BOTANICAL INTRODUCTION. 



GENERAL ACCOUNT OF BOTANICAL TERMS. 



On the outside of many flowers is seen a little green cup, 

 which is called by botanists the calyx. The primrose, pink, 

 and rose, give examples for analysis. 



Within this flower-cup or calyx, which may be cut off" to 

 show what it contains, is seen the colored part of the flower, 

 that part which is yellow in the primrose, blue in the violet, 

 and red in the rose. The colored part is generally called the 

 flower, or blossom ; a botanist calls it the corolla. 



The blossom or corolla may now be cut off", which in the 

 primrose will be found to be of one piece, while in the rose and 

 other flowers, it is composed of several parts or flower-leaves. 

 These flower-leaves are called by botanists petals. 



Within the flower-leaf or petal in most flowers, as in the 

 primrose and lily, are seen several small thread-like organs 

 standing round in a circle. These are called stamens. 



Each stamen is composed of two parts, one long and slender 

 called the filament or stalk ; the other part, called the anther, 

 is a kind of knob like a little box at the top, which when the 

 flower comes to maturity, opens and throws out a colored dust 

 called the pollen. 



When the calyx, corolla, and the stamens, are all cut away, 

 the centre part of the flower alone will remain on the top of 

 the stem. This central organ is called the pistil ; this consists 

 of three parts, the top, which is called the stigma, the slender 

 filament which bears the stigma is denominated the style, and 

 the base is called the germe. 



The receptacle is the end of the stem, where all the other 

 parts of a flower are inserted. 



