ALBINISM. WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SHIRLEY POPPIES. 477 



ALBINISM, WITH SPECIAL BEFERENCE TO 

 SHIRLEY POPPIES. 



By John Bidgood, B.Sc, F.L.S. 



Albinism occurs, perhaps more frequently than is often suspected, in the 

 flowers of many plants. In the case of showy flowers, the horticulturist 

 generally takes them in hand and perpetuates their peculiarity. When 

 left to nature the " sport " is generally, no doubt, swamped by intercrossing 

 with the type. For whilst in almost all cases in which experiment has 

 been carried out the albinos have bred true when self-fertilised, or fertilised 

 by their own kind, it has also been learnt, from the limited experience 

 available, that when they are crossed with other species containing similar 

 pigment — and presumably with the coloured type — their typical colours 

 reappear. Thus two persons at least have self-fertilised Gypripedium 

 insigne Sanderce, and so far as the offspring have yet flowered they have 

 all proved true. But in cases where this form has been made one of the 

 parents of a cross with another species, the flowers of the progeny have 

 reproduced in a greater or less degree the colour arrangement, and 

 especially the spotting on the dorsal sepal of the typical C. insigne 

 examples of this are Gypripedium x ' Actreus,' C. x 'Veflus,' and 

 C. x ' Helen.' 



Amongst other albinos the white form of Lilium Martagon has been 

 produced true from seed, and there is little doubt that Linaria Cymbalaria 

 alba is another example ( l Gardeners' Chronicle ' Oct. 10, Nov. 21, 1903). 

 But Linaria is a genus which Kerner says " exhibits considerable variation 

 in the colours and markings of the petals, which is not to be attributed 

 either to hybridisation or the influence of soil and climate." And 

 L. Cymbalaria is a species which may vary from pale lilac to pure white 

 (E. Bowles, ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' Oct. 10, 1903). Now in Linaria " the 

 flowers never open spontaneously, but the insects which frequent them 

 for honey have to open the door for themselves by pushing down the 

 lower lip " (Kerner). And in default of visiting insects, and insects do 

 make default at times, there is no cross-fertilisation of these flowers. But 

 in addition to this Linaria bears cleistogamous flowers in which cross - 

 fertilisation is impossible and self-fertilisation certain. It is therefore not 

 surprising that, in the words of a correspondent to the ' Gardeners' 

 Chronicle' Nov. 21, 1903, "This plant is growing freely and plentifully 

 on an old wall near Carnforth, Lancashire, and whilst the ordinary form 

 is on almost all the old walls in this district, on this particular bit of 

 wall only the white form is found." Evidently, then, it comes true 

 from seed, and since it is recorded from many places, from Italy to 

 Lancashire, it is almost certain that the typical form has sported albinos 

 many times. 



In this connection it may be interesting to mention an Adiantum with 



