The Taxoideez. 
ior 
recognised, and Dr. Scott (23), has pointed out that Ginkgo thus 
forms a bond uniting the Taxacese to the Cordaitean phylum. 
It seems, however, not impossible that there is an even more 
direct connection between this phylum and the Taxacese—a 
connection indicated by the fact that the general morphology of the 
female “flower ” o/Taxus more closely recalls that 0 /Cordaites, than 
that of any other known plant. I do not of course intend to suggest 
that Cordaites is actually the direct ancestor of Taxns (from which 
it differs in a number of important points), but I think that there is 
reason to suppose that Cordaites and Taxns are descended from 
the same primitive stock, and that Cordaianthus gives some idea of 
one of the stages passed through by the female “ flower ” of the 
Taxoidete in the course of its evolution towards the reduced and 
specialised forms of the present day. 
%* Since this Paper was written my attention has been called to a memoir 
which I had overlooked, “ Fertilization and Embryogeny in Cephalotaxus 
Fortunei,” W.C. Coker, Bot. Gaz. XLIII., Jan., 1907. The observations 
in this paper are in agreement with those of Professor Lawson, published 
in the Annals of Botany for the same month, except that the author 
reports inequality of the sperm cells. 
LITERATURE CITED. 
L Hofmeister, W. “ On the Higher Cryptogamia, etc.” Ray. Soc. 
Transl., 1862, 
2. Strasburger, E. “ Die Coniferen und Gnetaceen,” 1872. 
3. Renault, B. “ Cours de Botanique Fossile ” I., 1881. 
4. Belajeff, W. C. 11 Zur Lehre von dem Pollenschlauche der 
Gymnospermen.” Ber. d. deutsch. Bot. 
Gesellsch. 9, p. 280, 1891. 
5. Strasburger, E. “ Ueber den Bau und die Verrichtungen der 
Leitungs bahnen in den Pflanzen,” 1891. 
6. Idem. “ Ueber das Verhalten des Pollens und die Befruchtungs- 
Vorgiinge bei den Gymnospermen,” 1892. 
7. Jiigcr, L. “ Beitnige zur Kenntniss der Endospermbildung und 
zur-Embryologie von Taxus baccata" Flora 
86; p. 241, 1899. 
8. Veitch. “ Manual of the Coniferae.” Edited by A. H. Kent, 1900. 
9. Coulter, J. M. and Chamberlain, C. J. “ Morphology of Spermato- 
phytes,” 1901. 
10. Worsdell, W. C. “ The Morphology of the 1 Flowers ’ of 
Cephalotaxus." Annals of Bot. 15, p. 
637, 1901. 
11. Scott, D. H. ‘‘On the Primary Structure of Certain Palaeozoic 
Stems.” Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin. 40 II., 1902. 
12. Spiess, Kv. “ Ginkgo, Cephalotaxus und die Taxaceen, eine 
phylogenetische Studie.” Oest. Bot. Zeitsch. 
52, p. 432 and p. 469, 1902, and 53, p. 1, 1903. 
13. Coulter, J. M. and Chamberlain, C. J. “ The Embryogeny of 
Zamia.” Bot. Gaz. 35, p. 184, 1903. 
14- Oliver, F. W. “ The Ovules of the Older Gymnosperms.” Annals 
of Botany, 17, p. 451, 1903. 
15 Pilger, R. ‘‘Taxacese,” Das Pflanzenreich (Engler) IV., 5, 1903. 
