978 The American Naturalist. [November, 
dromic. The same explanation applies to the embryo of 
sisymbrium officinale, and to the spirally-folded embryos of 
Chenopodiacex. The two forms of the embryo of Salsola kali 
are figured in Engler and Prantl’s Pflanzenfamilien (III, 1a, 
p- 84, Y, Z). The pods of mesquit (Prosopis) and of Impatiens 
have a right or left twist in harmony with the antidromic 
phyllotaxy of the plant on which they grow. 
These observations help to solve old problems, recall phyllo- 
taxy to the science in an improved garb, open up new lines of 
research, and start curious problems about heredity. If, how- 
ever, the ovum is able to transmit the secondary characters of 
a species, there will be small difficulty found in admitting that 
it can transmit the primitive characteristics that are common 
to all Phanerogams, and that possibly belong also to the 
higher Cryptogams. But the curious point is the difference of 
heredity as between the two sides of a carpellary leaf; and 
other problems arestarted by such cases as Richardia. I wish to 
explain that my work has been necessarily done in haste, and 
whilst, as a whole, I think it is sound, it will doubtless need 
rectification in details. 
Postscript.—In the above I have unfortunately overlooked 
the valuable observations of Prof. W. J. Beal on Phyllotaxis of 
Cones, published in the AMERICAN NATURALIST of August, 
1873 and March, 1877. He found the cones of individual 
spruce and larch trees to be heterodromic. If this should 
prove to be general or frequent, it may possibly be accounted 
for by secondary torsions during growth. My own observa- 
tions on Tsuga, Pinus, etc., favor the view given above; and I 
may add that the arrangement of florets in heads of sunflowers 
and other composite appears to be antidromic and in accord 
with the phyllotaxy of the respective plants. 
The cones of coniferze change in opening so as to make the 
secondary spiral appear the dominant one. I have a cone of 
Picca excelsa, with ten scales open on one side, where they 
appear dextrally arranged, whereas the unopened side shows 
the primary arrangement to be sinistral. Taking the opened 
and unopened cones of the whole tree, one might conclude 
that half the cones were antidromic to the others.—G. M. 
