1848.] Linnean Society. 383 



dage ; and the enlarged anterior sepal also as made up of the union 

 of the two ordinary lower sepals. 



In the former case the floral envelopes were regulated by the num- 

 ber 4 : Prof. Forbes proceeds to describe a still more remarkable 

 case of Peloria, in which they were regulated by the number 3. 

 The three sepals are of normal and equal dimensions and the three 

 petals all spurred, and nearly but not quite equal, the odd one, which 

 is inferior, having a larger spur than either of the other two. There 

 is no tuft of hairs on any of the petals, but they are all lineated. The 

 stamina are five, all furnished with appendages, the two lowermost 

 of which, fully developed, penetrate the spur of the anterior petal, 

 while the spur of the left upper petal receives the fully-developed 

 appendage of one of the stamina, and that of the right also one fully- 

 developed appendage, the appendage of the fifth stamen (small and 

 only partially developed) bending back after proceeding only a little 

 way. A little below the flower, between it and the true bracteze, 

 which present their usual appearance, there is a whorl of five bract- 

 like sepals, between two of which, and directly beneath the largest- 

 spurred petal of the monstrous flower, is a single petal partially de- 

 veloped and exhibiting an abortive spur. " In this case," the author 

 proceeds, " we have the outer whorl of floral envelopes developed, 

 and an effort made towards the development of the second in the 

 aborted basal petal ; then the axis elongating and terminating in a 

 flower in which two of the sepals are aborted and four of the petals, 

 viz. the two laterals and two superior ones, for the absence of tufts 

 of hairs prevents our regarding two of the tlu'ee as the former, and 

 the presence of lineated bases shows that thej' are not the latter. 

 They are repetitions of the basal petal, which in this instance is 

 multiplied by three, as in the cases before described it was multi- 

 plied by two." In this plant no traces of the fungus were observed. 



Prof, Forbes cites the instances of Peloria among Violets recorded 

 by Leers and DeCandolle, and refers to the view adopted by the 

 latter and by M. Moquin-Tandon, viz. that the Peloria is caused by 

 the tendency of all the petals to assume a spurred condition in con- 

 sequence of a general effort as it were on the part of an irregular 

 flower to become regular. He states that DeCandolle's figures are 

 not sufficient to enable him to judge if such was the case in tlie in- 

 stances depicted by him, but maintains that the Peloria Violets which 

 form the subject of the present communication " owe their monstrous 

 regularity to a very different phsenomenon, viz. the effort of an irre- 

 gular fiower to become regular hy the multiplication and symmetri- 

 calization of its irregular parts." 



