170 MR. C. DARWIN ON THE SEXUAL RELATIONS OF 
maphrodite being in its female organ quite distinet from the 
other two hermaphrodites and partially distinct in its male 
organs, and each furnished with two sets of males. 
The three forms may be conveniently called, from the unequal 
lengths of their pistils, the ong-styled, mid-styled, and short-styled. 
Their existence and differences were first observed by Vaucher*, 
and subsequently more carefully by Wirtgen; but, not being guided 
by any theory, neither author perceived some of the most curious 
points of difference. I will first briefly describe the three forms 
by the aid of the accompanying accurate diagram, which shows 
the flowers, six times magnified, in their natural position, with 
their petals and the near side of the calyx removed. 
Long-styled form.—This can at once be recognized by the 
length of the pistil, which is (including the ovarium) fully one- 
third longer than that of the mid-styled, and more than thrice 
as long as that of the short-styled form. It is so dispropor- 
tionately long, compared with the flower, that it projeets in 
the bud through the unfolded petals. It stands out consi- 
derably beyond the longer stamens; its terminal portion de- 
pends a little, but the stigma itself is slightly upturned: the 
globular stigma is considerably larger than that of the other 
two forms. The six longer stamens project about two-thirds 
of the length of the pistil, and correspond in length with the 
pistil of the mid-styled form. The correspondence with the 
pistil in length in this and the two following cases is generally 
very close; the difference, where there is any, being usually in a 
slight excess of length in the stamens. The six shorter stamens 
(each of which alternates with a longer one) lie concealed within 
the calyx; their ends are upturned, and they are graduated in 
length, so as to form a triple row—both which characters are 
here much more marked than with the longer stamens, which 
vary in these respects. The anthers of the shorter stamens are 
smaller than those of the longer stamens. Knowing that the 
pollen differs greatly in the longer and shorter stamens of the two 
other forms, I carefully compared that of the two sets of stamens 
in this form: in both the pollen-grains are yellow, but they are a 
little larger in the longer than in the shorter stamens. The dif- 
ference is slight, so that I convinced myself of its reality only by 
putting two small heaps close together under the compound mi- 
* Hist. Phys. des Plantes d'Europe, tom. ii., 1841, p. 371. Wirtgen, “ Ueber 
Lythrum salicaria und dessen Formen,” Verhand. des naturhist. Vereins der 
preuss. Rheinl., 5. Jahrgang, 1848, S. 7. 
