65 



One umbcllct or nior])hoIogical equivalent purple pigmented. 

 No. of dark flowers on umbellets by classes. 

 Localities i 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 19 23 26. 



Cold Spring 



Harbor 1208 44 16 12 i 5 2 i 13 i 5 2 i i i i 



Bellevue 277 52 i 4 i 2 



Totals 1485 49 18 12 2 9 3 3 131521111 



Two umbellets or morphological equivalents purple pigmented. 

 No. of dark flowers on umlx-ilets by classes. 

 Localities 1234 



Cold Spring Harbor 16 3 2 i 



Bellevue 0000 



Totals 16 3 2 I 



Many botanists have doubtless forgotten Darwin's remarks 

 on the flower of the carrot as given in his work, "Different 

 Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species." Darwin 

 apparently did not make any study similar to this, but contented 

 himself with gathering more general information and speculating 

 upon the probable forces at work. He remarks that sometimes 

 "two oi three flowers next to the dark central one are so character- 

 ized." He believed that the latter did not make the umbel 

 more conspicuous to insects, and while other investigators 

 believed this flower to be neuter or sterile, he obtained seeds 

 from it by fertilization. A micro-dissection made indicates 

 that the seeds obtained from the purple flower are probably 

 fertile, although the conclusive test would be germination. 



Darwin did not consider the dark central flower to be of any 

 importance, but considered it instead to represent a former 

 condition of the species where the central flower alone was 

 female. Its position was held to be the consequence of the fact 

 that when irregular flowers become regular or peloric, they are 

 apt to be central, and such peloric flowers owe their origin to 

 arrested development or reversion. He additionally comments 

 that in other species the larger central blossom may be correlated 

 with the fact that it may be better nourished than the others, 

 and may produce larger or different seeds. Of interest in con- 

 nection would be some knowledge of the distribution of the 

 purple central flower in the cultivated variety of the carrot, 

 which botanists state to be derived from the wild form discussed. 

 However, there is no record in standard works of horticulture 

 as to the relative abundance of the purple flower in the culti- 

 vated variety, and seed growers state that to their best know- 

 ledge, (but without extended observation), the cultivated carrot 



