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Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882

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

6 seeds, with a maximum of 54. In 1866 this same plant had
become in all respects long-styled, and ten capsules gave almost exactly the
same average as before, namely 35.1 seeds, with a maximum of 47. Eight flowers
on this plant, legitimately fertilised with pollen from a short-styled cowslip,
produced six capsules, with the high average of 53 seeds, and the high maximum
of 67. Eight flowers were also fertilised with pollen from a long-styled cowslip
(this being an illegitimate union), and produced seven capsules, containing an
average of 24.4 seeds, with a maximum of 32. The fifth and last plant remained
in the same condition during both years: it had a pistil rather longer than that
of the true short-styled form, with the stigma smooth, as it ought to be in this
form, but abnormal in shape, like a much-elongated inverted cone. It produced
spontaneously many capsules, five of which, in 1865, gave an average of only
15.6 seeds; and in 1866 ten capsules still gave an average only a little higher,
namely of 22.1, with a maximum of 30. Sixteen flowers were fertilised with
pollen from a long-styled cowslip, and produced 12 capsules, with an average of
24.9 seeds, and a maximum of 42. Eight flowers were fertilised with pollen from
a short-styled cowslip, but yielded only two capsules, containing 18 and 23
seeds.


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