32 Latent and Semi-Latent Characters, 
many. It is frequently uncertain, at first at any rate, 
whether besides the half race, the "species" itself exists 
in pure condition, that is to say, a race in which the char- 
acter in question is not semi-latent but latent. But when, 
as is so often the case, the species is widely distributed 
but the half race is only observed locally, we are evi- 
dently fairly safe in assuming the separate existence of 
both. 
Anomalies which are very common in nature point 
to the existence of eversporting varieties ; those which 
are rare, to half races. In the former case they are often 
reckoned among the characters proper to the species, as 
for instance the remarkable lateral fruitlets on the fruits 
of Tetragonia expansa, which were included by DE CAN- 
DOLLE in his diagnosis of the species, in his Prodromus. 1 
Other well-known instances are the incomplete apetaly 
of Ranunculus auriconius, 2 as well as the branched ears 
of Lolium perenne ramosum which seem to be relatively 
common everywhere in my own country. LENECEK S 
records lime-trees with 20-30% of their leaves trans- 
formed into pitchers; and with us trees with single 
pitchers, and others which produce large numbers of 
them every year are met with from time to time (Vol. I, 
Fig. 106, p. 470). 
In many cases we know both the half race and the 
middle race of the same, or of closely related, species. 
For example, there grows very commonly here a form 
of Plantago major (/. bractcata] which bears more or 
A. DE CANDOLLE, Prodromus Regni Vegetabilis. See also EICH- 
LER, Bli'tthendiagramme, II, p. 120. 
z 
WINTER, Journ. of Bot., Vol. 35, 1897, P- 406. This form also 
grows in our garden and in our country in the wild condition. 
3 O. LENECEK, Mitth. d. naturw. Vercins, Vienna, 1893. Found 
not far from Leitmeritz. 
