Le gynécée du Begonia tuberhybrida et ses variations

Abstract

The gynoecium of the Begonia tuberhybrida Voss is characterized by the inferior position of its three ovaries, which are united between themselves and with the four or five parts of the perianth. The modifications of this gynoecium are highly diversified, but the most frequent are the variation of number of carpels giving rise to meiomerous or pleiomerous gynoecia and the variation in the position of ovaries which results in the formation of gynoecia of the pattern of another genus of the same family, Hillebrandia (semiinferior ovaries), or of the pattern of the hypothetic flower of Begoniaceae (superior ovaries).The study of the morphology and of the vascularization of these normal or abnormal gynoecia leads to an understanding of the constitution of the carpel and of the ovarian wall in this genus.