LYCOPODITJAi. 185 



A different theoretical explanation has, however, been given 

 by Muller, a German writer, who considers the oophoridiutn 

 as the entire metamorphosed terminal bud of a main axis ; 

 and he supports this opinion by the statement that in the 

 early condition this oophoridium is opposite the spike in 

 which the granular bodies are produced. The spike and 

 the oophoridium are by him regarded as two metamorphosed 

 branches into which a main axis has become divided, and it 

 is only at a later period of growth that they both appear to 

 belong to the same axis. The smaller granules, or antheridia, 

 he regards as lateral buds, or twig buds, only to be dis- 

 tinguished from the terminal bud which is developed into 

 the oophoridium, by the circumstance that the latter is a 

 principal branch, possibly capable of a more extensive de- 

 velopment into branch and foliaceous organs, while the 

 twig, which is developed into an antheridium, is but a small 

 particle of such a main branch. 



These plants, like the Ferns, are most abundant in hot, 

 humid, and especially insular, situations in the tropics, be- 

 coming scarcer northwards, but often even in very northerly 

 regions covering large tracts of land. Our native species, 

 with one exception, have a boreal and alpine tendency, being 

 found most abundantly on the high lands of the north, and 



