PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



Camkitrgc |)jril0S0p|jkd S^mzty. 



Notes on the Anatomy of Macrozamia heteromera, Moore. By 

 Agnes Robertson, B.Sc. (Lond.), Newnham College. (Communi- 

 cated by Mr Seward.) 



[Received 14 August 1902.] 



Introduction. 



Ten species of the Australian genus Macrozamia are natives 

 of New South Wales, and one of these, M. heteromera, described 

 in 1884 by Moore 1 , is of interest as possessing, both in its ordinary 

 form and in its two varieties glauca and tenuifolia, a type of frond 

 unusual among Cycads. The pinnae are very narrow, reminding 

 us in this respect of Encephalartos Ohellinkii, and most of them 

 are forked in various ways (Fig. 4). It occurred to Mr Seward, 

 who has referred to and figured this peculiarity of vegetative 

 structure in his Wealden Flora 2 , that the anatomy might perhaps 

 be expected to shew some features differing from that of the rest 

 of the genus. He was able to obtain a specimen through the 

 kindness of Mr Maiden, Director of the Sydney Botanic Gardens, 

 who informs us that "as a rule the plant grows in a stiff black 

 clay amongst large stones (basalt) ; occasionally in sand-ridges 

 (sand overlying clay)." The specimen, which on its arrival in 

 England had been placed in methylated spirit, was handed to me 

 for examination. 



The diameter of the stem was about 125 cms. in its thickest 

 part. The upper half was covered with leaf-bases, but lower down 

 these had disappeared, and the position of the old leaves was only 

 marked by tangentially elongated ridges. The appearance of the 



1 Trans. Roy. Soc. Neiv South Wales, 1884, p. 115. 



2 The Wealden Flora, Part ii. p. 5, and Plate xm. figs. 1 and 2. 



VOL. XII. PT. I. 1 



