THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
DECEMBER,  1906. 
THE  ROOT-STRUCTURE  OF  SPIGELIA  MARILANDICA  L., 
PHLOX  OVATA  L.  AND  RUELLIA  CILIOSA  PURSH, 
By  Theo.  Hoi<m. 
(With  five  figures  drawn  by  the  author. ) 
In  the  very  comprehensive  work  of  Dr.  Solereder,1  dealing  with 
the  anatomy  of  dicotyledonous  plants,  the  Polemoniacece  are  charac- 
terized as  lacking  crystals,  with  the  only  exception  of  Phlox  Carolina, 
But  in  this  plant,  better  known  as  Phlox  ovata  L.,  Dr.  Solereder 
states  that  Professor  Henry  Greenish2  has  found  large,  fusiform 
cystolithes  in  the  cortical  parenchyma  of  the  roots. 
Having  for  several  years  been  engaged  in  studying  the  anatomy 
of  our  native  plants,  the  writer  has  always  been  desirous  of  com- 
paring the  anatomical  characters  of  the  various  families.  While 
examining  the  structure  of  the  Acanthacea  that  occur  in  the  vicinity 
of  Washington,  I  noticed  a  very  peculiar  structure,  especially  in  the 
roots,  which  led  me  to  undertake  a  more  detailed  investigation  of 
certain  tissues  with  their  cell-contents,  and  quite  especially  the  cys- 
tolithes. Being  well  acquainted  with  Professor  Greenish's  original 
paper  and  his  carefully  executed  figures  of  the  cystolithes,  which  he 
thought  to  have  detected  in  Phlox  ovata,  I  extended  my  investiga- 
tion to  some  members  of  this  family,  including  this  particular 
species.  However,  I  failed  to  observe  any  crystals  or  cystolithes, 
and  inasmuch  as  Professor  Greenish  was  not  so  absolutely  certain 
that  the  roots  and  rhizomes,  which  he  had  before  him,  really 
belonged  to  some  Phlox,  I  commenced  to  doubt  the  correctness  of 
the  statement  that  the  roots  of  Phlox  ovata  contain  cystolithes.  It 
1  Systematische  Anatomie  der  Dicotyledonen.    Stuttgart,  1899,  p.  622. 
2  1  he  Pharmaceutical  Journal  and  Transactions.    London,  1891,  p.  839. 
(553) 
