BOTANICAL GAZETTE 
FUNE, 1895. 
Contributions to the embryology of the Ranunculacee. ! 
WITH PLATES XVII-XX. 
DAVID M. MOTTIER. 
Various representatives of the Ranunculacee have been 
vascular bundle, secondary growth of the stem and the large 
size of their meristematic cells, has brought to several species 
of this family much of that careful investigation that is usu- 
ally centered upon transitional characteristics. Of all the 
dicotyledons certain species of the Ranunculacee resemble 
more closely the monocotyledons in the large size of their 
embryonic cells. For this reason certain species are espe- 
Cially favorable for embryological studies. From a desire to 
know more about the development of the embryo-sac, a study 
of one or more species of several available genera was begun. 
Prantl® arranges the genera of this family under three sub- 
divisions, Paeoniex, Helleboree and Anemonee. Of the 
Paeonieez no representative was available for study; of the 
Helleboree the following species were investigated: De/- 
bhinium tricorne Michx., Caltha palustris L., Aguilegia 
Canadensis L.; of the Anemonex, Ranunculus abortivus L., 
- recurvatus Poir., R. septentrionalis Poir., A nemonella 
thalictroides Spach, Thalictrum dioicum L. and Hepatica 
acutiloba DC. 
The subject naturally embraces three phases, namely; the 
development of the embryo-sac, the process of fertilization, 
and the development of the embryo. ; 
The following pages will be confined almost exclusively to 
“"Contributions From the Botanical Laboratory of the University of Indiana. 
aa raabuirger, Histologische Beitrage 5: 118. 1893. 
atiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien. 
16—Vol. XX.—No. 6. 
