iqis]' • YASUI—DIOSPYROS KAKI 365 



pollen grains, which germinate well on the stigma and in nutrient 

 fluids. 



I have also examined many other specimens, but the main 

 results of the investigation were obtained from these five. The 

 material of no. 1 was collected in Tokyo, but the others were 

 obtained from the experiment station at Okitsu, in Central Japan. 

 The material was fixed with Flemming's weaker solution, and 

 chromo-acetic acid mixture was also used, giving better results than 

 the former medium. The sections were stained with Flemming's 

 triple stain and Haidenhain's iron-hematoxylin. 



Development of staminate flower 



The cluster of staminate flowers appears on young shoots in 

 early spring. It consists usually of three flowers (fig. 1), but some- 

 times includes 7 or more. The very young shoot bends downward, 

 and 2-4 of the lower leaves have nectaries on the under surface, 

 near the base. The succession of members is strictly centripetal. 

 The calyx is valvate, but the four petals are spirally arranged 

 (fig. 3). The 16 stamens occur in four cycles (fig. 3), and appear 

 in pairs from the earliest stage (fig. 2). The mature stamen has a 

 very short filament, and the connective extends above the anther. 

 The pistils complete their development very early. A few flowers 

 were found which were 5-merous instead of 4-merous. 



Development of perfect flower 



The perfect flower always occurs at the top of the cluster. It 

 has the same arrangement of members as the staminate flower 

 when young (fig. 4), and the pistils of the perfect flower are smaller 

 than those of the pistillate flowers. Occasionally they have less 

 than 8 ovules, which is the ordinary number in the pistillate 

 flowers, and sometimes they have no ovules. Abnormalities 

 occur, not only in the number of ovules, but sometimes in the 

 irregular forms of the pistils themselves. The fruit of the perfect 

 flower is always smaller than that of the pistillate flower, and usually 

 it has no seeds. 



