EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT. 263 



base of the head. Another somewhat similar plant was found, 

 18 inches high with 20 rays and the leaves for the lower half 

 of the stem in pairs like the cotyledons. 



A study of the leaf arrangement showed that with the smaller 

 plants upon the poor soil the spiral is of the |th series, that 

 is, the sixth leaf is over the first with two revolutions around 

 the stem between, while the large plants of the richer soil rep- 

 resent the %th series. There is, however, some confusion in 

 the phyllotaxy for a pair of leaves may be present in any plant 

 large or small or there may be two close together at the same 

 level upon the stem, as if the internode had failed to elongate. 

 It seems quite evident that the series in phyllotaxy are easily 

 modified in the sunflower and that, with further study, cases of 

 all the series from } to f i may be met with, those from 

 I to -J-f- benig m sight in the present very limited numbers. 

 The subject of color in the sunflowers in question, engaged 

 attention. While the plants generallv were green tlirouo-hout 

 thestem and leaf, some plants had the pink color of the stem 

 limited to the hypocotyl ; others showed the same pink ("purp- 

 lish") color throughout the stem and main veins of the leaf 

 Yellow was the pre^■ailing color for the disks but some showed 

 dark at a distance, this difference being due to the maroon tips 

 of themany tubular corollas. This dark color was quite uni- 

 form in the same head but varied greatly among the "dark 

 faced" heads. There is much difference noted in the color of 

 the seeds (fruits) as they present their larger ends upon the 

 maturing disk and in this respect range from dark brown to 

 nearly white (gray). Each fruit is usually marked with alter- 

 nating lines of dark and light in which there is a remarkably 

 wide range of variation. 



Plate XX shows the upper portion of four sunflower plants. 

 I he largest (i) is unbranched and with ^3 ray flowers the 

 next (2) is of the branched type, that is, has a number of secon- 

 dary heads borne below the terminal in quite regular order 

 the oldest being uppermost. At 3 is a small plant, grown under 

 unfavorable conditions with 21 rays and at 4 is a still smaller one 

 with 13 rays; both these plants have the lower leaves in pairs. 



THE RAY FLOWERS OF THE CONE FLOWER. 



While at Sea Girt, observations were made upon the ray 

 flowers of the "Cone Flower," "Black-eyed Susan," or "Yellow 

 Daisy" {Riidbeckia hirta L.) which is rapidly becoming one of 

 the showv weeds of the State. 



