176 



C. T. PRIME 



Fig. 1 shows a much smaller area occupied by a group of plants all showing one 

 leaf only. It will be noticed that the corms point in no particular direction and that 

 some are beginning to reproduce vegetatively. It is evident that here the probability 

 is that the great majority are seedlings. On the other hand, a colony is shown (Fig. 2) 

 which was remarkably uniform in appearance. The spotting of the leaves was moderately 

 reddish and it is of interest to note that the only plant which showed a very slight deviation 

 from the rest was a small corm attached to the normal plant. It will be seen from this 

 diagram that the direction of growth of the corms is such as to be completely compatible 

 with vegetative reproduction from one original plant. This was perhaps more convincing 

 in the field than the diagram would suggest. The possibility of some seedlings being 

 present cannot be ruled out but, as these are usually found nearer the surface, the main 

 fact seems clear enough. Further evidence is gained from the leaf measurements of the 

 individuals in a clone. The leaf of A. maculatum does not reach full size until the plant 

 is some years old. The measurements taken, therefore, were those from the third leaf 

 of adult flowering plants. The number of mature plants in any one clone is not large 

 but the table below gives the variation in leaf-length for three colonies which gave every 

 appearance of being clones, compared with a similar number of individual leaf lengths 

 chosen at random. The length variation is much less in the clones. This may be a 

 reflection of the more uniform environment of the clone but other evidence, e.g. extreme 

 similarity in the spotting, renders this interpretation the more unlikely. 



Table 1 



Leaf length in clones of A. maculatum. 







No. of leaves 





Leaf length 





















Clone A 



Clone B 



Clone C 



Random choice 



cm. 











8- 8-9 



1 







1 



9- 9-9 



4 







2 



10-10-9 



5 



1 







11-11-9 



1 



2 



3 



1 



1,12-12-9 





2 



4 



1 



13-13-9 





4 



3 



3 



14-14-9 







1 





15-15-9 









2 



16-16-9 











17-17-9 









1 



It is therefore quite possible by studying the clumps in the field in this way to get a 

 fair idea of how they have come into being. 



The movement of corms through the soil 



It will be evident from the diagrams that there is actual movement of the corms 

 through the soil. Salisbury (1942) has noted that in heavy soils the resistance to growth 

 may be considerable and says that comparative measurements of rhizome increments in 

 heavier and lighter types of soil show that the annual increment is considerably influenced 

 by this factor. 



Attempts were made to measure the movement through the soil by marking the 

 fruiting spike with stiff steel wire and noting the distance between the new shoots and 



