ALBERT

Description: Gesellschaftliche Blindheit nennt der Ökonom und Umweltforscher Hans-Jochen Luhmann es, wenn die Öffentlichkeit die Augen verschließt: vor den Situationen großen Schadensausmaßes, den drohenden Gefahren und den Vorboten von Umwelt- und Gesundheitskatastrophen. Überzeugt, dass die Gesellschaft systematisch das Katastrophale an den unvermeidlichen Risiken vermeiden kann, hat er die Strukturen des Nichtwissenwollens untersucht, um daraus Strategien für die Vermeidung von zukünftigen Katastrophen zu entwickeln. "Wir haben es nicht gewusst!" - diese Blindheit der Gesellschaft hat Methode. Sie dingfest zu machen, sie in detaillierten Fallstudien aus den Bereichen Produkte, Technik, Banken/Unternehmen und Umwelt nachzuweisen, ist die Voraussetzung für ein Risiko-Management, das diese Bezeichnung verdient. Hans-Jochen Luhmann hat in "Die Blindheit der Gesellschaft" die Entdeckung von Umweltrisiken als Geschichte einer verzögerten Wahrnehmung gedeutet. Die Auflösung von gesellschaftlicher Blindheit - so seine These - kann nur dann gelingen, wenn ein neuer Standort bezogen wird. Ein Standort, der auf Erfahrung beruht, der das Verhalten in der Vergangenheit als Blindheit gegenüber dem Raubbau am Ganzen erscheinen lässt. Eine neue, gesellschaftliche, sphärenübergreifende "Sicherheitskultur" ist zu schaffen.

Description: Numerical experiments with idealized OGCM are carried out to investigate the oceanic eastern boundary problems. The experimental results indicate that the eastward flow due to the north–south gradient of the surface density returns to the interior region through the lower half of the mixed layer, and this return flow generates a density jump just above the thermocline. Formulation for the mixed layer depth distribution at the eastern boundary is also presented, which is derived only from the geostrophy and no-normal flow condition. This formulation agrees well with the numerical experiment, and can be an appropriate eastern boundary condition for theoretical ventilated thermocline model with no deficiency of the mass balance on the boundary. Furthermore, the effects of such eastern boundary structure on the subtropical thermocline are studied. On the shallow thermocline in the subtropics, eastern boundary ventilated region emerges, which is identified as a region of high potential vorticity. In the deep thermocline, which does not outcrop in the subtropics, a cross-gyre ventilation occurs. This cross-gyre ventilation is caused by the density structure along the eastern boundary.

Description: The paper presents first results from the upper 54 m of a 723.91 m ice core drilled on Academy of Sciences Ice Cap in 1999-2001, supplemented by data from shallow ice cores. The glacier's peculiarity is the infiltration and refreezing of melting water thereby changing original isotopic and chemical signals. Therefore, stratigraphical observations in these ice cores are more difficult than in those from central Greenland or Antarctica. However, the 1963 maximum of artificial radioactivity from atmospheric nuclear tests is clearly detectable in the deep ice core and the d180 profile of a 12.82 m shallow core shows annual variations. Consequently, an almost seasonal time resolution of paleoclirnate record could be expected at least for the upper part of the main core. The Chemobyl layer was detected by increased 137 Cs activity in depths between 11.81 m and 12.51 m related to the 2000 surface. The resulting mean annual net mass balance is 53 ± 2 g cm-2 a- 1. Data from dielectric profiling (DEP) of the main core show considerable peaks in conductivity; one of them was interpreted as volcano event. According to the resulting chronology this part of the core represents approximately the last 100 years.

Description: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230891291_The_Orbital_Theory_of_Pleistocene_Climate_Support_frim_a_Revised_Chronology_of_the_Marine_d18O_Record

Description: The Western Antarctic Peninsula is one of the regions most affected by stratospheric ozone depletion and global climate warming, resulting in an increased UVB radiation and a fast glacier retreat. During the last 10 years intensive studies on the seaweed communities and the physiology of single species were conducted at Potter Cove. It was found that UVB radiation can decrease the diversity of the seaweed community by direct and indirect effects (exerting negative effects on the grazers). A higher sediment inflow into the water column due to the melting glaciers is decreasing the light availability for photosynthesis, changing the lower depth distribution of the seaweeds. Additional laboratory and field experiments on the physiological performance and recruitment success of seaweed spores showed a strong species specific susceptibility to UV and photosynthetically active radiation. Altogether the seaweed community at Potter Cove is strongly shaped by the changes of their abiotic environment.

Description: Summary Holocene sediments of the North Lagoon, Bermuda, were studied with shallow seismic reflection profiles (200 km CSP-survey, UNIBOOM-system) and vibration coring (40 sediment cores, pneumatic vibration corer, Meischner et al., 1981). Seismic Stratigraphy Four seismic sequences are distinguishable by seismic stratigraphy. All seismic sequences correspond to depositional sequences built up during high sea levels in interglacial times. The seismic sequences are separated by unconformities which are often strongly reflective and correspond to emersion planes during glacial phases. The upper sequence (sequence 4) is related to Holocene sediments. The pre-Holocene bedrock is divided into three different seismic sequences (Kuhn et al., 1981): Sequence 1: oldest Pleistocene sequence (pre-Sangamon sea-level highstands), upper boundary with levelled relief (lower boundary not discernible), composed of strongly cemented carbonate sediments, forms the bedrock below Three Hill Shoals Sequence 2: Sangamon (125 ky sea-level highstand), distinct surface morphology, forms the bedrock of a large area below Holocene sediments, Holocene reefs grew up on elevations of the sequence 2 surface, the Holocene reef rim was developed on an elevated rim of sequence 2 Sequence 3: youngest Pleistocene sequence (Sangamon, 105 and 85 ky sealevel highstands lower than recent), deposited mainly in depressions of the bedrock deeper than -15 m below recent Mean Sea Level, levelling the older relief, peat sedimentation in places The distribution of recent reef areas and lagoonal basins is strongly controlled by pre-Holocene topography and geology of the bedrock. During the Holocene approx. 1050 x 106 m3 of carbonate sediments were deposited in the North Lagoon (290 km2) and approx. 1350 x 106 m3 in the reef rim area (170 km2). Sedimentology There are no larger oscillations of the Holocene sea level identifiable in the sedimentological record. The pre-Holocene topography was gradually drowned during the Holocene sea-level rise. At first, the depositional depressions were separated and landlocked. Fresh water peat marshes, fresh water ponds, marine ponds and bays were formed. With rising sea level, the land barriers were more and more eroded, drowned and lost their influence on the back-barrier sedimentation area. Autochthonous and allochthonous peat, lime gyttja and carbonate mud are a typical transgressive back-barrier sediment sequence. After destruction of the barrier, the depositional milieu changed from restricted marine to normal marine, open lagoonal. Sea-grass sediments and nearly mud-free carbonate sand were deposited in shallow water in an exposed environment. Hydrodynamic energy decreases with increasing water depth in the lagoonal basin. A more densely growing reef rim and intralagoonal reef growth added to the protection of the deeper lagoonal floors. Fine-grained sediments were deposited in this environment. They are distributed over a large area of the North Lagoon and form the top of the transgressive lagoonal sediment sequence. Holocene reefs mainly developed on rises of the pre-Holocene surface. In the early Holocene, solid reef build-ups were able to keep up with the rapid rise of sea level. Sand pockets in the reefs were left behind and filled up mainly in the later Holocene. The percentage of fine-grained sediments, produced and resuspended in the reef rim and deposited in the near lagoonal back-reef zone, increased during the Holocene. Two models of Holocene sedimentation in a depression and on an elevation of the pre-Holocene surface illustrate the dependence of vertical facies gradation on pre-Holocene topography. Trends of the mostly polymodal grain-size distributions of the Holocene sediments are a coarsening-upward in the back-barrier and a fining-upward in the lagoonal sediment sequences. Change in the composition of the molluscan fauna in the Holocene sediments (particle size 〉 2000 µm) is an Indication for fades changes. Gastropods are abundant in the basal backbarrier sediments. Bivalves are rare and their diversity 1s low. Sea-grass sediments contain Codakia orbicularis and Astraea phoebia shells. In the sheltered lagoonal environment shell fragments 〉 2000 µm become rare, common species are Gouldia cerina, Pitar fulminata and Finella sp. (approx. 1000 µm). Fine-grained reef-rim derived sediments differ from lagoonal sediments by a higher percentage of Homotrema rubrum fragments and Alcyonaria spicules.

Description: There comes a time in the history of nearly every genus when it becomes almost immoral to add new species without first having surveyed the genus as a whole. Dendrophthora has reached this state. From the time of its first recognition as a separate entity to the present, new species have been described, often on very tenuous grounds, and usually without an indication of infrageneric relationships, until today we are faced with a staggering mass of specific epithets in complete chaos. The genus has not been comprehensively studied for more than half a century, and no balanced attempt has as yet been made to establish natural divisions within. Having become interested in the morphology of this and the related genus Phoradendron (KUIJT, 1959), I was naturally led on to some taxonomic considerations. My stay in Europe in 1958-1959 enabled me to visit the major European herbaria, and the notes and sketches accumulated there soon pointed the way to the present work.

