Thomson. — On Melicope simplex. 



417 



When at Lake Wanaka some two years ago I landed on 

 Pigeon Island, on which Mclicopa simplex is abundant, and 

 found that all the plants were covered with closed flowers, 

 which were freely setting seed. I collected a number of these 

 flowers, but had not the opportunity till this spring of com- 

 paring them with the ordinary form. In the normally flowered 

 specimens of this species growing near Dunedin the 4 petals 

 spread widely open. The 8 stamens are in two whorls, those 

 of the outer or sepaline whorl being distinctly longer than 

 those of the inner or petaline whorl. The 4 carpels are 

 crowded closely together in flower, and their styles are united 

 into one, which is crowned by a capitate stigma showing no 

 trace of divisions ; but as the fruit ripens the carpels tend to 

 grow away from one another. Of the two ovules present in 

 each carpel, only one ripens, as a rule, the other remaining 

 undeveloped. 



Vs 



^■S 



A. Normal flower. B. Cleistogamic flower, 



s. Sepal, p. Petal, s.s. Stamens of the outer or sepaline whorl. 

 •p.s. Stamens of the inner or petaline whorl. 



In the cleistogamic flowers of my Lake Wanaka specimens 

 the sepals were normally produced. The petals are perhaps 

 shorter, but do not otherwise differ in form from those of the 

 ordinary flowers. They do not open, however, their edges re- 

 maining in close contact until forced apart by the expansion 

 of the ovaries. The outer or sepaline stamens are either re- 

 duced to minute pointed rudiments of filaments, or they bear 

 small — apparently aborted — anthers on very slender filaments, 

 which stand close up to the base of the carpels, and are pressed 

 in between the lobes. On the other hand, the stamens of the 

 inner whorl have large anthers on very short filaments. The 

 carpels, though standing close together, are quite distinct from 

 one another throughout their whole length, and, instead of 

 having one style common to all 4 carpels, there are 4 separate 

 or nearly - separate styles. In other respects the carpels 

 develope normally, producing, at most, only one mature seed. 

 Fertilisation must either take place at a very early stage in 

 27 



