ORGANS OF KEPRODXJCTION. 



243 



they are Ihiear {Jig. 514) ; in the Gourd tribe {fig. 517) Uyicar, 

 and sinuose or convoluted ; in the Solcmum {fig. 525) four-sided ; 

 and at other times pointed, or prolonged in various ways. These 

 torms combined with those of the connective determine that of 

 the anther, which may be oval, ohlong, &c. : or bifurcate or 

 forked, a.s, m t\\Q Vaccinium vliginosttm {fig. 519); or quad ri- 

 furcate {fig. 520), as in Gualtheria ■procumhens ; or sagittate {fig. 

 513), as in the Oleander ; ot cordate, as in the common Wall- 

 flower {figs. 420 and 421). In the Grasses the anthers are bifur- 

 cate at each extremity {fig. 488), so as to resemble somewhat 

 the letter x in form. 



The lobes of the anther also, like the connective, frequently 

 present appendages of 



various kinds. Thus Fig. 518. Fig. 519. Fig. 520. 

 in the Erica cinerea 

 they have a flattened 

 leafy body at their base 

 {fig. 518, a); at other 

 times the surface of the 

 anther presents projec- 

 tions in the shape of 

 pointed bodies {fig. 519, 

 a), as in Vaccinium 

 uliginosum, or warts, &c. 

 Such anthers, like those 

 which present appen- 

 dages from the connec- 

 tive, are termed ajipen- 

 diculate. 



The anther when 

 young is of a greenish 

 hue, but when fully 

 matured it is usually 

 yellow. There are how- 

 ever many exceptions 

 to this ; thus it is dark 

 purple, or blaok, m 

 many Poppies, orange in 

 Eschscholtzia, purple in the Tulip, red in the Peach, &c. 



Dehiscence of the Anther. — When the anthers are perfectly 

 ripe they open and discbarge the contained pollen {fig. 421); 

 this act is called the dehiscence of the anther. This dehis- 

 cence commonly takes place in the line of the sutures {fig. 504, 

 b), and at the period when the flower is fully expanded, and 

 the pistil consequently developed to receive the influence of 

 the pollen ; at other times, however, the anthers burst before 

 the flower opens and while the pistil is still in an imperfect, 

 btate. All the aiitjiers may open at the same period, or in 

 u2 



Fio-blS. Appeiidirulate fiiitber attached to fi- 

 lament, /, of the Fine-leaved Heath (Erica 

 cinerea). a. Appendix. I. Lobes, r. Lateral 



pore or slit where dehiscence takes plai-e. 



Fig. 519. Bifurcate anther of Vacci7iium 

 uliginosum attached to filament/. Z. Anther 

 lohes. «. Appendages, p. Points of the an- 

 ther lobes where dehiscence takes place. 



Fig. .520. Quadrifurcate anther of Gualtheria 

 procumbens, AitRched to flianient/. /.Anther 

 lobes. The above figures are from Jussieu. 



