121 



' Contributions towards a Flora of Brazil, being the distinctive cha- 

 racters of a Century of New Species of Plants from the Organ Moun- 

 tains,' by George Gardner, Esq., F.L.S., Superintendant of the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, Ceylon. 



' Contributions towards a Flora of Brazil, being the distinctive 

 Characters of a Century of New Species of Plants from the Organ 

 Mountains,' by George Gardner, Esq., F.L.S., Superintendant of the 

 Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon. 



' A Brief Description of a New Species of Mammillaria in the Roy- 

 al Botanic Gardens at Kew,' by Frederick Scheer, Esq. 



' On the Huon Pine, and on Microcachrys, a New Genus of Coni- 

 ferae from Tasmanica; together with Remarks on the Geographical 

 Distribution of that Order in the Southern Hemisphere,' by Joseph 

 Dalton Hooker, M.D.R.N., Botanist to the Antarctic Expedition. 



* Observations on a New Genus of Ferns,' by J. Smith. 



Notice of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, No. 97. 



March, 1845. 



The only original botanical paper in this number is the continuation 

 of Mr. Ralfs' descriptions of those debateable beings, the Desmidieae. 

 In a former number we mentioned that the spores of this obscure 

 tribe had recently been described as animals : by a singular coinci- 

 dence, Professor Rymer Jones's ' Natural History of Animals ' is pub- 

 lished at the same time with this number of the ' Annals,' and these 

 two works come to our hands together. Each contains figures of 

 Staurastrum ; Mr. Ralfs treating them as vegetables, Mr. Jones as 

 animals. Botanists appear, for the most part, to side with Mr. Ralfs, 

 zoologists with Mr. Jones : surely we may be allowed to doubt. 

 " Grammatici certant : adhuc sub judice lis est." 



Some of Mr. Ralfs' observations on the mode of reproduction in 

 Staurastrum are highly interesting. 



" During the past summer I several times observed, scattered 

 amongst various Desmidieae, orbicular spinous bodies, the colouring 

 matter of which formed a dense green mass, which tested by iodine 

 assumed a dark blue colour, showing its vegetable nature. On care- 

 ful examination I found that each of these bodies was usually accom- 

 panied by two empty fronds of Staurastrum mucronatum, and was 

 placed between them, though not in contact. Still it appeared so 

 unlike any sporangium I was acquainted with, that I arrived at the 

 Vol. II. R 



