GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



113 



stamens and floral envelopes ; so also in the genus Gynandrop- 

 sis (Fig. 18), which belongs to the caper family, the stami- 



Fig. 18. 



V \<S^ d 

 Fig. 17. 



nate leaves marked s are separated from those of the corolla c, 

 by the development of the internode or naked interval of stem 

 between them ; and the pistil p is also separated from the sta- 

 mens by the development of another internode, and supported, 

 as it were, on a little stalk or pedicel. Usually, however, the 

 floral internodes remain undeveloped, and therefore such 

 appearances of the whorls may be justly regarded as an ab- 

 normal condition of things. Aberrant forms .and monstrosi- 

 ties, whether in the vegetable or in the animal world, are 

 always exceedingly instructive, and furnish rich materials 

 towards cultivating and expanding our knowledge of the regu- 

 larly developing organism. 



