OF THE POLLEN. 207 



idea of a filament or thread, /. 62 ; and Anemone, 

 t. 5], wliere they are numerous. They are com- 

 monly smooth, but sometimes, as in Verbuscum^ 

 t. o8, 59, bearded. In Melaleuca, Exot. Bot. 

 t. 36 and JO, they are branched ; and in Frunella, 

 Engl. Bot. t. 961, forked, one point only bearing 

 an Anther. In Aristoloclila, t. 398, they are want- 

 ing, and nearly so in Potamogeton, t. 376, &c. 



The Anther is the only essential part of a Stamen. 

 It is generally of a membranous texture, consisting 

 of two cells or cavities, bursting longitudinally at 

 their outer edges, as in the Tulip. In Erica, t. 1013 

 — 15, it opens by pores near the summit, as in the 

 Potatoe-blossom Very rarely the Anther has four 

 cells, as Tetrathtca, Bot. of N. HoU. t. 5, and 

 E.vot. Bot. t. 20^' — 22. Sometimes it is ornamented 

 with a crest, as in many Ericas, and the genus 

 Pimis. See Mr. Lamberts splendid work. 



The Pollen, or Dust, is contained in the Anther, 

 from which it is thrown out chiefly in warm dry 

 weather, when the coat of the latter contracts and 

 bursts. The Pollen, though to the naked eye a 

 fine powder, and light enough to be wafted along 

 by the air, is so curiously formed, and so various 

 in different plants, as to be an interesting and 

 popular object for the microscope. Each grain of 



* In this plate the engraver has by mistake expressed the section of 

 the anther, so as to look more like a germen, tho'jgh the original 

 drawing was correct. 



