TERATOLOGY. MULTIPLICATION AND CHOKIZATION. 



315 



ing the stamens, e, and petals, p, becomes united to the axis, </, which 

 supports the ovary, o. In Capparidaceae (fig. 554), the calyx, c, and 

 petals, p, occupy their usual position, but the axis is prolonged in the 

 form of a gynophore, ag, to which the stamens, e, are united. Occa- 

 sionally, contiguous flowers may unite, giving rise to double fruits, as 

 is sometimes seen in Apples, Grapes, and Cucumbers. 



653. Multiplication, or an increase of the number of parts, gives rise 

 to changes in plants. It is often found, that in plants belonging to the 

 same natural order, the number of stamens in one is greater than that 

 in another, either in consequence of additional stamens being developed 

 in the verticil, or on account of the production of additional verticils. 

 The same thing is met with in the case of the other whorls, and is 

 well illustrated in the formation of the disk (If 428). Multiplication 

 causes a repetition of successive whorls, which still follow the law of 

 alternation. 



654. Parts of the flower are often increased by a process of dedupli- 

 cation, unlining, dilamination, or chorization, i.e. the separation of a 

 lamina from organs already formed (^[ 383). This is believed to take 

 place in a remarkable degree in the case of appendages to petals. 

 Thus, in Ranunculus, the petal (fig. 555) has a scale at its base, a, 

 which is looked upon as a mere fold of it. This fold may in some 



Fig. 553. Flower of Lychnis viscaria, one of the Caryophyllacese, cut lengthwise, to show the 

 relation of its different parts, c, Gamosepalous calyx, p, Petals with their elongated unguis or 

 claw, u , their limb, 1 1, and the appendages, a a, in the form of dilaminated scales of the petals. 

 e e, Stamens. Pistil consists of the ovary, o, and five styles, *. g, Prolongation of the axis in the 

 form of a gynophore, or anthophore bearing the petals, the stamens, and the pistil. 



Fig. 554. Flower of Gynandropsis palmipes, one of the Capparidacea. c, Calyx. p t Petals, 

 e, Stamens, a y, Gynophore or elongated internode or axis bearing the stamens, a </", Gyno- 

 phore or elongated internode bearing the pistil, of, Pistil composed of an ovary, o, a style and 

 a stigma, /. 



