2 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [JANUARY 
time between pollination and maturity of the seed is about eighteen 
months, but the relative length of time between pollination and fer- 
tilization, and fertilization and maturity is reversed in the two genera, 
In Torreya fertilization follows in about four months after pollina- 
tion, while in Cephalotaxus about fourteen months elapse between 
the two events. We find, therefore, that most of the growth of the 
ovule follows fertilization in Torreya, and precedes it in Cephalo- 
taxus, 
The ovule of 
Cephalotaxus at the 
time of fertilization 
is quite large, over 
1.5°™ long, and the 
prothallium is well 
developed; while at 
the same stage, the 
ovule of Torreya is 
only about one-fifth 
as long, although at 
maturity it is much 
larger than the ovule 
of Cephalotaxus. In 
Taxus the ovule 
matures in one grow- 
Fic. 1.—Pollinated ovule in winter condition. Bonn, ing season, fertiliza- 
Germany, Jan. 5. 1902. X45. 
tion following pollina- 
tion in about two months. As a result of this very rapid sequence 
we find that at the time of fertilization its prothallium is extremely 
small and delicate—more so than in any other gymnosperm, with 
the possible exception of Torreya. 
The pollen grain of Cephalotaxus divides before being shed 
(STRASBURGER, 19) and there are no prothallial cells formed. The 
tube contents show the normal structure, the tube and stalk nuclei 
lying just in front of the body cell (fig. 1). ARNoLDI states that in 
‘“‘manchen Fallen” one can make out three nuclei in addition to the 
body cell in the tip of the pollen tube, and adds that, as regards the 
contents of the pollen tube, Cephalotaxus may be distinguished from 
