166 



two, but not seldom three, four, or five in number. In most 

 instances but one matures. In these trees the petals are much 

 reduced. In unbudded trees, which bear flowers having well 

 developed petals, I have not observed this deformity. 



3. Syncarpy. — Two flat, disc-like fruits of summer squash 

 were united at the edges for the distance of about two inches, 

 and thence by a narrow process running to the base. The two 

 fruits were fully grown, and of equal size. 



Syncarpy also occurs in the peach, but is confined, so far as I 

 have observed, to the fusion of but two carpels. The sarco- 

 carps are only imperfectly fused, being more or less separated 

 by epidermis, although the general outline may be regular. The 

 two putamens are united by their margins below, and are 

 separate and divergent above. The seeds and seed-cavities are 

 unconnected. This also has been observed only in budded fruit. 



4. Floi'al Deformations in Lepidiiim Menziesii. — In each of 

 two specimens of this plant, collected in the San Bernardino 

 Mountains, the following deformations were present : 



Some short branches terminated in naked condensed clusters 

 of imperfect flowers, resembling minute cauliflower heads. 



Other stems bore more diffuse clusters of fewer flowers, which 

 were composed of organs resembling the filaments of stamens, 

 destitute of anthers. These were white in color, indefinite in 

 number, but mostly more numerous than the sum of the 

 members of a perfect flower. Some were naked ; others had 

 small foliaceous green sepals, and these again were elongated 

 and bract-like. 



Below these terminal clusters the stems bore pedicellate flow- 

 ers, as in normal plants, and of about the ordinary size, but also 

 variously deformed. The two outer floral cycles were green 

 and foliaceous. Some were oval and concave, the inner (petals) 

 purple-margined ; others were linear, or linear-spatulate, and up 

 to 3 mm. long. In these flowers the inner cycles were either 

 entirely wanting, or were represented by clusters of filaments, 

 either sessile or elevated on a short prolongation of the axis ; or 

 they contained antheriferous stamens, the anther cells sometimes 

 separated, or stamens which were more or less foliaceous. 



