318 WILLIS : MORPHOLOaY OF THE PODOSTEMACEÆ 
We have now brought the life-history down to the time 
when the dry September weather allows of the study of the 
morphology of the young plants after the high water level 
of the earlier part of the monsoon. At this season they have 
usually reached a considerable size, like the specimens figured 
in PL XII., often 10-20 cm. in diameter, with well-grown fan 
apices and with numerous rosettes of leaves upon the older 
parts; only on one occasion have I seen any sign of flowers, 
and then I found a few ready to open ; but as a rule the 
development of the flowers begins much later in Ceylon, for 
I have found no sign of it in material gathered so late as the 
first week in November. Owing to the shorter wet season 
in India it is evident that the development must begin 
earlier there. Now, unfortunately, the high water of the 
other monsoon sets in, and it is impossible to get material, 
and when the water-level once more sinks the development 
of the flowers is already finished, so that this stage of the 
life-history must at present be left to supposition. It is not 
difficult, however, by a comparison of the growing tips at 
the two periods, to infer with some probability in what 
manner the development of the cupule, at any rate, takes 
place. 
The flowers are almost always marginal or apical, formed 
from the characteristic apical growing points with their 
dimorphic leaves ; only very rarely indeed, is a flower found 
on the pper surface of the thallus, when it may possibly 
have been formed from the growing point of a leaf rosette. 
Very commonly, as indicated in PI. XL, fig. 2, each growing 
point in the large fan forms a flower, and almost all the more 
lateral apices form flowers in nearly all cases. Each apex 
forms one flower only, which stands more or less erect on a 
pedicel emerging from a horizontal or ascending cupule, 
which is covered with slender bristle-like leaves closely 
packed together on the upper side, has a membranous leafless 
nearly flat under surface, and a few larger leaves on thetwm 
lower margins, showing in fact the same general dimorphism 
and arrangement of the leaves as the original vegetative apex. 
