'May 1, 1869.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



99 



IMPERFECTLY DEVELOPED PLANTS. 



SPECIMENS of monstrous plants have been sent 

 to me from time to time during the past year 

 and a half, with a request that I would describe 

 them in the pages of Science-Gossip ; and as the 

 list is now becoming rather a long one, I will fulfil 

 my promises, and put them together in the form of 

 a paper. Some of the examples sent, and others 

 which I have found myself, are very interesting 

 additions to those I have already described, as they 

 illustrate one or two new facts ; though, no doubt a 

 in many monstrous flowers there is a great similarity, 

 as in most cases they chiefly show that there is a 

 tendency in complex parts to revert to more simple 

 ones, and for all organs to revert to leaves ; the 

 difference being, in fact, in the amount of change 

 that has taken place. 



Fig. 58. 



The first example is a single Foxglove-flower, 

 which was sent to me from High Wycombe in June, 

 1867; it is represented in figures 58 and 59. The 

 calyx consisted of five sepals, which were some- 

 what larger and more leafiike than usual. The 

 corolla was split open (naturally), and a bunch of 

 flower-buds and bracts took the place of the ovary. 

 Some of these bracts were coloured like petals. In 

 fig. 60 all the parts which appeared to be made out 

 of the ovary are removed. The flower then was 

 found to contain only two stamens, but the other 

 two seemed to have been converted into flower- 

 buds. There was such a confusion of buds, leaves, 

 and petals, that I made an ideal section (fig. 61), 

 which will explain the real structure of this curious 

 anomaly more clearly. 



The flower-buds which took the place of ovules 

 were perfect in every respect, containing corolla, 

 four stamens, and a pistil. The one flower had, in 

 fact, become a complete spike, or a Foxglove plant 

 in miniature. 



Fig. 59. 



The structure of this flower leads to the eonclu*- 

 sion that ovules are altered buds in the axils of 



Fig. 60. 



suppressed leaves ; and in support of this view we 

 have some curious instances where the Alteration 



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