152 Rhodora [SEPTEMBER 
A TERATOLOGICAL SPECIMEN OF ARALIA HISPIDA 
Hanorp Sr. JOHN. 
IN certain genera and species as, for instance, in several specles of 
Trillium, monstrosities are of frequent occurrence. On the other 
hand most plants develop with a remarkable trueness to type and ter- 
atological forms are very uncommon. Aralia hispida Vent. is one of 
the latter class. Neither the Gray Herbarium nor the Herbarium of 
the New England Botanical Club contains any such forms, nor has a 
prolonged search revealed any published records of the discovery of 
any such specimens in America. 
Consequently, a specimen collected by Miss I.W. Anderson on the side 
of Rattlesnake Mt., Tyrone, Blair Co., Pa., Aug. 20, 1915, is of decided 
interest. It is a vigorous plant 8 dm. tall with a normal root-system 
and abundant normal foliage. Its inflorescence, however, is very far 
from normal. From a distance, instead of the round-topped umbels 
with white flowers or dark angular fruits, one sees the umbels, but 
these are crowned by tufts of green leaves. A closer examination re- 
veals that the ovaries instead of being semi-globose urceolate as in the 
normal flower, are wrinkled slender clavate affairs scarcely distinguish- 
able from the peduncles. Some of the flowers at first sight appear 
nearly normal except for their brownish or greenish tone and unde- 
veloped ovaries. If, however, these are dissected, it will be seen that 
the sepals are in many cases normal, are short triangular lobes; that 
the petals are brownish and shriveled or developed into green leaves, 
instead of clear white oblong-lanceolate petals, 2.5 mm. long; that the 
filaments are dark and shriveled, 1 mm. long, instead of light-colored, 
2 mm. long; that the anthers are dark yellowish brown, .75 mm. long, 
instead of light yellowish, 1.5 mm. long; that the stylopodium is con- 
ical, 1 mm. long, instead of 1.5 mm. long. 
Many of the flowers, especially the central ones of the umbels,. 
show, instead of this dwarfing and slight malformation, a very abnor- 
mal development. One of them has the perianth slightly foliaceous. 
The stamens are shrunken and abnormal as described above. From 
the center of the flower, instead of a stylopodium, springs a prolon- 
gation of the axis, which 4 mm. above, bears a tuft of green serrate 
1For a summary of the recorded facts and a bibliography, see Gates, R. R.: Ann. 
Mo. Bot. Gard. iv. 69 (1917). 
