1903] Leavitt, — Drosera intermedia 269 
reversion. I have sought to make mature plants repeat the youthful, 
ancestral stages, and have succeeded by disturbing the nutrition. 
When these adult plants are starved for a time they begin to mani- 
fest the desired atavistic traits. Moreover, these traits are not alto- 
gether due to simplification. In the tentacles of reversionary leaves 
borne by the weakened plants I find an added complexity in a par- 
ticular respect — a fact of great significance to the general theory of 
reversion. 
I took as subjects of experiment, plants of several species of 
Drosera. I cut off the roots, the leaves, and all but a little of the 
stem, leaving a quarter of an inch of the summit, with the growing 
bud. I placed them in wet sphagnum in an upright position and 
under conditions favorable to growth. They continued to put out 
leaves, which I took off and examined about as fast as they were 
produced, and of which I kept a record. I shall use D. intermedia 
to illustrate the result. 
Some of the plants of D. intermedia used had, before the experi- 
ments began, the full character leaf. Others, while full grown, were 
still putting out round bladed leaves. All were producing tentacles 
of the ordinary type. After being treated as above described the 
former bore at first leaves reduced in size but still spatulate. But 
after a few of these leaves had been taken off, and the leaves formed 
in the bud subsequent to the beginning 
of the experiment — as we may believe — 
had begun to appear, they were all found 
to be orbicular bladed. ‘Those plants 
which began with round blades continued 
to bear them; while uninjured control 
plants growing beside them developed the 
normal adult leaf with spatulate blade. 
The experiment was continued throughout 
the summer with uniform result. 
When full maturity is reached, the tenta- 
cles of Drosera intermedia are all essen- 
tially of one sort. The oval purplish | 
gland, which secretes the viscid fluid for pi, Reversionary marginal 
catching insects as well as the digestive tentacle of Drosera inter- 
Piet media (magnified. ) 
juices that are poured upon captured prey, . 
is terminal upon the stalk. The axes of gland and stalk coincide. 
