New and Little Known West-Himalayan Liverworts. 219 
The appearance of the dorsal male receptacle of Targionia in 
exposed places is to be considered a still further reduction. The 
shoot begins to form vegetative tissue in place of antheridia, so that 
the latter instead of occupying the whole of the dorsal surface as 
they do in the modified ventral shoots, occupy only about one half 
of this. That the disc of the male shoots of Targionia is a reduced 
branch system is further proved by the occurrence of both the 
composite and the so-called simple receptacle in Cyathodium 
tuberosum where we can actually trace the transformation of the 
one into the other. In Targionia itself there is no trace left of the 
composite condition except the scattered scales. 1 
Fig. 3. Aitchisoniella himalayensis: a, plant with antheridia in two rows 
behind the female receptacle, X 5 ; b, c, d, plants showing various positions of 
female receptacle (T, thickened apex), b and d x 5, c x 6; e, plant with 
mature sporogonium, x 5. 
Aitchisoniella Himalayensis Kashyap. 
The plants of this species were found growing on an exposed 
eastern slope only in one locality. They were discovered accidentally 
near the end of the vegetative season (the end of August). Although 
a diligent search was made they were not found anywhere else. 
The number of the plants was, therefore, rather small and almost 
all of them bore ripe capsules. Fortunately a few young specimens 
were found among some other liverworts, but it was not known at 
what particular place in Mussoorie the latter were collected. It is 
not probable that the species is rare, and the reasons why only a 
few plants were found are two. First, the search was made at the 
1 In this connexion it may be noted that Cavers (“ Contributions to the 
Biology of the Hepaticse,” p. 8) states that the male branches “ may give rise 
to secondary shoots, which may either develop new antheridial receptacles or 
even grow out as sterile shoots.” This observation certainly appears to con¬ 
firm the view here advanced that the male receptacle of Targionia is to be 
regarded as a reduced branch system. 
