THE STRUCTURE OF FLOWERS, 49 



If a flower has a pistil without any stamens, it is 

 called female (Fig. 5, II.) ; and if there be the latter 

 without any pistil, it is said to be mcdc (Figs. 5, I. ; 

 6, 1.). Such flowers are unisexual. 



If both these organs are present the flower is 

 hisexifcd. If the sexes are in separate flowers on the 

 same plant, this is said to be momecious,^ as the Fig-tree, 

 Mi/ri'ca, Euplior'hict, and Melons ; if they be on separate 

 plants, such are called dicecious,^ as Ees'tio (Fig. 6) 

 and the English stinging nettle {Urti'ca dioi'ea), 

 naturalized at the Cape, as well as Gliffor'tia (Fig. 5). 



If two or more whorls be composed of the same 

 number, or are multiples of the same number of parts, 

 the whorls are said to be sj/mmetrieal. If they have 

 different numbers the whorls are called unsijmmetriccd. 



If a flower has both stamens and a pistil, it is said 

 to be perfect, whether it has a calyx or corolla or not ; 

 but without these it is incomplete. 



Freedom and Cohesion. — All parts of a flower really 

 partake of the nature of leaves, as may be proved by 

 the " green rose," in which every petal, stamen, and 

 carpel is replaced by a small green leaf. And as leaves 

 on a long shoot are all separate, so a flower has been 

 constructed by shortening the stalk and bringing all 

 the leaves to the, usually, enlarged end of it, now 

 called the floral receptacle. So, all parts of the flower, 

 like leaves, were quite free and separate. This was 



^ I.e. " one-housed." ^ I.e. " two-housed." 



E 



