We have now given the descriptions of seven new forms, which diverge in
different ways from the parent-type. All were absolutely constant from
seed. Hundreds or thousands of seedlings may have arisen, but they
always come true and never revert to the original _O. lamarckiana_ type.
From this they have inherited the condition of mutability, either
completely or partly, and according to this they may be able to produce
new forms themselves. But this occurs only rarely, and combinations of
more than one [540] type in one single plant seem to be limited to the
admixture of the dwarf stature with the characters of the other new
species.
These seven novelties do not comprise the whole range of the new
productions of my _O. lamarckiana_. But they are the most interesting
ones. Others, as the _O. semilata_ and the _O. leptocarpa_ are quite as
constant and quite as distinct, but have no special claims for a closer
description. Others again were sterile, or too weak to reach the adult
stage and to yield seeds, and no reliable description or appreciation
can be given on the ground of the appearance of a single individual.
Contrasted with these groups of constant forms are three inconstant
types which we now take up. They belong to two different groups,
according to the cause of their inconstancy. In one species which I call
_O. lata_, the question of stability or instability must remain wholly
unsolved, as only pistillate flowers are produced, and no seed can be
fertilized save by the use of the pollen of another form, and therefore
by hybridization. The other head comprises two fertile forms, _O.
scintillans_ and _O. elliptica_, which may easily be fertilized with
their own pollen, but which gave a progeny only partly similar to the
parents.
The _Oenothera lata_ is a very distinct form [541] which was found more
than once in the field, and recently (1902) in a luxuriant flowering
specimen. It has likewise been raised from seeds collected in different
years at the original station. It is also wholly pistillate. Apparently
the anthers are robust, but they are dry, wrinkled and nearly devoid of
contents. The inner wall of cells around the groups of pollen grow out
instead of being resorbed, partly filling the cavity which is left free
by the miscarriage of the pollen-grains. This miscarriage does not
affect all the grains in the same degree, and under the microscope a few
of them with an apparently normal structure may be seen. But the
contents are not normally developed, and I have tried in vain to obtain
fertilization with a large number of flowers. Only by
cross-fertilization does _O. lata_ produce seeds, and then as freely as
the other species when self-fertilized. Of course its chance of ever
founding a wild type is precluded by this defect.
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