Flower of the Mignionette. 9 



sisting of an apparent calyx, which was really an involuere, 

 while the petals are abortive staminiferous flowers, and the 

 disk a calyx of one central bisexual flower. I am, however, 

 now convinced by the arguments of Henslow, that this theory 

 was erroneous, and I accordingly revert to the old view of 

 the organization and affinities of the order." 



It is to this particular view of the subject I now wish to 

 direct attention. If we take almost any kind of anther fully 

 developed, and making a section of it, examine it under the 

 microscope, we find in it the usual structures, namely, pollen 

 grains, and also a number of fibre cells, which appear to be 

 serviceable in rupturing the anther, or ejecting the pollen when 

 the anther has opened. Now, on examining any of the white 

 petal-like fringes of the Mignionette in the same way (having 

 discolorized them), we find each contains a bundle of spiral 

 vessels which run up the petal, or lobe, or fringe, call it 

 what we please, and, at its termination, this bundle is 

 developed into a number of fibre cells, closely resembling 

 those usually met with in anther cells, but which is a very 

 remarkable structure to be found in a true petal. This 

 unusual development of fibre cells in a petal leads me to 

 suggest that each strap-like, petal-like part, or lacerated 

 portion of the so-called petals, is, in reality, an undeveloped 

 stamen, and that the original idea of Dr. Lindley is the 

 correct one, i.e., that each petal is an abortive stameniferous 

 flower ; so that, thus in all, we have six sets of stamens 

 bearing flowers, undeveloped in one flower of the Mignionette, 

 the disc-like scale accompanying each petal-like body, and 

 one perfect or bisexual flower, in the portion consisting of 

 the large scale, supporting the true stamens and ovary, but 

 which flower is destitute of petals, not an unusual kind of 

 flower botanically considered. 



If we cannot admit this view of the case, then we have 

 the following difficulties. First, the unusual presence of the 

 fibre cells in the petals must go for nothing ; next, if these 

 cells are to be admitted as indicative of the true nature of 

 these parts, i.e., that they are undeveloped bundles of 

 stamens only, and analagous to the bundle of stamens 

 immediately surrounding the ovary, and known as true 

 stamens, but not flowers, then I answer we have one other 

 difficulty — that each bundle of undeveloped stamens is seen 

 to spring from the back of each scale in a reverse direction to 

 that taken by the true stamens in relation to their particular 

 glandular scale. For my part, I am inclined to favour the 



