THE MATURATION PHASES IN SMILAX HERBACEA 
MARION G. ELKINS 
(WITH PLATES Iv—V1) 
The material for this paper was collected in the spring of 1909 
in the vicinity of New Haven, Connecticut. Both staminate and 
pistillate flowers were obtained with a view to studying nuclear 
conditions in both sexes. Staminate flowers, gathered on May 14, 
supplied nearly all the stages desired, as the flower buds in each 
inflorescence exhibited varying degrees of development. The 
pistillate flowers, maturing more slowly, were fixed May 26 and 
June 2. The series obtained from this material was very incom- 
plete, only a few stages of the prophase of the heterotypic division 
being procured. Traces of the megaspores were visible in some 
flowers, but in most cases their location was represented by 4 
dark, irregular line which suggested crushing or imperfect fixation. 
Various killing fluids were used, but only two proved of any 
value, namely Flemming’s fluid (weaker solution) and Juel’s 
fluid. Sections were cut 6u in thickness and stained with Flem- 
ming’s triple stain or Haidenhain’s iron haematoxylin. 
The maturation phases in the microsporangium 
The earliest observations of the sporogenous tissue were made 
after the telophase of the last vegetative mitosis and before the 
differentiation of the tapetum. Excluding the outer layer of cells 
in this tissue, which eventually become tapetal, the remaining 
cells are virtually pollen mother cells, and after a slight increase 
in size are ready for the phenomena characterizing meiosis. The 
nuclei of the young spore mother cells show small chromatin bodies 
or granules of variable size scattered through the finely granular 
linin meshes. A distinct reticulum is not present. Often the 
chromatin bodies may be seen in pairs or groups of four, but their 
distribution is generally irregular and does not warrant a conclu- 
sion oats pairing is their typical arrangement. 
Gazette, vol. 57] [32 
