114 



But perhaps the greatest variation from the type was in the 

 doubhng of the flowers. The process by which this doubhng was 

 brought about was simply petalody of the stamens and carpels. 

 Under increased food supply and changed climatic conditions, seeds 

 were produced which gave rise to plants showing every variation 

 from the normal stamen to those completely transformed into 

 petals. The same was true of the carpels. First the stigma would 

 take on extra tissue, and in various individuals continue to widen 

 and elongate till the result was a narrow petal with a few rudiments 

 of the stigma along its edges. Very often petals may be found in 

 double peonies which bear vestiges of anthers on their margins. 

 In almost every case I have studied, the petalody of the stamens 

 occurred first, and only after this was completed or well under way 

 did the petalody of the carpels begin. As a result of this we have 

 flowers which bear viable seed, but no stamens, and this further 

 encourages hybridization. In most cases the mass of petals which 

 are transformed sexual organs, or petaloids as they are called, are 

 differentiated from the true petals. This, however, is not always 

 the case. It often happens that more petaloids are present than the 

 original number of stamens and carpels. It is rather difficult to 

 explain whence these extra petaloids come. The only reference I 

 could find to it is in an article in the Journal of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society, Aug., 1901, p. 161. "These [extra petaloids] also 

 receive their explanation from the same phenomenon of chorisis, 

 for although the commencement of doubling is due to a substitution 

 of petals for carpels and stamens, these become extraordinarily 

 multiplied, and this increase is usually correlated with repeatel 

 branching of the cords within the floral receptacle. 



" Each branch on reaching the surface continues on, but is now 

 clothed in petaline tissue. On some flowers chorisis is repeatedly 

 applied to a cord, and the result is a multifold organ." 



Fig. 17 represents an almost double dark red peony which bears 

 stamens and carpels, both in all stages of evolution. This flower 

 I picked to pieces and arranged specimens of its organs in a series 

 (Fig. 18) representing the various stages of this process of petalody. 

 In this variety it is almost impossible to tell the original or guard 

 petals from the newly formed petaloids. 



Change in food supply and environment have, therefore, caused 

 considerable variation in the peony. But all of the species, so far 

 as we know, hybridize readily, and it is but fair to suppose that 

 once these various species were brought together in the gardens 



