THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



149 



such as dextrose. At the same time, another enzyme' 

 appears in the form of maltase which, reacting with the 

 dextrose, causes the formation of maltose during which 

 reaction another enzyme, a dextrinase is produced which 

 reacts with the maltose to yield dextrin. Going on with 

 this reaction another enzyme which may be designated 

 as amylase appears which reacting with the dextrin forms 

 soluble starch. During this stage, there arises another 

 enzyme a coagulase which converts the starch from the 

 soluble to the insoluble form of ordinary starch." It is 

 fortunate for the young plants that they do not have to 

 understand all this before they can begin making starch 

 for themselves. 



Taste of Poison Ivy. — Mrs. J. D. Tuttle, having inad- 

 verted tested poison ivy (Rhus toxicodendron), reports 

 that it has a flavor resembling that of black cherry. In 

 cases of poisoning from this plant, she recommends a tea 

 made from cleavers (Galiiini) to be used internally and as 

 a wash. Most mild cases of ivy poisoning will run their 

 course in a few days and leave no ill effects but in the case 

 of a few susceptible individuals a physician may even have 

 to be consulted. 



Continuous Floral Shoots. — That the flower is es- 

 sentially a transformed branch is frequently asserted by bot- 

 anists, and the flowers often prove it by producing- leaves in- 

 stead of petals or carpels or even by originating a new bud in 

 the center of the flower which may in its turn produce a new 

 flower cluster. In an Australian group of shrubs, known as 

 bottle brushes (Callistcinon.) , a variation of this phase is found. 

 Here the flower spike is terminal, but eventually the tip resumes 

 growth and becomes a leafy branch which may later produce 

 another crop of flowers at its tip, and this may be repeated sev- 

 eral times, forming a single branch beset with leaves, flowers 

 and fruits in successive zones. 



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