ow: The Romance of Wild Flowers 
Rose — that is before it became anything like a 
cabbage —all but five of the petals were stamens. 
Some of the very narrowest of these imperfect petals 
actually end in anthers, to let us understand the thing 
fully. I have already mentioned that stamens, pistils, 
petals, and sepals are all mere modifications of what 
were originally foliage leaves, and proof of a very 
striking character 1s given in a monstrosity occasion- 
ally seen in which all the organs of the flower, petals 
included, are green. From time to time also botanists 
record examples of flowers having a leaf or leaves 
growing out from sepals or petals. 
We must now dismiss the Dog Rose, and give our 
attention to some other forms of Rose-flowers, but to 
which the names of Apple, Plum, and Cherry are 
ordinarily attached. In these cases it will be seen 
that the structure of the flower is essentially the 
same as in the Rose, with some differences of detail. 
The receptacle, for example, is filled up by 
the carpels, which are connected with each 
) other and joined to the walls of the recep- 
tacle-tube. The five sepals are still 
attached to the receptacle. The five petals 
are somewhat different in shape from 
those of the Rose: at the lower part 
they narrow into a short claw, and this portion is 
attached to the calyx-tube just above the base of 
the stamens. As the five carpels are united, so 
also are the styles at their lower extremities, but 
higher up they separate. 
Now in the Apple, the Pear, and the Mountain 
Ash, which are all members of the genus Pyrus, 
the stigmas are mature and ready for fertilisation 
Apple Flower 
