The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species · Charles Darwin
SHORT-STYLED FORM.
TABLE 4.25.3. Illegitimate union. 10 flowers fertilised by the mid-length stamens of the long-styled. 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 23 Too sterile for any average. TABLE 4.25.4. Illegitimate union. 10 flowers fertilised by the longest stamens of the mid-styled. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 Too sterile for any average. TABLE 4.25.5. Illegitimate union. 10 flowers fertilised by own-form longest stamens. 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 Too sterile for any average. TABLE 4.25.6. Illegitimate union. 10 flowers fertilised by own-form mid-length stamens. 64?* 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 21 0 9 (4/7. *I suspect that by mistake I fertilised this flower in Table 4.25.6 with pollen from the shortest stamens of the long-styled form, and it would then have yielded about 64 seeds. Flowers to be thus fertilised were marked with black silk; those with pollen from the mid-length stamens of the short-styled with black thread; and thus probably the mistake arose.) Too sterile for any average. Besides the experiments in the table, I fertilised a number of flowers without particular care with their own two kinds of pollen, but they did not produce a single capsule. Twenty-six flowers fertilised legitimately by the stamens of corresponding length, borne by the mid-and short-styled forms, yielded 61.5 per cent of capsules, which contained on an average 89.7 seeds. Twenty-six long-styled flowers fertilised illegitimately by the other stamens of the mid-and short-styled forms yielded only two very poor capsules. Thirty long-styled flowers fertilised illegitimately by their own-form two sets of stamens yielded only eight very poor capsules; but long-styled flowers fertilised by bees with pollen from their own stamens produced numerous capsules containing on an average 21.5 seeds.
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