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Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882

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

Such cases have been noticed by myself in Thymus serpyllum and vulgaris,
Satureia hortensis, Origanum vulgare, and Mentha hirsuta; and by others in
Nepeta glechoma, Mentha vulgaris and aquatica, and Prunella vulgaris. In these
two latter species the female form, according to H. Muller, is infrequent. To
these must be added Dracocephalum Moldavicum, Melissa officinalis and
clinopodium, and Hyssopus officinalis. (7/14. H. Muller 'Die Befruchtung der
Blumen' 1873 and 'Nature' 1873 page 161. Vaucher 'Plantes d'Europe' tome 3 page
611. For Dracocephalum Schimper as quoted by Braun 'Annals and Magazine of
Natural History' 2nd series volume 18 1856 page 380. Lecoq 'Geographie Bot. de
l'Europe' tome 8 pages 33, 38, 44, etc. Both Vaucher and Lecoq were mistaken in
thinking that several of the plants named in the text are dioecious. They appear
to have assumed that the hermaphrodite form was a male; perhaps they were
deceived by the pistil not becoming fully developed and of proper length until
some time after the anthers have dehisced.) In the two last-named plants the
female form likewise appears to be rare, for I raised many seedlings of both,
and all were hermaphrodites. It has already been remarked in the Introduction
that andro-dioecious species, as they may be called, or those which consist of
hermaphrodites and males, are extremely rare, or hardly exist.


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