stages between the two, often found inside the flower of such plants.)

This falling back from the stage of an organ of fertilization to that
of a petal shows that the plant is capable of regressive metamorphosis,
and we may conclude from this that in the normal sequence the different
organs are transformed from one another by way of progressive
metamorphosis. It is evident that the regressive type occurs only as an
abnormality, or as a result of artificial cultivation. Plants once
brought into this condition frequently show a general state of unrest,
so that other organs also are inclined to fall back to a lower level.
Thus we may come across a rose, an outer petal of which appears in the
form of a leaf of the calyx (sepal), or one of the sepals is found to
have grown into an ordinary rose leaf.

We now extend our mental exercise to the plant's whole organism. By a
similar mental effort as applied to the leaf-formations we strive to
build up a complete plant. We start with the seed, from which we first
imagine the cotyledons unfolding, letting this be followed by the
gradual development of the entire green part of the plant, its stem and
leaves, until the final leaves change into the sepals of the calyx.
These again we turn into the petals of the flower, until via pistil and
stamens the fruit and seed are formed.

By pursuing in this way the living doing of the plant from stage to
stage we become aware of a significant rhythm in its total life cycle.
This, when first discovered by Goethe, gave him the key to an
understanding of nature's general procedure in building living
organisms, and in maintaining life in them.

The plant clearly divides into three major parts: firstly, the one that