FASCIATION 45 



Schrenk, H. von, ' Intumescences formed as a Result of 

 Chemical Stimulation,' Sixteenth Ann. Rep. Missouri Bot. 

 Gard., p. 125 (1905). 



Sorauer, P., ' Intumescenzen bei Solanum floribundum,' 

 Zeit. fiir Pflanzenkr. , 7 , p. 122 (1897). 



Sorauer, P., 'Intumescenz an BYittern,' Zeit./i/r Pflanzenkr., 

 8, p. 291 (1898). 



Sorauer, P., ' Uber Intumescenzen,' Per. d. deutsch. Bot. 

 Ges., 17, p. 456 (1899). 



Sorauer, P., 'Intumescenzen an Bluten,' Ber. d. deutsch. 

 Bot. Ges., 19, p. 115 (1900). 



Viala, P., and Pacottet, P., ' Sur les verrues des feuilles de 

 la vigne,' Comp. Rend., 138, p. 163 (1904). 



FASCIATION 



Popular names for this abnormal method of growth are 

 ' sports,' ' freaks,' ' monstrosities,' etc., all implying the fusion 

 or cohesion of stems or flowers which under normal conditions 

 would have remained distinct. I am quite well aware that 

 such terms as normal and abnormal are considered as out of 

 date, nevertheless I think they make clear the idea I wish to 

 convey. The following account is mainly after Worsdell, 

 who has for many years paid special attention to this subject. 

 The primary cause of fasciation remains to be discovered ; 

 in the majority of instances it is induced or favoured by a 

 superabundance of food which in some way disturbs the 

 equilibrium of the plant. On the other hand, it is by no 

 means unusual to meet with fasciation of a single branch or 

 flower of a plant, having all its other parts perfectly normal, 

 thus proving that excess of food alone will not account for 

 the phenomenon. Fasciation includes two distinct sets of 

 phenomena (1) the fusion of organs or tissues that were 

 once distinct; (2) the branching of an organ or tissue which 

 is primarily a unity. Fusion again is of two kinds, which it is 

 most important to clearly grasp. (1) Postgenital, real or 

 mechanical fusion ; (2) congenital, or ideal fusion. 



Postgenital fusion includes most of the sports or mon- 

 strosities with which we are most familiar, the commonest 

 type being a flattening of the stem or peduncle, in which it is 

 obvious that it consists of a number of structures grown 

 together, which, under usual conditions, would have been 



