6o8 



BOTANY OF THE LIVING PLANT 



The floral diagram (Fig. 455) shows the regular alternation of the successive 

 whorls of three parts. As those of each whorl are all of equal size, and except- 

 ing the carpels all separate from one another, the Tulip may be held as a 

 relatively primitive type of Liliaceous flower. But the syncarpous state here 

 seen is probably not the most primitive. In Colchicum, with its Crocus-like 

 habit, the carpels are incompletely fused, and each has its separate style and 

 stigma : an indication of a primitive apocarpous state. Other members of the 

 Order show various steps in cohesion and adhesion of the outer parts. For 

 instance, in (2) the Wild Hyacinth (Scilla nutans, Sm.) the stamens are adherent 

 to the perianth-segments (epiphyllous). In the Grape-Hyacinth (Muscari), 

 and the Lily of the Valley {Convallaria) 

 the segments of the perianth are 

 coherent into a bell. In some Lilies 

 the perianth may form a long tube, 

 while the style is proportionally 

 elongated. But still the ovary is 

 superior ; even in Colchicum, where it 

 is below ground, it stands above the 

 insertion of the long tube-like perianth. 

 In others, as in Hemerocallis, the gamo- 

 phyllous flower is zygomorphic. Thus 

 the primitive state seen in the Tulip 

 may be modified in relation to pollina- 

 tion by insects. 



Pollination. The flower of the Tulip 

 is conspicuous by its size and colour ; 

 but there is no honey, though in the 

 nearly allied Fritillaria a large honey- 

 gland lies at the base of each perianth- 

 segment. The Tulip is visited by insects for its pollen, and so crossing may 

 be effected ; but it is not a specialised mechanism. 



The fruit of the Liliaceae is either a capsule, splitting by longitudinal slits, 

 and so shedding the seeds, which are flattened and readily carried by the 

 wind ; or it may be a berry as in Lily of the Valley, or Asparagus, and thus 

 be distributed by birds. 



The Liliaceae are world-wide in distribution. Many are cultivated for the 

 beauty of their flowers. Some yield fibres for cordage (Phormium), others 

 valuable drugs (Aloe. Colchicum, Sarsaparilla (Smilax) ) : others are grown as 

 vegetables, e.g. Onion, Asparagus. 



Fig. 457. 



Transverse section of the superior ovary of 

 Lily, showing the three syncarpous carpels, 

 bearing the anatropous ovules on their infolded 

 margins. F. O. B- 



Family : Amaryllidaceae. Examples : Snowdrop, Narcissus. 



Those Liliales which have the same floral plan as the Liliaceae, but with 

 an ovary inferior, are grouped as Amaryllidaceae. But there is no sharp 

 line of demarcation between the hypogynous and the epigynous types. Some 

 genera show an intermediate state, their half-inferior ovary suggesting 

 how the carpels may have sunk into the tissue of the receptacle, thus giving 

 the ovules better protection, and nearer proximity to the sources of supply. 

 The floral diagram is the same for the Amaryllidaceae as for the Liliaceae. 

 (3) The Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis, L.), or the Snow-flake (Leucojum, L.) 



