Publications of the Hartley Botanical Laboratories

Abstract

THESE publications of the Hartley Botanical Laboratories of the University of Liverpool are beautifully printed and illustrated on large pages of good paper. In them Prof. McLean Thompson records his observations of floral development in a few selected families, and supports his viewthat only through such developmental studies is it possible to interpret floral form and structure satisfactorily. In selecting the families for study, Prof. Thompson has shown himself ready to face difficulties. His choice has fallen first on the Leguminosae, one of the largest families of Dicotyledons, the very variable subfamilies Csesalpinioideae and Mimosoidese having been investigated in considerable detail, but the more uniform Papilionatse much less extensively. Next he has chosen the Lecythidacese and the Scitaminese, two groups in which the flowers exhibit a wide range of freakish forms with marked variation in the number of functional stamens. Publications of the Hartley Botanical Laboratories. Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 7: Studies in Advancing Sterility, Parts I to V. By John McLean Thompson. No. 11: The Theory of Scitaminean Flowering. By John McLean Thompson. No. 3: The Life History and Cytology of Sphacelaria Bipinnata. By Hilda B. Glint. No. 5: The Cytology of Callithamnion Brachiatum. By William T. Matthias. No. 9: A Contribution to Knowledge of the Mesogloiaceae, etc. By Mary Parke. Nos. 8, 10: Studies of Flowering in Heterostyled and Allied Species, Parts I and II. By James Stirling. (Liverpool: University Press of Liverpool, 1924–1933.)