PROLIFICATION OF THE FLOWER. 139 



interior of the flower, or from the inflorescence beneath 

 the flower. 



The accessory bud presents itself as a leaf-bud, a 

 branch, a flower-bud, or a miniature inflorescence; 

 it may be sessile, but is far more frequently stalked, 

 and in more than half the number of cases it is a flower- 

 bud or an inflorescence. There may be one or more 

 of these buds ; if two only, then thy are usually 

 placed directly opposite one to the other, on the 

 opposite sides of the flower. 



It will be seen, from the appended list, that the 

 orders and genera in which this description of adventi- 

 tious growth occurs most frequently are the following : 

 Cruciferce, especially the genus Brassica ; Caryo- 

 phyllacece, e. g. Dianthus ; Besedacece ; Leguminosce, 

 e. g. Melilotus, Trifolium, &c. ; Rosacece, e. g. Rosa, 

 Potentilla, &c. ; Umbelliferce^ and Gampanulacece. 

 For the most part, these are groups also peculiarly 

 liable to central prolification. 



All the parts of the flower may be thus affected ; 

 but, as might have been anticipated from the folia- 

 ceous nature of the sepals, the new bud usually 

 arises from within the axil of one of those organs. 

 Next in frequency to the calyx, the pistil is subjected 

 to this change the carpels in such a case being dis- 

 united and leaf-like. The petals rank next, and 

 lastly the stamens ; these latter, indeed, are usually, 

 but not invariably, absent, the new growth occupying 

 their position. Hence it may well be that when such 

 is the case, there is no real axillary prolification, but 

 rather the substitution of a bud for a stamen. Gene- 

 rally, how^ever, the position of the accessory bud is 

 such that it may properly be referred to the axil of 

 an undeveloped or rudimentary stamen. 



The largest number of instances of this malforma- 

 tion, not merely generically, but also individually, 

 occurs in plants the members of whose floral whorls 

 are not united one to the other ; thus, it is far more 

 common in polypetalous plants than in gamopctalous 



