BOTANICAL NOTES. 169 



two per cent of the specimens were either in "fours" 

 or "fives." I was early led to suspect that these so- 

 called monstrosities were caused by the coalescence 

 of two embryos. And if this be true it very satisfac- 

 torily accounts for such abnormal forms as are now 

 and then met with where the union of the parts is so 

 complete that we fail to discover the coalescence. A 

 very beautiful specimen of the species just mentioned 

 was found with all the parts in "fives." Of the leaves 

 there was one which was double the thickness of either 

 of the others. This was so evident that it could be 

 detected by the touch as well as by the eye. On 

 drying this thickened leaf partially separated into two 

 leaves of the ordinary form and thickness. The cor- 

 responding petals and sepals were also thickened but 

 hardly as much so as the leaf, nor did they show any 

 signs of separation on drying. The stamen which 

 corresponded in position was only slightly if any larg- 

 er than the others, but this follows the well-known 

 law that the essential organs vary less than the floral 

 coverings. 



A cross-section of the stem also presented evidence 

 to prove the plant a double one. The stronger and 

 larger stem was concave on one side and into this 

 concavity the other stem fitted, the whole being cov- 

 ered by the dermal and epidermal coats. All the 

 specimens in "fours" presented two of each set of or- 

 gans thickened, some of them very decidedly so. 

 Such union of embryos (if this view be correct) must 

 be much more common in the vegetable than in the 

 animal kingdom. It would be of interest to science to 

 determine what proportion of the abnormal forms of 

 plants is due to such coalescence of embryos and what 

 proportion is to be still considered "sports of nature." 

 Aris^ma TRIPHYLLUM. {Indian Turnip.) — A 

 monstrous form of this species is worthy of note. 

 Gray calls it a "low plant" and such it usually is, but 



