On the other hand, when all three
hermaphrodites coexist, and pollen is carried from one to the other, the scheme
is perfect; there is no waste of pollen and no false co-adaptation. In short,
nature has ordained a most complex marriage-arrangement, namely a triple union
between three hermaphrodites,--each hermaphrodite being in its female organ
quite distinct from the other two hermaphrodites and partially distinct in its
male organs, and each furnished with two sets of males.
The three forms may be conveniently called, from the unequal lengths of their
pistils, the LONG-STYLED, MID-STYLED, and SHORT-STYLED. The stamens also are of
unequal lengths, and these may be called the LONGEST, MID-LENGTH, and SHORTEST.
Two sets of stamens of different length are found in each form. The existence of
the three forms was first observed by Vaucher, and subsequently more carefully
by Wirtgen ; but these botanists, not being guided by any theory or even
suspicion of their functional differences, did not perceive some of the most
curious points of difference in their structure. (4/1. Vaucher 'Hist. Phys. des
Plantes d'Europe' tome 2 1841 page 371. Wirtgen "Ueber Lythrum salicaria und
dessen Formen" 'Verhand. des naturhist. Vereins fur preuss. Rheinl.' 5 Jahrgang
1848 S. 7.) I will first briefly describe the three forms by the aid of Figure
4.
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