116 Smith on Structure and Parasitism 
plant. Koch states that the large amount of starch stored 
up in a young plant immediately after germination, is to insure 
it against starvation in case the host perishes. But starch is 
present in great quantities when the seeds are nearly or quite 
ripe, and it is passed into the soil with decay of the plant. 
It can scarcely be wholly to insure a supply for the endosperm, 
for the amount stored there is infinitesimal compared to that 
in the entire plant. Further, the conditions of germination 
preclude the possibility that the starch is present in order that 
the seeds may find a rich nidus in the decaying parent plant. 
Bract-LEAvVES. 
The bract-leaves are thick at the base, gradually thin out 
at the top, and are closely appressed to the stem. The epi- 
dermal cells are small and flattened. The mesophyll is packed 
with starch, and is supported by a few strands of bundle- 
tissue, which enters the bract as one strand, and quickly sub- 
divides. The tips of these leaves are very slightly trifid, a 
fact that perhaps points to a three-lobed ancestral leaf. The 
lower bract-leaves differ markedly from the upper. The 
lower ones have neither stomata nor hairs. The upper ones 
have numerous stomata on the free outer (morphologically 
under) surface, and the tips and outer surfaces are clothed 
with multicellular, capitate hairs. Between these two extremes, 
selecting a plant with five leaves, there are transitional stages. 
THE FLOWER. 
The flower is irregular, produces a five-parted calyx, a five- 
parted bilabiate corolla, four epipetalous stamens, and a superior 
bicarpellate ovary. Bracteoles are ahsent. The calyx is 
almost or quite regular. Its lobes are fleshy and bear hairs 
on the outer surface. The epidermis consists of irregular 
cells of wavy outline, and is pierced with many stomata. The 
