NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



545 



two genera of Juliania and Orthopterygium. In discussing the affini- 

 ties of the new Order Mr. Hemsley concluded that these lay with the 

 Cupuliferae, the Anacardiaceae and the Juglandaceae. In the present 

 contribution Dr. Fritsch has made a detailed anatomical investigation of 

 the members of the new Order. He finds that the Julianiaceae show in 

 their anatomical structure marked affinity to the Anacardiaceae — so 

 marked indeed that it is difficult to hold the two Orders distinct from this 

 point of view alone. This need not of course lead to the rejection of the 

 Cupuliferous affinities maintained by Mr. Hemsley on the basis of 

 external morphology. Mr. Hemsley did not consider that the relation- 

 ship of the Julianiaceae with the Juglandaceae was a close one and 

 Dr. Fritsch points out that anatomy gives no support at all to the 

 existence of such an affinity. A very detailed account of the anatomical 

 features of the Julianiaceae follows, for which the original must be 

 consulted. — B. B. 



Junipers, Fertilization of (Bot. Gaz. vol. xlviii., No. 1, pp. 31-46, 

 July 1909 ; with 4 plates). — Miss Alice M. Ottley describes the fertilization 

 and gametophytes of J. communis and J. virginiana. The paper is an 

 important contribution to the cytology and phenomena of fertilization in 

 the Gymnosperms.— G. F. S.-E. 



Kitchingia uniflora. By 0. Stapf (Bot, May. tab. 8286).— Nat. 

 ord. Crassulaceae ; Madagascar. Herb, prostrate and rooting at nodes ; 

 leaves opposite, obovate, crenate, 4-8 lines long ; flowers terminal, urceo- 

 late, | inch long, rose. — G. H. 



Laburnums. By W. D. (Garden, March 29, 1909, p. 261).— The 

 writer, in an interesting account of these trees, rightly lays stress on the 

 value of the Scotch Laburnum (L. alpinum). He gives the usually 

 accepted account of the origin of that puzzle of the botanist L. Adami, 

 the purple Laburnum, which is that it was produced as a graft hybrid by 

 grafting Cytisus purpureus on Laburnum vulgare. A good tree in 

 blossom has a very peculiar appearance, having racemes of yellow flowers, 

 racemes of purple flowers, and patches like miniature witches broom of 

 Cytisus purpureus, with ordinary Cytisus flowers, the peculiarity of the 

 plant being that although the three kinds of bloom may not be found on 

 young plants they eventually appear.* — H. B. D. 



Lakes, Filling- up of (Bot. Gas. vol. xlvii., No. 6, June 1909, 

 pp. 445-453 ; with 5 figs.). — Mr. George Plumer Burns describes the 

 manner in which certain post-glacial lakes near Ann Arbor, U.S., have 

 been occupied by vegetation. There is a water-lily zone followed in 

 succession by bog sedge, bog shrub, tamarack (Larix americana) and 

 maple-poplar. The depths in the original post-glacial lake determined 

 the position of open water, width of the various zones and amount of 



* Whether a true graft hybrid really exists has long been a matter of difference be- 

 tween gardeners and botanists, but if there be such a thing possible, this is probably 

 the best authenticated instance. For a further discussion of this case, those in- 

 terested are referred to Kerner and Oliver's " Natural History of Plants," vol. 2, pp. 570 

 -575. This curious plant was obtained at Vitry, near Paris, in the year 1825. — H.R.D. 

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