18 



of an excretory nature. Internally the common mass is mainly com- 

 posed of cellular tissue, the cells in many instances containing nuclei, 

 and often viscid matter. The vascular bundles are many, without 

 any very evident arrangement, except towards the axes or stems, to 

 which they will be found to converge. They are composed of lax 

 fibres, filled (after maceration at least) with grumous tissue, and short, 

 annular, sometimes partly unrollable vessels. 



" Within the common mass the buds are developed, being pro- 

 tected during their earlier stages by the superficies of the mass, as 

 well as by their own scales, which are then very closely imbricated. 

 The buds subsequently protrude through the common covering, de- 

 rived from the superficies of the mass, which remains in the shape of 

 an irregularly torn annul us or wrapper. 



" The flower-bearing axes or stems, which appear perhaps gene- 

 rally to be one to each lobe of the common mass, are not isochronous 

 in development. Instead of leaves they present imbricated uncoloured 

 scales. The main bulk of the stem is of nucleary cellular tissue, tra- 

 versed by longitudinal vasculo-fibrous fascicles, which supply the 

 scales. In the female spikes these are much ramified in the circum- 

 ference, but they do not, I think, pass into the receptacles or into 

 any of the pistilla. 



" The scales have no cuticle or internal cavities, they never pre- 

 sent green colouring matter, and are generally colourless and black- 

 ened about their points. They are of a fleshy substance, and are 

 provided with several simple vascular fascicles. 



" The bractese, which are only developed in the male spikes, are 

 fleshy, abruptly truncate, and more or less canaliculate. In the spe- 

 cies in which they are most so, owing to their lateral edges being 

 partly at least in apposition, the flowers appear enclosed in alveoli ; 

 and this is particularly evident after the fall of the flowers, when the 

 head of the spike presents a honey-combed appearance. Balano- 

 phora dioica would appear to have cyathiform or involucelliform 

 bractese ; this probably is a mistake. The vascular bundles are ob- 

 solete, appearing rather as streaks of discoloured tissue ; in them I 

 have only observed fibres similar to those surrounding the vessels in 

 the longitudinal bundles of the axis. 



" The perianthium, which exists only in the male, is composed of 

 four or five sepals ; if five, the fifth is anticous ; their aestivation is, 

 valvate, their substance fleshy. I have not detected in them any vas/ 

 cular fascicles, although there is some appearance of their existence 

 within each margin. 



