ODD PLANT MALFORMATIONS 



Reproductions from photographs of 

 material collected by Albert A. Han- 

 sen, Department of Botany, The Penn- 

 sylvania State College. These peculiar 

 plant formations may be frequently 

 found in the woods or among cultivated 

 plants, and are often a source of won- 

 der and astonishment. 



The material here illustrated repre- 

 sents collections extending over a 

 large range of territory, but similar for- 

 mations may be found in practically 

 every locality. A knowledge of these 

 growths may often be of value to gen- 

 eticists as an aid to experimental in- 



vestigations. Frequent as may be the 

 occurrence of these odd plant develop- 

 ments, accurate knowledge concerning 

 them is by no means common. 



In literature some of these growths 

 are discussed under such subjects as 

 teratology and malformations, but 

 scientific information concerning their 

 origin and nature is frequently not 

 readily accessible. 



Many legends and strange beliefs 

 have centered around plant abnormali- 

 ties, as, for instance, certain witches' 

 brooms are even to this day popularly 

 regarded ps the nests of birds. 



^^N 



DISTORTED CONE OF PINE 



Due probably to the fact that the prevailing wind was constantly in one 

 direction during the pollination period, only one side of this cone was 

 pollinated. For this reason, only one side of the cone developed, 

 presenting the strange phenomenon here pictured. Seed will develop 

 only on the pollinated side of the cone. The distortion, of course, is 

 not hereditary. (Fig. 4.) 



6.? 



