SOME FLORAL MONSTROSITIES. 

 By A . J. Grout. 



SEVERAL interesting monstrosities have come under my per- 

 sonal observation during the past season. Doubtless many of 

 them are not very unusual, but I have never seen them re- 

 corded. It seems as though a collection of facts of this sort 

 might be of some morphological value aside from their general in- 

 terest as variations from the normal. 



A two-flowered plant of the Stemless Lady's-slipper (Cypripediuvi 

 acaule) bore only a fully developed leaf at base, one of the scale leaves 

 being more fully developed than usual. Near the top of the scape 

 was the other leaf; beyond this the peduncle of one flower extended 

 about an inch and bore a fully developed normal flower. From the 

 axil of this leaf sprung a second flower without any bract, this upper 

 leaf evidently representing the bract of this flower. The two parts 

 of the calyx were united for fully half their length ; the lip was nearly 

 normal and the petals and sterile stamen wanting. The anthers bore 

 no pollen, but were produced into short greenish-purple petaloid ex- 

 pansions. 



One plant of the Painted Wake-robin {Trillium undulatuni) 

 had all its parts in fours; four leaves, four petals, four sepals, eight 

 stamens and a four-celled ovary. Another plant of the same species 

 was evidently a sort of Siamese twin, having five leaves and two en- 

 tirely distinct and perfect flowers. 



The scape of Goldthread {Coptis trifolia) bears a small scale or 

 bract which our makers of books have not thought worth while to 

 mention. One plant was collected which bore a miniature leaf in 

 place of this scale, and in the axil of this leaf were two white petaloid 

 sepals, one perfect club-shaped petal, and a slender filament-like body. 



A plant of the Bunch-berry {Cornus Canadensis) had the leaves 

 much multiplied and some were partially white like the involucre. 

 This plant was unfortunately lost, so that further notes could not be 

 taken. 



The most interesting case of all was a tuber of the Ground-nut 

 {Panax trifoliuvi) which bore two separate stems, one having all 

 the flowers staminate, the other all pistillate. The tuber has been 

 planted and we hope to make farther observations on it. 



In the last number of Erythea Miss Alice Eastwood mentions the 

 finding of no less than seventy species of plants in bloom near San 

 Francisco on Christmas day of last year. 



