The power of movement which they possess is a strong argument against their being viewed as hairs. The conclusion which seems to me the most probable will be given in Chap. XV., namely that they existed primordially as glandular haire, or mere epidermic formations, and that their upper part should still be so considered; but that their lower part, which alone is capable of movement, consists of a prolongation of the leaf; the spiral vessels being extended from this to the uppermost part. We shall hereafter see that the terminal tentacles of the divided leaves of Roridula are still in an intermediate condition.
The glands, with the exception of those borne by the extreme marginal tentacles, are oval, and of nearly uniform size, viz. about g^ of an inch in length. Their structure is remarkable, and their functions complex, for they secrete, absorb, and are acted on by various stimulants. They consist of an outer layer of small polygonal cells,[1] containing purple granular matter or fluid, and with the walls thicker than those of the pedicels. Within this layer of cells there is an inner one of differently shaped ones, likewise filled with purple fluid, but of a slightly different tint, and differently affected by chloride of gold. These two layers are sometimes well seen when a gland has been crushed or boiled in caustic potash. According to Dr. Warming, there is still another layer of much more elongated cells, as shown in the accompanying section (Fig. 3) copied from his work; but these cells were not seen by Nitschke, nor by me. In the centre there is a group of elongated, cylindrical cells of unequal lengths, bluntly pointed at their upper ends, truncated or rounded at their lower ends, closely pressed together, and remarkable from being surrounded by a spiral line, which can be separated as a distinct fibre.
These latter cells are filled with limpid fluid, which after long immersion in alcohol deposits much brown matter. I presume that they are actually connected with the spiral vessels which run up the tentacles, for on several occasions the latter were seen to divide into two or three excessively thin branches, which could be traced close up to the spiriferous cells. Their development has been described by Dr. Warming. Cells of the same kind have been observed in other plants, as I hear from Dr. Hooker, and were seen by me in the margins of the leaves of Pinguicula. Whatever their function may be, they are not necessary for the secretion of the digestive fluid, or for the absorption, or for the communication of a motor impulse to other parts of the leaf, as we may infer from the structure of the glands in some other genera of the Droseraceae.
The extreme marginal tentacles differ slightly from the others. Their bases are broader, and, besides their own vessels, they receive a fine branch from those which enter the tentacles on each side. Their glands are much elongated, and lie embedded on the upper
surface of the pedicel, instead of standing at the apex. In other
- ↑ [Gardiner (' Proc. Royal Soc.,' No. 240, 1886) han pointed out that in Dorsera dichotoma "the gland-cells of the head are provided with delicate uncuticularised cell-walls, which are remarkably pitted on their upper or free surface." F. D.]
