866 GENLISEA FILIFORMIS. [Chap. XVIII. 



rhizomes of Utricularia. These bladders are transparent, 

 and very small, viz, only rhv of an inch (2.54 mm.) in length. 

 The antennte are not united at their bases, and apparently 

 bear some long hairs. On the outside of the bladders there 

 are only a few papilla, and internally very few quadrifid pro- 

 cesses. These latter, however, are of unusually large size, 

 relatively to the bladder, with the four divergent arms of 

 equal length. No prey could be seen within these minute 

 bladders. As the rhizomes of this species were furnished with 

 bladders, those of Genlisea africana, ornata, and aurea were 

 carefully examined, but none could be found. What are 

 we to infer from these facts? Did the three species just 

 named, like their close allies, the several species of Utri- 

 cularia, aboriginally possess bladders on their rhizomes, 

 which they afterwards lost, acquiring in their place utricu- 

 liferous leaves? In support of this view it may be urged 

 that the bladders of Genlisea filiformis appear from their 

 small size and from the fewness of their quadrifid processes 

 to be tending towards abortion ; but why has not this species 

 acquired utriculiferous leaves, like its congeners? 



Conclusion. It has now been shown that many si)ecie8 

 of Utricularia and of two closely allied genera, inhabiting 

 the most distant parts of the world Europe, Africa, India, 

 the Malay Archipelago, Australia, North and South America 

 are admirably adapted for capturing by two methods small 

 aquatic or terrestrial animals, and that they absorb the pro- 

 ducts of their decay. 



Ordinary plants of the higher classes procure the req- 

 uisite inorganic elements from the soil by means of their 

 roots, and absorb carbonic acid from the atmosphere by 

 means of their leaves and stems. But we have seen in a 

 l)revious part of this work that there is a class of plants 

 which digest and afterwards absorb animal matter, namely, 

 all the Droscracea?, Pinguicula, and, as discovered by Dr. 

 Hooker, Nepenthes, and to this class other species will almost 

 certainly soon be added. These plants can dissolve matter 

 out of certain vegetable substances, such as iK)llen, seeds, 

 and bits of leaves. No doubt their glands likewise absorb 

 the salts of ammonia brought to them by the rain. It has 

 also been shown that some other plants can absorb ammonia 



