they are in the adult plant. The successive pairs that 

 are '^evelo'pe;' become more and more unequa"" , and finally, the adult 

 form, as shown in ^ig. ISl, is assumed. This seems to indicate 

 that these cttrious plants have evolved from some species Vvdth a 

 rair o^ leaves of eouel length. I understand that these white 

 T^ubescent T>iants only grov.^ where the surface of the ground is 

 covered v;ith white stones, so that at a distance they are not eas- 

 ily seen. ''Whether this is a case of vrhat is kno^m as protective 

 mimicry i know not, but I have a suspicion that it may be. For 

 the same kin'"'' of concealment from observation is adopted by the 

 prouT> o"^ '-hich I', testiculare is t^^ical. 'These plants have 

 only one rair (or, when making new grov-th, tv;o pairs) of leaves, 

 vrhich are very firm in texture and covered with a very smooth, 

 white skin, v/ithout dots or other markings ,■ giving them a very 

 distinct appearance from all others placed under this genus. V/hen 

 seen growing in a collection v/ith other s^^ecies they are very con- 

 s'^icuous from theii" smooth, v.^hite appearance, and T have been in- 

 formed by Dr. H. I.-eroth, concerning ■^-. testiculare, that "It is 

 simrly amazing to find this species only among the v/hite quartz 

 I have several times v?a.lked on T^urr^ose severe'' hundred yards to- 

 v/ards a patch of such v/hite quartz vrhich -L noticed from the road 

 in order to test it, and the plant was there, flush with the 

 grave] and white stones Some o-^ these matches are only a few yards 

 4n diameter, others a hundred yards long, and there m&j be half a 

 mile or a mile of shalv or loamy eroxind in between without the 

 plant. 'Thy?*' 



As this riant v;ill P'row in loamy or other soil under cultiva- 

 tion, it would anpear safe to assume that in some v;ay its ' hite 

 colour T^^otect"' it when ^rov/ing among the vrhite stones from the 

 observtion of ostriches or animals that v/ould eat it, but that 

 when its se«ds fall and germinate (as the:/ must surely sometimes 

 do) UT^on the of^er kind o-^ soil, they are easily detected and de- 

 voured. 



Such species of this grour as I have seen in flower have a 

 circular, sessil^ stigna , quite different from, that of ell others, 

 which, taken in conjunction v/ith other character, v/arrrnt its sep- 

 aration -^rom Kesembryanthem\im. N, E, i^rovrn 



(To be continued.) 