Description: Neohattoria Kamim. is a monotypic genus of the Jubulaceae (= Frullaniaceae) with a single species, N. herzogii (Hatt.) Kamim., known from central to northern Japan and the southern part of the Kurile Islands. The present genus was segregated from Frullania by Kamimura (1961; sub. nom. Hattoria Kamim. nom. illeg., non Schust., 1961) on the basis of the branching type, the shape of the first leaf and underleaf on branch, the total lack of secondary pigmentation, the uniform cell structure of the stem in cross section, and the strongly toothed leaf lobes. The generic concept of Neohattoria was greatly expanded by Schuster (1970), who included eight species and classified them into two subgenera, subgen. Neohattoria (with a single species) and subgen. Microfrullania Schust. (with seven species); however, Hattori et al. (1972) transferred all species of subgen. Microfrullania to a newly segregated genus Schusterella Hatt. et al., thus retaining the monotypic status of Neohattoria. As already described and illustrated by Hattori (1955), Kamimura (1961), Mizutani (1961), Ladyzhenskaja (1963), Schuster (1970), and Hattori et al. (1972), Neohattoria herzogii is closely related to species of both Jubula and Frullania. Regarding the taxonomic desposition of Neohattoria, Mizutani (1961) and Mizutani & Hattori (1969) placed it with Jubula in a subfamily Jubuloideae of Lejeuneaceae and Hattori et al. placed it in Jubulaceae (s. lat.). But, Kamimura (1961), Schuster (1970, 1979), and Guercke (1978) placed it more close to Frullania, e.g. in a subfamily Frullanioideae of Jubulaceae (s. lat.); more recently, Asakawa et al. (1979b), admitting three distinct families, Jubulaceae, Frullaniaceae, and Lejeuneaceae, placed Neohattoria and Jubula in the Jubulaceae (s. str.) but Frullania and Schusterella in the Frullaniaceae.

Description: The originally monotypic eastern Malaysian genus Schiffneriolejeunea Verdoorn 1933 has now become a widespread, pantropical group of about fifteen species by the inclusion of species from the genus Ptychocoleus Trev. nom. illeg. Six species are known from Asia, three of which constitute the sect. Saccatae (Verdoorn) Gradst. & Terken comb. nov. These are the widespread Schiffneriolejeunea tumida (Nees) Gradst., the eastern Malaysian S. cumingiana (Mont.) Gradst. and S. nymannii (Steph.) Gradst. & Terken comb. nov. Schiffneriolejeunea tumida is a rather polymorphic species in which two not sharply defined varieties may be distinguished: S. tumida var. tumida with more or less involuted leaf margins, and S. tumida var. haskarliana (Gott.) Gradst. & Terken comb. nov. with plane margins.

Description: A phytosociological survey based on methods of the Zürich-Montpellier School was carried out in the páramo vegetation of the Cordillera Oriental, Colombia. The study area covers about 10,000 and comprises the páramo between the Nevado de Sumapaz (3°55'N, 4250 m), the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy (6°25'N, 5493 m) and the Páramo del Almorzadero (7°N, 4375 m). The páramo vegetation was studied along various altitudinal transects from the upper forest line (3000-3500 m) up to the lower limit of the snowcap (4800 m). A general description of the study area includes data on geology, geomorphology, soils, climate, flora, phytogeography, morphological characters of the vegetation, fauna and landuse. The evolution and Quaternary history of páramo vegetation and climate is reviewed, incorporating the first data from the Lateglacial and Holocene of the Páramo de Sumapaz. The general altitudinal zonation of the páramo vegetation was studied and is presented for both the dry and the humid side of the Cordillera. The zonal and azonal plant communities are described including their physiognomy, composition and syntaxonomy, habitat and distribution. Eighty five syntaxa from the rank of variant to that of the class are newly described, 17 of which are provisional. The vegetation is not ranked syntaxonomically yet, but described on the basis of preliminary tables. A number of azonal communities, part of them of lesser extent, are described in a similar way. The páramo vegetation is primarily determined by the tropical diurnal high mountain climate. The diversity of the páramo vegetation is related to temperature (altitudinal gradient) and to humidity (dry and wet climate). The presence of zonal bunchgrass páramo, bamboo-bunchgrass páramo or bamboo páramo mainly depends on the complex interrelation between these factors. Finally a synthesis is provided on ecology, morphology and phytogeography of the páramo vegetation of the study area.

Description: Isoëtes Palmeri with a distribution in the High Andes from the Páramo of Venezuela to the Páramo of Ecuador is described as a new taxon, and dedicated to the then American specialist of the genus, Thomas Chalkley Palmer (1860-1934). The new species belongs to the tropical-Andeanaustral-antarctic section Laeves, described as new here as well. The publication of the new species had to be anticipated to the projected monographic treatment of the South-American representatives of the genus Isoëtes, as A.M. Cleef, Utrecht intends to base a new association, the Isoëtetum Palmeri on this new taxon, observed and collected by him at many instances within the Colombian Páramo between 1971 and 1980 in the context of the preparation of his doctoral thesis now under way.

Description: In the years 1954-1957 The Foundation for Biocenological Research (Stichting tot Onderzoek van Levensgemeenschappen, S.O.L.) carried out an extensive study on the vegetation of about 125 former river beds in the Netherlands. They were situated along the great rivers and their branches, viz. Meuse, Oude Maas (“Old Meuse”), Heusdense Maas (“Heusden Meuse”), Rhine, Lek, Merwede, Waal and IJsel. The work was made possible by a grant of the Netherlands Organisation for Pure Research (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Zuiver Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Z.W.O.). Dr. M. F. Mözer Bruijns proposed and supervised the investigation, and Dr. V. Westhoff took part in the interpretation of the results. The field work was carried out by A. J. Quené-Boterenbrood (1954-55), W. A. E. van Donselaar-ten Bokkel Huinink (1955-56), J. van Donselaar (1955— 57), Ir. L. G. Kop (1956-57), P. J. Schroevers (1954-55) and E. E. van der Voo (1954-57). Our study had several aims. The collected material had to contribute to our knowledge of a number of plant species and communities, especially of those playing a part in the hydrosere found in various kinds of water. With respect to the communities it should comprise their floristic composition as well as a definition of their habitat. Moreover, the former river beds should be classified according to their plant communities as well as to their abiotical properties. This classification should be useful as a basis for the choice of future naturereserves (see Gorter and Westhoff, 1952; Van Donselaar, 1956; Westhoff and Leentvaar, 1957).

Description: Until recently relatively little attention has been paid to the study of chromosomes in liverworts. The first substantial contributions were made by Heitz (1927, 1928) and Lorbeer (1934). In the second half of this century chromosome studies on liverworts were mainly carried out in Europe (e.g. Fritsch 1972; Newton 1977, 1979) and Japan (e.g. Tatuno 1959; Segawa 1965a, b, c; Inoue 1968). Inoue (in Koponen 1979) reports that until now 28% of all bryophyte species in Japan have been investigated as to their chromosome complement. A comprehensive, but rather outdated, survey of chromosome numbers in Hepaticae and Anthocerotae was given by Berrie (1960). Work on a new, updated survey is now underway (Fritsch, in prep.). In the present article results are presented of a cytotaxonomic investigation of European species of the genera Aneura and Riccardia (Aneuraceae). Most specimens were gathered in the Netherlands, but some chromosome counts based on French and German plants are also included.

Description: Carefully collected molecular data and rigorous analyses are revolutionizing today’s phylogenetic studies. Although molecular data have been used to estimate various invertebrate phylogenies lor more than a decade, this study is the first survey of different regions of mitochondrial DNA in isopod crustaceans assessing sequence divergence and hence the usefulness of these regions to infer phylogeny at different hierarchical levels. 1 evaluate three loci from the mitochondrial genome (two ribosomal RNAs (12S, 16S) and one protein-coding (COI)) for their appropriateness in inferring isopod phylogeny at the suborder level and below. The patterns are similar for all three loci with the most speciose suborders of isopods also having the most divergent mitochondrial nucleotide sequences. Recommendations for designing an order- or suborder-level molecular study in previously unstudied groups of Crustacea would include: (1) collecting a minimum of two-four species or genera thought to be most divergent, (2) sampling across the group of interest as equally as possible in terms of taxonomic representation and the distribution of species, (3) surveying several genes, and (4) carrying out preliminary alignments, checking data for nucleotide bias, transition/ transversion ratios, and saturation levels before committing to a large-scale sequencing effort.

