Origin of Peloric Toadflax 467 



wards in the vicinity of Berlin, as stated by 

 Ratzeburg, 1825. Many other localities have 

 since been indicated for it in Europe, and in my 

 own country some have been noted of late, as 

 for instance near Zandvoort in 1874 and near 

 Oldenzaal in 1896. In both these last named 

 cases the peloric form arose spontaneously in 

 places which had often been visited by botanists 

 before the recorded appearance, and therefore, 

 without any doubt, they must have been pro- 

 duced directly and independently by the ordi- 

 nary species which grows in the locality. The 

 same holds good for other occurrences of it. 



In many instances the variety has been re- 

 corded to disappear after a certain lapse of 

 time, the original specimens dying out and no 

 new ones being produced. Linaria is a peren- 

 nial herb, multii^lying itself easily by buds grow- 

 ing on the roots, but even with this means of 

 propagation its duration seems to have definite 

 limits. 



There is one other important point arguing 

 strongly for the independent appearance of the 

 peloric form in its several localities. It is the 

 difficulty of fertilization and the high degree of 

 sterility, even if artificially pollinated. Bees and 

 humble-bees are unable to crawl into the nar- 

 row tubular flowers, and to bring the fertilizing 

 pollen to the stigma. Ripe capsules with seeds 



