THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 67 



covery of its name. Dr. C. S. Sargent, Director of the Arnold 

 Arboretum kindly informs us that the plant is Lonicera 

 Maackii var. podocarpa, a handsome plant which was intro- 

 duced into this part of the world by the Arboretum. It is 

 said to be one of the best known and widely distributed species 

 in Central and Western China. A query recently addressed 

 to the U. S. Department of Agriculture with reference to the 

 name of the plant elicited the reply that it had not been identi- 

 fied yet. The original plant in question was imported by the 

 Department mentioned. 



Flowers with Extra Parts. — A correspondent writes 

 that a Chicago iris grower has a plant of the form known as 

 Madam Chereau with four parts in each whorl, instead of the 

 conventional three and asks how such multiplication of parts 

 is brought about. In reply it may be said that plants of this 

 kind are "sports" and may occur in practically any species 

 with a definite number of parts in a whorl. The trilliums are 

 often found in this condition and in the Editor's grounds a 

 race of four-parted Darwin tulips has been bred up from a 

 single bulb that produced flowers with this characteristic. How 

 to produce such sports is difficult to say. Those in commerce 

 are commonly the result of chance finds and were not the 

 object of experiment by the breeder. If one deliberately sets 

 out to produce such "freaks" he would be most likely to suc- 

 ceed if he varied the surroundings of his plants as much as 

 possible. No plant is perfectly adapted to its locality. It does 

 the best it can under the circumstances. When it is brought 

 into a new region, therefore, it naturally begins to adapt it- 

 self to the new conditions, and in this effort sports are often 

 produced. In general, any change in the plant's environment 

 — air, soil, water, light, or temperature, — is likely to result 

 in more or less definite responses of the plant which may be 

 sufficiently strong to make noticeable differences in its form. 



