The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same SpeciesDarwin, Charles
Science
The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species
Darwin, Charles
Fertilization of plants; Heterostylism; Plant physiology; Plants -- Variation; Pollination
be due to the pollen alone having been affected, I may remark that this
certainly was not the case; for several of them, when fertilised by sound pollen
from legitimate plants, did not yield the full complement of seeds; hence it is
certain that both the female and male reproductive organs were affected. In each
of the seven classes, the plants, though descended from the same parents, sown
at the same time and in the same soil, differed much in their average degree of
fertility.
Turning now to the fifth, sixth, and seventh classes, and looking to the right
hand column of Table 5.30, we find nearly as many plants with a percentage of
seeds above the normal standard as beneath it. As with most plants the number of
seeds produced varies much, it might be thought that the present case was one
merely of variability. But this view must be rejected, as far as the less
fertile plants in these three classes are concerned: first, because none of the
plants in Class 5 attained their proper height, which shows that they were in
some manner affected; and, secondly, because many of the plants in Classes 5 and
6 produced anthers which were either contabescent or included small and
shrivelled pollen-grains. And as in these cases the male organs were manifestly
deteriorated, it is by far the most probable conclusion that the female organs
were in some cases likewise affected, and that this was the cause of the reduced
number of seeds.
With respect to the six plants in these three classes which yielded a very high
percentage of seeds, the thought naturally arises that the normal standard of
fertility for the long-styled and short-styled forms (with which alone we are
here concerned) may have been fixed too low, and that the six legitimate plants
are merely fully fertile. The standard for the long-styled form was deduced by
counting the seeds in twenty-three capsules, and for the short-styled form from
twenty-five capsules. I do not pretend that this is a sufficient number of
capsules for absolute accuracy; but my experience has led me to believe that a
very fair result may thus be gained. As, however, the maximum number observed in
the twenty-five capsules of the short-styled form was low, the standard in this
case may possibly be not quite high enough. But it should be observed, in the
case of the illegitimate plants, that in order to avoid over-estimating their
infertility, ten very fine capsules were always selected; and the years 1865 and
1866, during which the plants in the three latter classes were experimented on,
were highly favourable for seed-production. Now, if this plan of selecting very
fine capsules during favourable seasons had been followed for obtaining the
normal standards, instead of taking, during various seasons, the first capsules
which came to hand, the standards would undoubtedly have been considerably
higher; and thus the fact of the six foregoing plants appearing to yield an
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