953 



immediate apposition to the latter, yield their contents to the stigma, 

 without developing the least trace of tubes : Eschscholtzia cristata 

 affords an example. Lastly, to epigynous impregnation also belongs 

 that form which occurs without the formation of tubes, of which the 

 author consequently never found any example in the majority of 

 Composita3, Umbelliferae, Lobeliaceae, &c. 



" The third section treats of perigynous impregnation. On the 

 outside of the ovary of Reseda odorata, says the author, at the part 

 to the inside of which the ovules are attached, and accurately corre- 

 sponding to the course of the placenta, run narrow, pectiniform, ele- 

 vated striae of papilliform projecting external cells, running in a 

 direct line from the upper point of union of the pistils, nearly to the 

 base of the ovary. If we examine the flowers of this plant shortly 

 after the successful shedding of the pollen, we find a quantity of pol- 

 len adhering to the striae, which has partly discharged its contents 

 without forming tubes, and not unfrequently penetrates the cuticle by 

 means of a delicate tube, so that a perigynous impregnation in this 

 plant can scarcely be questioned. ' EJypogynous ' impregnation is 

 the subject of the fourth section. The coronet of Passiflora seems to 

 be intended to assist in fertilization. It is covered with papillae, like 

 the stigma ; the openings of the anthers are directed towards it, in 

 the same way as they usually are towards the receptive organs. 

 Lastly, the author remarks, that those are not always pollen-tubes, 

 which appear to be such, even when they are hanging out from the 

 ovule ; as in the Cruciferae, where they are prolongations of the con- 

 ducting tissue, and in the Cupuliferae, where they belong to the 

 ovule. The former are present before the shedding of the pollen : 

 they are even articulated, and the middle chamber is filled with a 

 clear sap, containing green granules : the latter often originate long 

 after the pollen-shedding, as is the case in Quercus rubra." 



Mr. Wilson has also observed that pollen-grains penetrate the cavity 

 of the hairs of the style in Campanula, as reported by him in Hooker's 

 'London Journal of Botany,' for 1842. 



Monstrous or unusual developments of parts of plants frequently 

 furnish a key to the true character of such parts ; witness the 

 monstrous state of Cerastium discovered by Mr. Babington and 

 figured by Lindley, and many others. Several curious examples are 

 described in the present volume; some of which we select. 



Thesium intermedium, Sfc. — Reissek describes a monstrosity which 

 " was observed in a specimen of Thesium intermedium, and in fact 

 in a plant which was covered with the ^cidium Thesii. It showed 



