80 
colored flowers. Another decorative species is C. Malortieanus, 
from Costa Rica, with attractive leaves striped with a darker 
green, and yellow flowers beautifully streaked with r 
One corner in this house is devoted to a collection af piiedople 
plants. Many forms of this valuable plant are here brought 
together, some of them being highly decorative on account of 
their beautifully variegated foliage. 
GEORGE V. Nass. 
CONFERENCE NOTES. 
The April conference of the scientific staff and registered stu- 
dents of the New York Botanical Garden was held in the labora- 
of the Museum Puen Thursday, April 4, at 4:00 P.M. 
of a symposium on the North American 
Ties as follows: 
Professor A. W. Evans: ‘Recent Advances in our Knowledge 
of the North American Hepaticae.”’ 
Miss Caroline C. Haynes: ‘‘ Notes on the Ricciaceae.” 
Dr. M. A. Howe: ‘The Mitten and the Underwood Collections 
of Hepaticae.”’ 
Professor R. A. Harper: ‘‘Some Recent Advances in the Cytol- 
ogy of the Hepaticae.” 
Professor Evans introduced the subject as follows: During the 
past few decades our knowledge of the North American Hepaticae 
and of their distribution has been very materially increased. 
In 1884 Professor Underwood published his ‘ Descriptive Cata- 
logue of the North American Hepaticae, North of Mexico.” 
This catalogue, although largely a compilation, represented the 
first attempt to give a complete account of our hepatic flora 
and formed the basis for subsequent work. The total number 
of species recognized was 231, of which about 80 were more or 
less definitely assigned to New England. The latest estimate of 
our species is given by Miss Haynes in her recent “‘Sullivant Moss 
Society Exchange List of Hepaticae found in United States and 
Canada.” In this list 353 species are recognized. Miss Haynes, 
