132 Shaw—Structure of the Flowers in 
reverse of what Darwin and other observers have found in 
other cleistogamic flowers. 
Gynecium.—A. In the chasmogamic flowers the exter- 
nal appearance is shown in Plate XVII, Fig. 1. The style 
curiously enough bears two different structures, either of 
which might be taken fora stigma. Terminally situated is a 
tuft of hairs amongst which microspores are found, often in a 
germinating state. Laterally isa glandular knob where the 
microspores also stick and germinate. Each of these repre- 
sents the tip of a carpel, but only the latter is functional as a 
stigma. Asthe flower opens an abundant secretion is poured 
forth from the glandular stigmatic knob. The terminal hairy 
tuft is close to the anthers under the hood. It would seem 
that the microspores might be caught in this tuft and remain, 
where they may stick to an insect, leaving the flower after 
having been smeared with the stigmatic secretion while seek- 
ing nectar in the base of the ovary. 
A most interesting feature is that in at least many individuals 
a canal traverses the style, and forms an open passage from 
the ovarian cavity to the exterior. The stalk of the hairy tuft 
is a deeply channeled structure, and this channel is continued 
into a canal in the style proper which below divides into two 
passages, leading into each cavity of the ovary. These last 
passages are often nearly choked up with hairy processes 
from the surrounding tissue. Whether the whole canal can 
have any function is hard to conjecture, but it suggests the 
condition seen in the Resedacee. Darwin’ found a similar 
condition in the cleistogamic flowers of Vzola canina and 
Viola alba. Of the cleistogamic flower of Viola canina he 
says: “It is remarkable that there is an open passage from 
the enlarged funnel-shaped extremity to within the ovarium ; 
this was evident, as slight pressure caused a bubble of air 
which had been drawn in by some accident, to travel freely 
1 Forms of Flowers, p, 315. 
