Androhermaphrodites of Lychnis Alba

Lychnis alba was found to produce four categories of flowers; i.e. pistillate, staminate, gynohermaphrodite and androhermaphrodite. Hermaphrodites are formed when a rudimentary pistil (pistillodium) or stamens (staminodea) develop into mature organs on the ovaries of otherwise pistillate or staminate flowers. Androhermaphrodites, in particular, were studied and their structure and behavior found to be essentially similar to corresponding parts of regular staminate and pistillate flowers. Ovaries of androhermaphrodite flowers exhibited variations in style number ranging from one to five. Ovaries with two to five styles were self- or cross-fertile with any good Lychnis alba pollen. One-styled ovaries of androhermaphrodite flowers were of unusual interest because they occurred so commonly, showed a range of development from a pistillodium to a mature ovary, and because they were characteristically self- and cross-sterile