398 
MABEL MARY BROWN 
has revealed the fact that such inflorescences do occur, and in sufficient 
numbers to warrant their being taken into consideration. In synoicous heads 
the archegonia may occur singly, or in groups of from two to four. The 
archegonia are found at the apex of the stem surrounded by antheridia to the 
number of from fifteen to thirty (fig. i6). Paraphyses of both the filiform 
and clavate types may be seen scattered among the sex organs in such a head. 
The filiform paraphyses are restricted to the female inflorescences in the 
usual distribution of the sex organs, and the clavate forms are found only 
in male inflorescences. In bisexual groups the clavate paraphyses {cp) 
are found among the antheridia and those of the filiform type {fp) only in 
the proximity of the archegonia. Synoicous inflorescences were observed 
on primary axes only, or on unbranched gametophores. 
These synoicous inflorescences were observed in cultures from the be- 
ginning of the period of the production of archegonia until the cultures 
were about two years old; but none were observed in cultures in which 
archegonia had not also been formed in their usual positions. 
An attempt was made to form some notion of the frequency with which 
synoicous inflorescences occur in the cultures. The following table shows 
the range of the percentages of synoicous heads in a few typical cultures. 
Culture Number 
Number of Gametophores 
Number of Synoicous 
Inflorescences 
Percentage of Gametophores 
Bearing Synoicous Inflor- 
escences 
91 
51 
7 
13.72 
127 
43 
3 
6.97 
166 
45 
10 
22.22 
28 
4 
14.28 
34 
4 
11.76 
201 
28 
13-9 
The proportion of synoicous axes present in a culture seems to depend 
upon the age of the culture, a higher percentage being found in cultures 
about one year old than in those several months of age. 
The results thus far described apply to the history of the cultures during 
their first year of growth. . During the second year the axes were examined 
to note whether any regularity exists as to the sex of the organs borne on 
later formed branches from the female innovations and on branches of the 
primary axis, the latter being ordinarily male. As far as could be ascer- 
tained, there is no such regularity, since branches of either sex may arise 
either from the female innovation or from the primary axis. 
Summary 
1. Funaria hygrometrica is strictly monoecious, the spores, protonemata, 
and gametophores being bisexual in their potentialities. 
2. Antheridia always appear earlier than the archegonia. 
3. The antheridia are borne in most cases on the apex of the primary 
