250 Dr. L. Radlkofer on Fecundation in the Vegetable Kingdom, 



contained in these organs — described by him as exactly like the 

 spermatozoids of Polytrichum and Marchantia, — when brought 

 to light by pressure, began after some time to move tumul- 

 tuously. He therefore held these corpuscles to be the sperma- 

 tozoa of the Lichens, and theii* conceptacles antheridia. He 

 describes the latter in Cladonia alcicornis as small (scarcely as 

 large as a millet-seed), mostly stalked nodules at the tips of 

 some of the lobes of the thallus, quite distinguishable by the 

 naked eye, but not occurring in all individuals, on account of the 

 probably dioecious inflorescence ; — as larger in Borrera ciliaris, 

 in which they are distinguished by their brownish colour from 

 the young apothecia, which are green. The spermatozoa he 

 describes further as little cylinders, whose length exceeds their 

 diameter 10-20 times. They are stated to be developed in 

 lenticular cells which are contained in the gonimic layer, and 

 out of which he had seen them escape. Their movement was 

 essentially different from mere molecular motion (no motive 

 organs, however, are described, at all corresponding to the cilia 

 of the Moss-spermatozoids) : the motion w^as seen most clearly 

 in those spermatozoa which collected at the top of the water as 

 a shining, hard pellicle after several days' maceration of the 

 Lichens, going on to the commencement of putrefaction {Bor- 

 rera, Peltidea, Lecanora, Parmelia, Cladonia). 



Kiitzing* and K. Mullerf confirmed the existence of the 

 cylindrical corpuscles, but saw no movement of them. Von Flo- 

 tow J saw it (in Verrucaria), but regarded it as molecular motion, 

 and the antheridia as abortive fruits. Rabenhorst, after many 

 unsuccessful attempts § with macerated Lichens, likewise per- 

 ceived it, and was of opinion that it was of decided animal, i. e. 

 spermatozoic nature 1|. Schacht^, after minute examination, 

 can only recognize in the antheridia " stunted (verkummerte) 

 rudiments of the apothecia," and the spermatozoa of Itzigsohn 

 he regards as " the cells of the articulated paraphyses separated 

 by absorption/' in a subsequent publication**, as "foreign 

 bodies come in through decomposition, probably Vibriones." 

 Hofmeistertt likewise only saw a molecular motion of the said 

 corpuscles : the corpuscles with slow, snake-like motion, which 



* Botau. Zeitung, 1850, p. 913. 



t In the addition to his translation of Montagne's essav, " Morpholo- 

 gische Grundrisse der Flechten," Halle, 1851, p. 30. 



+ Botan. Zeitung, 1850, p. 916. 



§ Ibid. 1850, p. 913. || lUd. 1851, p. 153. 



U Pflanzenzelle, BerUn, 1852, p. 120. 



** Schacht, Das Mikroskop. &c., 2nd edit. Berlin, 1855, p. 83. 



tt W. Hofmeister, Vergleich. Untersuch. der Keimung, &c., hohercr 

 Kiyptog. Leipzig, 1851, p. 139, note. 



