373 



Some Monstrosities in Plants. 



By F. M. Andrews. 



In the proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science for 1905, pages 

 187 and 188, I have mentioned some interesting variations which I noticed 

 in Trillium. Since that time I have been favored by the announcement 

 of some additional monstrosities shown in Trillium by Prof. John M. Hol- 

 zinger 1 of Winona, Minnesota, in a paper which he has been good enough 

 eo send me. 



It occasionally happens that interesting monstrosities or variations, 

 occur in other plants. Such variations, although very common, are never- 

 theless often of great importance. 



One of the most common folear variations occurs in clover, and these 

 I have found more or less abundantly, especially in Trifolium pratense. 

 De Tries- states that he rarely observed clover individuals with more than 

 one quaternate leaf. I have observed from time to time some specimens of 

 clover which had one leaf of four leaflets, and in one instance found two 

 specimens of clover, each of which had in addition to ten regular leaves of 

 three leaflets, seven (7) other leaves, each one of which had four (4) 

 leaflets. One of these quaternate leaves was beginning to form a leaf hav- 

 ing five (5) leaflets by the splitting process. Again another plant of 

 clover near this one having seven quaternate leaves, had in addition to 

 the ternate leaves, one with five leaflets. Another specimen of clover had 

 ten leaves of five leaflets each, in addition to several ternate ones. One 

 of these leaves with five leaflets shows the origin of the supernumerary 

 leaflets by the splitting process, as De Vries describes on page 342 of his 

 "Species and Varieties. Their Origin by Mutation," 1905. 



Another specimen of clover had in addition to the usual ternate ones, 

 one leaf having six leaflets, and another plant of clover, one leaf having 

 seven leaflets. These plants all grew close together in a yard and were 

 the only ones thereabouts which showed, in the many other specimens of 

 clover present, any of the above mentioned deviations. 



1 John M. Holzinger, Plant World. 4 : July, 1901. 



2 Species and Varieties, Their origin by mutation, 1905, p. 340. 



