8 



THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLIX 



sometimes known to gardeners as Fuchsia speciosa, is 

 recognized as a hybrid derivative of Fuchsia magellanica, 

 a native of southern South America. Fig. 1 illustrates 



photomicrographically, the condition of the pollen in one 

 of the garden varieties of Fuchsia. The sound pollen 

 grains appear as dark bodies with two or more germina- 

 tion pores projecting from their surfaces. The dark color 

 of the grains is due to the deeply staining character of 

 their protoplasmic contents. More than a third of the 

 pollen present in the anther cavity is abortive and is 

 represented in the photograph by shrivelled light-colored 

 objects, which are in fact empty and collapsed pollen 

 grains. In other varieties of the garden Fuchsia, the 

 grains may either be entirely abortive and empty (as is 

 the case for example in the so-called mutant of (Enothera 

 lamarcJciana, known as 0. lata) or they may all be more or 

 less well developed so far as their protoplasmic contents 

 are concerned, but extremely varying in size. In the pres- 

 ent description, perfection or imperfection of pollen is 

 judged only from the morphological aspect, because this 

 is the significant point of view from the standpoint of the 



