XIV.] 



BOTANY. 



and other plants with their flowers in heads (Par. 78*:). 

 Here the ovary is inferior, and the superior calyx is 

 represented by a tuft, of fine hairs, called a pappus. 



FIG. 41. Dandelion fruit with 

 pappus, enlarged. 



FIG. 42. Thistle fruit with pappus. 



The valerian has a similar calyx. In these plants the 

 feathery calyx assists in the dispersion of the fruit. 

 The calyx may take some of the irregular shapes to 

 be described under the Corolla. 



XIV, THE COROLLA. 

 PETALS. 



92. The corolla is formed of a whorl of free or 

 combined organs called petals. It is usually coloured 

 and thin, and much larger than the calyx ; it is often 

 scented, and soon fades, rarely persisting in the fruit 

 (which it does in the campanula). Its use is to attract 

 insects and birds to flowers for the purpose of fertilizing 



