Re EE ee en eS ENE or TE eee ee ee ee Ce ET eS 
1892.] Relations of Fall to Spring Blossoming Plants. 5 
the flowering stem which has developed into a corm. Re- 
moving the scales this corm is seen to give form to the bulb 
(fig. 6.) Along the middle of the flattened face there is seen 
to be a broad groove, and at its base there has been devel- 
oped a sort of lobe. To this lobe is attached a bud (fig. 8), 
which is really in the axil of the inner of the two withered 
sheathing scales just removed. If at a sufficiently advanced 
stage of development the thin cuticle at the base of this bud 
be removed it will be found to completely cover a large bundle 
of little roots, many of them already 3 mm. long (fig. 9), 
ready to take the place of the old roots when their work is 
done (fig. 5.) A reference to the figures will show that by a 
‘more rapid development of the tissues just above the roots 
on the non-attached side of the bud, this bundle of roots be- 
comes central in the oblique base of the future bulb (figs. 5, 7.) 
The first scale is a closed sheath (fig. 9.) The second scale 
is a sheath only at its base, but the sheathing portion elon- 
gates considerably during subsequent growth (fig. 10.) The 
first leaf is also slightly sheathing at the base (fig. 11), and 
the second leaf is not sheathed at all (fig. 12.) In the plant 
figured the floral envelopes, the stamens, ovary and styles are 
all already considerably developed (fig. 13.) It will be noticed 
that a small internode exists bétween the second scale and the 
first leaf (a, figs. 11, 12, 13.) When the plant begins to flower 
in the fall the bud pushes its way along the afore-mentioned 
groove (fig. 8), and up between the withered sheathing scales 
to the air. This is mainly caused by the growth of the scales 
of the bud (figs. 9, 10) of the perianth tube, and of the styles 
until the next spring. At this. time the internode between 
the second scale and the first leaf (a, figs. 11, 12, 13) develops 
rapidly and carrics both the leaves and the fruiting ovary out 
into the open air, thus solving the question of the proper win- 
tering of the fruit. he nondevelopment of the leaves and 
fruit until the year following the flowering season is cer- / 
tainly not acharacter such as might be expected from summer 
flowering plants turning gradually into autumn or spring flow- 
ering ones. However, the. appearance of the flowers before 
the leaves is readily intelligible if the reverse change from a 
spring to a fall blossomer be supposed, since this is not at all 
an uncommon occurrence in spring flowering plants, and such 
_ a forced development of the flower buds before the lower 
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