Morphologie, Befruchtung, Teratologie, Cytologie. 461 
• 
The work of Caldwell on Microcycas and Pearson on Tumboa 
is discussed and as a result of a comparison with the other gym- 
nosperms based on well known gymnosperm tendencies, the con- 
clusion is reached that the multinucleate archegonia described by 
Caldwell for Microcycas are in reality partial septations in the free 
nuclear stage of the gametophyte, thus putting the gametophyte of 
Microcycas nearly up to the Gnetum level; that its gametophyte is 
not, as Caldwell States, the most primitive of gymnosperms but 
among the most advanced. The author further suggests that the 
possible reason why Microcycas has been enabled to retain so many 
sperms is that the female gametophyte stopped advance beyond the 
partially septate stage before the number of sperms had been redu- 
ced to two. 
The “prothallial tubes” of Tumboa as reported by Pearson 
are interpreted as partial septations among free nuclei, similar to 
Microcycas . 
The paper on Ephedra distichya by Miss Berridge and Miss 
Sanday, which appeared after Land’s article was in type is briefly 
referred to. The report of these authors that “The nuclei of the 
jacket cells divide amitotically, escape from the cells and fuse toge- 
ther in pairs to produce embryos, and that in some cases the em- 
bryos are merely enlarged jacket cells which project into the arche- 
gonium” is considered to be largely due to an examination of 
material which had been squeezed and otherwise injured prior to 
fixation. Land found very many instances in which squeezed ovules 
gave exactly the appearance described by Miss Berridge and Miss 
Sanday. Charles J. Chamberlain (Chicago). 
Leelerc du Sablon. Sur la forme primitive de la figue male. 
(C. R. Acad. Sc. Paris. T. CXLV. p. 932—934. 1907.) 
Sur des Figuiers mäles spontanes de l’Ardeche, M. Ledere du 
Sablon a observe des figues mäles plus petites que les autres, ne 
renfermant que quelques fleurs femelies atrophiees au fond du recep- 
tacle, tandis que les fleurs mäles nombreuses font saillie au dehors. 
D’autres figues encore plus petites n'ont plus de fleurs femelies et 
l’inflorescence est une Sorte de capitule mäle. L’auteur admet que 
cette transformation est un retour ä la forme primitive de la figue, 
correspondant ä une epoque oü la Symbiose entre le Figuier et le 
Blastophage n’existait pas; la dissemination du pollen par le vent 
etant facilitee par l’etalement du receptacle des fleurs mäles. 
C. Queva (Dyon). 
Trinehieri, G„ Intorno a due piante cauliflore. (Malpighia. vol. 
XXI. p. 263—275. 1907.) 
L’auteur Signale le fait que le Ficus coronata Reinw. Blume est 
une espece cauliflore. en faisant remarquer qu’elle est originaire de 
Java et presente plusieurs adaptations au climat tres pluvieux de 
cette Ile: surface rüde des feuilles, pointe des feuilles tres develop- 
pee, position des sicones sur les branches et cauliflorie. 
II montre que dans la categorie des esp^ces cauliflores rentre 
aussi le Halleria lucida L., originaire de l’Afrique tropicale, region 
ä pluies frequentes et abondantes contre lesquelles il presente diffe¬ 
rentes adaptations protectrices. Le liege, d’apr£s les experiences 
faites par l’auteur, s’imbibe d’une quantite d’eau beaucoup plus grande 
et il la perd plus lentement que le liege d’autres plantes. 
