1908] BRIEFER ARTICLES 465 
present in all the gymnosperms except the Taxineae, among which it is 
almost entirely eliminated.4 
The features in which Phyllocladus resembles the Taxineae and differs 
from the Podocarpineae are as follows: 
. The ovule is erect; in the Podocarpineae it is more or less inverted, 
ae in Dacrydium latifolium. 
2. The cladodes contain centripetal wood, according to Miss ROBERT- 
SON (/.¢.). WoORSDELLS states that centripetal wood is more common 
among the Taxineae than in any other group of Coniferales; it has been 
found in the leaf and cotyledon of Taxus and Cephalotaxus, in the cotyledon 
of Torreya,® and in the stem of Cephalotaxus koraiana.? 
3. The arillus of Phyllocladus originates at the base of the ovule, just 
as does that of Taxus; the so-called epimatium (Pricer, /. ¢.) of Podo- 
Carpus arises from the scale. If this epimatium represents the arillus of 
Phyllocladus and Taxus, it differs in origin and form; if it does not repre- 
sent the arillus, it is a structure not found in those genera. 
These comparisons indicate that in number and in importance the 
features of Phyllocladus in common with those of Podocarpineae are 
much greater than those in common with Taxineae. The winged micro- 
Spores and the multicellular and evanescent prothallial tissue alone would 
seem to be of sufficient importance to associate Phyllocladus with the 
Podocarpineae. We are inclined, therefore, to assign Phyllocladus to 
the Podocarpineae, thus confirming STRASBURGER’s conclusion of 1872; 
and not to regard it as referable to Taxineae, or as worthy of consti- 
tuting a distinct group.—N. JoHANNA Kitpau., The University of Chicago. 
NOTE ON THE POLLEN OF MICROCACHRYS 
Norén® has recently described certain of the reproductive features of 
Saxegothaea. He found that the microspore, like that of the other podo- 
carps recently described, has supernumerary prothallial cells. Unlike the 
other forms, however, the grains are not winged. In connection with the 
4 THomson, R. B., The megaspore membrane of the gymnosperms. Univ. 
Toronto Biol. Series, no. 4. 1905. 
5 WorRSDELL, W. C., On transfusion tissue; its origin and function in the leaves 
of gymnospermous plants. Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. London II. §:301-319. pls. 23-26. 
6 ae EpiTH, The seedling of Torreya myristica. New Phytol. 2:83. 1903. 
OTHERT, W., Ueber parenchymatische Tracheiden und Harzgange im Mark 
~ von Si aca s-Arten. Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Gesells. 17:275. 1899. 
8 Norén, C. O., Zur Kenntnis der Entwicklung von Saxegothaea conspicua Lindl. 
Svensk. Bot. Tidskr. 2:101-122. pls. 7-9. 1908. 
