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
This species bore in my hothouse during two years a multitude of cleistogamic
flowers, which resembled in all respects those of the last species; but no
perfect ones were produced. Mr. Scott informs me that in India it bears perfect
flowers only during the cold season, and that these are quite fertile. During
the hot, and more especially during the rainy season, it bears an abundance of
cleistogamic flowers.
Many other species, besides the five now described, produce cleistogamic
flowers; this is the case, according to D. Muller, Michalet, Von Mohl, and
Hermann Muller, with V. elatior, lancifolia, sylvatica, palustris, mirabilis,
bicolor, ionodium, and biflora. But V. tricolor does not produce them.
Michalet asserts that V. palustris produces near Paris only perfect flowers,
which are quite fertile; but that when the plant grows on mountains cleistogamic
flowers are produced; and so it is with V. biflora. The same author states that
he has seen in the case of V. alba flowers intermediate in structure between the
perfect and cleistogamic ones. According to M. Boisduval, an Italian species, V.
Ruppii, never bears in France “des fleurs bien apparentes, ce qui ne l’empeche
pas de fructifier.”
It is interesting to observe the gradation in the abortion of the parts in the
cleistogamic flowers of the several foregoing species. It appears from the
statements by D. Muller and Von Mohl that in V. mirabilis the calyx does not
remain quite closed; all five stamens are provided with anthers, and some
pollen-grains probably fall out of the cells on the stigma, instead of
protruding their tubes whilst still enclosed, as in the other species. In V.
hirta all five stamens are likewise antheriferous; the petals are not so much
reduced and the pistil not so much modified as in the following species. In V.
nana and elatior only two of the stamens properly bear anthers, but sometimes
one or even two of the others are thus provided. Lastly, in V. canina never more
than two of the stamens, as far as I have seen, bear anthers; the petals are
much more reduced than in V. hirta, and according to D. Muller are sometimes
quite absent.
Oxalis acetosella.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account