NOTES AND COMMENT 



An aberrant inflorescence of Allium mutabile Michx. was collected 

 by the writer on May 1, 1918, from a plant growing with many others 

 along a railroad in the suburbs of the town of Arlington, Texas. In the 

 two abnormal flowers found, were exhibited two unusual modifications: 

 (a) Certain of the stamen primordia had developed flowers instead of 

 stamens. These flowers were apparently normal except in being much 

 smaller than the usual flowers; (b) In one of the two aberrant flowers the 

 apparently normal ovary was surrounded (within the stamen cycle) by 

 imbricated petaloid structures. Only two flowers, both belonging to 

 the same inflorescence, were found, although an extended search was 

 made on the other plants which were growing rather profusely in the 

 neighborhood. 



Figure 1 shows the condition in one of the flowers in which the great- 

 est departure from the normal has taken place. It will be noted the 

 perianth is asymmetric, one of the sepals having failed to develop. 

 Also in addition to the "flower-like" stamens are two abortive filaments. 

 Only two of the stamens of this flower are normal. At the center is 

 seen the petaloid envelope surrounding the ovary. In figure 2 is shown 

 the other flower in which but one stamen primordium had developed 

 abnormally. The remainder of the flower is apparently normal in every 

 respect. All of the small secondary flowers (most of them in bud condi- 

 tion near anthesis) possessed anthers borne on short filaments, which 

 were of similar size to the anthers of the primary or normal flowers. 

 Pollen grains from these anthers could not be distinguished from normal 

 pollen grains. The pistil, however, was much reduced as compared 



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