1 24 Shaw — Structure of the Flowers in 



plants in reports of botanical excursions. Mr. Hollick' 

 noticed on Montauk Point a form peculiar in color of flowers. 

 Chodat^ describes briefly the structure of the cleistogamic 

 flowers, and states that they may sometimes be seen in the 

 upper clusters. 



Huth,^ in discussing different forms of fruits on plants of 

 the same species, mentions P. polygama as peculiar among 

 plants which bear cleistogamic flowers in the fact that the 

 fruits are ahke. 



In the summer of 1897 Dr. Macfarlane called my attention 

 to the fact that the plants showed certain striking peculiarities 

 which had not yet been described, and at his suggestion I 

 undertook an investigation of them. A reference to this work 

 appears in Dr. Schively's paper on Amphicarp(za} An 

 abstract of part of my w^ork was read at the meeting of the 

 "Society for Plant Morphology and Physiology," held in 

 New York City in December, 1898. 



Polygala polygama grows in sandy soil in many localities 

 along the eastern coast-line and the Gulf States, but so far as 

 I can learn, reaches its greatest development on the islands of 

 Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and the adjacent portion 

 of the Massachusetts coast. On the islands it is a constant 

 feature of the meadows, growing as has already been noticed 

 (Redfield), in company with Arctostaphylos. etc. In the 

 neighborhood of Wood's HoU it is abundant in all the open, 

 dry, sandy fields, and even in woodlands ; its long racemes 

 being conspicuous among the wild flowers of the neighbor- 

 hood. 



^ Torrey Bulletin, xviii, pp. 255-56. 



^Monographia Polygalacearum. Memoires de la soc. de pliys. et d'hist. nat. de 

 Geneve, 1891, p. 135. 



' Ueber geokarpe, amphicarpe und heterocarpe Pflanze. Abh. Ver. Natur- 

 wiss., Frankfort a. Oder, viii, 1S90, p. 89. 



* Bot. Contrib. Univ. Penn., vol. i, p. 335. 



