68 



HOW PLANTS ARE PROPAGATED. 



in some flowers very miieli like these, as in Buttercups (Fig. 238) and Goldthread. 

 Or the flower may be still more incomplete, and 



Naked, or AcJilamydeous ; that is, without any flower-leaves at all, 



neither calyx nor corolla. That is the case in 



the Lizard's-Tail (Fig. 1G4), and in AYillows. 



Or it may be incomplete by wanting either the 



stamens or the pistils ; then it is 



205. All Imperfect or Separated Flo^yel^ Of course, 



if the stamens are wanting in one kind of blos- 

 ,g^ som there must be others that have them. Plants 



FWerof Luani-s-Taii. ^j^j^ imperfect flowers accordingly bear two sorts 



of blossoms, namely, one sort 



Staminate or Sterile, those having stamens only, and therefore not 

 producing seed ; and the other 



Pistillate or Fertile, having a pistil but no good sta- 

 mens, and ripening seed only when fertilized by pollen 

 from the sterile flowers. The Oak and Chestnut, Hemp, 

 Moonseed, and Indian Corn are so. Fig. 165 is one of 

 the staminate or sterile flowers of Indian Corn ; these 

 form the " tassel " at the top of the stem : their pollen 

 falls upon the "silk," or styles, of the forming ear below, 

 consisting of rows of pistillate flowers. Fig. 166 is one 

 of these, with its very long style. The two kinds of 

 flowers in this case are 



3Ioncecious ; that is, both borne by the same individ- 

 ual plant ; as they are also in the Oak, 

 Chestnut, Birch, &c. In other cases 



Dioecious ; that is, when one tree or herb 

 bears flowers with stamens only, and another 

 flowers with pistils only ; as in Willows and 

 Poplars, Hemp, and Moonseed. Fig. 167 is 

 a staminate flower from one plant of Moon- 

 seed, magnified; and Fig. 168, a pistillate flower, borne by a plant from a different 

 root. There is a third way : some plants produce what are called 



Polygamous flowers, that is,, having some blossoms with pistils only or v/ith 



Indian Corn. 



Moonseed Flowers. 



