be 
THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 347 
Gyneecia essentially like those of marsh-marigold are 
found in Christmas roses, columbines, peonies, and monks- 
hoods (Figs. 178, 282, 287, 284). In anemonies (Fig. 297), 
each carpel contains at first the rudiments of several ovules, 
but only one (the lowest) develops, the rest remaining mere 
rudiments. Many genera, as for example, crowfoots, mouse- 
tails, meadow rues, and clematises (Figs. 285; 290, 293) have 
only a single ovule in each carpel from the first. In a few cases 
it happens, as in fennel-flowers (Fig. 286) and certain species 
nearly related to the Christmas rose, that the carpels are 
more or less united with one-another at the base, thus form- 
ing a compound pistil comparable to that of flax. As a result 
of this union of the carpels there is formed a single compound 
placenta which being at the center of the ovary is termed 
azile. Itis obvious that a compound pistil, say of five carpels, 
requires less material than an equal number of separate 
carpels of the same size, just as it takes less bricks to build a 
chimney with five flues than it does to make for each flue a 
separate chimney. Almost all of the crowfoot family have 
simple pistils, 1. e., consisting of but one carpel. The number 
of simple pistils may be many, as in crowfoots, mouse-tails, 
and anemonies; several or few, as in Christmas rose, colum- 
bines, peonies, and monkshoods; or only one, as in bane- 
berries. 
When both stamens and pistils are present (as in nearly all 
of the crowfoot family) the flower is said to be perfect; it is 
imperfect when either set of essential organs is absent or rudi- 
mentary. Flowers having stamens alone are called staminate; 
those with pistils alone, pistillate. In certain species of 
clematis both perfect and imperfect flowers occur; such 
plants are termed polygamous. 
Andreecia consisting of an indefinite number of stamens 
like those of marsh-marigold occur in the wood-anemony, 
peonies, and certain species of clematis (Figs. 194, 282, 291). 
Among cultivated peonies we often find flowers which have be- 
come “double”’ as the gardeners say. In these the outer sta- 
1 Perfect flowers are symbolized in botany by the sign 8, staminate 
by <, and pistillate by 9. The expression 8 o 9 would thus stand 
for polygamous. 
