lychnitis, whilst the plant was temporarily kept under a net,
produced four capsules, which contained five, one, two, and two seeds; at the
same time three flowers were fertilised with pollen of V. thapsus, and these
produced two, two, and three seeds. To show how unproductive these seven
capsules were, I may state that a fine capsule from a plant of V. thapsus
growing close by contained above 700 seeds. These facts led me to search the
moderately-sized field whence my plant had been removed, and I found in it many
plants of V. thapsus and lychnitis as well as thirty-three plants intermediate
in character between these two species. These thirty-three plants differed much
from one another. In the branching of the stem they more closely resembled V.
lychnitis than V. thapsus, but in height the latter species. In the shape of
their leaves they often closely approached V. lychnitis, but some had leaves
extremely woolly on the upper surface and decurrent like those of V. thapsus;
yet the degree of woolliness and of decurrency did not always go together. In
the petals being flat and remaining open, and in the manner in which the anthers
of the longer stamens were attached to the filaments, these plants all took more
after V. lychnitis than V. thapsus. In the yellow colour of the corolla they all
resembled the latter species.
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