Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 September 2014
1. The morphology and anatomy of Trichomanes aphlebioides Christ, a species endemic to New Guinea, is shortly described.
2. The most outstanding feature of the species is the presence of aphlebioid leaves. These latter are shown to be the modified first fronds of the axillary branches.
3. The anatomy of the alphebioid leaves is described. They show great reduction in relation to the humid conditions of the high forests in which the plant grows.
4. The morphology of aphlebiæ and aphlebioid leaves is briefly discussed.
5. No experimental evidence is available with regard to the function of the aphlebioid leaves. Mention is made, however, of the various suggestions which have been put forward in relation to this question.
page 142 note * Schumann and Lauterbach, 1901, p. 106.
page 143 note * The term “aphlebiæ” has usually been applied to anomalous structures borne in relation to fronds and generally interpreted as modified pinnæ or pinnules. The term is unsatisfactory in many ways, a fact reflected in the quotation by Goebel of a statement that “Was man nicht deklinieren kann, das sieht man als Aphlebium an!” (Organographie, Zweite Aufl., p. 1057)
page 143 note † Boodle, , Ann. of Bot, xiv, 1900.Google Scholar
page 148 note * These “Deckzellen” were first described by Mettenius, in his paper “Über die Hymenophyllaceæ” (Abhandl. d. K. S. Gesellsch. d. Wissensch., xi, p. 423).Google Scholar They have since been recorded and described in a large number of other plants. A full account of their structure, development, and possible functions, together with the literature on the subject, will be found in Bd. III, 1a, of the Handbuch der Pflanzenanatomie (Linsbauer).
page 149 note * Bower, F.O., Filicales, vol. i, p. 99.Google Scholar
page 149 note † Goebel, K., Organographie der Pflanzen (1915–1918), p. 1057.Google Scholar
page 149 note ‡ Seward, A.C, Fossil Plants, vol. ii, p. 525.Google Scholar
page 149 note § Potonié, H., “Zur Physiologie und Morphologie der foss. Farnaphlebien,” Ber. deutsch. botan. Ges., Bd. 21.Google Scholar
page 149 note ‖ Hirmer, M., Handbuch der Paläobotanik, p. 573.Google Scholar
page 151 note * It has been suggested that the silica-containing cells act as a protection against snails, that they give mechanical rigidity, and that, in certain examples, the deposit of silica lessens the permeability of the cell-wall and so tends to reduce transpiration.
page 151 note † Cf. the condition in young fronds of Dactylotheca plumosa (fig. 804 in Hirmer's Handbuch der Paläobotanik).