OP STAMINAL PISTILLODY IN AN A CANT HAD. 87 



This deviation, doubtless one of reappearance of a selection-lost 

 organ, is associated with a modification of the number of ovules in 

 one of the ovarian cells, which contains three of them ; the third, 

 however, is very small, and, though provided with two coats, would 

 probably not have developed into a seed. 



The calyx and corolla remain entirely unchanged in all cases 

 exhibiting pistillody, the least-abnormal appearance presented on 

 the occurrence of which is shown at fig. 7, where two of the 

 stamens are seen to have the ordinary form ; the third consists of 

 an unequally two-lobed anther hoisted up on a coiled hair-fringed 

 filament about one third as long as its unchanged fellows. The 

 larger of these anther-lobes is usual in shape and amount of pollen 

 produced ; the smaller contains but few pollen-grains, and has at 

 its base an ovuloid body seated on a halfmoon-shaped support, evi- 

 dently representing a retinaculum. The fourth stamen has the 

 filamentary region but very slightly developed ; one of the anther- 

 cells is represented by a short spirally twisted band foreshadowing 

 a style, while the other is fairly formed, contains a little pollen at 

 its lower end, and has at its base a small ovule-like papilla on a 

 boss of rudimentary-retinaculate nature ; the stamen is hollowed 

 out immediately below the cells, the lower part of the hollow hold- 

 ing four well-developed retinaculum-supported ovules. The last 

 thing to be noted is the rudiment of the fifth stamen ; with the ex- 

 ception of the instance mentioned above, this is the only case of the 

 occurrence of such a structure (figs. 8-11). 



The next example is very interesting. In this, while two of the 

 stamens are normal in position and structure, the other two are 

 ovuliferous, and have very short filaments inserted on the disk 

 (fig. 12). Fig. 13 shows one of these stamens dissected away : the 

 one cell is usual ; the other is separated into two parts, one of which 

 appears as a twisted false-stylar addition to the normal cell, and 

 the other is a small zigzag-outlined body, forming one of the boun- 

 daries of the filamentary cavity, which contains at its base two 

 well-developed ovules. Fig. 14 represents the second stamen 

 bears only one ovule, and has an almost full-formed half-cell. 



In the next case the abnormality is greater. Here (fig. 15) all 

 the stamens are ovuliferous and seated on the disk. One cell of 



each anther is normal; 



din 



alluded to above (fig. 16). The ovules in all these transformed 



number 



ordinary ovarian cell. The ovary is very 



LINN. JOITBN. — BOTANY, TOL. XV. H 