Description: Op 8 okt 1960 vond de heer J.C. Tanis, custos van het Biologisch Station “Schellingerland” op Terschelling, in de nabijheid van dit Station een bloeiend exemplaar van Erica cinerea L. Na opzending van een bloeiende tak via ondergetekenden naar het Rijksherbarium werd deze determinatie bevestigd. Deze opmerkelijke waarneming geeft aanleiding tot commentaar, temeer, daar men op het eerste gezicht geneigd is, hier enig verhand te zien met de ontdekking van twee andere, mediterraan-atlantische, Erica-soorten in dezelfde omgeving, te weten E. scoparia L. door Th.J. Reichgelt in 1952 (zie van Ooststroora en Reichgelt 1956) en E. ciliaris L. door P. Runge in 1955 (zie Runge 1956, van Ooststroom en Reichgelt 1956).

Description: The following is an author’s summary of the (as yet unpublished) thesis by Dr. J.A.R. Anderson of Kuching, Sarawak (see III. Personal news). Both the author and botanical science are to be congratulated with the completion of this important work, which we hope before long to see in print. The thesis embodies the results of botanical and ecological work on the coastal and deltaic peat swamp forests of Sarawak and Brunei undertaken intermittently over a period of ten years. Profiles of peat swamps have been prepared from the results of the level surveys and peat borings. A characteristic raised bog structure has been found in all swamps. A bog plain is usually present, and is most extensive on more inland swamps. The peat soils are markedly acidic and oligotrophia. Preliminary results from measurements of the stilted water table indicate that variations are more pronounced in the centre of swamps than near the margins. A comprehensive collection of botanical specimens of all flowering plants, ferns and fern allies has been made; 242 tree species have been recorded, and it is considered that knowledge on the representation of the arboreal flora is virtually complete.

Description: The Natural History of Rennell Island, British Solomon Islands. Scientific Result of the Danish Rennell Expedition, 1951, and the British Museum (Natural History) Expedition, 1959. Vol. 5 (Botany and Geology), ed. by Torben Wolff. Danish Science Press, Copenhagen, 1960, 7-152 pp., many figs and photogr. This volume was issued in 5 instalments. The first (1957) contains a paper by N. Foged: Diatoms from Rennell Island. The second (1958) contains papers by E.B. Bartram: Musci, by T. Wolff: Vascular Plants from Rennell and Bellona Islands (a list of 31 spp. identified by F.R. Fosberg, and a few names of seeds), and by J.C. Grover: The Geology of Rennell and Bellona. The third instalment (1960) contains papers by T. Levring: A List of Marine Algae from Rennell Island, and by Lise Hansen: Some Macromycetes from Rennell and Alcester Islands. For the botanist may also be of interest T. Wolff’s general introduction in vol. 1 of the series (1955) 9-31. Proceedings of the Symposium on Humid Tropics Tjiawi (Indonesia) December 1958. Publication of Unesco Science Cooperation Office for Southeast Asia. Printed at New Delhi, no date; received March 1961; xv + 312 pp., map of Brunei, vegetation maps, photogr. Biographical notes of authors; discussions. Sponsored by the Council for Sciences in Indonesia and Unesco; Chairman Prof. Kusnoto Setyodiwiryo.

Description: ANDERSON, J.A.R., A checklist of the trees of Sarawak, 364 pp. (1983, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Cawangan Sarawak, for Forest Department, Kuching, Sarawak). Cloth Mal$ 15.00. When Dr. Anderson retired from the Forest Department in 1973 he left the manuscript of this checklist for publication. Unfortunately publication was delayed for 10 years. It contains data on over 2500 arboreous plant species. The text consists mainly of two parts: the first is a list of vernacular names with their scientific equivalents, the second is a list of plant names alphabetically arranged by family. Each species is concisely annotated with its vernacular name(s), maximum diameter, ecology, frequency, soils, etc. Species names have been coded: the first two figures are for the family, the next two for the genus and the last two for the species. A list is given of the trees of the peat-swamp forests of which Anderson was a great expert. A small draw-back is that the literature of the last ten years has not been included. Nevertheless this is a most helpful book. — C.G.G.J. van Steenis.

Description: Alston, A.H.G. J.A. Crabbe, A.H.G. Alston (1902-1958). A bibliography of his writings, with a short introduction and a list of new taxa and nomenclatural changes published by him. J. Soc. Biol. Nat. Hist. 3 (1960) 383-404.

Description: Small evergreen trees, shrubs or lianas; two genera ( Cansjera and Opilia) are known to be root-parasites. Leaves distichous, simple, usually extremely variable in form and size, entire, exstipulate, pinnately veined; dried leaves mostly finely tubercled by cystoliths located in the mesophyll. Inflorescences axillary or cauliflorous, panicle-like, racemose, umbellate (in Africa) or spicate; bracts narrowly ovate or scale-like, in Opilia peltate, often early caducous. Flowers small, (3—) 4—5) (—6)-merous, mainly bisexual, sometimes unisexual and plants then dioecious ( Gjellerupia, Melientha, and Agonandra) or gynodioecious (Champereia). Perianth with valvate, free or sometimes partly united tepals (in ♀ flowers of Gjellerupia wanting). Stamens as many as and opposite to the tepals (in ♀ flowers only small staminodes); anthers introrse, 2-celled, longitudinally dehiscent. Disk intrastaminal, lobed (lobes alternating with the stamens), annular, or cupular. Ovary superior, 1-celled; style short or none, stigma entire or shallowly lobed. Ovule 1, pendulous from the apex of a central placenta, anatropous, unitegmic and tenuinucellar. Fruit drupaceous, pericarp rather thin, mesocarp ± fleshy-juicy, endocarp woody or crustaceous. Seed large, conform to the drupe, without testa; hilum basal, often in a funnel-shaped cavity. Embryo terete, embedded in rich, oily endosperm, nearly as long as the seed or shorter, with 3—4 linear cotyledons, radicle often very short. Distribution. There are 9 genera with about 30 spp., widespread in the tropics. Rhopalopilia is restricted to Africa and Madagascar, Agonandra to South and Central America. In Malesia: 7 genera, 5 of these only known from the eastern Old World (1 endemic: Gjellerupia in New Guinea); Opilia and Urobotrya occur also in tropical Africa.

Description: Monoecious, medium-sized to very large trees (rarely shrubby in very exposed situations). Either four independent cotyledons or two fused pairs (which may be retained in the seed after germination). The growing point of foliage shoots quite distinct between the two genera, being just a few highly reduced leaves in Araucaria and a highly organized bud formed of overlapping scales in Agathis. The leaves vary from scales or needles to broad leathery forms with many parallel veins sometimes on the same plant at different stages of growth. Pollen produced in cylindrical cones from one to as much as twenty cm long with numerous pedunculate spirally placed microsporophylls each with several to many pendent elongated pollen sacs attached to the lower side of an enlarged shieldlike apex which also projects apically more or less overlapping the adjacent microsporophylls. Pollen cones solitary, terminal or lateral, on branches separate from those bearing seed cones, subtended by a cluster of more or less modified leaves in the form of scales, deciduous when mature. Pollen globular, without ‘wings’. Seeds produced in large, well-formed cones which disintegrate when mature, dispensing the seeds in most cases with the help of wing-like structures; the seed cone terminal on a robust shoot or peduncle with more or less modified leaves that change in a brief transition zone at the base of the cone into cone bracts, formed of numerous spirally-placed bract complexes, usually maturing in the second year. Individual seed cone bract leathery or woody and fused with the fertile scale which bears one large inverted seed on its upper surface. Distribution. The 40 species in two genera are well represented in Malesia (13 spp.) and extend eastward and southward into Fiji, New Caledonia (18 spp.), Australia, and New Zealand, with 2 spp. also in the cooler parts of South America, giving the family a distinct Antarctic relationship. Only one species of Araucaria (in South America) occurs completely outside of the tropics, while the majority of the species in the family belong in the lowland tropics and others grow in the tropical highlands.

Description: Java — Messrs. H. Wiriadinata (BO) and J. Bennett (OXF) collected 8 species of Strobilanthus between 16 and 30 September 1998, in West Java. Mr. H. Wiriadinata (BO), Dr. W. Meijer (KY), and IPB students made 10 samples of mosses on 28 March 1998, on G. Salak, Curug Nangka.

