Ficaria verna , and other Members of the Ranunculaceae . 65 
except in special cases, as that instanced above. In illustration we find that 
of the seven examples with eleven petals only one has twenty-four stamens, 
whilst the remaining six have from thirty-eight to sixty-three. Table V 
shows that twenty per cent, of the flowers have stamens and carpels which 
at the same time number some multiple of three. 
(c) Transition . 
Partially transformed stamens have been sometimes encountered, and 
one instance is here figured (Fig. 11, c). These emphasize the staminodal 
character of the petals. 
By far the commonest substantive variation is that found in the calyx, 
Fig. 13. Ficaria verna , variation ‘ curve’ for gynaeceum. 
where one or more members become more or less leafy (Fig. 11, H-j) and 
develop a blade that is often lobed (Fig. 1 1, E). There seems little doubt, 
from a study of all the transition stages, that the sepals really represent the 
basal region of modified bracts. It is also significant that where complete 
reversion takes place it is to the lobed, probably primitive, type of leaf, and 
not to the specialized simpler form of the foliage proper. Examples such 
as these afford the strongest evidence that the sepals had their immediate 
origin from foliar structures and not from sporophylls, as on the latter 
assumption the lobed form is inexplicable. 
A partially coloured sepal is shown in Fig. 11, D, but, as has already 
been pointed out, such cases can invariably be distinguished from true 
petals. The fact that the sepals can become coloured is well exemplified in 
many Ranunculaceae, and merely illustrates the possibility of an attractive 
whorl being developed from either source of origin. 
F 
