Mr. E. Hall in Athens 
The data of the life and growth cycle of Isoetes melano- 
poda, which you forwarded to nme throuseh my friend Engelmann, were 
of greatest value to mepna I take the liberty to uree you to con- 
tinusthe studies and to give me handinen about a number of itens 
which are still not clear to me.There is no doubt that I.melaripo- 
da differs from other species by its fast development based on the 
communlicated facts and specimens. With I. lacustris the spores which 
ripen late in the year do not germinate until the next/spring, when 
the water gets warmer, und the young plants probably do not reach 
Dede 
°&- the little 
maturity until the third year while with I. melano 
germinating plantlets can bear fruit during the first year. It would 
be worth to research if this is so regularly or only in years with 
a warm and moist Fall, .if the spores which ripen in June gkerminate 
in late Fall at all to overwinter as plantlets, or if in'other years 
the spores will not germinate until Spring.I would like to learn 
further if a Spring generation will come into vegetative crowth a 
second time after a summer drouseht and suspense under favorable con- 
ditions and bear fruit, if( in other words) the same specimen will 
become «reen twice durine a year and will ripen ? 
Are there specimens which are totally submereed during the 
entire year and yet prosper and ripen their spores ? How long can 
the leaves of water specimens get ? I would much like to learn the 
maximum leaf length, | 
I would like to know more through specimens in which way the 
old,dying part of the tuber is being pushed off during resurrection 
of plants which'are in the process of shedding. Most otherllsotes go 
throush a slow process of shedding scales, so that masses of dead 
tissue can always be found, though they will shed scales only some 
years hence, 
7 8 9 10 MIıSSOURI 
| BOTANICAL 
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