Amongst orchids, where the pedicel of the flower or the ovary is normally twisted, so that the labellum occupies the anterior or inferior part of the flower, it frequently happens, in cases of peloria and other changes, that the primitive position is retained, the twist does not take place, and so with other resupinate flowers. In Azaleas a curious deflexion of the parts of the flower may occasionally be met with. Fig. 112 shows an instance of this in which the corolla, the stamens and the style were abruptly bent downwards: as young flowers of this singular variety have not been examined it is difficult to form an opinion as to the cause of this variation. In one plant the change occurred in connection with the suppression of all the flowers but one in the cluster, or rather the place of the flowers was occupied by an equal number of leafy shoots.
Fig. 112.—Flower of Azalea, showing the corolla reflected.
Moquin[213] mentions a flower of Rosa alpina in which two of the petals were erect, while the remaining ones were much larger and expanded horizontally. The same author quotes from M. Desmoulins the case of a species of Orobanche, in which a disjunction of the petals constituting the upper lip took place, thus liberating the style and allowing it to assume a vertical direction.
Fig. 113.—Flower of Cuphea miniata enlarged, showing protrusion and hypertrophy of an erect placenta, after Morren.
