Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 385 



cases at least perennial, and one can often find young plants in early 

 summer at the base of last year's stalks. The roots form a queer 

 tangled mass. An attempt was made to grow the plants in a 

 flower-pot from a mass of roots with the young shoots, but it was 

 unsuccessful. The single plants mentioned above are probably 

 young plants and the clumps older, the clumps probably increas- 

 ing in size from year to year. It is remarkably independent of 

 seasons, individual clumps coming up at almost any time during 

 late spring, all summer and during autumn until frosts. On ac- 

 count of its waxy whiteness and attractive form it is always a 

 pleasure to find a clump of these odd plants. The transparence 

 of its tissues makes it an exceptionally good subject in which to 

 study the embryo sac. It is unfortunate that these plants turn 

 black on drying, as this prevents them from making attractive 

 herbarium specimens, and they do as badly in alcohol and formalin. 

 An attempt to preserve the natural colors by killing with boiling 

 water met with slight success. 



Although it bears its minute seeds in large numbers, apparently 

 very few germinate, else it would be a much more common plant. 

 The peculiar habit of the plant's straightening up immediately 

 after flowering, so that the vase-like pods stand erect, is evidently 

 a device for securing the wide distribution of the seed. These 

 escape from pores or chinks in the upper part of the pod, and are 

 probably distributed by wind, for which their minute size adapts 

 them. 



583. FALSE BEECH-DROPS; HAIRY PINE-SAP 



HYPOPITYS LANUGINOSA (Michx.) Nutt. 



A few patches on each side of the lake; some magnificent 

 clumps were found in the big woods along Aubeenaubee Creek, 

 on a dry hill. There is a fine large patch consisting of many 

 clumps in Walley's woods on the low bluff at the edge of the outlet 

 marsh. This patch persisted and appeared to be increasing in 

 size from year to year. It was discovered in 1906 and was still 

 thriving in 1909. The plants vary considerably in coloration, some 

 being rather pale. Those at Lake Maxinkuckee are usually bril- 

 liantly colored; the lemon-colored blossoms and coral-red stems 

 along with its velvety surface, make it an unusually attractive 

 plant, but, like the Indian pipe, it turns black in drying. It has a 

 long flowering season, from June to October, but this does not refer 

 to the same clump, but to different clumps and localities. All we 

 have found at the lake were rather late in blossoming, from the 

 beginning to the middle of September. 



25 17618 Vol. 2 



