SHORT NOTES. . 283 



ovaries quite as long as the central one. At first I supposed that 

 the rare circumstance had taken place of tlie conversion of stamens 

 into pistils, a phenomenon known as " pistillody of stamens " ; 

 but on closer examination I found many instances where stamens 

 were partially developed, and in most flowers the rudiments of 

 stamens could be traced. It was, therefore, a case of the almost 

 rarer phenomenon of " pleiotaxy of the gynoecium," an absolute 

 increase in the number of pistil- whorls ; and the suppression of 

 stamens and petals seemed to be consequent on the increased 

 development of the pistil. The fact that such numbers of the 

 plants were similarly affected (for the monstrous spikes could be 

 gathered by hundreds) was in itself a curious circumstance, and 

 led to the inference that the plants were seedlings deriving their 

 peculiarity from a deformed parent ; but that could hardly have 

 been the case, because two varieties were affected ; and a further 

 circumstance showed such an inference to be incorrect. At the 

 latter end of June I observed in a garden at Frodsham, about five 

 miles from Daresbury, a bed of wallflowers affected in precisely the 

 same manner, though not by any means to so great an extent. It 

 became evident therefore, that the phenomenon was caused by 

 some external influence ; but what ? Perhaps the abnormally mild 

 winter. — Egbert Holland. 



Carum verticillatum in S. Devon. — I gathered Carum verticil- 

 latum in a partially drained field about a mile from Cornwood 

 railway station, S. Devon, on the 3rd of August last. It was 

 growing rather sparsely there, but had probabty been more plen- 

 tiful before the spot had been drained. The specimens were 

 mostly rather small ones. I believe the occurrence of this plant 

 in Devon has not hitherto been satisfactorily ascertained, though 

 it has been found in Cornwall. Its reported habitat near Moreton, 

 S. Devon, requires verification. — F. B. Doveton. 



I have to record the addition of this plant to the flora of the 

 neighbourhood of Plymouth, and at the same time to the list of 

 species for South Devon (v.-c. 3, Watson, ' Top. Bot.'). On the 3rd 

 of the present month (August), whilst with a friend searching for 

 wild flowers, as we were examining the productions of a low damp 

 meadow lying between the villages of Cornwood and Venton, I was 

 glad to discover some small patches of the Carum dotted here and 

 there amongst the other vegetation, which consisted of such herbage 

 as is usually found in damp partially-drained spots towards 

 Dartmoor, together with the more local llypericum bojticum 

 and Bartsia viscosa, L. Though not confined to one portion 

 only of the enclosure, but dotted over some acres, it yet appeared 

 quite sparingly, and perha^^s altogether not a couple of dozen 

 of flowering specimens could have been gathered. The locality 

 is within District V. (Yealm) of ' Flora of Plymouth,' and 

 is far to the south of any previously recorded ones; the nearest 

 in this direction being, I believe, Egloskerry, near Launceston, 

 where it was found by Mr. W. Wise, of the latter place, a few years 

 ago. This would be about 25 N.W. of the new station. — T. B. 

 Archer Briggs. 



