306 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



A Wooden Flower or Wooden Rose. 



That is what Professor William F. 

 Ganong of Smith College, Northamp- 

 ton, Massachusetts, calls the interest- 

 ing specimen from Mr. H. E. Deats 

 that we pictured on page 250 of our 

 January number. 



In his interesting "Textbook of Bo- 

 tany" he further states in regard to 

 this growth which is from a legumi- 

 nous plant and is induced by a parasite, 



of the tissues after the control stimuli 

 have been inhibited, usually as result 

 of some strain or other accident. Other 

 burls, however, with various kinds of 

 knotty growths, are started by presence 

 of parasites, which also inhibit the 

 usual control, presumably by chemical 

 action. Of this nature is the remark- 

 able 'wooden flower,' sold to tourists 

 in tropical America. It is nothing but 

 a stem in which a parasite has inhibited 



Till-: WOO] LOWER CONTRIBUTED BY MR. BAIZ. 



a flowering plant, Phcradendron. After 

 stating various cases of the peculiar 

 growths such as twin fruits, fasciated 

 pineapples and various fasciated stems, 

 witches' brooms, etc., he continues : 



"In some cases such growths are ap- 

 parently started by injurious strains, 

 which would explain their frequency at 

 the bases of great branches; and very 

 likely they represent areas in which 

 the growth-control mechanism has 

 been ruptured by the strain. It is in- 

 teresting to note that a close analogy 

 exists between these burls and the 

 troublesome tumors which form in the 

 human body, for the latter also are 

 formless growths resulting from con- 

 tinued operation of the growth energy 



h control over a limited area, 

 leaving that part free to grow as it 

 happens." 



An elaborate and magnificent speci- 

 men has recently been presented to us 

 at ArcAdiA by Arthur S. Baiz of Sound 

 Beach. 



Fine Specimen of "Wooden Flower." 



New York City. 

 To the Editor : 



Several weeks ago, I had the pleasure 

 of leaving with your daughter a "vol- 

 cano flower." This was brought to 

 New York many years ago by my 

 father, who was Consul General in 

 this city for Guatemala and Honduras. 



I understand that this growth occurs 



