4§4 
Sti/es . — The Podocarpeae. 
divide, is a question that could not be definitely decided, but the facts 
suggest the former alternative. 
III. Podocarpus nagi. Owing to the exceedingly small quantity 
of material available of this species the observations are of a very meagre 
description. The youngest material examined was collected by Dr. Stopes 
at Tokyo on July 13. The ovules were abundantly supplied with pollen- 
tubes, as many as eight having penetrated through one nucellus. Between 
this and the female prothallus they formed so complicated a tangle that 
it was found impossible to distinguish between the various tubes in a series 
of sections. Indeed, the number of pollen-tubes could only be found by 
counting the number of body-cells contained in them, so in the unlikely 
event of there being more than one body-cell in one tube the number 
of tubes would be correspondingly lower. Under these circumstances it 
was found difficult to estimate the number of prothallial nuclei in one tube ; 
in one case, however, eight small nuclei were found near a body-cell in one 
tube, while in several other cases at least six nuclei were present. Allowing 
for the presence of the stalk- and tube-nuclei, which by this time are 
indistinguishable from the prothallial nuclei, there may be at least as many 
as six prothallial nuclei in the pollen-tube at this stage. 
The further course of events seems to follow closely that in P. macro - 
phyllns , two male nuclei being produced, one of which comes to lie 
centrally in the body-cell cytoplasm, while the other is non-functional, and 
degenerates on the outside of the body-cell cytoplasm. 
xi. Embryology. 
The embryology of Podocarpus coriaceus has been described by Coker, 1 
and that of P. macrophyllus is similar. The fusion-nucleus sinks to the 
basal part of the archegonium and there undergoes successive divisions, 
so that at least sixteen free nuclei are formed before wall formation takes 
place. While these divisions are proceeding the basal part of the arche- 
gonium wall swells up and becomes conspicuous owing to its power of stain- 
ing with safranin. This is shown in PI. XLVIII, Fig. 32, which is a draw- 
ing of a section through two archegonia, in one of which the pro-embryo 
is undergoing the third division, while the other is in the eight-nucleate 
stage. (All the nuclei are of course not shown in a single section.) The 
stage directly after wall formation was not observed, but no doubt the same 
tiers of cells are formed as in P. coriaceus. 
The embryo consists of a single cell for some time after the suspensors 
have commenced to elongate. Coker has observed the formation of several 
embryos from a single egg in P. coriaceus ; there was no case of this seen 
in P. macrophyllus. The embryo later produces a large cylindrical mass 
1 Coker (’ 02 ), p. 100. 
