ORGANS OF RErRODUCTION. 363 



CHAPTER 5. 



RErRODLCTIVE ORGANS OF CR\TPTOGAMOUS, FLOAVERLESS, OR 

 ACOTTLEDONOUS PLANT!?. 



The nutritive organs of Cryptoganious Plants have been already- 

 very briefly alluded to in tlie chapter on the General Morphology 

 of the Plant, and in our description of the stem, root, leaf, &c. 

 It only remains for us to describe their reproductive organs, 

 Avhich we shall do as briefly as is possible, our space not allow- 

 ing us to take more tlian a general view of the subject. 



The reproductive organs of Cryptogamous Plants differ widely 

 from those of the Phanerogam ia ; for, in the first place, they 

 have no flowers properly so called, — that is to say, they have 

 no stamens or carpels, the presence of which is essential to our 

 notion of a flower ; hence they are termed Floicerless Plants. 

 Although these plants have no true stamens or cai-pels, still 

 recent investigations have proved, that they have other organs 

 which perform analogous purposes, and to which the names of 

 Antheridia, and Pistillidia or Archegonia, have been applied. 

 These organs being more or less concealed or obscure, flower- 

 less plants have been also called Ciyptogamous, which signifies 

 literally, concealed sexes. The term asexual, which was formerly 

 apphed, has now been generally proved to be incorrect. 



Secondly, as Cryptogamous Plants have no flowers, they do not 

 produce true seeds or bodies containing a rudimentary plant or 

 embryo ; instead of seeds, they form reproductive bodies called 

 spores, which in most cases consist of one cell (rarely more), com- 

 posed of two or more membranes, enclosing a granular matter. 

 A spore having no embryo can have no cotyledon, which is an 

 essential part of the embryo, consequently flowerless plants 

 have been also called Acoti/ledonous. In germination also, as 

 they have no rudimentary stem or root, they have commonly no 

 definite growth, but this takes place by an indifferent extension 

 of one or both of their membranes. Some exceptions are, how- 

 ever, afforded to this latter peculiarity by the spores of certain 

 Fungi, Avhich have on their outer membrane certain spots or 

 pores, through which, in germination, little threads are pro- 

 traded from an extension of their inner membrane. This is 

 exactly analogous to the production of the tubes from the 

 pollen grains ; indeed, in their general structure, spores (espe- 

 cially those of the Fungi, Avhich exhibit the above growth), have 



