212 SAGACITY AND MORALITY OF PLANTS. 



lodicules (or small inner scales seen in the flowers of 

 the Wheat and most Grasses) are all that remain of 

 what were formerly petals or perianth-segments. In 

 Scirpus these parts are represented by six small 

 dry bristles. The Carices have lost all traces of 

 any former perianth. Some Grasses have reduced 

 their normal number of stamens from three to two, 

 as the Vernal -grass {Anthoxanthum odoratum), for 

 instance ; and numbers of them have lowered the 

 number of their stigmas to the two plumose parts 

 everybody is acquainted with. 



Aborted male and female organs (stamens and 

 pistils) occur in the clusters on the spadix of the 

 well-known "Lords and Ladies" (Arum maculatuni) 

 and in other British plants. In every one of these 

 instances we are warranted in regarding such an 

 occurrence as evidence of degeneration. 



The successful habit the " Cleavers " [Galium 

 aparine) has adopted, of climbing by means of mul- 

 titudes of grapnel-hooks, has already been alluded to. 

 The minute white flowers of that plant, however, 

 should not fail to be remarked. They spring in feeble 

 clusters from the verticillate or star-like arrangement 

 of leaves, and are anything but attractive. And 

 yet a simple dissection shows they belong to that 

 highly-organised group of flowers in which all the 

 petals have become united in a single piece {gamo- 

 petaloits). The family to which the " Cleavers" belongs 

 possesses some very brilliant members, and it does 



