﻿1903] CURRENT LITERATURE 223 



(Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 30: 19-41.//^ 1-6. 1903), in continuation of his 

 "Hepaticae of Puerto Rico/' has presented the genus Drepanolejeunea, 

 including 10 species, and described 4 of them as new. — L.M, Unoerwood 

 [idem 42-55), in publishing an index to the described species of Botrychium, 

 has added 6 new species to the genus. — J. M. C. 



The reproduction of the interesting fungus Dipodascus, considered by- 

 some as one of the Hemiasci, is described by Juel''^ as follows : The sexual 

 cells are multinucleate, the sexual nuclei being indistinguishable from the vege- 

 tative. After their union there is present a larger nucleus supposed to result 

 rrom the fusion of two gamete nuclei. This fusion nucleus lies in the spore sac 

 and gives rise to a large number of products which are much larger than the 

 vegetative nuclei. The former become the centers of free spore formation 

 and the latter remain with surplus cytoplasm in the sac. Juel regards Dipo- 

 dascus as intermediate between the Phycomycetes and Ascomycetes. The 

 spore sac is not homologous with an ascus but corresponds to a cell complex 

 and consequently the form takes a low position in the series of Ascomycetes, 

 near to but somewhat higher than Eremascus. There are lacking in Juel's 

 investigation important stages in the nuclear history at the time of fertiliza- 

 tion and during spore formation. These gaps make one hesitate to follow 

 him in his views, and we are justified in asking for details on these points. 

 It is not altogether clear that Dipodascus is an ascomycete. Perhaps it may 

 be on a line by itself, with relationships somewhere among the molds. The 

 sexual cells seem very close to coenogametes in spite of the fact that each is 

 said to contain only one sexual nucleus, and spore formation in the sac, from 

 Juel s account, does not seem like that in the typical ascus. Indeed, the spore 



suggests a germinating zygospore, perhaps exhibiting sporophytic tend- 

 encies which lead it to develop at once into a sporangium-like structure. 

 These are some of the queries that present themselves. — B. M. Davis. 



The phylogeny of the cormophytes, as indicated by their sporophylls 

 and foliage leaves, is discussed in a long paper by Hallier." The immense 

 amount of detail and comparative morphology, especially in discussing the 

 sporophyll, cannot be considered here, but a few of the conclusions and the 

 principal features of the scheme of phylogeny maybe of interest. Funiculus 

 and integument correspond to a leaf pinna, on the upper side of which the 

 "^egasporangium (nucellus) develops. The sporophyllof an angiosperm cor- 

 responds in general to the simple pinnate sporophyll of Cycas. In the Conif- 

 erales one, two, or more ovular pinnae are present, united congenitally by 

 €ir edges. The staminate sporophylls of gymnosperms and angiosperms 



JuEL,H.O., Ueber Zellinhalt, Befruchtung und Sporenbildung bei Dipodascus. 



sac 



10 



Fl 



■ "^^^^^^^' H., Beitrage zur Morphogenie der Sporophylle und des Trophophylls 

 in Beziehung zur Phylogenie der Kormophyten. Jahrb. Hatnburgischen Wiss. 

 Anstalten 19:1-110. 1902. 



