THALAMIFLOR^ 167 



Geraniums and Stork's Bills being natives of Europe, 

 North America, and North Asia. 



Mostly herbaceous, rarely fleshy or succulent, these 

 plants have swollen or tumid stem-joints and broad 

 membranous stipules. A few are shrubs. Some are 

 annual, most are perennial in duration. The leaves 

 are opposite, or alternate, compound, and much 

 divided, toothed. 



The flowers are generally regular and hermaphro- 

 dite, the parts in fives. The calyx consists of five 

 ribbed sepals, which are distinct, overlapping, with 

 the tips valvate, and persistent. The petals are 

 clawed, five in number, overlapping or twisted in the 

 bud. There are ten stamens, or three times as many 

 as the petals, or as many, in two whorls, the outer 

 opposite the petals, that is, obdiplostemonous, if 

 there is more than one whorl, and hypogynous. In 

 the Stork's Bill there are staminodes. The pistil is 

 syncarpous, superior, made up of five carpels, or two 

 to three, or three to five arranged round the character- 

 istic torus or beak, which gives the group its name. 

 The ovary is five-lobed and five-celled, with one or 

 more seeds in each, attached to the central axis. 

 The five styles are long, united with five stigmas. 

 The fruit is a schizocarp as a rule, the carpels or the 

 seeds becoming detached from the persistent style. 

 The carpels are detached with their awn, which is 

 hygroscopic. 



In the species with large flowers the anthers ripen 

 first, the inner stamens opening first. Honey is 



