128 
Briefe. 
When the anther opens the small numerous poUen-masses adhere to this staff by 
means of elastic threads. I had no very young buds, but as far as I have seen, 
the staff never adheres to the dorsal surface of the rostellum but is always free 
growing downwards from the tip of the rostellum. In a bud 6 mm ]ong the 
staff had a length of 2,5 mm and a smooth surface, in a bud 16 mm long it was 
4 mm long and the cells of its terminal part had grown into short blunt hairs 
or warts^). 
This seems to me to be a fine instance of the same end gained through 
different means; in this plant as well as in Bonatea and many Vandeae the 
pollen-masses are born by a long stalk, but there this stalle is a long free process 
springing from back of the disk, whilst in Bonatea it is a metamorphed part of 
the pollen-masses and in the Vandeae a part of the dorsal wall of the rostellum. 
To the list of Orchids, in which own poUen decays and becomes dark brown 
a few days after being placed on the stigma I can now add two other species, 
a second species of Gomeza (crispa?) and one Burlingtonia (decora?). 
In Oncidium crispum there seems to be, in this respect, a large amount of 
individual variability. 
On a vigorous large plant I crossed 8 flowers, all of which are producing 
fine pods; 12 flowers were selffertilized, of which 7 being dissected within 10 days 
after fertilization showed fresh pollen and pollen-tubes, 2 dissected a fortnight 
after fertilization showed the pollen tubes brown and withering; 3 are producing 
seed-capsules of which 2 (pollen of a distinct flower of the same plant) are equal 
in size to the crossed pods, i (pollen of the same flower) is a little smaller. 
On a second vigorous plant with an uncommonly large panicle, I crossed 
10 flowers; all have now fine pods. 9 flowers were selffertilized, 3 of which had 
fresh pollen, when dissected after 6. 7. 9 days; — the germens of the rest began 
to discolour after 9. 16. 12. 13. 14. 15 days and showed brown pollen, when dissected. 
On a third, small but healthy plant one flower was fertilized with the same 
plants pollen and is yielding a pod much smaller than that of a second crossed 
flower; on the Stigmas of 2 flowers I placed one own pollen-mass at the side 
of one from a distinct plant. They are producing po(is equal in size to the 
crossed one. 
On two other weak plants 3 flowers were self-fertilized and perished, the 
germ discolouring after 9 days. 
Some Orchids, which I had supposed to be self-fertile because self-fertilized 
flowers produced fine pods, seem notwithstanding to be perfectly sterile, or nearly 
so, with own pollen. I examined numerous seeds taken from 19 self-fertilized pods 
of Epidendrum Zebra (variegatum ?) and only in one of these pods I found a very 
small number (scarcely i percent) seeds having an embryo, which seemed to me 
unusually small — all the rest contained only empty embryoless hides. This was 
also the case with two self-fertilized capsules of a Maxiilaria. 
Some of the pods which I had obtained by crossing distinct species of 
Orchids have also proved to contain only bad seeds; viz: Epidendrum Zebra ? 
crossed with Ep. fragrans d and Ep. cinnabarinum S — and Oncidium flexuosum ? 
crossed with Cyrtopodium S- 
1) Vgl. Brief an Hermann Müller vom 30. Mai 1867, S. 126. 
