108 ALTKRATION OF POSITION. 



it is a normal and constant occurrence, while in other 

 cases, such as Filago germanicay usually described as 



Fig. 53. Lateral prolification in inflorescence of Pelargonium. 



proliferous, there is not, strictly speaking, any prolifi- 

 cation, for the branching of the stalk takes place below 

 the inflorescence, and the branches originate from the 

 axils of ordinary leaves, not from the floral leaves or 

 bracts. Convolvulus Sepiiim is very commonly subject 

 to the production of flower-buds from the axils of the 

 floral leaves. The several species of Plantain {Plantago) 

 seem very liable to this and similar changes. Schlech- 

 tendar gives a summary of the various kinds of malfor- 

 mation affecting the inflorescence in Plantago, and 

 divides them into five groups, as follows: lst,bracteate, 

 wherein the inferior bracts are quite leaf-like, as is 

 frequently seen in Plantago major. 2nd, roseate ; bracts 

 leafy in tufts or rosettes, without flowers, as in the 

 so-called rose plantain, common in old-fashioned 

 gardens in this country. 3rd, polystachyate ; spike- 

 branched, bearing other spikes in the axils of the bracts, 

 as in P. lanceolata, P. mantima, &c. 4th, proliferous, 

 where the flower-stalk bears a rosette, a spike, or a 



' * Bot. Zeit.; 1857, p. 873. Soc also ' Verhandl. Nat. Hist. VereinB. 

 Preuss. Rheinl. w. Westphal.,' 185*, t. ix. 



