Abstracts of Posters 239 outer bud scale stretches considerably after expulsion of the sprout. The first cataphyll is lifted up by the sprout and remains green for some time. The observations on 5. acmophylla were made on a single plant received from the Botanic Garden of Cairo. Studies should be extended to other specimens from different natural habitats and to other species of the Humboldtianae e.g. 5. subserrata Willd.