42 DorsEY: VARIATION IN FLORAL STRUCTURES OF ViTIs 
away at the top and the stamens extend through the slit. In 
some varieties this occurs more commonly at the beginning of 
the blooming season. The filaments are curled up under the cap 
before the flower opens and soon become straight and upright 
or reflexed (according to the flower type) when the cap is released 
or removed. In the wild staminate forms the filaments soon curl 
back, bringing the anthers near the base of the ovary (PLATE I, 
FIG. 6). In some cases the cap will hold a part of the stamens 
together while one or more may be released, the latter soon curling 
backward if the stamens are teflexed. The flower opens in much 
the same way in all of the flower types. Beach (’92) observed that 
in a number of varieties the anthers opened before the cap was 
thrown off. 
SPECIAL VARIATION IN FLOWER PARTS 
VARIATION IN THE STAMEN NUMBER: There are usually five 
stamens in the grape flower. In order to determine how constant 
the number of stamens per flower is, the flowers on a number of 
clusters were classified with respect to stamen number. This 
classification shows considerable variation in the number of sta- 
mens per flower, both above and below the normal number five, 
and also that the proportion of flowers having either more or less 
than five stamens was nearly constant for the clusters of each 
vine. This proportion was found to be quite characteristic for 
each vine without regard to the type of flower, variety, or species. 
In a total of 115 clusters counted, not a single vine was found 
in which the proportion of flowers for each stamen number was 
not quite constant. The proportion may differ materially in the 
different vines of a variety, as in Petite Sirah, a variety of V. 
vinifera; on one vine (TABLE I) there are more flowers having 
five stamens than six, while on an adjacent vine there are more 
having six stamens than five. 
TABLE I gives in a summarized form the data for all of the 
counts made; it includes for various species and certain cultivated 
varieties the total number of flowers per cluster, the number of 
flowers in each cluster for each stamen number, and the necessary 
indications respecting the type of flowers. The number of stamens 
varies from 3 to 9, or in other words, two below the usual number 
