CHAPTER III 

 THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE FLOWER 



THE conception of the flower which was almost univer- 

 sally held in 1860 was the direct outcome of the dogma 

 of metamorphosis. On this view the modifications of 

 the leaf occur in orderly sequence, and the development 

 takes the order, foliage leaf, bract, sepal, petal, stamen, 

 carpel, this being termed progressive metamorphosis. The 

 fundamental idea of the flower was that of a branch or 

 shoot, whose leaves were progressively modified in that 

 direction, the metamorphosis culminating in the carpel. 



With the full realization of Hofmeister's discoveries a 

 little change came about, the stamen and carpel being 

 recognized as being concerned in spore-production, and not 

 forming truly sexual organs. The term sporophyll came 

 into use as applicable to them as well as to the spore- 

 bearing leaves of the Ferns and their allies. The conception 

 of the flower became, under Goebel's guidance, that of a 

 shoot bearing sporophylls, a view associated many years 

 earlier with Schleiden. 



The morphology of the flower on such a basis had been 

 the subject of an exhaustive work by Payer in 1857, and 

 his researches excited much discussion and research. 

 Chief among the writers of the period were Doll in 1870, 

 Eichler in 1875-8, Celakowsky in 1875, and Goebel in 1884. 

 Eichler's contribution to the science took the form of the 

 Bliithendiagramme, which was the most important publica- 

 tion of the period dealing with floral morphology. It 

 contained a full exposition of the floral type of each natural 

 order, and the more important of its modifications, showing 



