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THE AMEBIC AN NATURALIST [Vol. XLIV 



Viola cucullata is a well-marked species of wide distri- 

 bution, but it exhibits many anomalous forms ; or as some 

 would say, it is ' ' an aggregate species. ' ' The capsules are 

 a clear green in the numerous specimens that I have seen, 

 with one exception. A plant, sent me by Miss Byon from 

 East Lyme, Conn., has dark-purple capsules; it is quite 

 fertile, breeds true to seed, and in all respects but capsule 

 color is normal V. cucullata, How shall we account for 

 this aberrant form? Fortunately, with this plant was 

 sent also from the same colony a hybrid of V. cucullata 

 X sororia. The latter species at this station, as often 

 elsewhere has very dark-purple capsules; may we not 

 reasonably believe that the purple-fruited V. cucullata 

 is a Mendelian product of the hybrid with which it was 

 growing! 



Viola cucullata is normally a very glabrous plant. But 

 I have received forms of V. cucullata that were decidedly 

 pubescent, from three widely separated stations: Mt. 

 Mitchell, N. C, Milwaukee, Wis., and Salamanca, western 

 N. Y. The plant from Wisconsin has a roundish leaf that 

 resembles that of V. sororia, a pubescent species found at 

 the same station. It is quite likely, therefore, that both 

 the leaf-outline and the pubescent peduncles of the aber- 

 rant plant have come about through a former cross be- 

 tween the two species. 



In October, 1906, I received indirectly from Miss Mul- 

 ford, of Hempstead, Long Island, a plant of V. affinis 

 that had black seeds. The species, which is as wide- 

 spread as V. cucullata, has normally pale-yellow seeds. 

 I noticed that the black seeds of Miss Mulford's plant 

 were also somewhat larger than the ordinary yellow seeds 

 of V. affinis. A careful weighing of 200 well-dried seeds 

 of each lot shows the black seeds to be 49 per cent, heavier 

 than the yellow seeds. I surmise, therefore, that the 

 anomalous form is a by-product of V. affinis X papilion- 

 acea, a hybrid from which I have obtained forms 

 garden similar to Miss Mulford's. I should add that 

 though the black seed-color is dominant over the pal< 



