398 MR. W. AND MISS A. BATESON ON FLORAL VARIATIONS 
placed together opposite the posterior petal. The stamens were 
normal in all. 
No. 2. Corolla with five petals, two being posterior —Of this 
type seven flowers were found in one locality. Instead of the 
single posterior petal of the normal flower, there were, in this 
form, two equal and distinct posterior petals. The rest of the 
petals, the stamens, and the pistil were normal. A flower of 
this type is shown in fig. 21. One of these flowers had a calyx 
of five sepals, the extra sepal being minute and placed between 
the two posterior petals. 
Now if these examples had stood alone, according to current 
methods of reasoning they would have gone far to establish 
Eichler’s proposition as to the phylogeny of Veronica; but 
taken in conjunction with the whole body of varying forms, 
there seems to be no obvious reason for considering any one 
form of variation to be due to reversion rather than any other. 
These remarks must not be interpreted as indicating opposition to 
Eichler’s view, which seems in every way plausible ; but the facts 
of the variation of these flowers do not establish it, since they 
could be used with equal force to establish the view that Veronica 
is descended from a plant with three or even two petals. The 
nature of the conclusions which may be deduced will be discussed 
after the whole body of evidence has been given. 
No. 8. Corolla with three petals— Amongst all the abnormal 
forms of flowers which were found, by far the largest number are 
those with three petals. So common are they that they seem to 
form about 6 per cent of the total. The petals in this type are 
of about equal size, and they are coloured and disposed as in 
fig. 19 (v. infra). Of these flowers some have only three sepals, 
as shown in the figure, while others have four sepals. Two 
three-petalled flowers were seen with three regular sepals and a 
leaf-like bract borne below the calyx, upon the pedicel of the 
flower. All flowers with three petals in which the stamens were 
noted had two normal stamens, except one specimen, in which 
there was a third equal stamen arising from the point of union 
of the anterior petals. 
No. 4. Corolla with two petals.—Next to the form with three 
petals the two-petalled corolla was the most frequent of the 
variations, occurring in about 1 per cent. of the whole number. 
Such corollas have the form shown in fig. 20, being composed of 
two petals of similar size, one being anterior and the other 
