346 



The Ohio Naturalist. 



[Vol. Ill, No. 3, 



FASCIATION. 



I^UMINA C. RiDDI.E. 



The phenomena of fasciation are sufficiently strikino^ to attract 

 the attention of the most casual observer, and the malformation 

 occurs so frequent!}' that nearly ever}- person has seen one or 

 more cases of it. It manifests itself usually by a remarkable 

 broadening' and flattening of the stem, crowded phyllotaxy and 

 often spiral twisting and splitting of this broadened axis, although 

 the portion of the plant affected and the exact character of the 

 growth varies with the nature of the plant. Those having the 

 rosette hal)it throughout their entire life, as the common dande- 

 lion, .show fasciation in the peduncle of the inflorescence. In the 

 thistle (\Ffg'. 2,) which has the rosette habit during the first year 



Fig. I. (J. . li/aii/liiis i^laiidii/osiis. />. Kainiiiru/iisabof/ii'iis. 



and is stemmed during the .second year, it has only been observed 

 in the second year's growth and affected the entire stalk. In 

 the herbaceous hollow-stenuned plai;t of Ramincjihis abortiviis, 

 {Fig. /, b,) the entire stem was found fa.sciated and inside was 

 found a reversed cylinder ha\-ing the delicate epidermal layer 

 within and a well develo])ed ring of fibro-\-a.scular tissue surround- 

 ing it. In Rrigeron philadclphicKS the leaves were so clo.sely 