Description: Many botanists must have wondered why as yet no volume of Flora Malesiana was dedicated to the outstanding botanist Carl Ludwig Blume, undisputed pioneer in planning the compilation of a ‘Flora Malesiana’. The writing of this Dedication would have been greatly facilitated if a full biography of BLUME had been existent, but none is available; there is not even a bibliography of his works. Only recently, in 1979, two biographical attempts were made, by J. MACLEAN and by A. DEN OUDEN, but only for the period 1820-1832; together with other biographical and obituary notes they are here assembled in Appendix B. I have also compiled a bibliography: Appendix A.²

Description: Erect or straggling herbs, shrubs or trees, sometimes monoecious or dioecious, the herbs sometimes rhizomatous; branches sometimes jointed at the nodes, sometimes without vessels ( Sarcandra). Leaves simple, decussate or sometimes whorled in fours, serrate, crenate or dentate, the teeth often thickened at the apex, penninerved, usually petiolate; petioles more or less connected at the base at least by a transverse line or connate into a distinct sheath; in Ascarina often alternating with leafless internodes which have the petiolar sheath; stipules minute to fairly conspicuous, subulate, borne on the petiole bases or sheath, occasionally pectinate. Flowers much reduced, without perianth, fully unisexual or essentially bisexual with the reduced anther-bearing organ adnate to the side of the ovary; arranged in spicate, paniculate, or capitate axillary or terminal inflorescences. — Male flowers bracteate or not, apparently consisting of 1—5 stamens, or in Hedyosmum consisting of numerous anthers in a cone-like structure; if 3 then the whole forming a fused 3-lobed organ sometimes enveloping the female flower by its edges, the central anther with 2 or aborted loculi and the laterals with single loculi, simply lobed or with connectives slightly to considerably produced so that the whole organ is 3-fingered; if with only 2 anther locelli then these on either side of a thickened filament plus connective. — Female flowers naked or enclosed by a cupular bract, the perianth adnate to the ovary, often minutely or shortly dentate at the apex and the ovary thus inferior; ovary 1-locular; stigma sessile or style short; truncate, 2-lipped, depressed or subcapitate (or horseshoe-shaped in one species), rarely linear or clavate. Ovule solitary, orthotropous, pendulous, bitegmic and crassinucellate. Drupes fleshy, small, ovoid or globose, sometimes more or less 3-sided in Hedyosmum, free or united into a mass by the bracts; endocarp hardened and crustaceous. Seeds subglobose, exarillate, with copious fleshy or oily endosperm and minute embryo, the cotyledons divaricate or scarcely formed. Distribution. Four genera with about 80 species. Since VESTER’S (1940) small-scale map the family (Ascarina) has been found in Madagascar. It is mainly tropical but Ascarina extends south to North Island of New Zealand (fig. 6) and Chloranthus and Sarcandra extend north to Japan, China, Korea and the eastern U.S.S.R. (Ussuri).

Description: Trees or shrubs (or rarely suffrutices outside Malesia). Leaves simple, alternate, often coriaceous, glabrous or with an indumentum on undersurface, margin entire; petioles often with 2 lateral glands. Stipules 2, minute and caducous to large and persistent, usually linear-lanceolate. Inflorescence racemose, paniculate or cymose; flowers bracteate and usually bibracteolate; bracts and bracteoles small and caducous or larger and enclosing flower or groups of flowers and persistent. Flowers actinomorphic to zygomorphic, hermaphrodite or rarely polygamous, markedly perigynous. Receptacle campanulate to cylindrical or rarely flattened cupuliforum, often gibbous at base; calyx lobes 5, imbricate, often unequal, erect or reflexed. Petals 5 (absent in some Neotropical species), inserted on margin of disk, commonly unequal, imbricate, deciduous, rarely clawed. Stamens indefinite, 2—60 (to 300 in Neotropics), inserted on margin of the disk, in a complete circle or unilateral, all fertile or some without anthers and often reduced to small tooth-like staminodes; filaments filiform, free or ligulately connate, short and included to long and far exserted; anthers small, 2-locular, longitudinally dehiscent, glabrous or rarely pubescent. Ovary basically of three carpels but usually with only one developed, the other two aborted or vestigial, variously attached to (the base, middle or mouth of) receptacle, usually sessile or with short gynophore, pubescent or villous; ovary unilocular with two ovules or bilocular with one ovule in each locule. Ovules erect, with micropyle at base (epitropous). Style filiform, basally attached; stigma 3-lobed or truncate. Fruit a fleshy or dry drupe of varied size, interior often densely hairy; endocarp much varied, thick or thin, fibrous or bony, often with a special mechanism for seedling escape. Seed erect, exalbuminous, the testa membraneous; cotyledons amygdaloid, plano-convex, fleshy, sometimes ruminate. Germination hypogeal with the first leaves opposite or alternate or epigeal with opposite first leaves. An extensive review of the generic limits of the family has been published: G.T. PRANCE & F. WHITE, The genera of Chrysobalanaceae: a study in practical and theoretical taxonomy and its relevance to evolutionary biology, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London 320 (1988) 1—184. This contains full details of taxonomic history, morphology, anatomy, pollen, ecology and distribution of the family. A condensed version of these subjects is given here. Details of the Neotropical members of the family are given in: G.T. PRANCE, Chrysobalanaceae, Flora Neotropica 9 (1972) 1—410. The African members of the family were treated in: F. WHITE, The taxonomy, ecology and chorology of African Chrysobalanaceae (excluding Acioa), Bull. Jard. Bot. Nat. Belg. 46 (1976) 265—350.

Description: Perennial herbs, more commonly woody at the base, undershrubs or shrubs, erect, scrambling or scandent, sometimes high lianas. Rhizome not rarely tuberous. Branches often slightly swollen and jointed at nodes. Hairs simple, uni- or multicellular, short ones often with a hooked apex. Leaves simple, spiral or alternate, petioled (without an abscission zone), exstipulate; midrib usually prominent beneath, elevated or flat above; nervation commonly palmate, or pinnate, nerves often obliquely extending towards the margin. Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic or zygomorphic, solitary, fasciculate, or in axillary or cauligerous, racemose, paniculate or cymose inflorescences, usually only one or two flowers open at a time; bracts present and often persistent; pedicel often hardly distinct from the ovary. Calyx petaloid, gamosepalous, 3- (or 6-) lobed or 1-lipped; lobes valvate or induplicate. Petals (in Mal.) absent. Disk (?) 0, rarely present (e.g. a few Thottea spp.). Stamens 6 (4 or 5 in some extra-Mal. Aristolochia spp.) or 6—c. 36 (—46), in 1 whorl or in 2 (3 or 4) whorls (Thottea); filaments free or slightly mutually united at the base, and/or almost completely adnate to the style column to form a gynostemium; anthers free (Thottea) or dorsally united with the style column (Aristolochia), each consisting of 2 thecae with 4 pollen sacs, extrorse, rarely introrse (extra-Mal. spp.), dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary inferior (rarely half-inferior in extra-Mal. genera), 4—6-carpellate, 4—6-celled, syncarpous (or ± apocarpous in extra-Mal. Saruma); placentae parietal (distinct when young, then intruding and connivent axially, thus often seemingly axile); ovules usually many, anatropous, in 1 or 2 vertical rows in each locule of the ovary, horizontal or pendulous; style-column 3—many-lobed, sometimes some of the lobes redivided; stigmas or stigmatic tissue apical, lateral, or on the surface of style lobes. Fruits capsular or siliquiform (follicular or cocci in extra- Mal. genera), 4—6-celled; dehiscing apically towards the base (basipetal, e.g. Thottea) or basally towards the apex (acropetal, e.g. most Aristolochia); septicidal, rarely septifragal (some extra-Mai. Aristolochia) or bursting irregularly (extra-Mal. Asarum); rarely indehiscent (W. African Pararistolochia). Seeds many in each locule (1-seeded in extra-Mal. Euglypha), often coated with remains of placental tissue (membranous when dry), horizontal or pendulous, variously shaped; ovate, deltoid or triangular, flat, convex-concave, or longitudinally curved, or oblong (and triangular in cross-section), rugose, finely verrucose, or smooth, immarginate (Thottea; Aristolochia, p.p.) or winged (Aristolochia, p.p.); albumen fleshy, copious; embryo minute, cotyledons two, distinct. Distribution. There are 7 genera, Aristolochia worldwide, Asarum over the northern hemisphere, Thottea in continental Southeast Asia and Malesia, Pararistolochia in tropical Africa, and 3 monotypic genera, viz. Saruma in China, Holostylis and Euglypha in South America. As to number of species, Aristolochia is by far the largest with some 300 spp., largely concentrated in the New World, especially in Central and South America, in Malesia with 28 spp.; Asarum (incl Hexastylis and Heterotropa) with possibly some 70 spp. in northern temperate regions, Thottea with 26 spp., of which 22 in Malesia, and Pararistolochia with 12 spp. in West Africa.

Description: Description de Psilocybe callosa (Fr. per Fr.) Quél., espèce oubliée et mal connue, et de deux espèces nouvelles.

Description: Type material of Tulasnella cystidiophora Höhn. & Litsch. has been studied. The species is characterized by often moniliform gloeocystidia and clamp-less hyphae (at least in the subhymenium).

Description: Mycoleptodonoides Nikol. is compared with other genera, Hydnum aitchisonii Berk, is redescribed, and for it the new combination Mycoleptodonoides aitchisonii (Berk.) Maas G. is proposed.

