Notes on South African Gycacls. 343 



soil from the base of the trunk exposes a dense mass of apogeotropic 

 roots of the usual type. It was hardly to be expected that they 

 would be so abundantly developed in such a loose, dry soil. 



Cones are produced freely, but, so far as can be ascertained, none 

 of the plants on the ridges near Queenstown coned in 1905 ; the 

 majority then bore old cones in a more or less disintegrated con- 

 dition. Each crown bears a whorl of 4 to 6 cones (Plate VI., fig. 1), 

 and both they and the crown are clothed with a particularly dense 

 tawny wool (" tomento triticei coloris, " Lehmann) — a condition which 

 leads one to wonder how the pollen escapes from the male cone or 

 gains entrance between the sporophylls of the female. The photo- 

 graph reproduced was taken in September, 1905. Eight months 

 later the cones had fallen away, and from the summit of the stem a 

 new crown of leaves had arisen. 



Owing to the comparatively high latitude of the locality of this 

 species, its proximity to the lofty Stormberg-Drakensberg range, its 

 distance from the sea, and its high altitude — 4,700 ft. and perhaps 

 even higher — it is probably exposed to stronger illumination and to a 

 greater range of temperature than any other South African Cycad. 

 Some idea of the climatic conditions may be gathered from the 

 meteorological data for Queenstown (situated somewhat to the north 

 of the centre of its area of distribution), which are given at the 

 end of the paper. The range of temperature to which most members 

 of this species are subjected must be considerably greater than that 

 disclosed by the Queenstown records. While the dense tomentum 

 which clothes the cones is perhaps an adaptation to this condition, 

 it is not unlikely that the species is further adapted by modifications 

 in certain stages of its life-history — as, for example, by a shortening 

 of the periods of the development and germination of the pollen. 

 Fertilisation must very generally occur, for in September 1905, 

 seeds with well-developed embryos were abundant. A detailed 

 study of its life-history therefore promises results of unusual 

 interest, and will be undertaken when the next crop of cones 

 appears. 



Encephalaktos Altensteinii, Lehm. 



(Bot. Mag. tt. 7162, 7163.) 



(Plates VI., fig. 2 ; VII., fig. 1.) 



In the bush which clothes the steep banks of the rivers entering 

 the sea in the neighbourhood of East London occurs the well-known 

 arborescent Encephalartos Altensteinii. It is found in sunny 

 situations in the more open bush (Plate VII., fig. 1), or clinging 



