136 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [ aveust 
Common on hills near Acapulco, Mexico, where collected by Dr. Edwarl 
Palmer between October 1894 and March 1895, no. 29 
I am indebted to Dr. Rose for calling my attention to this species, Dr 
Palmer's specimen having been undistributed in the Gray Herbarium at the 
time of my recent revision of the genus. Types in herb. Gray and herb. U.S 
National Museum. — B. L. RoBrnson. 
THE PROBABLE CAUSES OF THE POISONOUS EFFECI 
OF THE DARNEL (LOLIUM TEMULENTUM L). 
THE presence of a poisonous principle in the darnel has been wel 
known since the earliest investigations of the subject, and  receil 
experiments confirm this fact. According to Hofmeister,’ the darne 
contains two active principles: semu/in, obtained by this author ® 
chloroplatinate, which acts upon the nervous system ; and the othe 
determined by the oily substances and fatty acids which are contaie! 
in the seed in large proportion, which attacks the alimentary canal 
In the course of our researches upon the seed integuments and tit 
pericarp of grasses, we have had occasion to note the practically es 
stant presence in the seeds of the darnel of a fungus to which it se 
reasonable to us to assign the poisonous effects. This fungus, ~ 
is always present in the form of mycelial filaments, appears at an © 
stage in the interior of the ovary. In the first stages of its - : 
ment it invades the entire nucellus. At the time that the ke 
integument of the ovule disappears, the nucellus itself is we 
cde 
which, obliterated in the maturing of the grain, constitute the bar 
the outermost endosperm. It is in this zone that we have ” f the 
in the mature seed. After the removal of the diverse coatings® 
fruit, the hyphe which constitute this fungus zone appear exw 
filaments, generally very long, more or less branched and int 1 
with one another. We have found this disposition of the fang ne 
material from Bolivia, Brazil, Chili, Abyssinia, Persia, ae fort 
Portugal, Sweden, Germany, and many localities in France. from be 
seeds of most diverse origin the mycelial zone was lacking ee 4 
* Archiv. f. exp. Path. u. Pharm. g0:—. 1892. 
