| → The sterility of these 1869 1872 |
| These 1866 |
|
| → when 1869 1872 |
| which are so sterile, although 1866 |
|
| → that of hybrids 1869 1872 |
| hybrids 1866 |
|
| →
se
.
1872 |
|
se,
and we all know how sterile these latter generally are.
1866 |
|
se.
1869 |
|
|
that these illegitimate plants, as they may be called, are not fully fertile. It is possible to raise
dimorphic species, both long-styled and short-styled illegitimate plants, and from trimorphic plants all three illegitimate
can
properly united in a legitimate manner. When this is done, there is no apparent reason why they should not yield as many seeds as did their parents when legitimately fertilised. But such is not the
are all infertile,
in various degrees; some being so utterly and incurably sterile that they did not yield during four seasons a single seed or even
seed-capsule.
→The sterility of these
illegitimate plants,
→when
united with each other in a legitimate manner, may be strictly compared with
→that of hybrids
when crossed
inter →
se
.
on the other
a hybrid is crossed with either pure parent-species, the sterility is usually much
and so it is when an illegitimate plant is fertilised by a legitimate plant. In the same manner as the sterility of hybrids does not always run parallel with the difficulty of making the first cross between
two parent-species, so the sterility of certain illegitimate plants was unusually great, whilst the sterility of the union from which they were derived was by no means great. With hybrids raised from the same seed-capsule the degree of sterility is innately variable, so it is in a marked manner with illegitimate plants. Lastly, many hybrids are profuse and persistent flowerers, whilst other and more sterile hybrids produce few flowers, and are weak, miserable dwarfs; exactly similar cases occur with the illegitimate offspring of various dimorphic and trimorphic plants. |
|
| Altogether there is the closest identity in character and behaviour between illegitimate plants and hybrids. It is hardly an exaggeration to maintain that
are hybrids,
produced within the limits of the same species by the improper union of certain forms, whilst ordinary hybrids are produced from an improper union
so-called distinct species. We have also already seen that there is the closest similarity in all respects between first illegitimate unions and first crosses between distinct species.
will perhaps be made more fully apparent by an
we may suppose that a botanist found two well-marked varieties (and such occur) of the long-styled form of the trimorphic Lythrum salicaria, and that he determined to try by crossing whether they were specifically distinct. He would find that they yielded only about one-fifth of the proper number of seed, and that they behaved in all the other above specified respects as if they had been two distinct species. But to make the case sure, he would raise plants from his supposed hybridised seed, and he would
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