126 Rev. P. Keith on the Structure of Living Fabrics. 



'Polov icczot; pihnfAtt, i unci mam beta e vftisito e uidJ 



Fobcc Kctl Ssotat rt^TTvet. — Ode v. Jq ^ 



One of the most splendid of all known flowers is that of the 

 Laurel Magnolia, of East Florida, which, when fully expanded, 

 gives a width across measuring not less than from six to nine 

 inches*. But a much larger flower still is that of Aristolochia 

 cordifolia, which is said to give a breadth across of at least 

 sixteen inches. This is enormous; and yet it is little in 

 comparison of the extraordinary and gigantic dimensions of 

 the fully expanded flower of Rajflesia Arnoldi, which displays 

 a diameter, as ascertained by actual measurement, of not less 

 than three feetf. 



Flowers, in their mode of attachment, are either sessile, as 

 in Agrimony, or supported upon a peduncle, as in the Cow- 

 slip. In their direction they are upright, or bending, or nod- 

 ding, or unilateral, that is, attached to one side only of the 

 stem, as in Lily of the Valley. If tbey issue from the root, they 

 are radical; if from the stem, caulinary; if from the branch, 

 ramial ; if from the leaf, foliary, as in Ruscus. But in all 

 their varieties, they are obviously divisible into the following 

 distinct parts, — the calyx, the corolla, the stamens, the pistil. 



The Calyx, — an appellation borrowed from the Greek term 

 xaAu£, which signifies an unexpanded blossom or its covering, 

 — is the exterior envelope of the flower, encompassing and pro- 

 tecting the interior parts. It may be perceived very distinctly 

 in a Rose not yet fully blown, or in a Poppy beginning to 

 open. Yet it is not to be regarded as altogether essential to 

 the idea of a flower, for in many flowers it is wanting. The 

 Tulip has no calyx. But in the flowers of perfect plants 

 it is very generally present under the modification of perianth, 

 glume, or scale. The perianth is a calyx that encircles 

 the flower completely, and often assumes the similitude of 

 a cup. In the case of the Acorn, the similitude is perfect. 

 It is either proper to a single flower, as in Primula; or com- 

 mon to several flowers, as in Tragopogon. It consists of a 

 single and undivided piece, as in Primula; or of several di- 

 stinct pieces, as in Rumex. It is caducous or deciduous, or 

 permanent and persistent, as in St. John's Wort. The glume 

 is a chaffy and membranous substance, accompanying the 

 flowers of the Grasses, and constituting their calyx, but not so 

 formed as to resemble a cup. Yet, if it be true that there is 

 no rule without an exception, a cup-shaped glume must exist. 

 The outer covering of the flowers of Cornucopia cucullata has 

 been thought to present that exception. But botanists seem 



'* Bartram's Travels. f Linn. Trans, vol. xiii. Part 1. 



