STAMENS AND PISTILS. 2.^9 



pand. The seeds however, the essence of the fruit, are 

 only in embryo at this period, just as in the germen of an 

 Apple blossom. 



It was very soon ascertained that flowers are invaria- 

 bly furnished with Stamens and Pistils, either in the 

 same individual, or two of the same species, however 

 defective they may be in other parts ; of which Hippu- 

 ris, Engl. Bot. t. 763, the most simple of all blossoms, 

 is a remarkable example. Few botanists indeed had 

 detected them in the Lemma or Duck-weed, so abun- 

 dant on the surface of still waters, and Valisneri alone for 

 a long time engrossed the honour of having seen them. 

 In our days however they rewarded the researches of 

 the indefatigable Ehrhart in Germany, and on being 

 sought with equal acuteness, were found in England. 

 Three species have been delineated in Engl. Bot. t. 

 926, 1095, and 1233, from the discoveries of Mr. Tur- 

 nerand Mr. W. Borrer. The flowers of Mosses, long- 

 neglected and afterwards mistaken, were faithfully de- 

 lineated by Micheli, carefully examined and properly 

 understood by Linnseus as he rambled over the wilds of 

 Lapland*, and at length fully illustrated and placed out 

 of all uncertainty by the justly celebrated Hedwig. 

 These parts indeed are still unknown in ferns, or at 

 least no satisfactory explanation of them has reached mc, 

 though the seeds and seed-vessels arc sufficiently obvi- 

 ous. 



The existence of the parts under consideration is so 

 incontrovertible in every flower around us, that Ponte- 



* This hitherto unknown fact will appear in his Tour through 

 that country, now preparing for the press in English. 

 HIi 



