Aberrations in flower development in Silene

The occurrence of aberrant numbers of floral parts in Silene coeli-rosa was most frequent at high and low temperatures but was not obviously correlated with effectiveness of floral induction or with the growth rate of the flower. The stamens were more often aberrant than the other floral whorls. Aberrations seemed to occur independently in the different floral whorls, except in the case of the sepals and petals, since almost half the plants with aberrant numbers of sepals showed the same aberration in the petals. The findings are considered in relation to normal flower development.