116 evident that these large cells (v/hich are botanically called Idio- 

 blasts) are capable of retaining their v/atery contents without dryin 

 up for a long time and in a manner that I have never observed other 

 cells or sections of tissue to do. -^ removed some of these large, 

 loose ce'ils and placed some on a niece of glass and some on a piece 

 of natter, all isolfted, and allowed them to remsin uncovered in an 

 ordinary living room, ^s ^ write they have nov; been exposed to the 

 dry aire of the room for over one hundred hours, and seem Just as 

 fresh , as plump, and as glistening as when ^ first removed them from 

 the old growth. If they can do this when separated and in such ex- 

 posed conditions it is very evident that when protected by the skin 

 of the grov;th they must preserve their fluid contents for a very 

 long time, 



117 and rirobably gradua]. ly supply;- moisture to the young grovi^th that 

 they surround inside the old one. ^^'et, when one of these cells is 

 burst, its v/atery contents dries up quickly, '^'hese large cells do 

 not contain crystals, which is one of the functions of idioblats, 

 but there are also much smaller idioblasts mingled with the tissue 

 conta5ning bundles of needle-like crystals (raphides), v;hich are ex- 

 creta. And I have hiterto regarded all these large cells or idio- 

 blasts (which exist in most genera of this group, the familiar pellu- 

 cid in a dark dots being due to them) as functioning only as excretory 

 cell, for they frenuently contain tannin or crystels and are thrown 

 off wit^. the dried skins or deed leaves, but from the behaviour 



of those of this singular plant, as above recorded, it is possible 

 that besides that purpose they also function as special structures 

 whereby these slants are enabled to endure and survive the long sub- 

 jected. They are worth of more careful examination than I am able 

 to give them. 



N. E. Brovm) 



I\ffiSEIv'BRTANTHmrUlvl . 

 Gard. Chron. HI. Bl : 251. 1927. 

 (Continued from page 117.) 



LroiRlA^ N. E. Br. 



251 Muiria ^ortenseae N. E, Br. — In reference to the note at the 

 end of my descrintion of this very singulF.r plant on p. 116, con- 

 cerning the extraordinary ability of the large internal cells 

 (idioblasts) when isolated end some placed on glass and some on a 

 piece of vtpvev to withstand the dry atmosnhere of a living room with- 

 out drying up, I now wish to record further, that these same cells, 

 sti'^l ufon the same pieces of g].ass and parer, remained under ex- 

 actly the same conditions without any covering, fully exposed to the 

 air end §ust of the room, for more than a week without drying up end 

 ernarently vn thout shrinkage in volume, and viere still glittering 

 like dw-drot)S. The temperature of the room was about 60° to 62° 

 Fahr. in the daytime, and about 50° ^ahr. at night, ^n the tenth 

 day a few cells showed signs of collapsing. *^n the tv/elfth and 

 thirteenth days most of them were drying up, and on the fourteenth 

 day only one cell, which was about one line in diameter, remained 

 fully plumn and glittering, all the others being partially or 

 fully dried upi This one cell remained plumn until the eighteenth 

 day. An ordinary saucer half-filled v/ith water v,'as placed by thn 

 side of the cells on the second day after they v/ere isolated, but 

 the water had comnletely dried un two days before the cells were 



