FLOWERS, THEIR STRUCTURE AND KINDS 165 



they are favorably situated so that the corm attains a suitable 

 size, they then bear pistillate flowers. 



272. The Jack-in- the-pulpit belongs to the arum family. 

 A number of the species are grown in greenhouses for the orna- 

 mental foliage, while in some 

 others the spathe is brightly 

 colored, as in the calla lily 

 (Richardia), which is not a 

 true lily. Another very in- 

 teresting member of this 

 family is the skunk cabbage, 

 so called because of its pecul- 

 iar odor and large cabbage- 

 like leaves. Both kinds of 

 flowers are borne on the 

 same spadix, which is club- 

 shaped. 



Gladiolus. 



Fig. 125. 

 A group of jacks. 



273. The showy flowers 



of gladiolus arise in two ranks on a long terminal shoot, but 

 they bend to one side, giving the appearance of a long unilateral 

 spike, which sometimes has a slight tendency to a spiral form. 

 The base of the flower is covered by two leaf-like bracts. The 

 showy part of the flower is the perianth, but, unlike the lily, the 

 six parts of the perianth are united toward the base into a tube, 

 which is attached to the upper part of the ovary, and the lower 

 part of the tube is coalesced with the outer part of the ovary. 

 The parts of the perianth are somewhat irregular, so that it 

 has in some varieties a decidedly two-lipped appearance. The 

 upper petal (upper lip) is usually covered by the two lateral 

 sepals, while the two lower petals are covered by the lower sepal 

 and the two lateral ones. 



274. The stamens. There are three stamens. These are 

 seated on the upper part of the tube of the perianth, on the middle 



