7° BOTANICAL GAZETTE {JULY 
independently. The egg apparatus breaks down and there is no fertilization, 
but an embryo develops.from one of the cells of the endosperm. Lotsy 
(1899) investigated B. globosa and esa Treub in every particular, 
including the peculiar origin of the em 
Chodat and Bernard have sean ‘iveieeuted flelosis guayanensts.” 
The archesporial cell becomes the megaspore directly without cutting off a 
tapetal cell or giving rise to a row of potential megaspores. 
The jacket or “tapetum” surrounding the embryo sac is sporogenous 
tissue. The two daughter nuclei resulting from the first division of the 
nucleus of the megaspore are quite different in appearance, the one at the 
upper end of the sac staining much more deeply. This nucleus gives rise to 
the egg, two synergids, and a polar nucleus in the usual manner. The other 
nucleus stains faintly and rarely divides at all, but soon degenerates so that 
no antipodals or polar nucleus are formed. According to Van Tieghem, the 
egg is fertilized in Helosis and Balanophora. 
The present writers find that in Helosis the egg becomes large, but also 
becomes very weak and feeble in appearance, so that while they were not 
able to prove or disprove the occurrence of fertilization, they believe that the 
feeble condition of the egg together with the position of the embryo in the 
endosperm favor Treub’s view that the embryo arises apogamously from the 
endosperm.— CHARLES J. CHAMBERLAIN. 
ITEMS OF TAXONOMIC interest are as follows: E,. P. BICKNELL (Torreya 
1: 25-28. Igo01) has described a new Triosteum (7. aurantiacum) from the 
northeastern United States.—P/. Bakerianae 2: 1-42. 1901 contains Baker's 
collection of 1899, from fungi to grasses. Numerous new fungi are described 
y F. S. EARLE.—ALIcE EAstwoop (Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 28: 137-160. Js. 
15-20. 1901) has published upon some small-flowered species of Nemophila 
from the Pacific coast, describing twenty-six new species M. A, HowE 
(tdem 161-165) has described a new Riccia from Georgia— E. P. BICKNELL 
(idem 166-172) has revised the eastern species of Teucrium, recognizing 
six species and describing four as new.—P. A. RYDBERG (édem 173-183), in 
further studies of the Potentilleae, describes new species of Potentilla (8), 
Horkelia, and Drymocallis.—W. A. SETCHELL (Zoe 5: 121-129. Igo!), in his 
‘* Notes on Algae,” has described two new genera of Laminaceae (Hedophy!- 
lum and Pleurophycus) and a new genus of Dumontiaceae (Weeksia), besides 
several new species in other genera.—A. ENGLER (Bot. Jahrb. 36: 29-126. 
Ig01), in his 21st contribution to the African flora, presents the following 
papers: Fungi by P. HENNINGs, who describes numerous new species and 
two new genera, Fistu/inel/a (Polyporaceae) and Lactariopsis (Agaricaceae); 
Algae by W. SCHMIDLE; a revision of Schrebera (Oleaceae) by E. GILG; 
ODAT, R., and BERNARD, C.: Sur le sac embryonnaire de ]’Helosis guaya- 
nensis. Jour. de Botanique 14 : 72-79. p/s. 7-2. 1900. 
