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lous a structure as those of Reseda, there can be no difficulty in supposing^ 

 that anomaly to overcome the ordinary laws of successive formation ; that, 

 moreover, the argument is founded upon an assumption that the petals 

 are always formed before the stamens ; a point with no proof of which 

 am I acquainted, and which I think open to considerable doubt : for 

 instance, are the petals of Illecebreae developed before the stamens, or subse- 

 quent to them ? and how is the existence of apetalous species in polypetalous 

 genera to be reconciled with such a theory ? Besides this, is not the cir- 

 cumstance described by Mr. Brown of the stamina not being covered by 

 the supposed petals in the slightest degree in any stage of development, 

 an admission that in Reseda itself the formation of the stamens is anterior 

 to that of the corolla? and if this is true of perfect stamens, why should it 

 not be true of sterile ones? Mr. Brown also states that, at the period 

 when what he calls the unguis of the petals (but what I call the calyx of the 

 neutral florets) is scarcely to be detected, that part which is commonly called 

 the disk (but which I consider the calyx of a sterile floret) is hardly visible 

 also : — is not this a proof of the identity of the two parts ? and if so, they 

 must be either all disks, which is absurd, or all calyxes, which is that for 

 which I contend. 



With regard to the third objection, that the processes of the supposed 

 petals of Reseda are analogous to those of Silene, Lychnis, &c., I entertain 

 a different opinion, for the following reasons: — ^The coronal processes of 

 Silene consist of cellular tissue only, without any trace of vessels, and are 

 analogous to the crests or lamellee upon the labellum of Orchideae, the ano- 

 malous subulate processes of Gilliesia, the scales of the orifice of some Bora- 

 ginese, the hump on the calyx of Scutellaria, and perhaps also the ligula of 

 grasses. But in Reseda each of the processes has a central vascular axis, and 

 is anatomically undistinguishable from the filament of the fertile stamens; 

 being thus analogous to the ligulate or subulate processes of BUltneriacetae, 

 or the coronal processes of Schwenkia, Brodi-cca, and Leucocoryne, all of 

 which are notoriously abortive stamina. I know of no instance of mere pro- 

 cesses arising from the surface of a petal having a vascular axis ; for Poly- 

 gala, after the explanation that has been given of its strscture by Auguste 

 St. Hilaire, will hardly be considered an instance : neither am I acquamted 

 with any case of sterile stamens being destitute of such an axis, unless they 

 are in a very rudimentary state, which those of Reseda are not. 



To conclude, I would beg those who still entertain doubts upon this 

 subject to examine Reseda Phyteuma, and to set out in their inquiry from 

 that species, in which, according to Mr. Don {FA. New Phil. Journ. 

 Oct. 1828), one of the sterile stamens occasionally bears an anther; a 

 statement which, if there is no mistake, sets the question at rest for ever. 

 Viewing the structure of Reseda in the usual way, its affinity would be 

 obviously with Capparide'do, with which it entirely agrees in its seeds ; but 

 in the light in which I see it, its proximity will be to Euphorbiacese and 

 Datiscese, particularly to the latter; and if to them, also to Corylaceaj and 

 Ulmacese, with the calyx of which, especially that of the male flowers of 

 Fagus, the calyx of Reseda has much in common. I consider that Rese- 

 dacea; bear about the same relation to Euphorbiaceaj as Campanulacese to 

 Compositse, as Cinchonacea> to Stellatoo, or as Hydrangeacea; to Viburnum. 



Geography. Weeds inhabiting exclusively Europe, the adjoining parts 

 of Asia, the basin of the Mediterranean, and the adjacent islands. 



PiioPEUTiES. Nothing further is known of them than that Reseda 

 luteola yields a yellow dye, and that the Mignonette (R. odorata) is among 

 the most fragrant of plants. 



Examples. Reseda, Ochradenus. 