Description: As a prelude to a monograph of the genus Coprinus, types were studied of a number of species said to belong to Coprinus subsection Lanatuli (Coprinus alnivorus. C. alutaceivelatus, C. ammophilae, C. arachnoideus, C. asterophoroides, C. brunneistragulatus, C. bubalinus, C. citrinovelatus, C. colosseus, C. jonesii, C. lagopides, C. marcidus, C. pachydermus, C. palmeranus, C. roseistipitatus, C. scobicola, C. spadiceisporus, C. sylvicola, C. tectisporus, C. undulatus and C. xerophilus). As a result Coprinus alnivorus and C. lagopides are transferred to subsection Alachuani.

Description: During an ecological study of fungi of the tidal mudflats in Kuwait, a Sporothrix species has been recorded twice, in 1977 and 1980. It differs from other species of the genus (de Hoog, 1974, 1978) in several characters and is here described as a new species. A comparison with similar species of the genus is added.

Description: A new species, Alstonia undulifolia Kochummen & Wong, is described from the Malay Peninsula. Two sections of the genus occur in the Malay Peninsula, Alstonia sect. Monuraspermum Mon. and Alstonia sect. Alstonia, the latter being the correct name for what was previously known as sect. Pala (Adr. Juss.) Benth. Various characteristics, including growth architecture, are examined for their usefulness in distinguishing these two sections of the genus. In comparing A. angustiloba Miq. and A. pneumatophora Berger, both of which have not been properly differentiated by characteristics of the reproductive organs, A. pneumatophora var. petiolata Mon. is reduced to synonymy under A. angustiloba. A key to the seven species of Alstonia native to the Malay Peninsula is provided.

Description: New nomenclatural combinations are validated for Pseuduvaria oxycarpa (transferred from Mitrephora) and P. luzonensis, P. unguiculata and P. pamattonis (all transferred from Orophea). All names are lectotypified.

Description: This fine book consists of two parts: a general account (pp. 1-64) and a taxonomic account (pp. 65-451). The taxonomic account consists of detailed descriptions of all 466 species in 52 orchid genera that are known to occur in Southern Africa, i.e. the area covering the territories of South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Botswana. A surprisingly high percentage of the species is illustrated with colour photographs of excellent quality. Distribution maps are provided for almost all taxa, while for each taxon a number of selected vouchers are given. This part of the book leaves little to be desired: keys to the species, references, synonymy, illustrations, cladograms, almost all one could wish to find in such a book is there, and this solid comprehensiveness makes Orchids of Southern Africa by far the best source ever produced on orchids from this region. Unlike European botanists working on tropical orchids, the authors of this book live in the area where their subjects occur, which is obviously a great advantage. It is for this reason that I feel justified in slightly qualifying my otherwise uniform praise. I am a little disappointed to find the notes on the ecology of the species in many cases quite superficial. The photographs often show the species growing in their habitats, and it is readily apparent that they usually occupy highly specific niches. Yet, not infrequently all that we learn of the ecology of a particular species is that it grows in damp grassland. Surely much more is known to the authors and their collaborators than what we find here.

Description: Among the collections of Knema acquired by the Rijksherbarium since the publication of my new account of the genus Knema, in Blumea 25, 1979: 321 — 478, a few specimens caused problems with the identification, and at closer examination these yielded facts of interest which are published here. Some specimens represented stages not yet known, for instance fruits, or male flowers, while other specimens meant a significant range extension of the species. Two new species and one new subspecies are described. For easy reference, the sequence and numbers of the species presently treated correspond with the numbers as used in the account of 1979. The new species bear the number of the species after which they appear in the general key of 1979, with the addition ‘-bis’.

Description: The early development (ontogeny) of the carpels of 20 species belonging to 8 apocarpous families was investigated with the scanning electron microscope. The results indicate that on the floral apex a circular or a convex meristem develops into an obliquely ascidiate primordium by unequal growth of its periphery. By further unequal growth it develops into a young carpel. The terminal mouth of a cup becomes the lateral cleft of a carpel. The different forms of the young carpels in different species are defined by the varying degree of development of the adaxial region of the initial meristem and/or its margin on the side of the floral apex. This hypothesis is theoretically evaluated.

Description: A full review of books announced in this section may be published in Blumea at a later date.

Description: Spiranthes sinensis (Pers.) Ames, also known under the synonym S. australis (R. Br.) Lindl., is a terrestrial orchid widely spread in Asia, which is rather well known in Western Europe, because it has repeatedly been found growing spontaneously in pots in orchidhouses. In Blumea 6(2): 361 (1950) the plant described as Ophrys lancea Thunb. ex Sw. was considered to be identical with the first and it was thought that the recombination Spiranthes lancea (Thunb. ex Sw.) B. B. S. was necessary. The reasons given for this transfer were: (1) the short diagnosis of Ophrys lancea given by Winberg in Florula Javanica, p. 8 (1825); (2) the original diagnosis of O. lancea in Swartz’s well-known dissertation on the classification of orchids in Kongl. Vet. Akad. Handl. Stockh. 21: 223 (1800); (3) the presence of the apparent holotype in the Thunberg herbarium (Uppsala).

Description: The stomata as occurring on the fronds of the sporophytes of a large number of Polypodiaceae s.s. (Filicales) are investigated. A number of different stomatal types is recognised, (newly) described, and their ontogeny investigated. The different types of stomata are discussed in relation to their possible significance for tracing phylogenetic relationships in the Polypodiaceae following a cladistic analysis.

Description: Revision of the Malesian species of the genus Steganthera, which centres in New Guinea; precursor to treatment in Flora Malesiana. There are 16 species accepted; 5 are described as new, 12 names are reduced, 3 are excluded and 9 are imperfectly known.

Description: In a recent thesis B.S. Fey (Zürich) has developed a new theory about the origin of the cupule in Fagaceae. He has concluded that the appendages (spines, lamellae, etc.) on the outside of the cupule are regularly arranged and that they reflect a condensation (concrescence) of a dichasial flower system, so that cupule and fruit(s) form together the representation of one ancestral inflorescence; the cupular appendages would then largely represent the bracts of the ancestral inflorescence. This stands in contrast with former opinions, in which the cupule was interpreted as of separate vegetative origin from the nut(s) which was (were) the remain (s) of the inflorescence.

Description: Mr F. H. Hildebrand, who is going gradually through the tree species from New Guinea, pointed my attention to this species, the type of which is in the Rijksherbarium at Leyden (in fruiting state). It was collected by Zippelius who rightly recognized its alliance; he added a MS description and gave it the MS name Epicharis lasiocarpa. Miquel subsequently described it in the genus Dysoxylum, but the curved fern-like leaftip and other characters leave no doubt about its belonging to Chisocheton. There are at Leyden two further collections of it from New Guinea, both made by Teysmann, HB 6058 and 6060.

Description: Recent studies in Sabah and Sarawak have demonstrated the presence of an undescribed species of Podocarpus.

Description: A world-revision of Arthraxon Beauv. ( Gramineae) is presented. Three wide-spread species, A. hispidus (Thunb.) Makino, A. lanceolatus (Roxb.) Hochst., and A. lancifolius (Trin.) Hochst. are very variable and have caused the description of a great number of taxa, most of which are here reduced to synonomy. There are now 7 species and 9 varieties; for 6 of the latter new combinations are proposed. No new taxa are described.

Description: Lauraceae are an important component of wet tropical forests and are well represented in the Flora Malesiana region. Their identification has been hampered by two factors: several of the genera are poorly defined and existing keys require both flowers and fruits, which are, however, rarely present together on a specimen. Here a key based almost entirely on flowering specimens is presented, problems in generic delimitation are discussed and vegetative characters helpful in generic identification are listed.

Description: A new Rhysotoechia, R. etmanii, was recently discovered during botanical surveys of the Crater Mt. Wildlife Management Area in Papua New Guinea.

Description: G. abbreviata J.J.S. in Fedde, Rep. 35, 1934, 292; Sleum., Reinwardtia 4, 1957, 172. SUMATRA. Tapanuli, Tele, S. of Sidikalang, Alston 14878. Westcoast, G. Singgalang, 1900 m, Meijer 5919.

Description: Pholidota kinabaluensis is transferred to the new monotypic genus Entomophobia. Coelogyne phaiostele, C. ridleyana, and Pholidota triloba are identical and transferred to the new genus Geesinkorchis, that also comprises the new species G. alaticallosa. The monotypic genus Sigmatochilus is reduced to Chelonistele, in which C. dentifera and C. lurida var. grandiflora are described as new. Chelonistele crassifolia is regarded as a variety of C. sulphurea.

Description: The monophyletic genus Melastoma (Melastomataceae) is centred in Southeast Asia, but extends to India, South China, Japan, northern Australia, and Oceania. It comprises 22 species, two subspecies, and three varieties. Two new species, Melastoma sabahense and M. minahassae, and a new variety, M. sanguineum var. ranauensis, are described; two species are reduced to subspecies and variety, respectively, and the genus Otanthera is transferred to Melastoma. In many species, especially M. malabathricum, morphological characters vary locally, which resulted in the taxonomic recognition of numerous geographically restricted entities here considered synonyms. Most species of Melastoma are pioneers with a high dispersal capacity. This may have resulted in small, relatively isolated populations in which unique character combinations were stabilised locally.

