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Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882

"The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species"

As I
did not expect them to flower so soon, I did not transplant them, and they
unfortunately grew with their branches closely interlocked. All the plants were
covered under the same net, excepting one of each form. Of the flowers on the
long-styled plants, twelve were illegitimately fertilised with their own-form
pollen, taken in every case from a separate plant; and not one set a seed-
capsule: twelve other flowers were legitimately fertilised with pollen from
short-styled flowers; and they set nine capsules, each including on an average 7
good seeds, ten being the maximum number ever produced. Of the flowers on the
short-styled plants, twelve were illegitimately fertilised with own-form pollen,
and they yielded one capsule, including only 3 good seeds; twelve other flowers
were legitimately fertilised with pollen from long-styled flowers, and these
produced nine capsules, but one was bad; the eight good capsules contained on an
average 8 good seeds each. Judging from the number of seeds per capsule, the
fertility of the two legitimate to that of the two illegitimate unions is as 100
to 20.
The numerous flowers on the eleven long-styled plants under the net, which were
not fertilised, produced only three capsules, including 8, 4, and 1 good seeds.
Whether these three capsules were the product of accidental legitimate
fertilisation, owing to the branches of the plants of the two forms
interlocking, I will not pretend to decide.


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