544 MARSILEACE/U. 



form filaments similar to those of Azolla having been found 

 on the capsule of Salvinia, unconnected apparently with fecun- 

 dation, and on the dissimilarity of the supposed fecundating 

 process in the two genera. 



These observations, although they appear to me to indi- 

 cate the existence of sexes in Azolla and (Salvinia) as strong- 

 ly as in Musci and Hepaticae, (in which they are admitted by 

 the best botanists), do not bear out in any way the ideas hi- 

 therto entertained by botanists regarding the sexual organs of 

 the two genera in question. For independently of the organs 

 being the same in structure up to a comparatively late period, 

 they are both submitted to the action of the same agent de- 

 termining their subsequent development ; that development 

 is continued contemporaneously ; they separate contempora- 

 neously, and without either having undergone any particular 

 change. So that if they be male and female, the action of 

 the one on the other does not take place while they are at- 

 tached to the axis. 



There appears to me absolutely nothing in the structure of 

 the supposed male to suggest its performing the functions of 

 that sex. I believe that in cases of the known male organs 

 of vegetables the (active) contents are homogeneous, the 

 functions ephemeral. Dr. Martius {op cit p. 127) is of opi- 

 nion that the lobed bodies have nothing of the characters of 

 anthers, and that the whole contents form the rudiment of 

 a young plant, grounding this opinion on the similarity of the 

 sac or visicle with the nucula of chara and Marsileaceae. 

 But it is remarkable that he considers the masses of the other 

 secondary capsules, which are solid bodies, to have the closest 

 analogy with pollen grains, and therefore he alludes to his 

 having observed them adhering firmly to the calyptrate cap- 

 sule. 



An argument in favour of their being male organs is deri- 

 vable from the development, which appears to be that of the 

 pollen of phfenogamous plants. But this holds good to a 

 greater degree in the development of the contents of the sup- 



