166 



and shape of the leaves than to any striking qualities of the 

 flower. 



The examination of these new forms has led, on clearly 

 defined lines, to results which leave no doubt either as to the 

 relation of the parts of the flowers or as to the only trust- 

 worthy diagram. 



Instead of criticizing the opinions of the older botanists on 

 this point I prefer in the first instance to give the outcome 

 of my own investigation. 



For this purpose I made use of a few varieties of Canna 

 Crozy, introduced by the famous French grower, which are 

 cultivated by Mr. J. K. Bubde in the Utrecht University Gardens 

 and which the Director, Prof. F. A. F. C. Went kindly placed 

 at my disposal. The varieties in question bore for the greater 

 part brickred, both pure and mixed with yellow in various 

 designs. Pure yellow varieties also came under my notice and 

 for the sake of comparison, some of the original species which 

 are less modified. 



Of all of these the most adequate proved to be the pure brickred 

 flower on account of its having all the elements which Mono- 

 cotyledons as Ainaryllidaceae, Liliaceae and also Zingiberaceae 

 (XIV, p. 106) are expected to possess. 



The points which have as yet been left undecided have 

 reference to : — 



1° the morphological value of the staminodes separately, 

 2° the morphological value of the anther, and 

 3° the morphological value of the style and the reason for 

 its contorted base and excentric position. 



As to 1° the reader may be referred to the well known 

 diagrams copied from Eichler (VI), figg. 1 A and 1 B. In 1 A it 

 is admitted that the outer whorl of staminodes is altogether 

 suppressed and that the inner whorl is only represented by 

 the labellum and the anther-bearing partly petaloid staminode. 

 The alae a, ft and y were considered as products of doubling 

 of the semi-petaloid anther and classed with stipules (Stipu- 

 largebilde). To the latter assumption Eichler had been led by 