Description: The genera Hunteria and Lepiniopsis of the family Apocynaceae are in Malesia represented by one species each. Distribution and ecology are cited in full.

Description: The publication of the supplement 1 of the well known and essential reference work of “A Bibliography of Eastern Asiatic Botany” is very welcome. It is a continuation of the original work, which closed with 1936, and extends through 1958. It covers the botanical literature on eastern Asia, as indicated by the title, which comprises China, Japan, Korea, Ryukyu, Mongolia and Soviet eastern Asia, as well as the major published papers appertaining to adjacent areas. It has been prepared on essentially the same pattern as the original volume while the subject index has been treated perhaps in a more thorough manner. The volume contains over 11,000 extensively and carefully annotated entries occupying 414 pages. The work is in English but the titles, papers and author names in oriental characters are fully cited, which is an improvement as compared with the original volume. It includes now the original Chinese, Japanese and Korean titles and author names as published in oriental characters as well as translations or transliterations of them. In addition, the supplement fortunately covers the extensive Russian literature, nearly 1600 entries, on Soviet eastern Asia. All Russian titles are transliterated into Roman letters and are also translated. All these improvements make this bibliography more complete than the original volume and extend its usefulness.

Description: Within the genus Vaccinium L. this revision of its Malaysian species — which comprises more than half of the total number of species of the genus — is the last in a series of modern treatments made for North America by W. H. Camp, for the Pacific area by C. Skottsberg, and for tropical America and tropical Asia by the present author. The work formerly done in Malaysian Vaccinium has been limited to islands, as that by J. J. Smith and Schlechter for a part of New Guinea, by Copeland f. for the Philippines, and by Amshoff for Java, with the shortcomings necessarily connected with such too local work. The sections proposed for the Malaysian species in my general system in 1941 have been found still useful and are kept here except a nomenclatural change in one section and the expansion in species due to the large amount of indetermined material collected in Celebes and especially in New Guinea.

Description: Five new species of Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae) are described, while attention is drawn to a sixth, possibly also new one. A key to all recognized species is given.

Description: The morphology and leaf anatomy of Myxopyrum is described and a key to the species is given. Of the 15 species previously described four species and two subspecies are recognised: M. nervosum Bl. (synonyms M. horsfieldii, M. zippelii) with one subspecies coriaceum (Bl.) Kiew (synonym M. ellipticum), M. ovatum Hill (synonyms M. macrolobum, M. cordatum, M. philippinensis), M. pierrei Gagnep. (synonym M. hainanense) and M. smilacifolium Bl. (synonym M. serrulatum) with one subspecies confertum (Kerr) Kiew. Myxopyrum enerve Steen. is Chionanthus enerve (Steen.) Kiew. Descriptions for the extra-Malesian species, M. smilacifolium, is given.

Description: In subgenus Malachobatus twenty Malesian species are recognized, one of them ( Rubus moluccanus L.) with four varieties. Synonymy, descriptions, habitat notes, etc. are given. New names: R. moluccanus L. var. discolor (Bl.) Kalkm. and var. angulosus Kalkm. A key is given to the Malesian species.

Description: Eleven October 2001 is the 80th birthday of Dr. Ding Hou, much appreciated Honorary Staff Member of our Nationaal Herbarium Nederland. Time to reflect on the life and career of this modest but highly productive and talented botanist. Ding Hou was born in 1921 in Hsingkan, Kiangsi Province, China. From 1941— 1945 he studied Botany for his BSc degree at the National Chung-Cheng University in Kiangsi, where he spent another two years as Botanical Assistant. From 1947- 1951 he held a similar position at the National Taiwan University in Taipei. He then moved to the United States of America where he earned an MA in Plant Taxonomy at the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1952, and his PhD on a revision of the genus Celastrus in 1955 under supervision of Robert E. Woodson, Jr. He also held research assistantships in St. Louis, from 1951-1952 in the Missouri Botanical Garden, and from 1954-1955 in the MO Herbarium. In 1955 he was appointed as Botanist at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, but in 1956 he was lured away to Leiden by C.G.G.J, van Steenis who attached him to his then externally funded Flora Malesiana Team. In 1960 his appointment as Senior Scientific Officer at the Rijksherbarium secured him tenure until his retirement in 1986. However, that retirement date did not change Ding's daily pattern of work in the herbarium which will hopefully continue until long after his 80th birthday.

Description: A full review of books announced in this section may be published in Blumea at a later date.

Description: In Southeast Asia (excluding India) 44 taxa are recognized, 39 species, of which four are newly described ( I. kerrii, I. luzoniensis, I. emmae, and one unnamed species A, which will be treated by Nguyen Van Thuan, Paris), four subspecies, one of which is new (I. sootepensis subsp. acutifolia) and three are new combinations ( (I. suffruticosa subsp. guatemalensis, I. trifoliata subsp. unifoliata, I. trita subsp. scabra) ), and one variety which is a new combination I. spicata var. siamensis). A key, descriptions and full synonymy are given as well as 4 distribution maps and 5 figures.

Description: The genus Endiandra R.Br. (Lauraceae) has not been revised since Meissner (1864). Flora treatments and local revisions for this genus of about 100 species have been produced for Peninsular Malaysia (Kochummen, 1989) and Australia (Hyland, 1989) with ten and thirty-eight species, respectively. A revision of Endiandra in Borneo contributes to the taxonomic understanding of the genus. Eight species, with a possible ninth imperfectly known species, are recognized on the island. Three species, E. immersa, E. elongata, and E. rhizophoretum, are described as new; the five other species are E. clavigera Kosterm., E. ochracea Kosterm., E. kingiana Gamble, E. macrophylla (Blume) Boerl., and E. rubescens (Blume) Miq.; E. rigidior Kosterm. is an imperfectly known species. A key to the eight species, and descriptions, illustrations, discussions, and distribution maps of each species are provided.

Description: Schizomeria carrii H.C. Hopkins, a new species from the Owen Stanley Mountains of Papua New Guinea, is described and illustrated.

Description: A species with the habit of Aristida divaricata H. et B., but welldistinguished by the wanting column and the curious tuberculate lemmas. Closely allied to Aristida gentilis HENR., which differs however in the other position of the glumes and in the smooth lemma. The species resembles in some characters the Aristida Parishii HITCHC., the latter has however a totally different shape of the panicle and the lemma is not tuberculate-hispid, but scabrous only on the upper half. Among duplicates from the U. S. Nat. Herbarium, kindly received from Mrs. A. CHASE, I found a second plant belonging to the species, a plant also collected in Arizona, north slope of Santa Rita Mountains, leg. D. GRIFFITHS no. 7269.

Description: Our Pinus halepensis is described by DUHAMEL DU MONCEAU in „Traité des arbres et arbustes etc.” 1755 p. 126 as follows: Pinus Hierosolymitana praelongis et tenuissimis viridibus foliis PLUK.: Pin de Jerusalem, dont les feuilles sont très vertes, longues et menues. This circumscription is a phrase without a trivial name. LINNAEUS himself also indicated the species in that period principally by a phrase; a trivial name („nomen triviale”) was added in 1753 for convenience; but LINNAEUS warns emphatically against forgetting the art-name (that is the phrase, „differentia specifica” or „nomen spicificum” of LINNAEUS) ¹). This art-name (phrase) was arranged methodically by him and bad to be such, that there was to be found in it exactly what was wanted to distinguish one species from the remaining known species; 12 words were the highest number allowed ²).

Description: Owing to their limited possibilities for either active or passive dispersal, their association with the soil habitat, their vulnerability towards a dry atmosphere, and, in fact, on account of their general ecology and ethology, Diplopoda among arthropods are surely one of the most important classes in relation to the study of historical biogeography. For the class as a whole the sea appears to be an unsuperable barrier as is proved by the almost complete absence of endemic taxa on oceanic islands. In many cases lowland plains also act as severe obstacles against the dispersal of millipedes. The presence or absence of diplopods on islands or continents, therefore, may give a strong argument in favour or against any supposed former land connection. The long geographical isolation of the Australian continent and the absence of endemic higher taxa seems to imply that most, if not all, of its diplopod fauna dates from the time this continent was solidly attached to other southern continents, i.e. the Mesozoic. Subsequent penetration of fauna elements from the north or northwest seems utterly unlikely, although perhaps not entirely impossible.

