1896] BRIEFER ARTICLES 403 
it is not certain that there were not truly sterile plants in the field, but 
the observations were sufficient to show that a large number of those 
that would be regarded as sterile at a later date had made an attempt 
to produce blossoms and had been more nearly successful in the case 
of the outer leaves than of the sporophylls. 
The early development of the buds of spring flowers has been 
referred to by different writers. Foerste* mentions among the buds col- 
lected in Vermont, August 22-28, one of Zrillium erythrocarpum 5. ag 
inlength. The present writer found in central New York, on July 11,a 
flower bud of 7. grandiflorum 2™ in length, with anthers 1.7™ long. 
There was no opportunity to learn the stage in the development of the 
pollen—Arma A. SmitH, Cornell University. 
A STUDY OF SOME ANATOMICAL CHARACTERS OF 
NORTH AMERICAN GRAMINE#. VII 
(WITH PLATE XX) 
THE GENUS AMPHICARPUM: 
ONLY two species are known of this singular genus, 4. Floridanum 
Chapm. and 4. Purshit Kth., their geographical distribution being 
limited to the eastern United States, along the Atlantic coast. They 
both grow in sandy soil, but while 4. F/oridanum does not occur out- 
side the semi-tropical Florida, the other species shows a larger range 
of distribution, from New Jersey as far south as Georgia. Their man- 
sei of growth is different, 4. Purshit being cespitose, while A. Flor- 
idanum is stoloniferous, but otherwise they show a rather similar 
‘pearance, especially in regard to their floral characters, both devel- 
oping their fruits underground, as true geocarpic plants. By com- 
pariig their leaf-structure we shall see that according to their distri- 
bution, and the character of the soil wherein they grow, the anatom- 
teal differences are but slight, and almost wholly dependent upon the 
development of the epidermis. These divergences, slight as they are, 
Prove nevertheless sufficient to enable us to distinguish the two species 
anatomically. 
me ag carro FLoripanum.—The epidermis of the superior face 
coment. 1 8: 2) consists generally of thick walled cells, which vary 
nsiderably in size and shape according to their disposition, whether 
2 . 
Mg the relations of certain fall to spring blossoming plants, Bot. Gaz. 17: 1. 
