44 University of California Puhlications i)i Boiany [Vol.6 



ring on otherwise normal plants, but characteristic at least of one 

 plant, mostly of large numbers. They are not in any way exaggerated, 

 having been carefully drawn and measured by IMiss Helen INI. Gilkey 

 from U. C. Herbarium sheets Nos. 112837-9, 146812-3, 146832, 

 146845-6, 167928. 167946. 167948, 173052. 



The calyx (figs. 20, 21) varies with the shape and size of the 

 enclosed petals. It has no proper tube, as will be shown below. The 

 throat (fig. 16), short and broad, is closed at the bottom of the disk, 

 which has a hairy ring encircling the base of the style. The lobes 

 are united at the apex, two of the tips being somewhat shorter than 

 the others. The buds are long or short, broad or slender, straight or 

 curved, shining or dull, pubescent to nearly glabrous, light green to 

 ruby red, the color extending to the end of the visible "tube" or 

 stopping at any particular part. 



The flowers open in bright weather soon after sunrise, the petals 

 becoming later widely expanded, even recurved, closing late in the 

 afternoon. Normally, of course, the petals are four, but five is a 

 common variation, three (fig. 9) and six (fig. 10) less so. Variation 

 in petal number is usually, though not always, accompanied by similar 

 variation in sepals and stamens; the ovaries difficult to reach have not 

 been examined for variation in number of cells. 



The color of the petals runs from clear white to deep yellow. 

 Pure white is rare on the campus, but examples from a few miles away 

 have recently been' brought to me by Mrs. Inez R. Smith, who said 

 they were not unusual in that locality. In dried specimens the white 

 darkens and the yellow fades, so that color distinction is soon lost. 



In size the flowers are from 1.5 cm. to 5 cm. in diameter (the 

 smaller not figured). The petals vary in shape from nearly round 

 (fig. 9) to oblanceolate (fig. 13) or linear (fig. 14) and are sometimes 

 wanting. The broad petals overlap, the narrow are cruciate. Usually 

 they are rounded at tip, rarely emarginate (fig. 12), often trilobed 

 acute or obtuse (figs. 11, 15). The very pronounced side-lobing as 

 in figure 8 is very common. It is not usually present in all the flowers 

 on a plant or even in all the petals of a flower, and while it is a striking 

 variation, is probably mechanically produced by folding in the bud. 



The stamens (figs. 27, 28) are arranged as usual in outer and 

 inner rows, the filaments of the latter considerably shorter than the 

 others, while the anthers, contrary to the usual habit, are decidedly 

 longer, so that their summits, on the whole, are nearly even. The stout 

 style little surpasses the stamens. 



