xxii Obituary . — David Thomas G wynne- Vaughan. 
Two papers, I am informed, were left unpublished, but in a sufficiently 
advanced state to warrant the hope that they may soon see the light. 
Their subjects are : ‘ On some climbing Davallias and the Petiole of 
Lygodimn ’, and ‘ Observations on the Anatomy of the Leaf in the 
Osmundaceae 5 . 
There is also a considerable amount of manuscript with many Figures, 
relating to the genus Equisetum , in which he had so strong an interest. 
The chief part of this material was prepared with a view to a joint work on 
Equisetales and other groups which Gwynne-Vaughan and I had in con- 
templation. Its fate is still undecided. 
Gwynne-Vaughan’s chief subject as an investigator may be described 
as the comparative anatomy of Plants from the point of view of Descent. 
His work belongs essentially to the Darwinian period ; if he had lived, it 
would have been interesting to see how' far he might have been influenced 
by the modern tendency in the direction of Experimental Morphology. 
But I think the phylogenetic interest would always have been the main one 
to him, as it is to the present writer. 
He became an anatomist at Kew ; it was at Glasgow that he was led 
to specialize, with such admirable success, on the anatomy of Pteridophyta 
and above all Ferns. In this subject, so characteristic of modern English 
Botany, no one surpassed him. 
The phylogenetic study of Fern anatomy demands a knowledge of 
fossil forms, and here his association with Kidston was of the happiest 
influence, and gave rise to the best of his later work. He made the utmost 
use of his opportunities, and I was often impressed by his own accurate 
knowledge of fossil types. 
He had accomplished so much, and his judgement was so thoroughly 
sound, that great things might have been looked for from him, if all had 
not ended so much too soon. 
Gwynne-Vaughan’s original work lay within a well-defined field, but 
he was actively interested in other branches of his science, and, in particular, 
was very keen on the Algae, at which he worked hard on his occasional 
visits to the coast, from Glasgow and elsewhere. 
With students, who are generally good judges of character, he was, 
I am told, remarkably successful. At Glasgow, for example, he took 
a great interest in the athletic life of the University, and was very popular. 
In all his various posts he established a tradition among his students of 
trying to obtain first-hand information and to demonstrate things for 
themselves. Both in the laboratory and on excursions he had the power 
of inspiring interest and of making difficulties clear. 
Those who knew him only from his published work, necessarily of 
a technical character, would have formed little idea of him as he really was. 
