in the Inflorescence of Zea Mays. 



219 



changes to those whicli we have noticed in the female 

 spikes, there are also the important additional illustrations 

 of structurally liermaplirodite florets.'^ Thus, in one of the 

 spikelets we had a superior floret with incipient ovary and 

 style, a rudimentwy stamen^ and the characteristic palese 

 and glumes of a normal female floret ; while the inferior 

 floret differed from a normal male only in its broader and 

 sliorter glumes, and barren stamens. Again, in the superior 

 floret of another male spikelet, with glumes somewhat inter- 

 mediate between those of the normal male and female 

 florets, we noticed an incipient ovary and style, and two 

 rudimentary stamens ; while the inferior floret of the same 

 spikelet retained its male characteristics. 



What now are we to say as to the cause of these changes ? 

 We see the unisexual florets of the maize not only under- 

 going inverse metamorphoses, i.e., the male converted 

 into female florets, and the female into male florets, but 

 also assuming every conceivable intermediate stage between 

 these and a structural hermaphroditism. Now, it is well 

 known that similar sexual changes occur in — at least the 

 female florets — many other monoicous and dioicous plants ; 

 e.g., in the Melandryum prcetense, and the Lychnis dioica, 

 the female flowers occasionally become bisexual by the 

 development of the stamens. I may also state that I have 

 observed bisexual (female) flowers on the Littorella lacustris, 

 Bryonia dioica, and Bicinus communis.^ 



Seeing, then, that unisexual flowers undergo such serial 

 transformations in their sexual characteristics, we, on the 

 ordinary theory of creation — i. e., assuming species as the 

 original units — might justly expect a similar series of changes 

 in the characteristics of bisexual flowers. This, however, 

 as is well known, is not the case ; no instance can be 



* I may state, that although I have failed in illustrating structural herma- 

 phroditism in the female spikes, cases are already recorded. C. F. Gartner, 

 in his " Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Befruchtung," notices the occurrence of 

 solitary stamens in the female florets of Zea Mays ; he also states that he has 

 observed in the conversions of male into female florets, a solitary stamen 

 associated with the pistillary organ of the latter. 



t I will not here enter on details as to the occurrence of the above, as I 

 hope at some future time to lay them before the Society in a notice of my 

 observations and experiments on the subject of Vegetable Parthenogenesis. 



