TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION K. 819 



becomes Invested by hyphie, and produces ascogenous hypbre. Owing to the 

 nature of the developing ascocarp, the much-enlarged central cell assumea a shape 

 so that it completely surrounds the ascogenous hyph^, which soon produce small 

 spherical eight-spored asci. The spores quickly ripen, and are set free in the cavity^ 

 formed by the curiously shaped central cell, by the degeneration of the asci and 

 ascogenous branches. Thus a sporangium-like fructification is produced. 



Monascus must hence be regarded as one of the simplest sexual AscomyceteSi 

 A fuller account of the species, with figures, will be published later. 



6. Th6 Ddrnel Se6d-fungus. By E. M. FreemAn. 



7. Sex in Ceylon Spedies of Diospyros. By Herbert Wright. 



The genus Diospp'os, throughout the world, and particularly the species found 

 in Ceylon, have hitherto been regarded as mainly dio3cious. 



In Ceylon there are twenty species of this genus, and by an examination of 

 fresh material in the forest the following sex relationships have been deteriiiined :— 



1. Dioecious only. — Here the male and female flowers are on different trees; 

 Examples, -D. qucesita, Thw. 



2. Moncecioiis only. — The female flowers are in the axil of young leaves onlyj 

 or terminate the young shoot ; the male flow'ers form sessile clusters on woody 

 twigs or in the axils of old leaves. Examples^ D, acuta, Thw. ; D. oppositifolia^ 

 Thw. 



3. Dioecious and polyyamous. — In this group there are : (a) true male treeS) 

 (b) true female trees, (c) trees with male and hermaphrodite flowers. Examples, 

 D. gardneri, Thw. ; D. affinis, Thw. ; D. sylvatica, Roxb. ; D. embryopteris, Pers. 



4. Dioecious, Monoecious, and Polyyamous. — In this, the most complicated group) 

 there are (a) true male trees, {b) true female trees, (c) trees possessing true male and 

 female flowers on the same twig, {d) trees possessing male and hermaphrodite 

 flowers. Examples, D. hirsuta, L. ; D. thwaitesii, Bedd. ; D, ebenum, Koen. 



Continued observations on the flowers, outside the herbarium, will probably 

 reveal more departures from the dioecious condition, previously considered the 

 normal. 



8. Weisia rostellata, Lindb., in Ireland. By 3. H. DaVies 



Since the Association lust met in Belfast the Irish list of mosses has been en- 

 riched by the addition of several species. Two of them, Cinclidotus riparius and 

 Ditrichum vaginans, were mentioned as being new to the British moss-flora. 

 Weisia rostellata, not previously known to occur in Ireland, has been detected 

 very recently in Co. Antrim. The finding of this and other unexpected plants 

 in the north of Ireland leads us to hope that further investigation may reveal yet 

 other rarities. 



9. Tivo Varieties of Trifolium pratense perenne. By W. Wilson. 



'dai 



