19
seen by the writer ; a much less complete state of the same phenomenon where, through-
out a plant of female type, only the basal flowers were normal females and all the female
flowers on all the intervening axillary spikelets were replaced by stamens, has only been met
with twice. This last is the closest approximation to Holuby's interesting instance that has
been noted in Indian hemp fields.
Abnormal Flowers.—Abnormalities in the flower as opposed to abnormalities
in the inflorescence are of less common occurrence. Moreover, in the cases of
abnormal male flowers hitherto recorded we find no transitions to female flowers ;
what we do find are forms that shade gradually into the abnormal spicate mixed
inflorescences of the Mória plants already alluded to. If the figures given are
examined (PLATE 5, figs. 2-6) it will be observed that the condition is one of
extreme variability. But amid a considerable number of variations, of which he
figures given are only representative instances, the following general features
can be made out. The basal pair of female flowers are normal and the abnor-
mality is confined to the axillary spike on which, owing to the suppression of the
foliar bract with its attendant stipules, the flowers are reduced to a spiral of
bracteoles, corresponding to the involving bracts of normal female flowers. These
bracteoles are sessile and the lowest is sometimes empty (PLATE 5, g. 4). The
lowest two or three, if the lowest is not empty, contain normal and perfect female
flowers, the three or four next above are replaced by solitary stamens, the
uppermost, or perhaps the two uppermost stamens may even be without
bracteoles (PLATE 5, figs. 2, 4). The end of the spikelet is always crowned by
a female floret which never has a subtending bracteole and never has a perianth ;
usually too it is more or less deformed, generally with only one style and stigma
and very often incompletely closed (PLATE 5, figs. 2, 4, 5, 6); the ovule, which is
usually present, and, as a rule, appears to be quite normal, projects through the
hiatus thus left (PLATE 5, fig. 3). Close to and apparently collateral with this
imperfect terminal ovary we may find a mere papilla (PLATE 5, fig. 4) a rudi-
mentary carpel crowned by a rudimentary style (PLATE 5, fig. 5), a complete
2-styled ovary (PLATE 5, fig. 6), or at times a stamen (PLATE 5, figs. 2, 3, 16, 17).
The stamens, which represent the flowers of the upper part of the spikelet, though
usually, are not always arranged in a spiral ; a quite common arrangement is a
spiral disposition of the female flowers towards the base of the spikelet, the
upper 1-anthered flowers, from suppression of internodes, being arranged in a
horizontal plane and therefore axillary to the bracteoles of an imbricated whorl
(PLATE 5, figs. 5, 6), in all respects comparable with the parts of a normal male
flower (PLATE 1, figs. 4—6). In two cases, as already mentioned, all the flowers
of the spikelet except the terminal imperfect female flower, were represented by
solitary stamens, each in the axil of one of a spiral series of bracteoles, corres-
ponding in origin to female involving bracts, but in appearance exactly simulating
male sepals.
D 2