63 
over a curved red line running downward from the top of the 
little lobe (formed by the notch) and ending in a shallow 
groove. In both flowers there is a crack to be seen just between 
the sepals in question. From this we gather that a portion of 
a divided petal adheres to each of the margins. 
The same phenomenon is seen in a tetramerous specimen. 
Also in this case there is a petal short. In this flower the 
incompleteness of the tetramery goes still a step further since 
the two sepals flanking the open space correspond to only one 
cell of the three-celled ovary. 
Sisyrinchium latifolium Sw. 
Habitat Japan. 
Coll. July 1895. 
A normal flower with four stigmas. 
MARANTACEAK. 
Canna spec. et varietates diversae. 
Coll. Aug. 1894, Sept. 1894, Oct. 1894, June 1895, July 1898, 
Nov. 1895, June 1898. 
A. FLOWERS. 
In order to facilitate a survey of the numerous aberrations 
observed in the flowers of Canna and at the same time to 
make clear the significance of many of these aberrations it is 
necessary first to give a brief description of the flower and to 
state that we follow Ercuter’s hypothesis as expressed by this 
authority in fig. 51). The flower has 3 very short sepals, 3 much 
longer petals, next 3 or 4 petaloid organs, 1 stamen and 1 pistil 
of which the style is petaloid and somewhat slanting and stunted. 
Of the 3—4 petaloid parts the biggest is called /abellum, the 
others alae. Eicuter indicates the alae with @ and /, if there 
are two; the third is by him called y and in his diagram takes 
1) As is well known, E1curer in his »Blithendiagramme” I, p. 174, offers two 
different explanations of the flower of Canna, without expressing preference for either. 
We intend to account further on for our preferring his first explanation, as we have 
already done in Ned. Kruidk. Archief 1902. Fig. 6 represents his second explanation. 
