4 
1° one metaschematic flower of Alpinia calearata Rxb. (May 
1906). * 
2° a number of flowers of Zingiber amaricans Bl., cultivated 
in the ,hortus Musei economici” at Buitenzorg, February and 
March 1917. 
I, Alpinia calcarata Bl. 
The flower is metaschematic (paired sepals in front, unpaired 
sepal backward). In accordance with this the labellum has 
removed to the back splitting up into its supposed elements: 
two fertile stamens and one toothlike small staminode between 
them, by which circumstance the style has lost its support. 
The whole gives the same impression as that of the case which 
as early as 1911 we cleared up by a figure of Z. Schumanniana ’). 
Il. Zingiber amaricans Bl. 
a) Flower metaschematic (fig. 1): lip split up into two fertile 
stamens and an antisepalous staminode. The latter has the shape 
of an oval peta just as the staminodes which in normal flowers 
flank the solitary stamen, whilst the stamen now standing in 
front and petalized takes the shape of a protruded tongue. 
6) Another flower shows in front a normal lip, but the stamen 
at the back is flanked by two staminodes which posses two 
appendages each containing pollen. These appendages are paired 
and spring from the base of the petal-like staminodes. (fig. 2). 
T am very much inclined to look upon this phenomenon as a 
reversion and to suppose that it shows the way in which the 
original stamens have passed to staminodes. 
In confirmation of this view I call to mind that according 
to my investigation into the flower of Canna the only real 
stamen (which laterally coheres with the ,coupler”)2) has in 
different species —- the so called tri-alatae — a staminode (ala) 
1) 2e Série, Vol. IX, Pl, XX. 
2) The ,coupler” links the stamen and the style and presses the former to the 
latter thus causing a complete deposit of the pollen on the style. Stamen and 
,coupler” are in their origin quite independant of one another. This publication, 
2e Série Vol. XIV, p. 165, Vol. XV, p. 59. Recueil des travaux bot. néerlandais, 
Vol. XVII, p. 26, | 
