BOTANY POR BEGINNERS— X(V. 



THE GREAT DIVISIONS OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 



All plants higher in structure than the ferns and fern 

 allies are called flowering plants, though the pines and 

 other conifers, which are thus included might seem at first 

 glance to have no claims to such a position. The fact is, 

 however, that the pines have two kinds of l^lossoms. One, 

 which bears the pollen is a catkin-like affair containing 

 man^^ stamens; the other is the structure which later 

 ripens into the familiar pine cone and consists of a great 

 number of pistils. The great difference between conifers 

 and what we may for convenience term the true flowering 

 plants, is this: inflow^ering plants the pistil forms a closed 

 or bottle-shaped ovary containing the embryo seeds, while 

 in the conifers the embryo seeds are not enclosed in an 

 ovary, but are borne on the base of the scales in the cone. 

 At the time of flowering, the scales of the 3'oung pistillate 

 cone open, allowing the wind to sifc the pollen down on 

 their embryo seeds. And then they clo.se up, not to open 

 again until the ripened seeds are ready to be dispersed. 

 The seed-bearing plants, whether pines or others, are 

 called Spermatophytes or Sperniatophyta, and this dis- 

 tinction between the pines and our real flowering plants is 

 made the basis of the first division of the spermatophyta. 

 The pines and their relatives— what we usualh^ call the 

 conifers or cone-bearers — are called Gymnospernis, a word 

 meaning naked ovules. All other flowering-plants are 

 classed as A ngio sperms, the word meaning enclosed seeds. 

 The angiosperms comprise the great majority- of spermat- 

 ophytes. Leaving asideforthe present the gymnospernis, 

 we will sketch the principal differences in this larger group. 



One of the first things that impresses the student of 

 the angiosperms is the fact that the species fall easily 

 into two very natural groups. One is characterized b^^ 

 three parted flowers and parallel-veined leaves— such as 

 the orchids, lilies, grasses and palms; the other has usual- 

 ly five parted or four parted flowers and netted-veined 

 leaves. That this is no mere superficial difference is found 



