Botany at the British Association

Abstract

THE subject of alternation of generations in plants played a prominent part in the work of the Botanical Section. The President (Prof. Bower) devoted a considerable portion of his address to the controversial questions connected with “the great enigma of the alternation of generations” in green plants. Mr. Lang, of Glasgow University, and Prof. Klebs, of Halle, contributed important papers on this subject, and these were followed by a general discussion on the problems of alternation. Mr. Lang gave an excellent summary and critical review of our present knowledge concerning alternations of generations in the Archegoniatæ. The recent work of this investigator on some striking cases of deviation from the normal life-history of ferns, must be ranked among the most important contributions germane to this subject which have appeared in recent years. In concluding his account of some of the main factors in alternation, the author suggested three subsidiary questions as worthy of attention—the probable line of descent in archegoniate plants, the bearing of the cytological facts on the question, and the significance to be attached to apospory and apogamy.