TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION K. 727 



of species, as also in the total amount of vegetation, occupying the areas formerly 

 shaded. The invading species are mostly those which, before coppicing, were 

 confined to the margin of the wood and the edges of the paths. Thus the 

 total number of species in the wood as a whole remains relatively constant. 

 The chief exceptions to this generalisation are plants with a good dispersal 

 mechanism, chiefly weeds, which occupy neighbouring areas of cultivation. 

 The total number of species increases for several years, but the maximum 

 development of the ground-flora is reached in the second or third year after 

 coppicing. The coppiced wood has a higher acidity and lower water-content 

 than the uncoppiced. Plants tolerating high acidity are often abundant, and 

 correlated with the diminished shelter rosette plants are frequent. .As the 

 coppice-stools sprout, the shelter and shade become gradually re-established. 

 The light-demanding flora forms a reticulum in which the stools and shade- 

 loving species occupy the meshes. 



Finally the light-demanding species only survive by the paths and along 

 the edge of the wood. If the coppicing period be short, a few may survive 

 in a non-flowering condition till the undergrowth is again cut. 



Before coppicing, the later flowering species often do not bloom, but in the 

 second year after coppicing they usually flower profusely {Galcohdolon, Ajuqa, 

 Conopodium). Individuals in the coppiced part of a wood tend to come into 

 bloom earlier than those of the same species in the uncoppiced part. This is 

 probably related to illumination and the temperature of the soil. The latter 

 in the spring is usually higher in the coppiced than in the uncoppiced areas. 

 Frequent coppicing appears to prevent regeneration of the shrub layer from 

 seedlings. 



4. Observations on the Morphology of Belaginella uliginosa Spring. 

 By Professor T. G. B. Osborn. 



SdaffineUa uliginosa, a species belonging to the subgenus Hommo'pJn/lhim, 

 and occurring in Eastern Australia, is remarkable for the well-developed rhizome 

 on which erect aerial shoots are borne laterally, •25-2-5 cms. apart. The aerial 

 shoots have decussate leaves and two rows of lateral branches, the latter 

 developed in the plane of the long axis of the rhizome and not in leaf axils. 

 The cones, which are produced upon the lateral branches or terminate the main 

 axis, closely resemble the sterile portions of the shoots. A ' Selaqo condition ' 

 is common, the aerial stem surviving more than one season, when the axis of the 

 cone continues growth, producing more vegetative leaves before a second repro- 

 ductive phase is entered upon. The sporophylls show a well-developed ' dorsal 

 flap.' 



The rhizome is solonostelic with ramular gaps. The first break in the xylem 

 ring is formed by the departure of the rhizophoric trace from the dorsal margin 

 of the gap. Next the branch trace leaves the ventral margin, the gap being 

 prolonged forward, but not overlapping. The branch trace may divide immedi- 

 ately, forming either two aerial shoots, or the basiscopic portion may form a 

 rhizomic branch. 



5. Preliminary Observations on an Australian Zygopteris. 

 By Mrs. Edith M. Osborn. 



The specimen described was found about four years ago in situ in shales and 

 tuffaceous agglomerates in the bed of the Manilla Eiver, 12 miles west of Barraba, 

 New South Wales. The shales contain abundant Lepidodendron australe and 

 narrow beds of radiolarian chert and limestone. They have been named by Mr. 

 W. N. Benson, of Sydney University, to whom I am indebted for information 

 concerning the horizon, ' the Barraba series,' and are considered by him to be of 

 Upper Devonian age. They are directly overlain by beds containing a Lower 

 Carboniferous marine fauna. It is impossible as yet to draw a sharp line of 

 distinction between the two series. The Zyqopteris occurred near the transition 

 zone, but below it rather than above, so that it may be considered of Upper 

 Devonian age. The specimen consisted of three closely associated stems, each 



