358 ORGANOGRAPHY. 



CHAPTER 5. 



REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF CRYPTOGAMOUS, FLOWERLESS, OK 

 ACOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 



The nutritive organs of Cryptogamous Plants have been already 

 briefly alhided to in the chapter on the General Morphology 

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

 It only remains for us to describe the reproductive organs of the 

 same division of plants ; this we shall do as briefly as is possible, 

 our space not allowing us to take more than a general view of 

 the subject. 



The reproductive organs of Cryptogamous Plants differ widely 

 from those of the Phanerogamia ; for, in the first place, they 

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

 andrcecium or gyncecium, the presence of which is essential to 

 our notion of a flower ; hence such plants are termed Flowerless. 

 Although these plants have no true stamens or carpels, 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, flowerless 

 plants have been also called Cryptogamous, which signifies lite-^ 

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

 applied, has now been 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 ; but instead of seeds, they form reproductive bodies 

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

 composed 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 Acotyledonous. In germination also, as the 

 spores have no rudimentary stem or root, they have commonly 

 no definite growth, but this takes place by an indifferent exten- 

 sion of one or both of their membranes. Some exceptions are, 

 however, afforded to this latter peculiarity by certain spores 

 which have on their outer membrane certain spots or pores, 

 through which, in germination, little threads are protruded from 

 an extension of their inner membrane. This is exactly analo- 

 gous to the production of the tubes from the pollen-cells ; indeed, 

 in their general structure, spores (especially those of the Pungi, 

 which exhibit the above growth), have a striking similarity to 



