;3.54 



PHILOSOrHirAL NOTES ON 



barren stamens, similar to the barren stamens of Trolins Europeeus, 

 only in this they are not faseiated and are exterior to tlie stamens, 

 while in the P. Moutan they are faseiated and interior to the 

 fertile stamens. 



The single P^onia Peregrina has no sheath, but in its stead, 

 surrounding the base of the earpels, there is a ring of bilobed 

 nipples, sometimes of a purjilish colour, sometimes white. These 

 evidently occupy the position of the sheath in the P. Montan, and 

 may be considered as either the rudiments or an abortion of the 

 sheath. 



I consider the pn^ony sheath to be the homologue of the 

 sfaminal tube of the J/ah'acea>, with this difference, that, in the 

 pa^ony, the anthers have aborted and the tube is much shorter. 



Now, is there any further evidence to prove that the Citrus 

 disk is a whorl of suppressed stamens, and the orange peel of a 

 similar nature ? I think there is. 



Risso and Poiteau, in their " Hist. Nat. des Grangers," 

 Tab. I., give some teratological sj)ecimens whicli just answer this 

 question. Two of them are given in Fig. 158. The authors say : 



Fijr. 158. Two ovaries with adherent stamens (Risso and Poiteau, Figs. 16 



and 18, Tab. I.) 



"La Fig. IG represente d'un cote un filet d'etamine (a) adherent 

 a I'ovaire, et un stigmate, et de I'autre cote, une etamine (b) tres 

 courte, dont le filet fort epaissi adhere longitudinalment a I'ovaire. 

 La partie de 1' etamine soudee a I'ovaire perd peu-a-peu sa couleur 

 blanche, pour prendre celle de I'ovaire, a mesure qu'elle s'identifie 

 avee cet organe, et se nourrit de ses sues," 



