84 Sargant. — Theory of ihe Origin of Monocotyledons 
possess exalbuminous seeds. The connexion is not difficult 
to understand. The seed of geophilous plants must become 
ripe within a short period, and the embryo therefore remains 
small, and commonly but little differentiated, while the endo- 
sperm is packed with food-stuff. 
With this is connected the slow germination of many species 
with concrescent cotyledons. The prolonged maturation of 
the embryo within the seed of Ranunculus Ficaria — a process 
extending over nearly two years after the seed is ripe — has 
been mentioned already. It is fully described by M. Sterckx 
( 38 , p. 42, Figs. 1 51-160). A similar maturation of the embryo 
takes place in the seeds of Eranthis hiemalis , Corydalis cava 
(Schmid, 1 . c.), and of several species of Anemone after they 
are shed, but here the process is complete at the end of the 
first season and the seeds germinate in the following spring 
(Sterckx, 38 , p. 79). M. Sterckx’ observations, however, were 
made on plants growing in a temperate climate with a long 
summer. It is very probable that the seeds of these species 
if shed at the end of a short alpine or arctic summer might 
defer the maturation of their embryos to the next year, and 
germinate only in the second summer after dispersal. The 
slow germination of many Monocotyledonous seeds, par- 
ticularly those belonging to bulbous species, is a fact familiar 
to all gardeners. 
The suggestions here made as to the origin of Mono- 
cotyledons from a Dicotyledonous stock will perhaps be 
thought worthy of consideration by botanists. It is certain 
that if the theory be adopted as a working hypothesis it will 
suggest new lines of research, for example a more complete 
investigation of the embryology of Monocotyledons and the 
anatomical investigation of geophilous Dicotyledons. Not less 
important is the study of seedlings and immature plants 
in the field, in continuation of the work of Irmisch, Holm, and 
others. 
