0 seeds per capsule. This is rather above the average 9.2, which
eleven capsules from perfect flowers fertilised with their own pollen yielded,
and considerably above the average 7.9, from the capsules of perfect flowers
fertilised with pollen from another plant; but this latter result must, I think,
have been accidental.
Hildebrand, whilst searching various Herbaria, observed that many other species
of Oxalis besides O. acetosella produce cleistogamic flowers (8/10.
'Monatsbericht der Akad. der Wiss. zu Berlin' 1866 page 369.); and I hear from
him that this is the case with the heterostyled trimorphic O. incarnata from the
Cape of Good Hope.
Oxalis (Biophytum) sensitiva.
This plant is ranked by many botanists as a distinct genus, but as a sub-genus
by Bentham and Hooker. Many of the early flowers on a mid-styled plant in my
hothouse did not open properly, and were in an intermediate condition between
cleistogamic and perfect. Their petals varied from a rudiment to about half
their proper size; nevertheless they produced capsules. I attributed their state
to unfavourable conditions, for later in the season fully expanded flowers of
the proper size appeared. But Mr. Thwaites afterwards sent me from Ceylon a
number of long-styled, mid-styled, and short-styled flower-stalks preserved in
spirits; and on the same stalks with the perfect flowers, some of which were
fully expanded and others still in bud, there were small bud-like bodies
containing mature pollen, but with their calyces closed.
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