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striking phenomenon occurred that the evidently exhausted 
plant had no power to produce a single flower. In 1894 
again a peduncle appeared, but only one. The reason why 
during my stay I examined the flower of this. Orchid was 
owing to the circumstance that the lowermost flowers of an 
inflorescence are always abnormally constructed, viz. that they 
show the number 4 as against the ordinary number 6 pre- 
sented by the topmost flowers , which are much more numerous '). 
Here we have an instance of an abnormity which occurs regu- 
larly and might consequently be called normal. When closely 
inspected the tetramery of the lower flowers, turned out to 
be the result of the cohesion of the two lateral sepals and 
concomitant supression of the labellum. 
In fact in the tetramerous flowers the inferior sepal is double 
while the last vestiges of the labellum can be gathered from 
the course of the vascular bundles. The gynostemium of 
tetramerous flowers is in so far defective that it is without 
function; the ovary, indeed, is often empty and at all events 
very poorly provided with ovula. But the circumstance that 
makes the ovary especially interesting, is the presence of 
appendages, which can only be (rudimentary) stamens. This 
fact is significant because according to the prevailing opinion 
of naturalists the gynostemium of normal Orchids is the sum 
of no less than 4 stamens and 3 styles, which have comple- 
tely coalesced and are unrecognizable as such. It may therefore 
be regarded as a confirmation of the theory of the gynoste- 
mium that in tetramerous flowers the supposed parts — though, 
imperfect — present themselves in the right places. Only after 
this explanation the statement, that also in 1894 the inferior 
part of the peduncle showed tetramerous flowers, is of some 
value. Of these flowers I had four sent to me from India. 
An examination of them showed that two were normal as 
such, the third one had a very defective thread-like gynoste- 
1) The results of the investigation mentioned above are to ke found in the Bo- 
tanisch Jaarboek, edited by Dodonaea, Gent, 1894, p. 24. 
