A multitude of cases could be
given of very closely allied species which will not unite, or only with
extreme difficulty; and on the other hand of very distinct species which
unite with the utmost facility. In the same family there may be a genus,
as Dianthus, in which very many species can most readily be crossed; and
another genus, as Silene, in which the most persevering efforts have failed
to produce between extremely close species a single hybrid. Even within
the limits of the same genus, we meet with this same difference; for
instance, the many species of Nicotiana have been more largely crossed than
the species of almost any other genus; but Gartner found that N. acuminata,
which is not a particularly distinct species, obstinately failed to
fertilise, or to be fertilised, by no less than eight other species of
Nicotiana. Many analogous facts could be given.
No one has been able to point out what kind or what amount of difference,
in any recognisable character, is sufficient to prevent two species
crossing. It can be shown that plants most widely different in habit and
general appearance, and having strongly marked differences in every part of
the flower, even in the pollen, in the fruit, and in the cotyledons, can be
crossed. Annual and perennial plants, deciduous and evergreen trees,
plants inhabiting different stations and fitted for extremely different
climates, can often be crossed with ease.
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