The Natural History of Plants, Their Forms, Growth, Reproduction, and Distribution; From the German of Anton Kerner Von Marilaun
Anton Kerner Von Marilaun
Paperback
(RareBooksClub.com, May 17, 2012)
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1895 Excerpt: ...the ravines, these loose leaflets are torn away, and do not again come to rest until they are far distant from the spot from which they were taken. The offshoots of Mosses composed of groups of cells, and the last-mentioned detached leaves which function as offshoots, do not grow up immediately into new Moss-plants, but first of all develop protonemalike cell-filaments, and it is from these that the young Moss-plants originate. It also happens that whole Moss-plants with elongated axis, numerous leaves, and abundant rhizoids are distributed by wind. This is observed in Mosses of very different genera (e.g. Leucodon sciuroides, Thuidium abietinum, Hypnum rugosum, Myurella julacea, Conomitrium Julianum, Ancectangium Sendtnerianum). The development of this form of offshoot is shown in figs. 1569 and 15610, p. 23, in Leucodon sciuroides, which is common on the bark of old trees. In the angles made by the leaves with the axis of old shoots, buds first arise which grow into miniature Moss-shoots. These tiny shoots then become loosened at their base, and push up towards the top of the leaves supporting them. This happens more especially in rainy weather. When it is dry their leaflets lie close to the axis, but when saturated with moisture they stand out and bend backwards, and thus raise themselves out of the deep niche in which they have hitherto been concealed. Many of these loosened shoots are without doubt carried away by rain-water, and so transported some little distance, but most of them are whirled off by the wind, and carried far away over mountain and valley. Bud-shaped offshoots, which become detached from the aerial portions of plants, and whose distribution is effected by wind, are comparatively rare. A remarkable instance is furnished by the Club-mos...