ABSTRACT
The cleistogamic flowers of Specularia perfoliata are highly remarkable, as they are closed by a tympanum formed by the rudimentary corolla, and without any trace of an opening. The stamens vary from 3 to 5 in number, as do the sepals. Dr Bromfield also remarks that the calyx of the cleistogamic flowers is usually only 3-cleft, while that of the perfect flower is mostly 5-cleft. The collecting hairs on the pistil, which play so important a part in the fertilization of the perfect flowers, are here quite absent. Sir J. Hooker and Dr Thomson state that some of the Indian species of Campanula produce two kinds of flowers; the smaller ones being borne on longer peduncles with differently formed sepals, and producing a more globose ovary. The flowers are closed by a tympanum like that in Specularia. Some of the plants produce both kinds of flowers, others only one kind; both yield an abundance of seeds.
