A puzzling discovery of a capsule of 

 Martynia louisiana 



Helen Bancroft 



The first figure accompanying this note is of a "fruit" of 

 Martynia louisiana Mill., the "unicorn plant," "elephant's 

 trunk" or "proboscis flower." This plant is a native of the 

 United States, its distribution extending from Iowa. Illinois 

 and Kansas southward. It is also found as an escape from gar- 

 dens in Texas. Xew Mexico and other parts of the country. 



The interest of the fruit here described lies in the fact that 

 it was found recently at the village of Wolvercote. near Oxford, 

 England, during the digging of a drain, at a point about 2 miles 

 from the River Thames and about 70 feet above its level, near 

 the garden hedge of a comparatively new house. 1 



It has not been possible to elicit any definite information 

 with regard to the depth at which the fruit was buried, but the 

 soil adhering to it when it came into the writer's possession, 

 consisted of Thames alluvium, a material which covers a con- 

 siderable area, the Thames Valley being very wide at this point: 

 most probably the fruit had lain buried only just beneath the 

 surface. 



It is in good condition, its sharply-pointed hooked spines 

 not being worn to any extent; so that it is unlikely that it had 

 been buried for very long. On the other hand, attempts to ger- 

 minate seeds which were extracted from the capsule were un- 

 successful: evidently the period of viability of the seed had been 

 outrun. 



Xo records could be discovered of Martynia louisiana ever 

 having been grown in the neighbourhood of Wolvercote. The 

 Curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens on the Surrey bank of 

 the Thames at Kew. on the outskirts of London, informs the 

 writer that the plant was formerly grown there, but owing to 

 the difficulty of obtaining seeds, its cultivation has been 

 discontinued. Had the specimen under consideration been found 



1 The writer of this note is indebted to Major G. D. Amery. of the School 

 of Rural Economy. Oxford, for the specimen here described: to Mr. G. R. 

 Clarke, also of the School of Rural Economy, for the analysis of the soil adher- 

 ing to the specimen: and to Dr. J. Bunt Davy, of the Imperial Institute of 

 Forestry. Oxford, for much useful help and information. 



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