CONTORTION. 317 



with an oblique form of the leaf. This state is some- 

 times present to an extreme degree, as in some varieties 

 of shrubs (CratceguSf Bobiniay &c.) cultivated for their 

 singularly tortuous branches. 



Fia. 170. Portion of the culm Fig. 171. Portion of a branch of 



of a Juncus, bent iiTegularly. Cratcegua oxyacantlia, var. tortuosa. 



Such cases as those just mentioned, however, are 

 but sHghtly irregular compared to others in which the 

 deformity exists to such an extent that the traces of 

 the ordinary mode of growth are almost obliterated. 



