io6 Plants and theii' Ways in South Africa 



anther. They have been changed for some special reason. 

 In Adenandra they bear honey glands at the tip. Bodies 

 which are in the position of stamens, but which do not form 

 pollen, are called staminodia. 



Fig. 113. — Peach. Vertical section of flower. (From Henslow's " South 

 African Flowering Plants.") 



The Insertion of the Flower. — The end of the flower- 

 stalk, the receptacle or thalamus, is usually a shortened cone, 

 so that the four whorls of the flower are borne closely together. 

 Sometimes the part between any two whorls may be lengthened. 



Fig. 114. — Mese»ibfyatithei)iic/ii. Vertical section of flower. (From Henslow's 

 "South African Flowering Plants.") 



In the Capparis family, which is found chiefly in the East, 

 the thalamus is lengthened between the petals and stamens, 

 and again beyond the stamens, so that they are separated from 

 the pistil. The thalamus may be swollen into a disc, as in 



