Unter Pflanzen, die aus einer spontanen Befruchtung stammen, gibt es oft solche, deren Nachkommen in Beschaffenheit und Anordnung der Farben weit auseinandergehen, während andere wenig abweichende Formen liefern, und unter einer grösseren Anzahl einzelne getroffen werden, welche ihre Blumenfarbe unverändert auf die Nachkommen übertragen.
Among plants which arise from a single spontaneous fertilisation, there are some whose descendants widely diverge with respect to the quality and arrangement of colours, while others deliver forms that deviate little only, and some are encountered among a larger number [of plants] that transmit their flower colour unaltered to their descendants.
spontaneous = spontanen The intended contrast is with the artificial fertilisation of pure-bred varieties that formed the basis for Mendel’s experiments. It is ironic that Mendel discusses the inheritance of traits in natural populations relying on examples drawn from cultivated plants.
forms = Formen See p. 3, s. 8.
quantity = Anzahl See p. 3, s. 8.