50 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
and form a stigma-like tuft at tlie summit of the ovary, close to the 
micropyle of the erect ovule. 
Compound Ovaries.* * * § — Prof. C. E. Bessey discusses the origin of the 
compound ovary, which he considers as differing in different cases. 
Apocarpous plants he regards as lower than syncarpous. Ovaries may 
be primitively simple, or may have become simplified from a more com- 
plex structure, as in the case of grasses and sedges. The Amentiferse, 
notwithstanding their apparently simple floral structure, are not to he 
regarded as among the lowest of the dicotyledons. 
Fruit of Phoenix melanocarpa.j — M. A. Girard describes in detail 
the composition of the fruit of a very remarkable date-palm, grown near 
Nice, which ripens its fruit in April, instead of in July, as is the case 
with the African date-palm. The chief chemical peculiarities are that 
the saccharose is entirely replaced by levulose, and the complete absence 
of acids, and of the tannin group of substances. 
Symmetry of the Axis.j; — M. A. Chatin lays stress on characters 
derived from the structure and origin of the roots as indicating the 
relationship of the primary divisions of the vegetable kingdom. In 
Dicotyledons there is always a true perennial descending axis originating 
from the embryo ; in Monocotyledons there is a system of primary roots, 
of temporary duration, succeeded by adventitious roots ; in Acotyledons, 
all the roots are adventitious. The root is fibrovascular in the Dico- 
tyledons, Monocotyledons, and higher Acotyledons ; cellular in the lower 
Acotyledons. The Dicotyledons alone produce from their primary 
descending axis secondary roots arranged symmetrically, comparable to 
the arrangement of leaves on the stem. 
Stem and Leaf of Phyllanthese.§ — Dr. H. Rothdausclier goes into 
great detail respecting the structure of the leaf and axis in the various 
genera belonging to this family of Euphorbiacese, excluding the Euphyl- 
lan these. Among the more general characters may be mentioned the 
absence of latex-tubes, the absence of glandular hairs, with the exception 
of peltate hairs in one genus, the occurrence of companion-cells parallel 
to the fissure of the stomates, the comparative or complete absence of 
hairs, &c. 
Spines of the Aurantiace9e.|| — Sig. E. Migliorato discusses the 
anatomical nature of the spines in Citrus Aurantium and other species of 
the order. From the occasional occurrence of subtending bracts and 
from other characters, he concludes that they are of axial and not of 
foliar origin. 
Position of Leaves.1T — According to’ Mr. R. N. Day, the position of 
the leaf is the result of internal physiological, not of external mechanical 
forces. The predominating force is always the lieliotropic tendency. 
* Bot. Gazette, xxii. (1896) p. 224. 
f Comptes Rendus, cxxiii. (1896) pp. 720-4. 
% Bull. Soc. Bot. France, xliii. (1896) pp. 267-72. 
§ Bot. Centralbl., lxviii. (1896) pp. 65-79, 97-108, 131-6, 161-9, 193-203, 248-53, 
280-5, 305-15, 338-46, 385-93. 
|| Nuov. Giorn. Bot. Ital., iii. (1896) pp. 436-8 (7 figs.), 
^ Bot. Gazette, xxii. (1896) p. 222. 
