542 Mutations 



also being partly united with one another, and 

 laterally with the summit of the style, but with- 

 out detriment to their function. 



Young seedlings of lata may be recognized by 

 the very first leaves. They have a nearly or- 

 bicular shape and are very sharply set olf 

 against their stalk. The surface is very un- 

 even, with convexities and concavities on both 

 sides. This difference is lessened in the later 

 leaves, but remains visible throughout the whole 

 life of the plant, even during the flowering sea- 

 son. Broad, sinuate leaves with rounded tips 

 are a sure mark of 0. lata. On the smnmits of 

 the stems and branches they are crowded so as 

 to form rosettes. 



Concerning inheritance of these characteris- 

 tics nothing can be directly asserted because of 

 the lack of pollen. The new type can only.be 

 perpetuated by crosses, either with the parent- 

 form or some other mutant. I have fertilized 

 it, as a rule, with lamarckiana pollen, but have 

 often also used that from nanella and others. In 

 doing so, the lata repeats its character in part of 

 its offspring. This part seems to be independ- 

 ent of the nature of the pollen used, but is very 

 variable according to external circumstances. 

 On the average one-fourth of the offspring be- 

 come lata^ the others assuming the type of the 

 pollen-parent, if this was a lamarckiana or 



