NOTE ON DOUBLE FLOWERS OF RANUNCULUS FICARIA, ETC. 159 
apex, the direction of the curvature being the same in both ovules, 
& 
thus one ovule looked towards the midrib, the other towards one margin 
of the carpel, and consisted each of a tubular outer coating of cellular 
tissue, but traversed, as before said, by a bundle of vascular tissue. 
This outer coating (primine?) was open at the summit to allow of 
the passage of the secundine and nucleus which appeared under the 
form of a little semiglobular knob protruding from the orifice of the 
primine or as a slightly curved process, the indications of the ordi- 
narily anatropous ovule. 
In this instance, then, the ovules did not originate from the margins 
of the leaf, nor from a prolonged axis, but they seemed to spring, iu 
the guise of little buds, from the inner surface of the carpellary leaf. 
The production of two ovules seems noteworthy, as one only is 
found under ordinary circumstances ; and Payer, when writing on the 
development of the flowers in Ranunculacea in his ' Organogenic Vege* 
tale,' makes no mention of bi-ovulate carpels in this family, but speaks 
of them all as 1- or pluri- ovulate. 
Teratology unfortunately affords little help at present as to the 
right understanding of the morphology of the ovule and of its coats. 
In truth, the evidence as to the structure of the ovule is very conflict- 
ing, not only in the case of admitted malformation, but also in regular 
formations. The ovules above described closely resembled in form and 
position those of the monstrous White Clover described by Cas- 
paiy, Schrift. d. Physik. (Ek. Gesells. zu Konigsberg, band ii. p. 51. 
t. 2 et 3. 
Unisexual Kanfnculacej2. 
Some of the Ranunculacea constantly exhibit a tendency towards the 
dioecious condition, and the rarity with which perfect seeds of Ranun- 
culus Ficaria are formed is to be attributed in great measure to the 
deficiency of pollen in the anthers of these flowers. Ranunculus auri- 
comus also is frequently sterile, but I am not aware that Ranunculus 
folbosus has been recorded with unisexual flowers. I met recently 
wi *h a luxuriant plant of this species, in which every flower was far- 
wished with carpels, most of which had evidently been fertilized, 
although there were no perfect stamens in the flowers. 
n 2 
