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THE ROOTS OF LYCOPODIUM PITHYOIDES 



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE HULL BOTANICAL LABORATORY 



XCV 



Alma G. Stokey 



(with plates V AND VI AND ONE FIGURE) 



Lycopodium pithyoides Schlecht. & Chamlsso is a subtropical form 

 of rare occurrence, but, according to Underwood and Lloyd, of unex- 

 pectedly wide distribution. In spite of its striking and unmistak- 

 able appearance, it has been confused with other forms, such as L. 

 dichotomum. 



w 



The material which formed the basis of this invest 

 collected in September 1906 near Jalapa, Mexico, by Professor Barnes, 

 Dr. Chamberlain, and Dr. Land, of the University of Chicago. They 

 found in that region only one specimen, which they secured and which 

 ♦ is now growing in the greenhouse of the University. This plant, or 



I rather clump of plants, was growing as an epiphyte on the trunk of a 



recently fallen tree. 

 ( This species of Lycopodium attains a size unusual in the genus. 



The stem is dichotomously branched, erect, and rigid, with a diame- 

 ter of 6 to 10™™; and the slender dark green leaves are 2 .5 to 3.5*"" 

 long. The fact that practically every leaf is a sporophyll indicates 

 that this form is of relatively primitive character. . The length of its 

 leaves, the stoutness and rigidity of its stem, and its unusual size give 

 it such a shrub-like aspect that Schlectendal and Chamisso (10) 



verv 



stives tris . 



A cross-section of the stem, however, is much more striking than the 

 general habit. The stele, which in structure and arrangement is 

 similar to that of L. lucidulum or L. Selago is comparatively small, 

 being about one-tenth the diameter of the stem. The conspicuous 



' ' inner 



sheathed steles which surround it (fig. /). These are the 

 roots" of Strasburger (ii). The "inner root" is not an 

 example of a particular type of root, but of a peculiar habit which 



57] [Botanical Gazette, vol. 44 



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