284 



General Botany 



T. D. A. Cockerell 



Fig. 181. ihe red sunflower, a color mutant from the common sunflower of the 



plains {Helianthus annuus). 



What the plant breeders have long known as " sports " are the 

 rare mutants in which notable changes have occurred. They 

 show new characters, and these characters are inherited. Con- 

 sequently, their discovery is of the greatest importance. How- 

 ever, mutations are not necessarily large, and the term mutant 

 is applied to any variant showing a distinct heritable character. 



The many modern varieties of tomato have been developed 

 from mutations that occurred among the currant tomatoes or 

 love apples grown for ornament in our great-grandmothers' 

 gardens. The original fruits resembled large red currants. 



