214 



Proceedings of the Club 



however, being so in only a few of its genera. The 1 1 highest 

 families are very peculiar. While mostly regular, some of them 

 are noted for irregularity, but this is so peculiarly adjusted in the 

 inflorescence as to bring about the condition of regularity so far 

 as the latter is concerned. Thus the daisy, while an inflorescence, 

 is essentially a regular flower, by virtue of the arrangement of its 

 irregular florets. It is also noticeable that as these ray flowers are 

 usually pistallate, this arrangement reverses the position, so far as 

 the head if concerned, of the distinctively pistillate portion. The 

 various types of irregularity in composite flowers were discussed, 

 and these were contrasted with *ther families exhibiting radiant in- 

 florescences. 



It was pointed out that irregularity was not a fundamental 

 characteristic, but was readily called into existence by the exigen- 

 cies of any group, or even species, and might be expected to de- 

 velop anywhere. Special attention was called as illustrating this 



It was 



principle, to the marked irregularity of Cotyledon gibbifii 

 Saxifraga sarmentosa, species in notably regular genera, 

 also noted as significant that the most irregular families, such as Leg- 

 uminosae, might have extensive series of genera perfectly regular : 

 also that almost exactly equal forms of irregularity might develop 

 in families most widely separated, as the Liliaceae and the Cappari- 

 daceae. The fact that irregularity is more frequent in the higher 

 families of the two classes is due to the fact that the essential prop- 

 erty of such families is a greater power of adaptation, floral irreg- 

 ularity being only one manifestation of this character. 



Edward S. Burgess, 



Secretary. 



