237 
BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, de. 
Ar a meeting of the Linnean Society of London on March 16th, 
Dr. John Lowe communicated some observations on the fertilization 
of Araujia albens G. Don, a Brazilian climber, which in the sout 
of England grows in the open air. Last summer it was blooming 
freely in Lord Ichester’s garden at Abbotsbury, where the flowers 
pres, and large flies, many of which were captured and imprisoned 
a time in the pinching-bodies (Klemm- ieee of Miller). All 
ae insects, with the exception of some humble-bees, in their © 
visits to the nectar left their proboscis behind, and sometimes a leg, 
being not strong enough to detach the pinching-body. Dr. Lowe 
described the structure of the pinching-bodies, which are flat horny 
plates salteig above the nectar-cups, at each angle of a five-sided 
hollow cone in the centre of the flower, in which is placed the 
stigma. There i is only a small opening at the apex, and a narrow 
slit at the base of each facet of the cone. To the upper point of the 
pinching-body the pollinia are attached. When an insect has its 
proboscis event | in the slit, which narrows always to its gh niin it 
pollinia A the next flower it visits, and thus effects cross-fertilization 
by leaving the pollen-mass between the anther- ps hence it 
rapidly passes into the cone. He had received a number of flowers 
of Arawjia from Mr. Benbow, the gardener at Abbotsbury, in some 
of which he found the proboscis of a butterfly or moth in each of 
the five angles of the yang showing the great iaianion of insect- 
life caused me the plant 
eting of the same Society he April 6th, Dr. O. Stapf 
ssittied boscltunss of Stapfia cylindrica discovered 
y him in a small pond near Hallstatt, Upper Austria, and wibabe ce 
by Prof. Chodat, of Geneva, as a new genus 0 of Tetrasporea. Altho ough 
not unlike certain species of Tetraspora in outwar saneirelan it 
thallus. The cells, which exhibit the essential characters of the cells 
of Palmellea, are arranged one to three deep in superficial 
layer on the surface of the colourless matrix; they possess two 
sheathed cilia each, ak penetrate the matrix and extend into the 
cig sages medium. The only modes of reproduction so far known 
e by two subsequent divisions, rarely by simultaneous division, 
save four daughter-cells, the grouping of which into tetrads is, 
however, soon more or less obliterated, and by the formation of 
Ses Fis resting-spores. Prof. Chodat suggested that Stap/ia 
cylindrica might be identical with Tetraspora cylindrica Kiitz., which 
in that case eee a. om be quoted as a synonym; but Dr. Stapf 
ve reasons for g this view. This antedates Mr. J. ae 
Ath vy’s recently abligliod: Ske Sona: for which he proposes to substitu 
eostapyia. 
