RECEPTACLE. 457 
A shortened condition of the flower-stalks occurs 
occasionally, greatly altering the general character of 
the inflorescence. ‘This has been observed in _pelar- 
goniums and in the Chinese primrose, in both of which 
the effect was to replace the umbellate form of inflor- 
escence by a capitate one. 
Abortion of the receptacla—Here may be mentioned 
those cases of flowers with habitually inferior ovary 
(real or apparent), in which the receptacle fails, from 
some cause or other, to dilate as usual. This has 
already been alluded to under.the head of Prolification, 
Displacements, &c. (pp. 78, 130, &c., figs. 35—37, 64, 
&c.), and hence requires only incidental comment in 
this place. There are, however, certain other cases 
of a similar nature which may here be referred to; 
such as the abortive condition of the inferior ovary, 
or rather of the receptacle, that usually encircles the 
ovary in Composite and Umbellifere. In the former 
natural order the following plants have been met 
with in this condition: — *Tragopogon pratense !, 
*Cirsium arvense, Hypocheris radicata, Senecio vulgaris!, 
Coreopsis Drummondi. In the latter order, Daucus 
Carota! Cinanthe crocata! and Thysselinwm palustre, 
seem most frequently to have been observed in this 
state.. In some gourds the receptacle may be seen 
the following account of the formation of this peculiar growth :—“ In 
the autumn the parent aphis deposits her eggs at the base of the 
embryo leaves, within the bud destined to produce the shoots of the 
following year. When these begin to burst and expand in spring, the 
leaves, at whose bases the eggs have been deposited, instead of increas- 
ing in length, enlarge at the base, and form a cell or cyst whose mouth 
is at first closed by a red velvety-looking substance. If opened in this 
state a nest of small greenish aphides is distinctly visible, and at a 
certain period, or when they have acquired maturity, which is towards 
the end of the summer, the mouth of the cell opens and the insects fly 
off to inflict a similar injury upon the nascent buds of the year. In 
some instances the leaves of only a portion of the circumference of a 
shoot are affected, in which case, though a slight distortion may take 
place, the branch is not prevented from elongating; but in others, 
where the whole of the leaves around the shoot are converted into 
nidi, elongation is prevented and distortion to a great extent takes 
lace.” 
: 1 See Cramer, ‘ Bildungsabweich.,’ pp. 53, 64, for further references, 
