PLANT LIFE IN PONDS & STREAMS 



no movements, except such as are imparted to them 

 by the running water. 



A very beautiful little pond plant is known to 

 science as Draparnalda Glomerata, We shall prob- 

 ably forget its name, but we can never forget the 

 plant itself when once we have been fortunate 

 enough to see it. A single row of large, transparent 

 cells, containing very little green colouring matter, 

 forms the main part of the plant. At regular inter- 

 vals from these transparent cells, there arise rings 

 of deep green branches, each one tipped with an 

 extraordinarily long, colourless hair. Draparnalda 

 is indeed a plant worth looking for. 



Two common little green plants grow so near to 

 the edges of ponds that they may well be included 

 amongst our pond plants. The simpler of the two, 

 known as Vaucheria Sessilis thrives on almost any 

 damp soil and may even form a covering on soil in 

 pots. In structure, Vaucheria is very simple for it 

 consists of a single, frequently branched, tubular 

 cell. The little attaching organ, by means of which 

 the plant fixes itself to some firm support, is colour- 

 less, so too is the tip of the cell where growth takes 

 place. 



We must examine this little plant when we come 

 across it and we must not fail to notice that it is 

 composed of but one cell. The only time at which 

 we can find any cross walls, is when Vaucheria is 

 about to increase. Then the tip of the cell swells, 

 like a little club, and a cross wall separates it from 

 the rest of the plant. The contents of this cell 



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