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Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882

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

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seeds. Whilst of the 255 illegitimately fertilised flowers, only 6 yielded
capsules, which contained 3.83 seeds on an average. Therefore the fertility of
the six legitimate to that of the twelve illegitimate unions, as judged by the
proportion of flowers that yielded capsules, is as 100 to 2, and as judged by
the average number of seeds per capsule as 100 to 34. It may be added that some
plants which were protected by nets did not spontaneously produce any fruit; nor
did one which was left uncovered by itself and was visited by bees. On the other
hand, scarcely a single flower on some uncovered plants of the three forms
growing near together failed to produce fruit.
Oxalis Regnelli.
This species bears white flowers and inhabits Southern Brazil. Hildebrand says
that the stigma of the long-styled form is somewhat larger than that of the mid-
styled, and this than that of the short-styled. The pistil of the latter is
clothed with a few hairs, whilst it is very hairy in the other two forms. The
diameter of the pollen-grains from both sets of the longest stamens equals 9
divisions of the micrometer,--that from the mid-length stamens of the long-
styled form between 8 and 9, and of the short-styled 8,--and that from the
shortest stamens of both sets 7. So that the extreme difference in diameter is
as 9 to 7 or as 100 to 78.


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