Within this sheath perfect [370] and more or less numerous
ovules may be produced. The anthers become rudimentary and in their
place broad leafy flaps are developed, which protrude laterally from the
tip and constitute the stigmas. Ordinarily these altered organs are
sterile, but in some instances a very small quantity of seed is
produced, and when testing their viability I succeeded in raising a few
plants from them.
The same anomaly occurs in other plants. The common wall-flower
(_Cheiranthus Cheiri_) and the houseleek (_Sempervivum tectorum_) are
the best known instances. Both have repeatedly been described by various
investigators. In compiling the literature of this subject it is very
interesting to observe the two contrasting views respecting the nature
of this anomaly. Some writers, and among them Masters in his "Vegetable
Teratology" consider the deviations to be merely accidental. According
to them some species are more subject to this anomaly than others, and
the houseleek is said to be very prone to this change. Goeppert,
Hofmeister and others occasionally found the pistilloid poppies in
fields or gardens, and sowed their seeds in order to ascertain whether
the accidental peculiarity was inheritable or not. On the other hand De
Candolle in his "Prodromus" mentions the pistilloid wall-flowers as a
distinct [371] variety, under the name of _Cheiranthus Cheiri
gynantherus_, and the analogous form of the opium-poppy is not at all an
accidental anomaly, but an old true horticultural variety, which can be
bought everywhere under the names of _Papaver somniferum monstruosum_ or
_polycephalum_.
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