Description: 1. Im Vorderen Filzmoos am Warscheneck, an einer Stelle ca. 100 m nördlich vom Linzerhaus auf einer Höhe von ca. 1400 m wurde eine Probenserie gesammelt. Die Mächtigkeit der durchbohrten Ablagerungen war 590 cm und die folgenden Schichten wurden gefunden: 0—225 cm Sphagnumtorf 225—285 cm Hypnazeentorf 285—460 cm Kalkgyttja 460—590 cm grauer Ton. Die Filzmoose am Warscheneck wurden von Garns (1947, p. 252) als Karstfilze klassifiziert. Letztere sind eine besondere Art von erodierten Latschenhochmooren, welche auf grösseren Höhen in den Nördlichen Kalkalpen und im Ketten-Jura vorkommen.

Description: The alcyonarian fauna of the West Indies is prolific and conspicuous and has been known for many years, with the natural result that a great many more species have been described than actually exist. The deep-water fauna, which received little attention prior to the work of VERRILL, was thoroughly reviewed by DEICHMANN in 1936. The shallow-water and reef fauna was the subject of a series of extensive papers by KUKENTHAL and his collaborators, KUNZE, MOSER, RIESS, BIELSCHOWSKY, and TOEPLITZ, but this ambitious study appears to have been based upon inadequate collections and its usefulness is seriously limited by the number of synonyms and misidentifications that it contains. No comprehensive survey of the fauna exists, and there is no satisfactory guide for the identification of specimens. This paper, which was prepared at the request of Dr. P. WAGENAAR HUMMELINCK, Secretary of the Stichting ‘Natuurwetenschappelijke Studiekring voor Suriname en de Nederlandse Antillen’ (Foundation for Scientific Research in Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles), forms such a guide and at the same time reviews the fauna to the extent permitted by the collections in hand and the literature. With Dr. HUMMELINCK’S collection of West Indian octocorals serving as a nucleus, the pertinent material in the collections of the U.S. National Museum was critically revised and correlated with the literature in order to gain an accurate picture of the known fauna. As a result of this study, it was possible to recognize 75 species of alcyonarians belonging to the orders Telestacea, Alcyonacea, Gorgonacea, and Pennatulacea inhabiting the reefs and shallow waters of the warm western Atlantic. An additional 21 species from deeper water are also included for comparative purposes or because they inhabit the transitional zone just below the region of active reef growth. Seventeen species and a few growth forms are described as new to science. Each species is diagnosed and illustrated with drawings of the details of spiculation and, in the case of new or especially common species, photographs of the colonial form. Taxonomic keys with couplets illustrated for clarity are provided to facilitate the identification of specimens. The species described in this paper are arranged as indicated in the Table of Contents (p. 3—7). A total of 96 species are described from the region including the Bermudas, the southeastern coast of the United States, the Bahamas and Antilles, and the east coast of South America south to the reefs of Brazil. Of these, 52 species occur in the reef habitat proper or closely associated with it, and another 23 species occur in depths of 25 fathoms or less. The orders Telestacea, Alcyonacea, and Pennatulacea are togehter represented by only 13 species within the bathymetric limits set forth, the remaining 83 belonging to the order Gorgonacea. The littoral and reef-dwelling representatives of the last-named order belong for the most part to the two families Plexauridae and Gorgoniidae, which include 35 and 34 species respectively. When the shallow-water alcyonarian fauna is added to the deep-water fauna as reported by DEICHMANN, a total of 196 species is revealed for the area. This is a fauna of only modest proportions when compared with that of the East Indies, where some 445 species (exclusive of Pennatulacea) were obtained by the ‘Siboga’ Expedition, but nevertheless, the gorgonians are the dominant sessile animals on many of the reefs of Florida, the Bahamas, and the Antilles. This dense population consists chiefly of about a dozen species, all the others being rare or of local occurrence, so it appears that the reef fauna is rich in individuals but poor in species. The distribution of alcyonarians is influenced by a variety of factors, among them salinity, temperature, illumination, depth of water, and character of the bottom. It is not possible to single out any one factor as the most important, since they all interact closely, but there is no doubt that temperature is one of the most influential. Although temperature requirements and tolerations have not been determined experimentally for alcyonarians, they can reasonably be assumed to parallel more or less closely those of the principal reef-formers. It has been observed that formation of reefs does not take place in waters that drop below 68°F. for any appreciable period during the winter. Since active growth of reefs occurs at Bermuda, the northernmost limit of the West Indian fauna, its annual minimum temperature of 66°F, may be taken as the limit for reef formation in the West Indian area. Tropical alcyonarians occur up to this minimum isotherm of both coasts of Florida. Most alcyonarians are stenohaline and require salinities within the range found in the open sea. However, the occurrence of a few species, such as Leptogorgia setacea of the southeastern coast of the United States, in the brackish inshore waters of bays and river mouths indicates that a limited degree of euryhalinity does occur in the Octocorallia. A rough and solid bottom is apparently as necessary for the attachment of gorgonian planulae as it is for those of madrepores, and the importance of this requirement is clearly demonstrated on the west coast of Florida, where reef communities gain a foothold only on the scattered solid outcrops on an otherwise broad, sandy shelf. A few species of Gorgonacea are known to live unattached, the colonies apparently doing so in some cases because no suitable objects were available for attachment, in others because they were broken loose from their original solid support but continued to live in a prone position. Certain deep-water gorgonacean groups (families Chrysogorgiidae and Isididae) that inhabit areas with a scarcity of solid material are able to adapt the form of their holdfast to the conditions present at the time of metamorphosis, producing either a calcareous basal disk for attachment to shells and stones, or a branched, rootlike process for anchoring the colony firmly in a muddy bottom. The pennatulaceans, which are adapted for life on soft bottoms, require either sand or mud and therefore are not found closely associated with reef communities. The octocorals of the reefs are restricted bathymetrically to the upper 25 fathoms of water, perhaps because of their symbiotic zooxanthellae, which require sunlight for the process of photosynthesis, but the physiological relationships of zooxanthellae and their coelenterate hosts are in general less clearly understood in the octocorals than in the madrepores, so the cause of the bathymetricphotic correlation cannot be stated in general terms. Obviously, the vertical distribution of those octocorals that are dependent upon their zooxanthellae for nutrition is governed by the physiological requirements of the algae. In those octocorals that are nutritionally independent of their zooxanthellae (as appears to be generally the case among scleractinian corals) other ecological factors must limit bathymetric distribution. In the West Indies, almost all of the shallow-water octocorals, which represent 38% of the total known fauna, belong to the two families Plexauridae and Gorgoniidae. Very few members of these families extend downward below 25 fathoms, and very few members of the deep-water families venture into water shallower than this. In the East Indies, where a rich tropical alcyonarian fauna exists, 59% of the species taken by the ‘Siboga’-Expedition lived in depths shallower than 50 meters, but this fauna is inordinately rich in groups poorly represented in the West Indies, where 85% of the species are gorgonaceans. In both regions, somewhat more than 40% of the gorgonaceans occur in depths less than 50 meters. The alcyonarians are an important component of the reef community, perhaps more so in the West Indies than elsewhere in the tropics because of the great profusion of a few conspicuous forms in the reef habitat. They provide shelter and sustenance for a wide array of casual associates, epizoa, commensals, and parasites, ranging from other coelenterates to fishes. Moreover, when they die they liberate great quantities of calcareous spicules which are then available for incorporation into the general mass of the reef. The alcyonarian fauna of the warm parts of the western Atlantic shows a high degree of endemism and only indistinct subdivision into smaller faunal regions. It is possible to distinguish a Carolinian fauna occupying the southeastern coast of the United States, with part of its species occurring only along the Atlantic coast and part of them with isolated populations in the northern Gulf of Mexico. At least three species follow the continental coast more or less continuously from the Carolinas to Brazil. This is basically a continental fauna and its species do not range out into the West Indian islands. The fauna of the West Indies is essentially an insular fauna and it suffers depletion wherever it invades continental coasts. The largest number of reef dwelling species seems to occur in the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles, the Greater Antilles, and the Florida Keys. At the present time, more species are known from the last-named locality than from the islands of the Greater Antilles, but it has certainly been more thoroughly explored. Intensive collecting will probably reveal an even larger number of species in the northeastern part of the Antilles. Antillean species extend along both coasts of Florida northward to about the 66°F. minimum surface isotherm, but their number is sharply diminished. A small group of the hardiest species reaches Bermuda, which is the northernmost outpost of the West Indian fauna. Records indicate that the Antillean fauna becomes attenuated also toward the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, and the Leeward Group along the coast of South America has a fauna comparable in many respects with that of Bermuda. However, the fauna of Bermuda is restricted by the low temperature of the water during midwinter (66°F), a limiting factor that does not exist at the low latitude of the Leeward Islands. The fauna must instead be restricted by other ecological factors, perhaps imposed by the proximity of the continental coast. The alcyonarian fauna of the reefs of Brazil, although composed largely of West Indian genera — Plexaurella, Muriceopsis, Lophogorgia — shares few species, perhaps no more than three or four, with the Antillean region to the north, and is probably the most distinct of the subregions of the western Atlantic. Within the broad limits of the warm western Atlantic fauna 1 region, extending from Bermuda south to Brazil, we can distinguish an insular Antillean fauna centered in the northeastern part of the Antilles; a continental Carolinian fauna along the southeastern Atlantic seabord, some of its species with disjunct populations in the Gulf of Mexico and some following virtually the entire coastline from the Carolinas to Brazil; and a Brazilian fauna extending northward along the South American coast as far as Trinidad. The presence in the West Indies of Alcyonarian genera known also in the tropical Indo-West Pacific can be explained only on the basis of former faunal continuity. The presence of a small amphi-American element clearly points to the existence of a continuous East Pacific-West Atlantic (or trans-American) fauna during the past, and the high level of endemism in the West Indian region suggests a subsequent rapid development of a new fauna from remnants of the old, left behind after closure of the Central American seaways. The distribution of modern alcyonarians corroborates the former existence of a great equatorial sea, the Tethys, that permitted circumtropical distribution of marine animals, which geology tells us existed during much of Earth’s history between the Cambrian and the Tertiary.

