Oct., loin.] H _ AKTEDAs-ON THE GENVS ACE 177 



anther-lobe consists of two pollen-sacs of practically equal si/.e. 

 Dehiscence takes place by means of the pollen-sac ou the abaxial 

 side opening upwards as a valve (pi. VII, fig. 14;). Thus, a mature 

 stamen, the anther of which has opened, presents an appearance 

 very similar to that of Leontice leontopetalum, as Smith rightly 

 described nearly a century ago (17). The description and figures 

 of the anther given by Hooker (10, p. 30. tab. 12, figs 2-4) 

 and also by A. Gray (8, p. 70) are incorrect, as Calloni has 

 already pointed out (4, p. 31) ; this error probably arose from 

 an examination of poor herbarium material. 



Call-oni (4, p. 33) and Tischler (18, p. 681) compare the 

 dehiscence of the anther with that of Berberis quinduensis ; ac- 

 cording to these botanists, this plant is said to have a 4-valvate 

 anther 1 '. This view is, however, not tenable, since the anther 

 of neither Achlys nor of B. quinduensis is 4-valvate. As in some 

 other members of this family, the anther-lobe of these two plants 

 is divided into two chambers which are practically equal in size. 

 Therefore, the pollen-sac, which does not spring up as a valve 

 but remains in its original position, is very clearly noticeable, 

 which perhaps has misled these botanists to consider that there 

 were four valves present. On the other hand, in certain other 

 members of the same family, the pollen-sac on the adaxial side 

 of the stamen is very much reduced in size, and consequently 

 often escapes one's notice; it then appears as if the whole anther- 

 lobe would open up in one complete piece. 



In a very young flower or flower-bud of Achlys all the 

 stamens are curved downwards, thereby exposing the pistil. 

 Unfolding of a flower actually takes place by the straightening 

 up of the stamens which in the mature condition assume an 

 erect-patent position (pi. VII, figs. 1-4, 17, etc.). 



As already mentioned above, there are nine stamens in a 

 normal flower, and they are borne on a conspicuous torus being 

 arranged in three whorls, three to each whorl. There is, how- 

 ever, no very definite position for each stamen, except that the 



1) Tischler (18, p. 638) goes a step further and regards, though wrongly, this 

 4-valvate anther of B. quinduensis as indicating a relationship to Lauraceae. 



