FISSION OF PETALS, ELC. 67 
been mentioned as taking place in the leaves. This, 
indeed, occurs very often as a normal occurrence as in 
the petals of mignonette (Jteseda), or those of Alsine 
media and many other plants. Here, however, we have 
only to allude to those instances in which the cleavage 
occurs in flowers whose sepals or petals are usually 
entire. Under this category Moquin mentions a petal 
of Brassica oleracea completely split into two. Linné 
im his ‘Flora Lapponica’ (pp. 145 and 164) mentions 
quadrifid petals of Lychnis dioica, and much. divided 
petals of Rubus arcticus. Among other plants subject 
to this division of sepals or petals may be mentioned 
as having come within the writer’s personal observa- 
tion, Ranunculus Lingua, R. acris, Papaver sommiferum, 
and others of this genus, Suponaria sp. Dianthus, 
Narcissus, &c. 
In some of the garden varieties of Cyclamen the 
corolla looks at first sight as if double, and the plan 
of the flower is oblong or elliptical, instead of circular. 
In these flowers each lobe of the corolla is divided 
almost to the base into two lobes, so that there appear 
to be ten lobes to the corolla imstead of five, as usual. 
The stamens are normal in form and number in these 
flowers. 
In the paroquet tulips of gardeners the segments of 
the perianth are deeply and irregularly gashed, the 
segments occasionally becoming rolled up and their 
margins coherent so as to form little tubular spurs. I 
have also noticed the segments of the perianth in Crocus 
and Colchicum deeply cleft, so much so sometimes, as 
to equal in this particular the stigmas. In the flowers 
of a species of Oncidiwm, communicated to me by Mr. 
Currey, the lip was divided into three segments per- 
fectly distinct one from the other, but confluent with 
the column; the two side pieces had callosities at the 
upper edge close to the base, the central piece had a 
similar wartlike process in its centre. In these flowers 
the ovary, the stigma, and the anther were all in a 
rudimentary condition. Some verbenas raised by Mr. 
