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Further Studies on Aeginetia indica. 



By 



S. Kusano, 



With Plate XI and XII. 



In my former paper (1903) some accounts were given of the 

 morphology, anatomy, and biology of Aeginetia indica. So far as 

 my observations went, this parasite showed no special character 

 in the manner of its development, which can be distinguished from 

 that of Orobanche as thoroughly investigated by Kocht (1883). 

 When I undertook during the past year a further study of this 

 parasite, particularly as regarded the germination of the seeds and 

 the development of the seedlings, I could show that at an early 

 stage of development Aeginetia displayed many peculiarities, some 

 of which are perhaps unique. As the results obtained appear not 

 only interesting in themselves, but also contribute something to 

 the knowledge of phanerogamic parasites, I think it advisable to 

 give them briefly in the present paper. 



Very little has yet been published on the early stage of 

 development of the Orobanchaceae. In Lathraea Heinricher 

 (1894, 1895) made some experiments on the germination of the 

 seeds and the development of the seedlings. According to him, 

 the seeds show no feature during germination and further develop- 

 ment that is worthy of special mention. The vegetative organs 

 are very much reduced in form, but the embryo does not differ 

 essentially in structure from that of most autophytic plants, being 

 provided apparently with a pair of cotyledons and a radicle. In 

 germination the radicle first grows into a fllamentous root which 

 soon branches into numerous rootlets. The rootlets then produce 

 haustoria where they come in contact with the host-root (Hein- 

 richer, 1894, p. 128). Further he ascertained that the seeds 

 require in germination the presence of proper host-root which he 

 believed to exert a chemical Stimulus. 



Koch (1883) extended our knowledge on Orobanche, and 

 succeeded in raising seedlings from the seeds laid on or near a 



