Very little is known
about their frequency and hereditary qualities.
Orchids include a large number of peloric monstrosities and moreover a
wild pelory which is systematically described not only as a separate
species but even as a new genus. It bears the name of _Uropedium
lindenii_, and is so closely related to _Cypripedium caudatum_ that many
authors take it for the peloric variety of this plant. It occurs in the
wild state in some parts of Mexico, where the _Cypripedium_ also grows.
Its claims to be a separate genus are lessened by the somewhat monstrous
condition of the sexual organs, which are described as quite abnormal.
But here also, intermediates are lacking, and this fact points to a
sudden origin.
Many cases of pelorism afford promising material for further studies of
experimental mutations. The peloric toad-flax is only the prototype of
what may be expected in other cases. No opportunity should be lost to
increase the as yet too scanty, evidence on this point.
[488]
LECTURE XVII
THE PRODUCTION OF DOUBLE FLOWERS
Mutations occur as often among cultivated plants as among those in the
wild state. Garden flowers are known to vary markedly. Much of their
variability, however, is due to hybridism, and the combination of
characters previously separate has a value for the breeder nearly equal
the production of really new qualities.
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