♦ f ft 



fTtrt 



FIGS WITH MISPLACED SCALES 



The structure of the normal fig fruit as a shortened, fleshy branch is more easily understood 

 from a study of these abnormal figs. Since each of the scales may be supposed to represent the 

 leaf of a specialized joint, or internode, of the fruit-branch, the scales serve to indicate the number 

 and arrangement of the internodes of which the fruit is composed. Interpreted in this way, the 

 fleshy wall of the fruit evidently represents a series of internode elements standing side by side and 

 completely fused, though the scales remain distinct. 



In normal fruits the component internode elements are of equal length, though unequal in 

 these al)normal fruits, which accounts for the scales being misplaced. Some relatives of the fig have 

 hollow inflorescences uniformly covered with scales, showing that the internode elements are not 

 specialized into two distinct kinds as in the fig fruits. The loss or reduction of specialization in 

 internodes or other organs is characteristic of a large class of abnormalities which have been 

 called metaphanic variations. (Fig. 17.) 



