ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
73 
this order can be classed under two categories, calcifugous and calci- 
colous ; the composition of the ash being nearly uniform in each class ; 
but the difference between the two is very pronounced, although 
some genera, such as Erica, have representatives in eaoh group. In the 
calcifugous species, e. g. Erica cinerea, Calluna vulgaris, the propor- 
tion of silica in the ash is very high, sometimes exceeding 30 per cent., 
while that of lime is not more than 20 per cent. ; in the calcicolous 
species such as E. multijlora, the proportion of silica is not more than 
13 per cent., while that of lime may be as much as 31, and that of 
potassa as much as 22 per cent. 
Myrmecophilous Plants.* * * § — Herr K, Schumann describes a number 
of fresh myrmecophilous trees and shrubs, chiefly from the East Indian 
Archipelago, viz. : — Gmelinia ( Vitex ) macrophylla (Verbenacea?) ; among 
Rubiaceae Bemijia physophora and Nauclea lanceolata, where the ants 
inhabit chambers in the stem, and Myristica heterophylla sp. n. 
B. CRYPTOGAMIA, 
Cryptogamia Vascularia. 
Sphenophyllum and Asterophyllites-f— From examination of a 
specimen from the Carboniferous strata of Silesia, Mr. A. C. Seward 
concludes that Aster ophyllites is not a distinct genus of Vascular 
Cryptogams, but that it must be regarded as a morphological condition 
of Sphenophyllum, with reduced leaves having only a single vein. 
Muscineae. 
Peristome. J — M. Philibert now brings to a close his discussion of the 
differences between the Nematodonteae and the Arthrodonteae, and the 
transitions between these two groups. The following are the author’s 
conclusions: — That the Nematodonteae attain their highest degree of de- 
velopment in the Polytrichaceae, having probably passed through a series 
of stages of less complexity, corresponding to the series of Dawsonieae. 
The Arthrodonteae give rise to a great variety of forms. The Lepto- 
stomeae and the Splachnaceae appear to have preserved traces of forms 
transitional between the Nematodonteae and the Diplolepideae ; the 
Eunariaceae and the Orthotricliaceae resemble the latter in certain 
characters. There is also an affinity between the genera Splachnum and 
Bryum ; and to the Bryaceae belong the Hypnaceae, and all the Pleuro- 
carpeae, whose development has been posterior to that of other mosses. 
Microspores of Sphagnaceae.§ — Herr S. Nawaschin maintains that 
the so-called microspores of certain species of Sphagnum belonging to 
the acutifolium group are not organs of the moss itself, but are spores of 
a parasitic fungus belonging to the Ustilagineae, probably an undescribed 
species of Tilletia. 
Javanese Hepaticae.|| — Under the name Treubia Prof. K. Goebel 
describes a new genus of Hepaticae from Java, belonging to those 
* Verhandl. Bot. Ver. Brandenb., 1890, pp. 113-23. Cf. this Journal, 1890, p. 486, 
t Mem. and Proc. Manchester Lit. and Phil. Soc., 1890 (3 figs.). 
X Rev. Bryol., xvii. (1890) pp. 39-42. Cf. this Journal, 1890, p. 488. 
§ Bot. Centralbl., xliii. (1890) pp. 289-90. 
|j Ann. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, ix. (1890) pp. 1-40 (4 pis,). 
