BRIEFER ARTICLES. 
ADVENTITIOUS BUDS ON LEAVES OF DROSERA 
ROTUNDIFOLIA. 
A. J. GROUT. 
WHEN collecting plants of Drosera rotundifolia for class use, I 
found several leaves bearing numerous (from two to ten) young 
plants on their upper surfaces (Fig. 1). This fact was first noted 
about Sept. 15, 1897. 
So far as I can learn, this peculiarity of the sun dew has escaped 
observation until the present year. At the time I made the dis- 
covery I knew of no other similar observations, 
but have since learned that Mr. James A. 
Graves,! of Susquehanna, Pa., has noted the 
same thing this fall. That these facts have 
never before been noticed seems all the more 
remarkable since Drosera rotundifolia has been 
made the object of such careful scrutiny by 
Darwin and others because of its carnivorous 
habits. 
The most favorable spots for this peculiar 
Fic. 1. — Leaf of Drosera “evelopment seemed to be among dense masses 
rotundifolia with two Of Sphagnum, and the leaves producing the 
PA adventitious buds lay directly upon the wet 
moss. A few of the leaves had entirely severed’ their connection 
with the old plant, but no roots had developed in the young plants 
at the stage represented in the figure. Mr. Graves’s Drosera devel- 
oped the adventitious buds in a moist chamber. 
The occurrence of the adventitious buds in such wet places sug- 
gests that the past extremely wet season may explain their discovery 
at this particular time; that is, the unusual amount of moisture has 
caused the formation of an unusual number of buds. 
Another interesting fact observed was the occurrence of the 
peculiar glandular hairs of the leaves a short distance up on the 
stems of the young plants, as if the tissues of the stem still retained 
some of the peculiarities of leaf tissues. 
1 The Plant World, vol. i, no. 2. 
