HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



i97 



crowned by a confused crest of leaves, in the axils of 

 which buds were probably forming for ramification of 

 the flattened stem. A fasciated stem of vegetable 

 marrow has been brought to me rather more than six 

 feet long, and from an inch to an inch and a quarter 

 in width. Towards the top it has divided into two 

 branches, both of which are flat, and are decidedly 

 on the same plane. On the other hand, it must be 

 borne in mind that where round branches are 

 produced from these flattened stems, they arise from 



a letter to the writer respecting the fasciated stem of 

 asparagus, remarks that the fasciated asparagus is 

 extremely common, due no doubt to the rich soil 

 given to a plant which in its wild state is but poorly 

 fed. I possess sketches of two fasciated stems of 

 daphne, very similar to the ash, fig. 119, d, as also one 

 of a Canterbury bell. In the case of the cock's-comb 

 {Celosia cristata), Herr Makowsky states that by dint 

 of propagation and artificial selection, the fasciated 

 form has become permanent, and is now so much 



Fig. 119. — Malformation of the Holly and Ash. a, fasciated branch of holly (//er aquijolium), reduced ; b c, fasciated branch 

 of ash [Fraxinus excelsior), reduced ; d, fasciated branch of ash, natural size. 



any part, the edge not excepted. A glance at the ash, 

 fig. 1 19, a, will show at once that phyllotaxis, or leaf 

 arrangement, is quite obliterated in these flattened 

 stems, as buds of the ash are normally in pairs. 

 "What the cause of these deformed stems may be, is 

 rather hard to say ; but I am disposed to think they 

 are caused by a super-abundance of sap, as, upon the 

 whole, rank growing species and individuals, seem 

 more liable to it than plants which are of a less 

 vigorous habit, and that cultivated plants are more 

 liable to it than wild ones. Sir J. D. Hooker, in 



better known than the round stem that it not 

 unfrequently passes for the normal condition of the 

 plant. In conclusion, it may be as well to give a 

 summary of all the plants which are known to pro- 

 duce fasciated stems. Holly {Ilex Aquifolium), ash 

 {Fraxinus excelsior), daphne, dandelion {Leontodon 

 Taraxacum), daisy {Bellis perennis), Asparagus offici- 

 nalis, a species of Campanula, and the vegetable 

 marrow {Cucurbita ovifera), have been already men- 

 tioned, and I am told they are to be found on 

 willow, elm, and chestnut. There were exhibited in 



