FISSION OF PETALS, ETC. 67 



been mentioned as taking place in the leaves. This, 

 indeed, occurs very often as a normal occurrence as in 

 the petals of mignonette (Reseda), or those of Alsine 

 media and many other plants. Here, however, we have 

 only to allude to those instances in which the cleavage 

 occurs in flowers whose sepals or petals are usually 

 entire. Under this category Moquin mentions a petal 

 of Brassica oleracea completely spht into two. Linne 

 in his * Flora Lapponica' (pp. 145 and 164) mentions 

 quadi'ifid petals of Lychnis dioica, and much divided 

 petals of Bubus arcticiis. Among other plants subject 

 to this di^asion of sepals or petals may be mentioned 

 as having come within the writer's personal observa- 

 tion, Banunculus Lingua, B. acris, Papaver sonmiferum, 

 and others of this genus, Saponaria sp. DianthtiSf 

 Narcissus, &c. 



In some of the garden varieties of Cyclamen the 

 corolla looks at first sight as if double, and the plan 

 of the flower is oblong or elliptical, instead, of circular. 

 In these flowers each lobe of the corolla is divided 

 almost to the base into two lobes, so that there appear 

 to be ten lobes to the corolla instead of five, as usual. 

 The stamens are normal in form and number in these 

 flowers. 



In the paroquet tulips of gardeners the segments of 

 the perianth are deeply and irregularly gashed, the 

 segments occasionally becoming rolled up and their 

 margins coherent so as to form little tubular spurs. I 

 have also noticed the segments of the perianth in Crocics 

 and Colchicum deeply cleft, so much so sometimes, as 

 to equal in this particular the stigmas. In the flowers 

 of a species of Oncidiiim, communicated to me by Mr. 

 Currey, the hp was divided into three segments per- 

 fectly distinct one from the other, but confluent with 

 the column ; the two side pieces had callosities at the 

 upper edge close to the base, the central piece had a 

 similar wartlike process in its centre. In these flowers 

 the ovary, the stigma, and the anther were all in a 

 rudimentary condition. Some verbenas raised by Mr. 



