125 



and the inevitable mixing up of old collections and names, the 

 present ^•olume which for the first time untangles all these 

 threads, makes it possible to know what grows in the Bahamas. 

 To the tourist and traveller the book is invaluable, and it deserves 

 the wide usefulness it will undoubtedly enjoy. — Normax Taylor. 



Small's Orig:in and Development of the Compositae"^ 



This interesting comparative study was continued through 

 ten years. The main conclusion is that the basal form of the 

 great Composite family is the genus Senecio, and that this in 

 turn has been derived from the Lobelioideae. The aim has been 

 to present a coherent account of the family considered as a 

 whole. The fourteen chapters, each followed by a bibliography, 

 are: (i) History of the Classification of Compositae, (2) The 

 Pollen- Presentation Mechanism, (3) Its Irritability, (4) Corolla, 

 (5) Pappus, (6) Involucre, (7) Receptacle, (8) Phyllotaxis, 

 (9) Fruit Dispersal, (10) Geographical Distribution, (11) Origin, 

 (12) Miscellaneous, (13) General Conclusion, (14) Story of the 

 Compositae in Time and Space. 



The accompanying diagram is an abbreviated form of that 

 given under "Phyletic conclusions." While the usual tribes 

 are kept up reasons are given for separating Gnaphaliiim and 

 related genera from the Inula group, now classed together as 

 Inuleae. The naturalness of the Helenieae is also questioned. 

 The interpretation of pappus as a divided calyx is shown to 

 be misleading; it can only be explained as a trichome structure. 

 Throughout the work geographic distribution is considered in 

 connection with morphology. 



"With a little mental effort and a little study of Bergson the 

 student may be able to perceive plants of the Andean Lobelioi- 

 deae, such as Siphocampylos-Centropogon, change into Senecio.'" 

 The views of Bergson are thus interpreted: the smooth-flowing 

 stretches of a river correspond to orthogenetic development; 

 the waterfalls are saltations which give rise to the branches or 

 back waters; the river-bed with its sinuosities is the environment. 

 "In evolution by orthogenetic saltation, with epharmosis and 



* Small, James. The Origin and Development of the Compositae. 334 pp., 

 40 figures and maps. New Phytologist Reprint No. 11. London, 1919. 



