Half Races and Half Curves. 33 



less numerous green bracts on the lower parts of the 

 spikes. The well-known Plantago major rosea of our 

 gardens, all of the bracts of which are green and fairly 

 large, constitutes the complementary, and constant, e\cr- 

 sporting variety. Besides Papaver soninifennn polyccpli- 

 aliim (Vol. I, Figs. 27-28, pp. 138-139) which is to be 

 regarded as an eversporting variety, there are polyceph- 

 alous half races of P. coimnutatum and several other spe- 

 cies which in my cultures behave in quite a different man- 

 ner from the former, in response to selection. Besides 

 the favorite Varictates crisfafae of our cultivated ferns 

 we occasionally find, in nature, wild species with a split 

 leaf. Cclosia cristata, the cockscomb, is an exceedingly 

 interesting eversporting variety,-^ besides which fasciated 

 half races in numerous other genera are known. ^ But 

 I must refrain from the citation of further instances. 



Just as a species can as a rule be distinguished from 

 its nearest allies by two or several characters, so a half 

 race can manifest as semi-latent anomalies two or more 

 characters which are latent in the species in question. 

 Nor is this by any means rare. In the case of characters 

 which deviate in the opposite direction from the type of 

 the species, ''double half-curves" may be formed which 

 have two unequal flanks. The number of petals of 

 Hypericum perforatum varies in this way, in this neigh- 

 borhood, round a mean of 5 ; on the one side going fre- 

 quently to 4 and rarely to 3, and on the other side rarely 

 to 6. The corolla of Campanula rotund i folia often varies 

 from 5 to 6 and 7, and rarely from 5 to 4 and 3.^ 



^ See the second part of this volume. 



^ Botanisch Jaarbock, Gent, i<S94, p. 72. 



" See also Bcr. d. d. hot. Gcs., Vol. XIT, 1894, P- 202, where further 

 examples will be found. 



