662 SUMMARY OF CURKENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



among Eupliorbiacese. Occasionally it is of systematic value even 

 witHn the genus, as in the various species of Pyrola. 



Nectarial Scales of Ranunculus.* — Herr S. Almquist describes an 

 abnormal specimen of Banunculus aconitifolius, in which the outer 

 margin of the honey-gland on each jjetal had developed into a petal-like 

 structure. He draws the conclusion that the original form of the honey- 

 gland is that of the subgenus Batracliium, and of B,. sceleratiis, viz. 

 an open hollow pit, from which all the other forms found in the genus 

 are derived. 



Structure of the Bracts and Bracteoles in the Involucre of Corym- 

 biferse.t — M. L. Daniel describes the anatomical structure of the bracts 

 and bracteoles in various genera of Corymbiferse. The author points to 

 BupJdhalmum saJicifolium as the most differentiated of the Corymbiferse, 

 the bracteole possessing two bands, while in Gnaphalium, Antennaria, 

 Filago, &c., there is only one band. 



Development of Berry-like and Fleshy Fruits.^ — Herr J. Bordzi- 

 lowslfi describes the development of a large number of fruits of different 

 kinds. The course of the vascular bundles in the carpels is always the 

 same as in the leaves ; i. e. thero are a median and two marginal bundles ; 

 and if the ovary consists of several carpels, each pair of marginal bundles 

 may coalesce. When the ovary is superior and monocarpellary, there is 

 only a single ring of bundles ; if it consists of more than one carpel, 

 there may be U\o rings. In inferior ovaries the bundles belonging to 

 the calyx- tube form an independent ring. The development of a fleshy 

 fruit from an ovary takes place in different ways ; this is indicated in 

 the ca!^es of the drupe, the berry of Amjoelopsis and Sambucus, the apple, 

 and the cucumber. 



Septated Vittse of Umbellifer8e.§ — Herr A. Mejer describes the vittsB 

 or oil-receptacles which are almost universally found in the pericarp of 

 ripe fruits of Umbelliferse as being clothed with a peculiar layer, vAhich 

 is itself protected by a special cuticle-like membrane which completely 

 covers the outer surface of the epithele, the whole forming a sac inclosing 

 the special secretion. In only a few species (^Coriandrum sativum, 

 Lagoecia cuminoides) is this sac entirely unse]3tated; in a few others 

 (Heradeum Sjpliondylium and caucasicum, Sison Amomum, ^thusa cyna- 

 pium) it is imperfectly septated; in the great majority of runbellifers the 

 sac and the layer are divided into a number of chambers. The layer 

 itself consists of a ];eculiar substance, the exact nature of which is not 

 yet determined ; but it is neither a carbohydrate, a fatty oil, a mixture 

 of these, a res n, nor a caoutchouc-like substance, as is shown by its 

 microchemical reactions. In some species, between the thick septa 

 and the parietal layer is a ring of irregular thick-walled vacuoles. In 

 Conium maculatum, where the vittte are only rudimentary in the ripe 

 fruit, the peculiar layer is wanting. In one species only, where the 

 vittae are well developed, Johrenia giseca, is the aromatic secretion alto- 

 gether wanting, and replaced by a solid substance. In Astrantia major 



* Bot. Sallsk. Stockholm, March 21, 1888. See Bot. Ceiitralbl., xxxviii. (1889) 

 p. 6t;2. 



t Bull. Soc. Bot. Fiance, xxxvi. (1889) pp. 82-5. 



X Alb. Kiew. Naturf. Gesell., ix. (1888) pp. 65-10(3 (2 pis.). See Bot. Centralbh, 

 xxxviii. (1889) p. 792. 



§ Bot. Zig., xlvii. (1889) pp. 311-52, 357-66, 373-9 (1 pi, ai:d 1 fig.). 



