318 nETEROMORPHY. 



M. Moquin-Tandon^ alludes to a case of this kind in a 

 species of pine {Phms)y in which a branch ended in 

 four unequal divisions, which were strongly curved 

 from without inwards, then became united in pairs, 

 these latter in their turn blending into a single mass. 



In the case of some beeches growing in the forest 

 of Verzy, near Rheims, the trunks of the trees are con- 

 torted in every direction, and, at a height of from 

 fifteen to twenty feet, a number of branches are also 

 given off, also much contorted, and occasionally inter- 

 grafted, so that it seems as if a heavy weight had 

 been placed on the trees and literally flattened them. 

 Similar malformations may occasionally be met with 

 in the branches of the oak, and commonly in the weep- 

 ing ash. 



M. Fournier'^ mentions the stems of Buscus aculeatus 

 rolled in a circle, others twisted spirally. 



The phenomenon is not confined to woody plants, 

 but has been met with in chicory, in Antirrhinum, and 

 other herbaceous species. 



It is very difficult in some cases to separate these 

 instances of irregidar torsion from those in which the 

 twisting takes place in a more or less regular spiral 

 direction. In the former case the fibres of the plant 

 are only indirectly involved, but in the latter the 

 fibres themselves are coiled spirally from right to left, 

 or vice versa (spiral torsion), while not unfrequently 

 both conditions may be met with at the same time. 



The leaves also are subject to similar deformities, 

 of which a notable illustration has been recorded in 

 the case of the date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, origi- 

 nally observed by Goethe, and figured and described by 

 Jaeger ;^ the leaves are folded and twisted in every 

 direction, in consequence of the fibrous band or cord 

 which surrounds the leaves, and which generally breaks 



' Bull. Soc. Bot. France,' t. vii, 1860, p. 877. 



2 Ibid., t. iv, 1857, p. 759. 



' Jaeger, " De monstrosa folii PJicenicis dactylifera: conformatione a 

 Goetheo olim observata," ' Act. Acad. Loop. Car. Nat. Cur.,' vol. xvii, 

 suppl., p. 293, c. tab. color, iv. 



