Geophilotts Species of Peperomia. 413 
petiole being below the middle, about a quarter of the length of the lamina 
from its lower edge. The fruit is about -8 mm. in length, almost sessile, 
and the stigma is almost equal in length to the fruit (Fig. 47). 
Two young seedlings were found adhering to the dry specimen, and 
they are of exactly the same character as those already described in this 
paper (Fig. 48). Unfortunately only the cotyledonary stages of the young 
plants were found, and no light is thrown by these on the formation and 
development of the rhizome, but it seems likely, on the analogy of the other 
species of the group, that it must be hypocotyledonary in origin. There 
seems to be a fairly close relationship between this species and P. mexicana, 
not only in the fruit structure, but also as regards the general external 
morphology. 
Of other species from Mexico P. Muller i, C. DC. and P. Bourgeaui l , 
C. DC. have well developed creeping rhizomes, which are covered by the 
persistent petiole bases ; the plants are hairy, and the cordate leaves are 
slightly peltate ; there is, however, no evidence to show whether or no 
these species belong to this pseudo-monocotyledonous group. 
Anatomy. 
With regard to the anatomical structure of the seedlings, there is but 
little to be said. The only seedlings available for section cutting were 
those of P. peruviana . A transverse section near the base of the cotyledons 
shows a small median collateral vascular bundle in each cotyledon, that of 
the aerial cotyledon being the larger, and as one passes down below the 
point of union of the two cotyledons, in a series of sections, these two 
bundles are seen gradually to approach one another. The plumule is 
rudimentary at this stage, being represented only by a small knob of meri- 
stematic tissue ; thus the only vascular bundles in the young seedling are 
the two cotyledonary traces. The phloem consists of a group of delicate 
thin walled elements, and the xylem is composed of a few small spiral vessels. 
The transition from stem to root appears to take place by means of the 
splitting of the phloem and rearrangement of the xylem ; but, owing to 
the state of the material, it was very difficult to follow all the changes. As 
far as could be seen, there did not appear to be any preparatory division of 
the phloem of the cotyledonary traces whilst still within the petioles 2 , 
The root shows a simple diarch structure, with only two or three lignffied 
elements forming the xylem-plate (Fig. 17, PL XXIX) 3 . 
1 Linnaea, xxxvii, p. 370 ; Dahlst., 1 . c., p. 44, Fig. 16, PI. 1. Both these species have been 
collected at Orizaba in Mexico. P. Bourgeaui is represented at Kew by Bourgeau, No. 3230, and 
P. Miilleri by Muller, No. 653, and a Guatemalan specimen, No. 3826, of J. Donnell Smith 
(cf. Dahlst., 1 . c., pp. 37 and 44). They all agree very closely together, and; there seems to be little 
doubt that these two species are identical. 
2 Cf. Hill, T. G., Ann. Bot., xx, p. 170. 
3 Cf. Hill, T. G., 1 . c., PI. X, Fig. 6. 
