330 



the " nidi " of roots among wliich its own are developed ; but on tlie other hand it 13 

 provided with an independent root of its own, and that, too, as extensive as in most 

 plants of its size : nor are these dense nodules of fibre produced only in its immediate 

 vicinity; several such were examined, and no trace of Monotropa could he found; — 

 they appear to be attached equally to other substances. After examining the willow- 

 roots which were in contact with those of the Monotropa, and on which I could find, 

 in no instance, the slightest evidence of attachment, I proceeded to note the structure 

 of the root itself. It consists of very brittle, tortuous, fibres, which are thickly stud- 

 ded with more or less claviform branches or fibrils (as represented magnified in fig. 2). 

 Many of these fibrils were necessarily broken off during their separation from the mass, 

 but in such cases a scar distinctly marks their former position. One of them was 

 then placed under the microscope ; with a low power it appeared as at fig. 3, and the 

 transparency of the tip suggested the idea that they were spongioles formed as in other 

 plants. Various sections were then made, which, on the application of higher powers, 

 proved this to be the case ; figs. 4 and 5 are selected from these, and show at once all 

 the peculiarities of the ordinary spongiole. From this it will appear that although the 

 root of the Monotropa be remarkable in structure, it is still a true root, and present in 

 sufficient quantity to supply the necessities of the plant ; and with regard to its con- 

 stant proximity to the root of some tree, may it not — the difficulty of the subject and 

 the notion of parasitism having called undue attention to it — be more signally re- 

 markable in our books than in nature ? Or is the excrementitious matter of these 

 trees particularly nutritious to it, or it's to them ? This I leave to those who have bet- 

 ter opportunity to decide the matter ; but I have no hesitation in saying, that the Mo- 

 notropa has as independent an existence as any other plant. The " minute hair-like 

 fibres '' mentioned by Mr. Lees were also carefully examined ; they have certainly not 

 the appearance of suckers, and though they infest the plant to a considerable extent, 

 are not universally present, indeed I could not assert that they are part of its struc- 

 ture.* — Thos. G. Rylands ; Beivsey House, Warrington, July 23, 1842. 



206. Cistopteris fragilis grows abundantly at Castleton ; I gathered some beauti- 

 ful fronds that were growing on the rocks at the entrance of and rather sheltered by the 

 justly celebrated Peak Cavern. — John Heppenstall ; Upperthorpe, near Sheffield, Au- 

 gust 3, 1842. 



207. Lathyrus Aphaca. 1 take the liberty of enclosing a specimen of Lathyrus 

 Aphaca with its true leaves, which I believe are rare. It was discovered in 1841 by 

 Mr. W. Newnham, jun., in a corn-field near Farnham, where it was then very plenti- 

 ful ; this year it is by some accident very rare. The enclosed was gathered by myself. 

 — Christopher A. Newnham; Farnham, Surrey, August 4, 1841. 



[We beg our correspendent to accept our thanks for the interesting little specimen 

 sent. The occasional appearance of leaves in this species, especially on young plants, 

 is mentioned by Linnasus, Smith, Hooker, and other authors, but we do not remember 

 having seen any notice of a variation in the form of the stipules when the leaves are 

 present. The young specimen kindly forwarded by Mr. Newnham has two leaves, 

 each consisting of a pair of elliptic-lanceolate leaflets ; tlie stipules accompanying the 

 leaves, instead of being of the usual broad arrow-shaped fonm, are merely half arrow- 

 shaped. Three of the simple tendrils in a flowering specimen in our own herbarium, 



* Since writing the above Mr. Rylands has more fully investigated these fibres : 

 the result of his researches will appear in our October number. 



