46 SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY 



The stamens, or iMMiinaiits of tht'iii, ixTsist on the calyx-tube 

 of the ripened fniils in the pomes and are often serviceable in 

 distinguishing varieties, as will Ix' noted in discussing the char- 

 acters of fruits in the next chapter. 



The relative lengths of pistils and stamens is a character of 

 considerable value in identifying varieties of bramble-, pome-, 

 and drupe-fruits and one which is very constant. In making 

 comparisons of lengths of the two organs, it is well to remember 

 that stamens in these fruits attain full length first. 



73. The pistils. — Several characters of the pistils are of 

 taxonomic importance in classifying fruits from their flowers. 

 In pome-fruits the amount and character of the pubescence are 

 easily recognizable marks. In apples there are two quite distinct 

 arrangements of styles. In one the styles are united and form 

 a column about half their normal length, which, however, is 

 variable in different varieties. In the other arrangement the 

 styles are divided to the base. In the first form the whole pistil 

 is usuallj^ glabrous; in the second, it is usually, if not always, 

 pubescent. Tolman Sweet furnishes a good example of styles 

 divided to the base and bound together by dense pubescence. 

 The pubescence about the essential organs should be noted in 

 other fruits as well as the pomes, especially in the brambles in 

 which it is often distinctive. 



The length of the style is distinctive. Thus, in the Howell 

 pear it is abnormally short. The length varies much w^ith the 

 variety in the bramble-fruits. 



74. Arrangements of floral organs. — Flowers in which the 

 perianth and stamens are inserted on the receptacle at a lower 

 level than the ovary are hypogijnous and the ovary is siqjerior. 

 Flowers in which the perianth and stamens are arranged on the 

 edge of a hollow receptacle around free pistils are perigynous 

 and the ovary in this case is also superior. The flowers of the 

 plum, cherry, and strawberry are good examples. Some 

 botanists, however, think that the cup of the cherry and plum 

 flower is a hollow receptacle and not a calyx-tube, and that the 

 perianth and stamens are borne upon the receptacle-rim. In 

 some flowers, as in those of the apple, pear, currant and goose- 

 berry, the perianth and stamens are borne above the ovar}^ in 

 which case the flower is epigynoiis and the ovary inferior. 



