I 
Intracellular relations of aggregate crystals in the spadix of 
Anthurium 
L. O. GAISER 
(WITH PLATE 20) 
The current views as to the relation of crystals to other 
contents of the cell, and especially the nucleus, have recently 
been sharply questioned by Jeffrey (5). Jeffrey denies that the 
compound crystals of calcium oxalate, found abundantly by 
him in the pith, cortex, and phloem of Ginkgo, as well as in some 
of the Dicotyledons, arise by a process of crystallization in the 
fluid of the cell sap. He considers Ginkgo the most favorable 
for study and finds that cells near the growing point, which are to 
contain crystals, are easily distinguishable by a centrally placed 
nucleus about which the crystals are formed. He states: 
From the very beginning the crystals occupy practically the whole lumen 
of the cell and m cae or less protoplasm surrounds the nucleus which is the 
organic centre of the druses. The crystals in fact ab ata an irregular 
spiny casing hich shacralcen the nucleus and protoplas 
He states further that “in very large and old aeons indi- 
cations of the presence of a nucleus can frequently be demon- 
strated by appropriate methods.’’ Species of the dicotyledonous 
families Juglandaceae, Cactaceae, Begoniaceae, and Geraniaceae 
differ from Ginkgo in that ‘“‘the nucleus becomes obscured at a 
much earlier stage of development of the crystal and not infre- 
quently the latter does not occupy the whole lumen of the 
cell as in Ginkgo. 
Lloyd (9), on the other hand, in a fuvites: study of leaves 
from growing buds of Ginkgo, confirms the commonly accepted 
view and finds in older cells, in which the crystals were large 
enough to occupy the greater portion of the total volume of the 
cell, the nucleus crowded against the cell wall and between pro- 
jecting crystals of the druse. He speaks also of ‘‘colloidal 
material being imprisoned in the druse.”’ Jeffrey (6), however, 
in a second paper nowhere speaks of the nucleus being surrounded 
by the crystal but makes such statements as the following: 
“The central body in crystals is in fact not only clearly obser- 
vable but is likewise very far from being unsubstantial.”’ 
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