THE INDIVIDUALITY OF THE BEAN POD 
AS COMPARED WITH THAT OF 
THE BEAN PLANT 
By HELENE M. Boas 
The New York Botanical Garden 
This paper is a preliminary report on some experiments bearing 
on the question to what extent parts of a plant, apparently alike, 
may possess an individuality similar to that of individual plants. 
It is a well-known fact that organs that are homologous may 
be differentiated from one another. For example, the first pair of 
leaves of the bean are, as a rule, simple, those following are com- 
pound. The foliage leaves of reproductive parts are commonly 
different in shape, size, and other characters from those of vege- 
tative parts. In the composites the outer flowers of a head may be 
of quite a different type from the inner and often the fruits pro- 
duced by them are morphologically distinct. 
Many instances could be cited in which lateral organs have been 
found to differ from terminal organs in the number or shape of 
their parts. It will be sufficient here to mention the fact that the 
number of flowers in the inflorescences of Compositae and Umbel- 
liferae, and the number of stamens and carpels and other floral 
parts in other forms, have been found to exhibit differences ac- 
cording to their position on the plant. Flowers have been found 
to differ in size, whether produced early or late in the season; as, 
for example, in tobacco, and in the composites it is a common 
observation that flower number of the heads decreases with the 
advance of the season. 
Often, however, the differentiations are not of sufficient mag- 
nitude to be readily detected and we are then inclined to speak of 
variations. In such instances a detailed study frequently shows 
organs apparently alike to be different. The differences may be 
slight, but regular and significant. In other words, homologous 
parts may show individuality, comparable to the individuality 
shown by entire plants. 
207 
