34 OUTLINE OF STRUCTURAL BOTANY 
some of these wind fertilized plants the amount of pollen is almost 
incredible. The cone bearing plants, pines, spruces, etc., must pro- 
duce such an infinite number of these floating bodies as to insure 
the falling of great numbers upon distantly removed cones in 
such a way that they must remain attached to the stigmas. 
ARCHITECTURE OF THE FLOWER. 
Notwithstanding the great variety of forms of flowers a close 
comparison indicates that, in the main, flowers are constituted on 
a few general and pretty uniform plans and that the variations 
of form depend, not so much on the adoption of new plans as on 
the modification of the few general plans. 
We have examined the various elements of a flower, pistil, 
stamens, corolla and calyx and we have found that the first two of 
this group of organs are essential while the others are protective 
or useful as auxiliaries. 
Botanists have adopted certain diagramatie figures to express in 
graphic form the relations of these floral organs in the architectural 
structure of the flower. For example: if we would express the number 
and relative position of the members of a flower of the Iris family, 
a diagram something after the manner of that at Fig. 47 would be 
employed. At the center is found the thrée-rayed figure enclosed by 
a thin line. The three rays are lobed at their extremities. This cen- 
tral figure represents the column to which are attached the two rows 
ot ovules in each of the three cells of the ovary. The ovary with its 
closed cells is represented by the heavy line just beyond the center. 
3eyond the line representing the ovary is seen a dotted line with three 
small crosses. The dotted line indicates the circle in which three sta- 
mens would be found were they developed, but since they are unde- 
veloped the crosses indicate the points at which they would have been 
found had they been developed. 
Beyond this is another dotted line in which are three scolloped fig- 
ures and these figures represent the actual, fully developed, three sta- 
mens of the iris. Beyond the circle for the stamens we find a circle 
represented by three heavy lines and another circle of three parts not 
shaded. It is customary to represent the inner of these two circles by 
solid lines, the other by shaded lines. They represent, the inner circle, 
the petals, the outer, the sepals. In this case both circles represent 
colored organs. Below this circular part of the diagram is seen an- 
other heavy curved line which represents a bract at the base of the 
flower and, as the flower of iris is not always terminal we see at the 
upper side of the diagram the line representing another bract and a 
small circle, which represents the stem. 
In expressing the arrangement of a flower with five sepals, five 
petals, five stamens and a pistil with a five-celled ovary the diagram 
Fig. 48 would be used. 
In each of these cases the diagram is drawn without reference to 
