1288 A TEXTBOOK OF THEORETICAL BOTANY 



stamens arise from the base of the corolla opposite the sepals and each is 

 made up of a long, slender filament bearing at its top a reddish-purple or 

 yellow anther which is attached at its centre, with the pointed end of the 



P'iG. 1 21 9. — Dactylis glomerato. Wind-pollinated grass. 

 Spikelets in anthesis, showing the long stamens with 

 versatile anthers and the feathen,' stigmas. 



connective directed downwards. The anther dehisces by lateral slits. The 

 flowers are strongly protogynous (see Fig. 121 2, p. 1272), and the central 

 style projects beyond the corolla teeth while these are still in the erect posi- 

 tion. The style is unbranched, but is slender and covered with long hairs 

 to which the pollen grains readily adhere. During this stage the stamens 

 remain enclosed by the corolla and begin to elongate only after the style has 

 started to wither. The corolla teeth bend back and the filaments elongate, 

 so that the anthers hang out freely from the flower. They swing about 

 easily on their points of attachment and when the loculi open the pollen 

 is freely distributed. 



Since the inflorescence is a spike, the flowers along the axis are of 

 different ages. Those at the top, being the youngest, will be in the stigmatic, 



