Taxonomic Anomalies 685 



Cleft leaves, one of the most general anomalies, 

 are typical in Boehmeria biloba. The adnation 

 of the peduncles of the inflorescences to the 

 stem is typical in Solanum and accidental in 

 many other cases. 



It seems quite superfluous to add further 

 proof. It is a very general phenomenon that 

 specific characters occur in other genera as 

 anomalies, and under such circumstances that 

 the idea of a slow evolution on the ground of 

 utility is absolutely excluded. No other ex- 

 planation remains than that of a sudden muta- 

 tion, and once granted for the abnormal cases, 

 this explanation must obviously likewise be 

 granted for the analogous specific characters. 



Our whole discussion shows that mutations, 

 once observed in definite instances, afford the 

 most probable basis for the explanation of spe- 

 cific characters at large. 



