NOTE 
NOTE ON A SPORELING OF PHYLLOGLOSSUM ATTACHED TO 
A PROTHALLUS. — All attempts to raise prothalli of Phylloglossum from spores 
having so far failed, vve are dependent upon material collected in the field. In 1901 
a preliminary account of some New Zealand specimens was given by Professor 
Thomas, but his paper contained no figures. 1 Since that date no further observations 
have been published, and the occurrence of a prothallus among some recent 
Australian material seems worth recording. The prothallus in question was attached 
to a young sporeling, which possessed a single leaf 8 mm. long, a slender root, and 
a small storage tuber (Fig. A). 2 The plant was embedded in a mass of peat, which 
contained other small plants, but these were all developed from storage tubers formed 
in the previous season. 
The prothallus is a small tuberous body, about 2 mm. in diameter, the upper end 
being slightly extended to form a crown. In form and size it recalled the 4 shorter 
thick-set prothalli ' described by Professor Thomas. The preservation of the tissues 
was poor, but it was clear that the prothallus was of a relatively unspecialized type. It 
consisted mainly of large thin-walled cells, some of which had grown out to form 
rhizoids. 
A notable feature of the prothallus was its association with fungal hyphae. 
Among the outer layers of cells, and occasionally among the rhizoids, relatively 
coarse, non-septate hyphae were found. These hyphae were probably the mycelium 
of some saprophytic fungus, which had helped to bring about the decay of the 
prothallus. Slender hyphae, septate and frequently coiled, occurred in abundance 
in the central region of the prothallus, and in sections through the crown 
(Fig. B, f). Occasionally they showed a tendency to fragment, and in some sections 
they were associated with groups of deeply staining bodies. Thick-coated resting 
spores, formed either singly or in pairs at the ends of slender hyphae, occurred 
towards the edge of the prothallus. It was impossible to observe the relation between 
the fungal hyphae and the individual cells of the prothallus, but there seems little doubt 
that the thin septate type belonged to an endophytic fungus such as Professor Thomas 
described. 
Professor Thomas found the sexual organs of Phylloglossum on the crown 
of the prothallus. In the specimen here described, the upper part of the prothallus 
was decayed and crushed, and its structure was difficult to determine, but in two 
consecutive sections a rounded mass of small cells was observed on the edge of 
the crown (Fig. B, a). The specimen had been embedded, cut transversely, 
1 Thomas, A. P. W. : Preliminary Account of the Prothallus of Phylloglosum. Proc. Roy. 
Soc., vol. lxix, 1 901-2, p. 285. 
2 Thomas states that he has seen no formation of root during the first year of growth, Loc. 
cit., p. 288. 
[Annals of Botany, Vol. XXX, No. CXX. October, 1916 ] 
