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1 903 J CC/A'J^£A/ T LITER A TURE 2 2g 



antipodal end is small and its nucleus does not divide, but in the other chamber 



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a large number of free nuclei are formed. A study of the embryo confirms 



the account of Wille that a primary root is formed at the base of the embryo, 



t but soon disorganizes, and a lateral root, which is formed very early, is the 



first functional one. This is very different from the account of Ascherson 



in Engler and Prantl*s Die ftatUrlichen PJJa7ize77fa)nilien, and followed in 



GoebeVs Organography, according to which this lateral root is the primary 



I root, its unusual position being due to displacement.— Charles J. Chamber- 



lain. 



Miss Sargant'^ has proposed a theory of the origin of monocotyledons 



based on her studies of seedlings of Liliaceae, The single cotyledon is 



regarded as being derived from two cotyledons by fusion. Among the large 



! number of genera described, Anemarrhena is regarded as showing a primi- 



I ft 



tive structure in the vascular strands of its seedling. The cotyledon of this 

 plant shows two bundles with the xylem groups facing each other. This 

 seedling is compared with that of the ranunculaceous genus Eranthis, in 

 which the petioles of the two cotyledons are fused, forming a tube which 

 contains two bundles; and the similarity is considered to be the result 

 of inheritance from a common ancestor. Other genera of Liliaceae are 

 described, forming series of increasing complexity, and the conclusion is 

 reached that there is no true midrib in the cotyledons of this family. A con- 

 sideration of other moncotyledonous seedlings follows, and the nature of the 

 monocotyledonous dicotyledons'* is discussed, special reference being made 

 to Ranunculus Ficaria, the single cotyledon of which is regarded as a fusion 

 of two. Lists of dicotyledons with tubular cotyledons are given, and from 

 the fact that practically all of these are geophilous plants she infers that the 

 fused conditioji of the cotyledons in the monocotyledons has arisen in connec- 

 tion with the geophilous habit. — M, A. Chrysler. 



Two VERY interesting lichen-like associations of fungi with marine algae 

 have been described by Minnie Reed.'» She speaks of them as an Ulva- 

 composite and a Prasiola-composite from the two algae concerned. The 

 fungus in both instances is an ascomycete of the genus Guignardia, but the 

 species are different. 



Guignardia Ulvae n. sp. is associated with iilva californica, and the com- 

 posite grows at *• upper tide mark on the shady side of sandstone bowlders, 

 at the entrance of the Bay of San Francisco. The Ulva-composite occurs in 

 large and small patches, sometimes mixed with Ulva and Enteromorpha, and 

 has been found at all seasons of the year with perithecia. The form of the 

 plant suggests Enteromorpha Linza. Sections are striking because of the 



Sargant, Ethel, A theory of the origin of monocotyledons, founded on the 



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structure of their seedlings. Annals of Botany 17 : 1-92. pis, i-?- I903- 



^5 Reed, Minnie, Two new ascomycetous fungi parasitic on marine algae. Univ. 

 Calif. Pub. Bot. 1:141-164.//!. 75, /6. 1902. 



