The Ohio Naturalist. 
[Vol. IV, No. 8, 
1 68 
completed under Prof. John H. Schaffner in the Botanical Labor- 
ator}^ of Ohio State Univensitj", to both of whom I wish to 
express ni}- sincere thanks. 
In Xelumbo, the carpels are situated in deep pits of the top- 
shaped receptacle. The stigma and the narrow canal which 
traverses the short st3’le are covered with glandular cells which 
secrete a mucilagenous fluid at the time of pollination (Fig. 8). 
The ovule is suspended from the summit of the ovular>' (Fig. i). 
Some time before the integuments begin to develop, the growth 
of the ovule is more rapid at one side ( Fig. r ) and anatroph}' is 
well marked when the incipient seed-coats make their appearance. 
A single hypodermal archesporial cell can be easilj' distinguished 
from the adjacent cells b}’ its larger size and more granular cell 
contents (Fig. 2). Verj' earh" in its development, it divides by 
a transverse wall into an upper cell, the primar}^ parietal cell and 
a lower cell, the megasporocyte (Fig. 3). By a series of divisions 
of the primary parietal cell, a large parietal tissue of twelve 
cells, arranged in three tiers of four cells each, is formed (Fig. 5). 
The megasporocyte expands almost equall}^ in all directions. 
The divisions of the megasporocyte were not followed, but four 
megaspores are formed. The lowest one becomes the functional 
megaspore while the others degenerate (Fig. 6). By the further 
division of the parietal tissue and the epidermis at the tip of the 
uucellus, the functional megaspore becomes deepl}’ placed in the 
ovule (Fig. 7.) The nucleus of the functional megaspore now 
divides into two (Fig. 9), four (Fig. 10), and eight nuclei 
respective!}’, producing the eight-celled embryo-sac (Fig. ii). 
Frequently great irregularities in the development of the embryo- 
sac w’ere present. In many cases two or more imperfect sacs were 
observed. Usually there was one complete sac with one or more 
imperfectly developed sacs. By the appearance of the prepara- 
tions, it seems that the extra sacs are derived from sister niega- 
.spores, rather than from independent megasporocytes (Fig. 15.) 
The embryo-sac developes very rapidly and is usually straight. 
It enlarges principally in the direction of its longer axis, destroy- 
ing the parietal cells above and encroaching on the ovular tissue 
below. The antipodals are small (Fig. ii) and u.sually disappear 
before the conjugation of the polar nuclei. In only a few instan- 
ces could any trace of them be found after the polar nuclei had 
conjugated. The synergids are small. They become slightly 
enlarged from their original condition, and are elongated trans- 
versely to the longer axis of the sac. They degenerate about the 
time of fertilization or soon after (Fig. 12). The egg becomes 
quite large and usually is placed considerably to one side of the 
sac ( Fig. 13 ). 
The polar nuclei begin to conjugate about the time the flower 
opens and the fusion is not complete until after fertilization. In 
