Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/671

* BRYN MAWR. 595 BRYOPHYTES. in the same year over 33,000 bound volumes and 8000 paniplilcts, inchulinj; the classical library of Professor Sauppe of (otlin<»en. The college buildings include live halls of residence, accom- modating about (iO students each — Taylor Ilall containing the lecture-rooms, library, and offices of aduiinistration, a well-equipped gjinnasiuni, and r>alton Hall, containing the scicntilii- lecture rooms and laboratories. The <'ndovinent fund of Uryn ilawr College is $1,000,000, the value of the buildings and grounds is ."ii'.lfiO.OOO, and the annual income is about S10(i,000. President, Miss M. Carey Thomas, LL.D. Consult the President's Annual Itcport (Philadelphia, 1887, et seq. ) . BRY'ONY (Lat. Iryonia, Gk. ^pvupia, hry- on'ui, from Spveiv, hrycin, to teem, swell). A genus of plants of the order Cucurbitaceu-. The common Bryony I Bryonia dioica ) ,the only British species, is fretpient in hedgerows in England, but is not indigenous to Scotland. It has cordate- palmate leaves, axillary bunches of Howers, and red berries about the size of a pea. It abounds in a fetid and acrid juice. The root is perennial, very large, white and branched, has a repulsive smell, and is acrid, purgative and emetic. Bryonia alba, common in the middle parts of Europe, possesses similar properties. The root of both is applied locally to bruises, and was formerly very much in use as a purgative. It contains a bitter glucoside, called bryonin, to which it seems to owe its properties. The j-oung shoots of both species are. however, so free from acrid and dangerous qualities, that they may be used as pot-herbs. The roots of the other species of the genus are also acrid and purgative. Bry- onia Abyssinica. the roots of which are eaten, more properly belongs to the genus Coccinia. Black Bryony (Tamus communis) is a plant of a ditfercnt order. Dioscoreaeea;. BRY'OPHYL'LUM: (Gk. (ipiov, bryon. a mossy seaweed, blossom + ov'/.7mv, phyllon, leaf). A genus of plants of the natural order Crassu- laceae. BryophylUtvi calyrinvm, a succulent shrubby plant, a native of the Moluccas, with qiiinate or almost pinnate leaves, oblong deeply crenulated leaflets, and panicles of large pen- dulous greenish -yellow flowers, is not unfrequent in hothouses, being regarded as an object of in- terest, on account of its producing Inids on the edges of the leaves. If a leaf be placed upon moist sand or earth, in a short time new plants will ap- pear from its indentations. This curious mode of propagation is foimd also in the bog-orchis (Mulaxia pnivdosa), a plant of a very diflerent natural order. BRY'OPHYTES (Gk. [ipior, bryon. a mossy seaweed, blossom + ilrvrdv, phyton, plant). One of the four primary groups of the plant kingdom, containing the two great divisions popularly known as Mosses (Musci) and J.,iverworts (Hc- palicw). The liverworts are considered to have been derived in some way from the green Alg.T, and to have given rise in turn to the mcisses. It is the liverworts, therefore which represent the transition between the aquatic life of .lg.T and the terrestrial life of most Bryophytes. As a consequence of this transition from the aquatic to the terrestrial habit, great changes in structure were produced, so that the Biy<jph.tes are very different from the .lgir. One of the most important facts connected with Bryophytes is the distinct Altcrnaliim of Gen- erations (q.v. ) which they exhibit. The group is also distinguislicd by the free and many-celled sex-organs. The antheridium (male organ) is a body of various shapes, from ovoid to club- shaped, and consists of a single layer of sterile cells, which serves as a wall; within this there is a compact mass of very small and numerous mother-cells, each one of which organizes a single liiciliated sperm. The sperm of Bryophj-tes is one of their distinguishing characters, the body being small, little if at all curved, and always bearing two cilia. The archegonia are thisk- shaped organs, consisting of neck and venter, the latter containing the single large egg. See Ak- THEKiKUJt and AKCiiix.oxifii. The fertilized egg lies within the venter of the archegonium. and when it l)egins to germinate the venter also begins to increase in size and in character. In the true mosses the young sporo- gonium grows faster than the venter, and finally breaks it, carrying the whole top of the modi- fied archegonium upon its apex like a cap. This loose cap may be found upon the capsules even when they are ready to shed si>ores, and is known as the calyptra. The gradual evolution of the sporophyte, from its simplest form in the liver- worts to its most complex form in the true mosses, is of great morphological interest. The simplest sporophyte in Bryophytes is that of the liverwort known as Eiccia, in which it con- sists of nothing more than a capsule with a single layer of sterile cells for a wall, all of the cells within being devoted to the production of spores. As one passes from Riccia to the higher forms, there is a gradual diminution of the tissue de- voted to the production of spores, and therefore a gradual increase of the sterile tissue. Finally, in the true mosses the sterile tissue far exceeds in mass tiie sporogenous, the former consisting of foot, seta, and the bulk of the capsule: while the latter is restricted to a single laj-er or two of cells within the capsule. The opening (dehiscence) of the capsule is also a matter of interest among the Bryophytes. In the lower liverworts the wall merely dec-ays or bursts, liberating the spores. Amoug the leafy liverworts it splits into four distinct alves, which spread apart. Among the liver- worts of the genus Anthoccros the capsule is elongated like a very slender pod and splits into two valves like a pea-pod. Among the mosses, however, a distinct lid ('operculum" I is devel- oped, which is pushed aside when the capsule is ready to discharge its spiu'cs. In the true mosses a further elaboration of the capsule usually oc- curs in the formation of what is calleil tlic "peri- stome.' a set of tooth-like processes often of beau- tiful ])attern, which spring from the rim of the cajisule and stretch toward the centre. These are hygroscopic, and by their curving in and straightening out help to loosen tip the spores. -Among the liverworts there is also a device for assisting in spreading and somewhat scattering the spores. Certain mother-cells do not produce spores, but become nio<lilicd into long fibre like cells, which are spirally tliickened. These cells are known as 'elaters,' and by their jerking, jumping movements when alternately moistened and dried they help to scatter the spores with which they are in contact. The sex-organs of Bryophytes are borne in a variety of ways. Among the liverworts they are sometimes scattered over the back of the thallus budv; in others they are collected in definite