314 Miscellaneous. 



peduncle pushed out almost down to the lower axil. This was 

 especially the case in some egg-plants, wherein the leaf-axil, the 

 axillary bud, and the bnd producing the flower-peduncle were 

 close together- in a direct line, as in Oymnodadus, before noted. 

 The point to which he wished the particular attention of the mem- 

 bers was that this internodular flower-bud really belonged to the 

 system of buds apparently originating at the node below. 



He then showed that the flowering character of Solanum had a 

 numerical law of its own. Every third node produced a flower- 

 spike or cluster. The node next following the flower had barely 

 the rudiment of an axillary bud ; the second one had a stronger 

 bud ; the third had a bud which in the tomato and egg-plant pushed 

 again into axillary growth, and had the extra bud beyond, before 

 noted, the flowering one. Other solanaceous plants had similar 

 characters, which, unless we remembered what we had learned in 

 these common Solanums, we might not understand. For instance, 

 in Nycterium violaceum the two nodes between the flowering one 

 approached very close together, so as to appear nearly opposite, but 

 still one axillary bud stronger than the other. In Datura all three 

 nodes approached and formed a sort of fascicle with the flower pro- 

 ceeding from the irregular centre of the mass. 



He now exhibited some specimens of the common poke-weed 

 (Phytolacca decandra), and showed that the inflorescence was exactly 

 on the same law. The flower-raceme only appeared at every third 

 node, and sometimes was as much as a quarter of an inch above the 

 node. It was directly in a line with the lower bud, as in the cases 

 of Gymnocladus, Lwiicera, Solanum, &c. ; and there was no difficulty 

 in assuming that the flower-spike had really belonged to the lower 

 system, just as in the other cases. The ratio of vigour in the axil- 

 lary buds was just the same. The leaf opposite to or near by the 

 raceme had scarcely any axillary bud, the next stronger, the next 

 strong enough to push into a secondary axillary growth, and then 

 the flower above this. In this we saw Phytolacca to have the same 

 characters as Solanaceous plants. The seeds of Phytolacca were of 

 very similar structure to Solanum ; and it had many other characters 

 in common. He was not prepared to speak positively without fur- 

 ther investigation, but thought it quite likely, in spite of the hypo- 

 gynous flower, Phytolacca would be found more nearly related to 

 Solanaceae than to Chenopodiaceae, near which it was now placed. 



He then exhibited some shoots of grape-vine, and said that Dr. 

 Engelmann had pointed out, when at the Academy last year, that 

 there was some numei'ical order in the tendrils of grape-vines. In 

 the specimen he exhibited every third node had no tendril ; but he 

 had seen some grape-vines in which as many as eight nodes with 

 tendrils had followed one another. In the mature wood, however, 

 those without tendrils perfected the strongest buds. But he had 

 found in the allied genus Ampelopsis a nearly regular system of buds 

 and tendrils. In A. hederacea, the common Virginia or five-fingered 

 creeper, the strong shoots running up a wall or tree had at every 

 third node a strong axillary bud, ivithmt any tendril, while the two 



