THE ANGIOSPERMAE 



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Fig. 1222. — Piled muscosa. "Artillery Plant." The male flowers with four recurved 

 stamens which have discharged their pollen, are plainly seen. The bushy stigmas 

 of female flowers are less conspicuous. ( X 4.) 



number of Palms (see p. 2047) and the second a small group of water plants 

 such as Sparganium, Typha, Triglochin and Potamogeton. 



Sparganinm ramosum (Fig. 1223) is a common aquatic plant in this 

 country. The stems project above the water and bear spherical heads of 

 flowers, each head being composed of either male or female flowers only. 

 The male heads are usually formed higher up on the flowering stem than 

 the female ones. In both male and female flowers there is a perianth of from 

 3-6 scaly segments. In the male flowers there are 2-3 stamens which alter- 

 nate with the perianth segments, while in the female flower the ovary is 

 formed of a single carpel and contains one or two pendulous ovules. The 

 style is long and projects beyond the limits of the flower. Each male inflores- 

 cence contains about 100 anthers, each of which is attached to a flexible 

 fllament. Each female inflorescence is made up of about 150 flowers and, 

 owing to the long stigma which develops on the tip of the style, the female 



