TORRRYA 



NE',V V -?>K 



Vol. 20 No. 6 



November-December, 1920 



PELORIA IN VIOLA PRIMULAEFOLIA LINN. 



By L. R. Detjex 



Peloria in Viola is not a new phenomenon.' It was recorded 

 as early as 1775 when Leers* described his observations on plants 

 of Viola odorata. A few years later M. Colladon-Martinj 

 recorded a similar observation in Viola hirta. Both of these 

 violet species happen to be European forms. Apparently no 

 American species has ever been recorded producing this singular 

 phenomenon, notwithstanding the existing great wealth of 

 varieties and diversity of environmental conditions on the 

 American continent. 



Peloric flowers in Viola have been described as being of two 

 forms, viz., those that are complete in their transformation and 

 those that are incomplete, but as no mention was made of any 

 other teratological phenomena being correlated with the change 

 in the form of the flowers, we assume that those specimens that 

 were reported represent merely cases of simple peloria. 



An unusually interesting case of peloria was discovered in a 

 Viola prim III aefolia Linn, plant in 19 12 which not only produced 

 flowers with all of the various forms of peloria represented but in 

 addition and correlated with this phenomenon appeared a 

 radical change in the type of the flowers, viz., one of a general 

 reduction and a tendency toward a numerical uniformity in 

 the constituent parts of all of the floral whorls. The normal 

 violet flower, as is well known, consists essentially of five sepals, 

 five petals, a five stamen androecium and a three carpellary 

 pistil, while the flower of this newly discovered plant in its 

 extreme peloric form consists of a four-parted calyx, a four- 



* Flor. herborn., p. 145. 



tD. C. Organ, vegst., t. i, p. 519. pl- XLV. 

 [No. 5, \'ol. 20 of ToRREYA, comprising pp. 91-106, was issued 12 November, 1920.] 



107 



