Pistillody of the stamens in Nicotiana 



BY 



J. C. COSTERUS. 



With Plate VIL 



Although in the teratological literature a good many 

 cases hâve been registered of stamens either having been 

 replaced by pistils or showing various stages of the process, 

 it attracts attention on doser inspection, that many des- 

 criptions of the intermediate stages are not accurate 

 enough as to admit of the forming of a clear notion of 

 the metamorphosis. Through the kindness of Dr, Burck, 

 who in the autumn of 1906 sent me a few monstrous 

 flowers of Nicotiana afi6nis, I hâve been enabled to study 

 ail the degrees of pistillody of the stamens in the said 

 plant. I will try both by description and illustration to 

 give an impression of my observations. 



The structure of the normal flowers of Tobacco needs 

 no explanation : merely for the sake of contrast with the 

 abnormal flowers it should be mentioned that in the case 

 under considération their length amounted to 75 c.M., that 

 the stigma extends just beyond the anthers and that one 

 of the stamens is a little shorter than the four others '). 



In fig. I an anther is represented twice magnified, to 

 which should be added that the outer loculamenta or 

 pollen-cavities are not inconsiderably larger than those 



1) In many Solaneae the stamens hâve unequal lengths (Eich- 

 1 e r, Blûten-diagr. I. p. 204). 

 Recueil des trav. bot. Néerl. Vol. IV. 1907. 15 



