[Vor. 1 
388 ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 
20 fig. 2 shows a rosette of this variety in Е, ( 1911). One family 
of 50 plants in 1910 contained 5 of this variety. Usually these 
plants show partial variability, some flowers having broad 
petals and others narrow and elliptical ones. Even the differ- 
ent petals of the same flower may show these differences. 
Flowers with elliptical petals are invariably smaller and are fre- 
quently found on the side branches when those of the central 
stem have normal petals. Hence this variation may be a matter 
of strength in the plant. Тһе variation, from petals which are 
broad and truneate or emarginate to those which are narrow 
and elliptical, or even almost cruciate, is continuous. Thus 
on one plant in 1911, the dimensions of the petals in two flowers 
were as follows: 
Flower 1. Petal (1) 31 mm. x 21 mm. 
Petal (2) 25 mm. x 17 mm. 
Petal (3) 20 mm. x 12 mm. 
Petal (4) 22 mm. x 13 mm. 
In this flower the petals are very small and very unequal in 
size but all elliptical. 
Flower 2. Petal (1) 38 mm. x 39 mm. 
Petal (2) 37 mm. x 37 mm. 
Petal (3) 34 mm. x 36 mm. 
Petal (4) 35 mm. x 36 mm. 
In this flower the petals were nearly full size, nearly equal, and 
scarcely elliptical. 
The inheritance of this condition is on a sliding scale, plants 
with only broad petals giving some offspring with elliptical 
petals, and plants with elliptical petals giving some offspring 
having only broad petals, though in the latter case the plants 
bearing elliptical petals are more numerous than in the former 
case. Thus the F; family from a normal plant contained 14 
specimens having broad petals only and 15 having some ellipt- 
ical petals; while another F; family of 44 plants derived from a 
plant having elliptical petals contained only 5 plants having 
exclusively broad petals. These peculiarities of the petals are 
probably to a large extent under the control of environmental 
features such as temperature and water supply. 
The difference between broad and narrow leaves is much 
sharper. Thus in my Е, cultures in 1912 certain families contain 
