ANGIOSPERMS. 



355 



half anther at the extremity of one arm, the other arm remaining sterile and serving 

 to other ends. It depends on the nature of the connection of the connective with 

 the two anther-lobes whether these are parallel to one another, in which case they 

 usually adhere to the connective along their whole length, or whether they are 

 connected together below and are separated above, or are free below and united 



FIG. 274. A stamen of 

 Mcthonia Aquifolittm. B 

 the same with anther open. 

 a anther-lobe, k ruptured 

 valve of anther, x hook-like 

 process, f filament. 



FIG. 275. Stamen of Ar- 

 />ntiis hybrida with the an- 

 ther a open; f filament, x 

 appendage. 



FIG 276. Stamens of Cen- 

 tradeiiia rosea. A a larger fer- 

 tile, B a smaller sterile stamen. 

 f filament, a, b anthers, x ap- 

 pendage of connective. 



above, in which latter case they may diverge from one another to such an extent 

 as to lie in one line above the top of the filament, as in the Labiatae. The filament 

 frequently has appendages, such for instance as the membranous expansions or 

 appendages, like stipules, right and left of the lower part of the filament in Allium, or 

 a hood-shaped out-growth behind, as in the Asclepiadeae, or ligular structures in 



FIG. 277. Longitudinal section of the flower 

 of Calothamnus, one of the Myrtaceae ; f the 

 ovary, s the calyx, p the petals, g the style, 

 st branched stamens. 



FIG. 278. Part of a male flower of Ricimts com- 

 munis in longitudinal section ;yythe basal portions 

 of the repeatedly branched stamens, a the anthers. 



front, as in Alyssum montanum, or hook-like processes on one side beneath the 

 anther, as in Crambe, or on both sides, as in Fig. 274 x. 



A phenomenon of the greatest importance for the understanding of the morphology 

 of the flower is the branching of the stamens which occurs in many Dicotyledons, and 

 which was often confounded by the older botanists with their cohesion, though the 



A a 2 



