SEPTEMBER. 211 



MONSTROUS FLOWERS OF PELARGONIUMS. 



The following extract from a paper read by Mr. Sowerby at a late 

 conversazione meeting of the Royal Botanic Society in Regent's Park 

 describes an interesting case of montrosity. After pointing out the 

 distinguishing characters of the genera Geranium and Pelargonium, 

 Mr. Sowerby proceeded to say : " The gardener, as in this case, 

 when he finds nothing but external beauty to recommend a plant, 

 endeavours, by selecting the most perfect, and then cultivating it 

 highly, to increase in the succeeding produce both the beauty of 

 colour and of form ; and as the beauty of form depends upon the 

 same elements as that of colour, that is, upon the indication of per- 

 fect adaptation to the end, or the resemblance of that indication, so 

 a full round form is especially aimed at by the cultivator of flowers, 

 and the Pelargonium-fancier endeavours to obtain five broad and 

 equal petals, to form a round flower, with the upper two deeply 

 and brilliantly coloured, to produce a contrast to the three lower and 

 light-coloured ones. But with all his care, the flowers do not come 

 constant ; and now and then one will play the truant, and sport, as 

 he calls it ; and this commonly happens amongst the most petted or 

 highest cultivated varieties. When the dark colour disappears from 

 the petals altogether, and the petals become equal in size and form, 

 it will be observed that the characteristic tubular nectary also dis- 

 appears. The want of the nectary or honey-tube is also accom- 

 panied by a regular arrangement of five anther-bearing and five abor- 

 tive filaments. The white varieties are less liable to this change than 

 those with rose or salmon-coloured petals, and it is also rare among 

 the new fancy varieties ; frequently it occurs in the central flower of 

 the truss. In some flowers the nectary is only shortened, and in 

 others a small spot will remain on one petal when the nectary is 

 absent. In the fancy variety called Yetmannianum grandiflorum, 

 which has spots on all the petals, the spots become equal, the two 

 large spots being reduced. An additional petal also accompanies the 

 change in a few cases. One plant of the Beauty of Clapham, a rose- 

 coloured variety, has almost every flower changed more or less. Thus 

 it appears that cultivation not only makes one species of plant appear 

 to run into another, but may destroy a remarkable generic character, 

 consisting of the presence of an important organ in the flower, &c. ; 

 so that the gardener seems, by over-cultivation, to reduce his flower 

 to a lower standard ; but 1 do not think this is exactly the case ; 

 for although he may apparently reduce a Cape Pelargonium to a 

 European Geranium ii/'the eye of a botanist, or partly so, still he 

 would have a more truly beautiful flower if he could obtain a full 

 truss of large rose-coloured or pink flowers. We would recommend a 

 trial of the seed from these sporting flowers." 



