652 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Anther of Loranthacese.* * * § — M. P. van Tieghem points out that in 
the Loranthacese there is a remarkable want of uniformity in the number 
of pollen-sacs in the anther. In Dendrophthora there is only one, a 
solitary instance among Angiosperms ; in Plioradendron and Arceutho- 
bium there are two ; but much the most common number is four, which 
occurs in nearly all Loranthoidese, and in some Viscoideae. In some 
cases each pollen-sac is septated by transverse partitions, giving rise to 
four longitudinal rows of short superposed sacs. In Notothixos the 
anther has an indeterminate number of small sacs ; while in Viscum the 
anther has completely disappeared as such, its entire surface being 
covered by a large number of small sacs. In all cases, whatever the 
number of the pollen-sacs, each dehisces by a fissure of its own ; and, 
by comparison with the structure in other orders of flowering plants, the 
author points out that this mode of dehiscence of the pollen-sacs, by 
separate fissures, is the rule, rather than the exception, among Angio- 
sperms. 
Fruit and Leaves of Yucca.f — Mr. H. J. Webber traces a connec- 
tion between the variation in the structure of the fruit which character- 
ised the subgenera of Yucca , and the mode of dissemination of the 
seeds. Where the seeds are enclosed in a core, this appears to be 
altogether rejected by birds. Where the seeds are surrounded by a 
fleshy pulp, they are swallowed by birds, but are speedily voided in a 
condition fit for germination. The reflexion of the leaves in some 
species of Yucca appears to serve both to throw off the falling fruit or 
seeds to a distance, and to protect the fruit against the attacks of climb- 
ing animals. 
Fruit of Aucuba.j: — Sig. L. Pampaloni describes the fruit;of Aucuba 
japonica, which differs from that of the true Cornaceae in being a berry, 
not a drupe ; while the embryo, instead of being as long as the fleshy 
endosperm, is only one-third its length. On these grounds the author 
proposes to separate Aucuba, as a distinct suborder, from the typical 
Cornaceae. 
Youngest Stages in the Development of Lateral Organs. § — Prof, 
S. Schwendener adduces further evidence in favour of his “ Anschluss - 
Theorie ” of phyllotaxis (replying to the objections of Raciborski || and 
others), drawn chiefly from the development of the foliar organs in 
water-plants. 
Axillary Shoots of Symphytum.! - — Herr R. Kolkwitz contests the 
theory of Schumann that the displacement of the lateral shoots in the 
Borragineae is merely apparent. In Symphytum officinale the primordium 
of the axillary shoot is unquestionably, from a morphological point of 
view, a unit. The decurrent wings do not belong to the leaf, but to the 
stem. 
* Bull. Soc. Bot. France, xlii. (1895) pp. 363-8. 
f Rep. Missouri Bot. Garden, vi. (1895) pp. 91-112 (3 pis.). 
I Nuov. Giorn. Bot. Ital., ii. (1895) pp. 257-61. 
§ SB. K. Breuss. Akad. Berlin, 1895, pp. 645-63 (1 pi. and 1 fig.). Cf. this 
Journal, ante , p. 69. || Cf. this Journal, ante , p. 70. 
! Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Gesell., xiii. (1895) pp. 280-5 (1 pi.). Cf. this Journal, 
1892, p. 635. 
