134 ALTERATION OF POSITION. 



surrounding an umbel of five rays, each terminated 

 by a small normally constituted flower-bud. 



The ovules of a prolitied flower are either unaffected, 

 or they occur in a rudimentary form, or, lastly, they 

 may be present in the guise of small leaves. 



Under the term prolification of the fruit two or 

 three distinct kinds of malformation appear to have 

 been included. The term seems usually to be applied 

 to those cases where from the centre of one fruit a 

 branch bearing leaves, flowers, or another fruit, is 

 seen to project, as happens occasionally in pears. 

 Now, in many instances, not only the fruit, is re- 

 peated, but also the outer portions of the flower, 

 which wither and fall away as the adventitious fruit 

 ripens ; so that at length the phenomenon of one 

 fruit projecting from another is produced. It is 

 obvious that this form of prolification in no wise 

 differs from ordinary central prolification. Some- 

 times some of the whorls of the adventitious flower 

 are suppressed; thus, M. Duchartre describes some 

 orange blossoms as presenting alternating series of 

 stamens and pistils one above another, while the 

 calyces and corollas belonging to each series of stamens 

 and pistils were entirely suppressed.^ In other cases, 

 doubtless, the carpellary whorl is alone repeated, the 

 other whorls of the adventitious flower being com- 

 pletely absent. 



Another condition, apparently sometimes mistaken 

 for prolification of the fruit, is that in which the car- 

 pellary whorl becomes multiplied ; so that there is a 

 second or even a third series within the outer whorl 

 of carpels. If the axis be at all prolonged, then these 

 whorls are separated one from the other, and produce 

 in this way an appearance of prolification. This 

 happens frequently in oranges, as in the variety called 

 Mellarose.' 



' Ann. Sc. Nat..' 1844, vol. i. p. 297. 



- Maont. ' Ije^ons Eloinentaires de Botanique.' vol. ii, p. 488 ; Ferrari. 

 Hespcndes.' pis. 271. 315. 405. 



