a trace of flowers. In the eleventh
volume of the 'Linnaea,' 1837, p. 301, Von Cesati figures and describes
an analogous case in _Carduus crispus_. The same author[1] records a
similar instance in the umbel of _Seseli coloratum_, where the place of
the flowers was occupied by stalked tufts of leaves. In the 'Gardeners'
Chronicle,' October 6th, 1860, p. 894, is mentioned an instance where
the blossoms of the pea were entirely absent, and their place supplied
by accumulations of small, ovate, green scales, thus presenting an
appearance similar to that brought about by the inordinate
multiplication of the sepals in the "wheat-ear carnation," and in the
Sweet William, and not unlike the condition met with in _Bryophyllum
proliferum_. In _Digitalis purpurea_ a similar anomaly is sometimes met
with.

In the apple I have observed leafy shoots bearing terminal tufts of
leaves where the flower should have been, so that what, under ordinary
circumstances would be a corymb of flowers, is here represented by a
series of tufts of leaves. In the cultivated azaleas also, leafy shoots
occupying the position of the flower may occasionally be met with.

In _Bouchea hyderabadensis_ I have seen the inflorescence more than
usually branched and covered with little tufts of bracts, without a
trace of true flower. A similar condition seems not infrequent in
_Gentiana Amarella_, as I have not only met with the plant myself in
this condition, but have been favoured with specimens by Mr. Pamplin,
Mr. Darwin, and others. In _Phyteuma spicatum_ an analogous appearance
has been recorded.

Among Griffith's collections from Affghanistan is a species of willow
(_Salix_) in which the inflorescence replaced by a much branched
panicle, bearing a quantity of minute bracts, in the axils of which
nestle numerous small buds. In another specimen the inflorescence
preserves its usual catkin-like shape, but the flowers are replaced by
little tufts of leaves. M. Germain de Saint Pierre mentions a case
wherein the flowers of _Alisma parnassifolia_ were completely replaced
by leaf-buds.[155]

[Illustration: FIG. 79.--Spikelets of _Willedenovia_, composed entirely
of scales to the exclusion of flowers.]

[Illustration: FIG. 80.--Rose Willow, _Salix_, sp.]

Here, also, may be mentioned the curious aggregations of scales which
occur in some grasses, in _Restiaceae_, _Juncaceae_, and other orders, in
which the inflorescence is made up of collections of scales o