144 



ALTERATION OF POSITION. 



female below and male, above, others, again, wholly 

 male. 



Various changes in the form and arrangement of 



Fig. 65. Flower of Nymplujea Lotus, var., showing axillary floral pro- 

 lification. The section also shows the tuft of leaves that occupied the 

 place of the ovary. 



the several floral whorls accompany axillary prolifica- 

 tion ; some of these affect the particular organ or 

 organs implicated, and these only, while in other cases 

 some other parts of the flower likewise undergo modi- 

 fication. The changes most commonly met with are 

 such as may be classed under Goethe's theory of re- 

 trograde metamorphosis ; for instance, if a supplemen- 

 tary bud be developed in the axil of a sepal, that sepal 

 is likely to be more than ordinarily leaf-like in appear- 

 ance. The dislocation of the affected sepal from its 

 fellows is a very frequent occurrence ; in cases of this 



