NOTICES OF BOOKS AND PAPERS

W. G. F.
1888 Annals of Botany  
TTEBKB DIE CTJT.TTJB, • TTiECHTENBILDENDEB AS-COMYCETEN OHUE ALGEN : von ALFRED MOEL-LEB. (Untersuchungen aus d. bot. Inst. d. KSnigl. Akad. zu Mllnster-in-Westfalen.) 8vo. Pp. 53. IN this paper tie author gives the results of cultures of the spores of a number of crustaceous lichens which in several respects form a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the development of the lichen-thallus. The paper begins with a well-written summary of the views of previous writers on the nature of
more » ... s, and the results of their cultures of spores and gonidia. Believing that little more light on this much-discussed subject can be obtained by cultures of gonidia alone, or by attempts to produce lichens synthetically by the use of gonidia and spores, he turned his attention to the culture of spores in suitable nourishing media. The species studied were Lecanora subfusca, L., it will be seen, include representatives of nearly all the tribes of lichens. The original account can hardly be presented in a condensed form, for the details given, although numerous, are important. Briefly stated, two important facts have been brought out by the author. In the first place, the prevailing opinion that the hyphae coming from germinating lichen-spores perish in a short time unless gonidia are present is shown to be false. By using proper culture media, and observing proper precautions, the hyphae from the spores of the species named continued to grow for more than three months, and, at the date of publication, many of the cultures were still in good condition. The hyphae produced small characteristic thalli, without any trace of gonidia however. At the time of writing none of them had produced apothecia, although in the case of Graphit scripla small bodies had appeared which turned violet on the application of iodine, and
doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aob.a089072 fatcat:qqz5vooo7zh2vahyextmur6s4a