52 Salisbury . — Variation in Eranthis hy emails, 
supernumerary perianth segments often He on the same orthostichy as the 
honey-leaf, hence to explain the structure of such flowers on this view 
a double metamorphosis must be assumed, viz. the transformation of the 
honey-leaf into a petal and of the next stamen within, on the same ortho- 
stichy, into a honey-leaf. Again, very rarely a supernumerary perianth 
segment is present and at the same time the honey-leaves are only five in 
Fig. 4. Variation ‘ curves 1 for perianth, honey-leaves, and gynaeceum of E. hy emails. 
number, that on the same orthostichy as the extra perianth segment being 
absent. This might appear to indicate that, as a rare occurrence, a honey- 
leaf does become completely transformed, but in the case illustrated in 
Fig. 3, D, this explanation is not admissible, since it would involve the 
assumption of one more stamen on this orthostichy than are present on any 
one of the other§. Evidently in such cases the reversion of the nectary to 
the staminal condition is in some way related to the space- conditions con- 
sequent upon the presence of the supernumerary perianth segment. 
