PROLIFICATION OF THE FLOWER. 14] 
glandular swellings, e.g. feseda, Nymphea, Crucifere. 
In the last- named family, as has been already 
remarked, prolification is very common. It would 
be interesting to ascertain precisely what part of an 
inflorescence is most lable to this affection; but as 
information on this point is but rarely given in the 
records of these cases, | can only give the results. of 
my own observations, which go to show that, in a 
many-flowered inflorescence, those flowers at the 
outside, or at the lower portion, seem to be more 
frequently the subjects of this change than those 
situated elsewhere. This may probably be accounted 
for by the fact that the malformation is met with 
most generally in plants with an indefinite form of 
inflorescence, and therefore the lowermost or outer- 
most flowers are most fully nourished; the upper 
flowers being in a less advanced condition, the 
change 1s more likely to be overlooked in them; or 
it may be that from the unusual luxuriance in the 
lower flowers, the upper ones may be either present 
in their ordinary condition, or may be (as indeed 
frequently happens) stunted in the size and propor- 
tion of their several parts. 
Axillary foliar prolification of the flower—The formation 
of an adventitious leaf-bud in the axil of any of the 
parts of the flower is not of such common. occurrence 
as the development of a flower-bud in similar situations, 
nor is it so frequent as median fohar prolification. I 
have seen leafy shoots proceeding from the axils of the 
sepals in the flowers of Brassica, and a similar occur- 
rence has been noticed in Caltha palustris, Herreria 
parviflora, and other plants. Dr. Marchand’s flowers 
of Anagallis, previously referred to at p. 117, showed 
good illustrations of this occurrence, as also some 
specimens described by Kirschleger in A. phenicea.' 
Steinheil has figured and described’ a flower of Scabiosa 
' * Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr.,’ 1863, vol. x, p. 461. 
2 «Ann. Sc. Nat.,’ 1835, p- 65. See ates Le Maout, ‘ Lecons Element.,’ 
yol. ii, p. 426. 
