chap, hi The Morphology of the Flower 95 



leaves, such as those of Cycadeae, Liliaceae, Ranunculaceae, 

 &c. In these cases the nucleus would be a new formation 

 on the surface of the lobe, the funiculus would correspond 

 to its base, and the integuments to its upper part folded once 

 or twice round the nucleus in the form of a cup. Only 

 in those few plants in which the ovule has no integument 

 would the naked nucleus or entire ovule correspond to this 

 lobe of the carpellary leaf,' and further, 'When the ovule 

 appears to be the equivalent of a lateral branch or of 

 the whole of a leaf, the funiculus and the integuments 

 together correspond to the foliar structure in each case ; 

 the nucleus arises from it as a lateral outgrowth, while the 

 integuments correspond to the hood-shaped lamina of the 

 leaf, growing over the nucleus.' 



To such straits did the domination of a so-called ' law ' — 

 the theory of metamorphosis — drive its votaries, some of 

 them among the most brilliant intellects of the time ! 



Sachs says in the fourth edition of the Lehrbuch that 

 when writing the first edition he agreed with Cramer's 

 view, but that he had come subsequently to reject it in 

 favour of ascribing different morphological significations 

 to the ovules, according to their mode of origin and their 

 position ; terminal ovules must be regarded as the terminal 

 portions of the axis, lateral ones as equivalents of whole 

 leaves, marginal as branches of leaves, while superficial 

 ones might be included ' in the category of such foliar 

 outgrowths as we have already found to occur in the form 

 of sporangia among the Lycopodiaceae. The ovules of 

 Orchideae must, however, be included under the category 

 of trichomes, inasmuch as they owe their origin to simple 

 superficial cells of the parietal placentae.' 



We find here the dawn of the idea of the sporangial theory 

 of the ovule, but it was little more. The tenacity with 

 which Sachs adhered to the view of the metamorphosed 

 leaf is but a mark of the difficulty with which men parted 



