All
intermediate steps are easily to be found. In some flowers all stamens
may be enlarged, in others only part of them. Often the broadened
filaments bear one or two fertile anthers. The fertility is no doubt
diminished, but not wholly destroyed. Individual specimens may occur,
which cannot produce any seed, but then others of the same lot may be as
fertile as can be desired. As a whole, such double varieties are
regularly propagated by seed.
Petalomany is the tendency of the axis of some flowers never to make any
stamens or pistils, not even in altered or rudimentary form. Instead of
these, they simply continue producing petals, going on with this
production without any other limit than the supply of available food.
Numerous petals fill the entire space within the outer rays, and in the
heart of the flower innumerable young ones are developed half-way, not
obtaining food enough to attain [331] full size. Absolute sterility is
the natural consequence of this state of things.
Hence it is impossible to have races of petalomanous types. If the
abnormality happens to show itself in a species, which normally
propagates itself in an asexual way, the type may become a vegetative
variety, and be multiplied by bulbs, buds or cuttings, etc. Some
cultivated anemones and crowfoots (_Ranunculus_) are of this character,
and even the marsh-marigold (_Caltha palustris_) has a petalomanous
variety.
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