Description: In two previous publications (bibl. 1 and 2) I have brought the formation of calderas into relation with the gas phase, observed by Perret during the eruption of Vesuvius in 1906 (bibl. 3). In these papers I arrived at the conclusion that during the gas phase a cylinder is cored out, and that this may be the cause of caldera formation. In the first paper the subject was treated geometrically, while in the second calculations were made of a particular case (the Krakatoa eruption of 1883) to see if they would bear out this theory. This caldera-formation, however, is not a typical case, as there must previously have been an older Krakatoa-caldera, and in Aug. 1883 it was not a large portion of the volcanic cone that disappeared, but only an island which projected little above sealevel; the northern part of the ancient island Rakata, with the volcanoes Perboewatan and Danan. How a caldera might be formed from a cored-out cylinder I have tried to explain in two different ways. In the case of the Tengger-caldera I assumed, in analogy with what happened in Vesuvius after 1906 (bibl. 3 and 4) that the uppermost part of the cylinder was transformed into a funnel-shape by crumbling away of the walls, and that rising lava, as in Vesuvius 1913—1926, formed a flat bottom which continually reached higher levels. This explanation does not apply to the caldera of Krakatoa, as after the great eruption of Aug. 26th to 28th 1883 no further signs of eruption were observed, until in Dec. 1927 a new phase began in this famous volcano. In the case of Krakatoa in 1883, therefore, I thought it justifiable to apply the phenomena, known to occur in coal mining, of recent subsidences which are caused by the working of coal seams lower down.

Description: Von Herrn G. I. H. Molengraaff erhielt das Leidener Museum eine Reihe interessanter Korallen aus den Rudistenkalken von Curaçao, und Herr Ch. Weaver, in Seattle, überliess mir die von ihm auf seinen Reisen in den argentinischen Kordilleren gesammelten Korallen zur Bearbeitung. Ferner befand sich in der Sammlung K. Martin des hiesigen Museums noch ein Kalkstück von Curaçao mit einer Koralle, das zwar von Martin bereits erwähnt, aber noch nicht näher untersucht worden war. Schliesslich nehme ich die Gelegenheit wahr, um einige mir vor längerer Zeit von den Herren Steinmann und Windhausen übergebene Stücke zu beschreiben, so wie die Beschreibung einer von mir selbst in der argentinischen Kordillere gesammelten Koralle hier noch nachzuholen. Den oben genannten Herren sei auch an dieser Stelle noch vielmals gedankt für die Freundlichkeit mir das Material zur Untersuchung anzuvertrauen.

Description: Recent investigations of the distribution of trace elements in metamorphic index minerals of metapelites have revealed, that the plurifacial character of the Hercynian metamorphism in this area is confirmed by the distribution of Yttrium in Hercynian garnets of the metamorphic series.

Description: The formation of thick piles of flysch-like sediments needs the existence of narrowed seas, active denouement of neighbouring continents, and generalized marginal subsidence. These conditions are present during the initial and final stages of Wilson’s perceptive cycle. In this context, the Late Precambrian flysch of the Iberian Massif must be related to the initial rifting, whilst the Culm of southwestern Iberia was accumulated during an episode of Upper Palaeozoic subduction that remained active after the impingement of Iberia against North America. Culm sediments shed from the uplifted collision zone and fed into a remnant ocean that remained at the nonsutured southern border of Iberia. This model of synorogenic flysch formation has been described elsewhere for similar plate arrangements. On other grounds this model provides a framework that explains the different structural and magmatic trends of the Ossa-Morena Zone (near the active margin) in the context of the rest of the Massif (basement reactivation). In addition to this, it seems to support a partly primary origin for the Iberian arc versus a secondary origin.

Description: The influence of the wind laden with sand in modelling pebbles is believed by some authors to be only that of polishing the surface, by others of rounding off bits of stone that already possessed edges and corners, or again by others of wearing any fragment either rounded or angular into definite forms with ridges and facets, dependent on the shape of the basis (Alb. Heim). Experiments, fully confirming the last opinion, are described in this paper: no rounding off took place, while the models were slowly revolved in the sandblast, and vertical planes took on a backward slanting position, cutting eachother along sharp edges. Where sand corrosion is great, as in the desert, the windworn pebbles owe their shape to the laws formulated by Heim; many of the fossil windworn pebbles of Northern Europe have undergone but slight alteration from their original shape and size by the natural sandblast, others seem to have been entirely remodelled by the wind along the lines indicated above.

Description: Only one eruption of the island Una-Una (Gulf of Tomini, Northern Celebes), in 1898, has been recorded in historical time; it was described in 1902 by Wichmann (l. c.) after data gathered from different witnesses. No lava flowed out, it was an ash-eruption. During that eruption large mud streams, called lahars, descended along the slope of the volcano and some broad flat-bottomed valleys were eroded (Pl. 44, fig. 4) which are known so very well from some Javanese volcanoes, especially from Mount Kelut. With the latter Una-Una shows many points of resemblance, in shape, structure and in type of the latest eruption. Along one of the large typical lahar valleys we climbed the volcanoe starting near Kololio. Fig. 6 and 7 show the higher parts of our road, typical v-shaped valleys, a product of ordinary water erosion. When seeing such lahar valleys one may presume that the volcano must contain or at least must have contained either a huge crater lake or a filling of loose, sandy, brecciated material strongly impregnated with water. Up to this moment all lava’s, pumice, tuffs and ashes, collected in the island Una-Una are andesitic. The andesite and the andesitic tuffs often show inclusions of carbonated peridotite. It is not impossible that also sediments occur on the island — though on our single trip we did not find them — thus in general structure Una-Una shows some resemblance to the other Togian islands, where, however, the volcanism is now extinct. The crater of the volcano has a diameter of about two kilometers. The textfigure 2 shows a schematic section, a being the western craterrim; b the bottom, consisting of mud, ashes and brecciated volcanic materia] (h) deposited in the crater after the eruption of 1898, thus giving origin to the flat bottom of the caldera-shaped crater. In the central part of the crater is an elevation, c of the same material but strongly metamorphosed by the activity of many solfatara’s which break through it. The author thinks that the elevation and the solfatara’s both owe their origin to a lava plug (g) which after the eruption of 1898 and after the filling up of the crater has penetrated through the crater-pipe and tilted the central part of the crater-bottom, itself not reaching the surface, however, as shown in figure 2 (see also Pl. 44, fig. 5 and Pl. 46, fig. 8). Pl. 46, fig. 9 shows the same phenomenon, a detritus plug in the crater lake of the Kelut volcano, Java. Fig. 2, d is a small crater lake; e is a detritus cone; h is a schematic section through the strato-volcano. In 1901 Professor Molengraaff visited Una-Una and made a fine photograph of the crater, which he kindly gave me for publication (Pl. 46, fig. 8). The activity of solfatara’s was somewhat stronger at the time of his visit; within short intervals a little cloud of smoke escaped from Una-Una, as shown in his sketch (fig. 3). Corals are growing on the submarine slopes in separate colonies. However, no true massive coral reef has been developed, owing to the young erosion stage of this volcanic island; still too large quantities of boulders and smaller detritus material are deposited along the submarine slopes and prevent a more luxurious reef growth.

Description: In the Ordovician sandstones of the Cantabrian Mountains a replacement of the micas by carbonate minerals could be observed. The absence of metamorphic minerals suggests a diagenetic replacement. This is supported by the finding of the same type of replacement in some undisturbed Pliocene sediments of an intramontane basin in the French Pyrenees. It seems that replacement can occur at any stage during diagenesis.

Description: Five halacarid species, found in the mesopsammal of Caribbean Islands, are described, viz. Halacarellus tropicalis n. sp., Copidognathus grandiosus n. sp., Agaue arubaensis n. sp., Scaptognathus ornatus n. sp., and Limnohalacarus cultellatus Viets, 1940. H. tropicalis is the first member of the genus Halacarellus reported from tropical beaches.