464 



ABORTION OP THE 



atrophied, and distorted, and contained little or no 

 pollen ; the few grains of the latter being smaller than 

 usual. (See under Heterogamy, pp. 193 196, and 

 p. 898.) 



Abortion of the pistil, fmit, &c. Traces of the carpels 

 occur in many male flowers of unisexual plants, e. g. 

 SterculiacecB, Euphorhiacece, Bestiacece, &c. &c., and in 

 some natural orders there appears to be a tendency 

 towards a dioecious condition, e. g. Caryophyllece, as in 

 Li/chnis dioica, SUene otites^ Arenaria tetraquetra^ &c. 

 The last-named plant is stated to have, in some cases, 

 imperfect pistils; in others, rudimentary stamens; 

 wbile a third set of flowers are hermaphrodite.^ The 

 ovary of aconites, according to Moquin, is very subject 

 to atrophy. 



Fig. 218. Bladder plum. 



During the maturation of the pistil, and its passage 

 to the fruit, great changes of consistence frequently 



Gay, ' Ann. Sc. Nat.,' ser. i, 1824, t. iii, p. 44. 



