Ampkicarpa* monbicd, 333 



Structure of Winter Flowers. 



During the winter of 1895-96 plants raised from ter- 

 restrial seeds produced minute green flowers which re- 

 sembled the subterranean flowers previously described. 

 They are indeed almost counterparts of those found in 

 summer upon the tips and upon the branches of axillary 

 runners, and which do not become covered with soil. 

 They differ in the resulting legume, as well as in their 

 physiological behavior. While the summer ones, fail- 

 in- to obtain a suitable spot for development, either 

 produced a tiny, flat, one-seeded legume, or else dried up, the 

 winter-type seemed unaffected by its surroundings and 

 usually matured a good-sized two-seeded legume. On the 

 other hand, this winter-form might be regarded as a degen- 

 erate type of the green aerial flower of late summer, as it 

 is much reduced in several particulars. 



The calyx is about the same size as that found in the 

 terrestrial flower, is more pointed in its lobes, but is gen- 

 erally much larger than that of the green aerial. The 

 corolla is entirely absent. Ten stamens are generally pres- 

 ent; they are distinct. Four of these are unusually fertile, 

 the remainder being mere outgrowths from the receptacle. 

 The pistil has a short curved style, the stigma is not capi- 

 tate; the ovary is sessile and typically two-ovuled. The 

 stamens in number suggest resemblance to the green 

 aerial, while the appearance of style and stigma causes 

 our thoughts to turn to the terrestrial, for no such varia- 

 tions of style and stigma as previously described for the 

 green flowers of summer are seen here. 



Plants raised from aerial seeds during winter rarely pro- 

 duced any fruit above ground ; if they did, it was a tiny, 

 flat, one-seeded legume, of the character alluded to in a 

 previous paragraph. An additional reason this, for consid- 

 ering the winter type of flower to be most closely related to 

 the terrestrial form. 



Within four weeks after germination, flowers were evi- 



