_O. lata_ is a low plant, with a limp stem, bent tips and branches, all very brittle, but with dense foliage and luxuriant growth. It has bright yellow flowers and thick flower-buds. But for an unknown reason the petals are apt to unfold only partially and to remain wrinkled throughout the flowering time. The stigmas are slightly divergent from the normal type, [542] also being partly united with one another, and laterally with the summit of the style, but without detriment to their function. Young seedlings of _lata_ may be recognized by the very first leaves. They have a nearly orbicular shape and are very sharply set off against their stalk. The surface is very uneven, with convexities and concavities on both sides. This difference is lessened in the later leaves, but remains visible throughout the whole life of the plant, even during the flowering season. Broad, sinuate leaves with rounded tips are a sure mark of _O. lata_. On the summits of the stems and branches they are crowded so as to form rosettes. Concerning inheritance of these characteristics nothing can be directly asserted because of the lack of pollen. The new type can only be perpetuated by crosses, either with the parent form or some other mutant. I have fertilized it, as a rule, with _lamarckiana_ pollen, but have often also used that from _nanella_ and others. In doing so, the _lata_ repeats its character in part of its offspring. This part seems to be independent of the nature of the pollen used, but is very variable according to external circumstances. On the average one-fourth of the offspring become _lata_, the others assuming the type of the pollen-parent, if this was a _lamarckiana_ or [543] partly this type and partly that of any other of the new species derived from _lamarckiana_, that might have been used as the pollen-parent. This average seems to be a general rule, recurring in all experiments, and remaining unchanged through a long series of successive generations. The fluctuations around this mean go up to nearly 50% and down nearly to 1%, but, as in other cases, such extreme deviations from the average are met with only exceptionally. The second category includes the inconstant but perfectly fertile species. I have already given the names of the only two forms, which deserve to be mentioned here.