164 Rhodora [AuGusT 
not far from the shore of the lake. Mr. DeMeritte examined the spot 
again on May 29, 1909, and found four abnormal plants, three with 
three whorls of three leaves each and a perfect blossom, and one with 
two whorls of three leaves each and a double blossom. He took the 
last one and one of first three, leaving the root-stocks, pressed them, 
and presented them to me. It was fortunate that he procured flowers 
this time, as we had not seen them before. I will describe the plants 
in detail, as it may be useful to the future student of this branch of 
botany. . 
The plant with the double flower and two whorls of three leaves 
each is 19.5 cm. in height. It is 13 cm. to the first node, where there 
are three withered bases ot leaves, which were evidently eaten by in- 
sects. ‘The internode above this is 1.7 em. long, and at the second node 
there are three, broadly ovate, taper-pointed, petioled leaves. The 
blades of these leaves are respectively 6.7 cm., 6.5 em. and 5.5 em. in 
length, and the petioles 8 mm., 10 mm. and 15 mm. in length. Above 
this node is the peduncle, 4.2 cm. long, crowned by the flower. The 
three sepals are broadly ovate, taper-pointed, sessile, green, and are 
respectively 6 cm., 5 em. and 5.5 cm. in length. There are six petals, 
ovate to obovate, wavy margined, with very abrupt tapering points, 
and from 3 em. to 4 cm. in length. The color of four of the petals is 
normal, i. e., white with purple stripes at the base, but the remaining 
two petals, which are in the outer row, have, beside the usual colora- 
tion, one, a broad, dark green band occupying the center of the petal 
from base to tip, and the other, a narrow, light green line running 
down the center the entire length, on one side of which near the tip is a 
dash of light green. ‘There are three normal stamens opposite the 
three outer petals. The pistil consists of a three-lobed ovary, two 
normal styles and one bent and deformed. On one side of the ovary 
is a rudimentary stamen, the filament and half the anther contiguous 
with it along a narrow ridge, which extends perpendicularly the length 
of the ovary. The anther is destitute of pollen grains. The ovary 
itself, as well as the twisted character of the interior shows, is two- 
celled with axile placentae and many ovules. 
The second plant has three whorls of three leaves each. It is 22 
em. high and 13 cm. to the first node where there are three broadly 
ovate, taper-pointed, petioled leaves with the blades 8 cm. and the 
petioles 2.5 cm., 3 em. and 3 cm. in length. The first internode is 
5.5 em. long, and at the second node are three broadly ovate, taper- 
