116 is drevm from a flwver sent to me in formalin and the reemains of 

 a dried growth attached to a dried flower, which may not be quite 

 like that of a living plant, of about natural size, C represents 

 a section through the flower B, enlarged diameters. ^, is a mag- 

 nified view of the hairs on the surface of the plant. E shows a 

 ceT^sule v/ith valves ext^anded, natural size; and F is a longitudinal 

 section through e closed carsule, rather larger then the natural 

 size. 



One peculiarity of this odd plant is that the orifice is 

 alv.'ays (at least, so far as my two plants testify) on the side of 

 the grov/ths that faces the centre of the clump, and on the native- 

 grown specimens is rather obscure and might easily be overlooked, 

 but after being in cultivation here for a few mohths is as evident 

 as shovm in my drav^ring. And this seems repeated in the new growths, 

 which form inside the old ones Just as they do in the genus Conophy- 

 tum. Urion cutting or^en a flov/erlng grov/th sent to me by Dr. Muir, 

 I find that the flower is terminal, arising at the point of attach- 

 ment of the base of the old growthnon the same side'es the orifice 

 and cur'ving with the same curvature of the growths; behind and at 

 thenbase of the nedicel (which is nuite bractless) arises a nev/ 

 grovrths; behind and at the base of the pedicel (which is quite 

 bractless) arises a new gror^th inside the old one and, of course, 

 invisible from outside, curving conformably with the old one, the 

 curvature being due to the fact that the actual attachment of each 

 growth to the rootstock is about 3-4 lines above the base of the 

 growth on the same side as the orifice. Evidently this plant is of 

 very slow grov/th and does not increse often. 



N. E. Brov/n 



(To be continued.) 



Since the above was written I have received flov^ering growths 

 of this plant passing into the resting stages, and on cutting one 

 ot»en ^«as surprised to find that the tissue v.ithin the skin of the 

 old grov/th consisted entirely of very large, loose and separate 

 globose cells, varying from a half a line to one-and-a-half -line 

 in diameter, each glistening like a dew-drop, having a thin, but 

 somewhat tough cell-wall and cear, colourless watery contents. 

 Under a microscoTse I noted that the outside of the wall of these 

 cells vras marked with outlines of small cells that had been in con- 

 tact vdth it, but had nov disanpesred. As I had never, in any 

 plant, seen a collection of Inrsre, loose cells of this character, 

 1 wished to ascertain their origin and purpose, and therefore 

 sacrif-^ced one of my non-flov/ering grov/ths by cutting a piece from 

 it to examine its structure, when I found that the whole interior 

 is filled with these large, globose cei Is with all the spaced be- 

 tween them filled in v;ith a connecting tissue of very smell cells 

 firmly binding them together into a fleshy substance, all of it with 

 clear, colourless, watery contents, as the chlorophyll is only 

 evident when highly magnified, the granules being st^arsely scattered 

 over the wells of the outer cells, a few even in the large cells, 

 end are excessively sma^l. ?rom this it seems evident that when the 

 plant prepares to go to rest in the very arid region it inhabits, 

 the susbtance of the conn'^cting tissue is first used up and seems to 

 diaripear entirely, leaving only the large cells to supply the new 

 growth contained in the old one with moisture, or perhaps more 

 proabably, to retain moisture around it during the dry season, 

 or until rein falls and the new growth starts developing. It is 



