Lily-kin and Rose-kin 143 



golden head is neither a petal nor a sisterhood of 

 petals. It is a foliage-leaf, become big and beau- 

 tiful in order to lure the marsh-flies of the calla's 

 native haunts to visit and fertilize its flowers; for 

 the real flowers are not one, but legion. They 

 have lost everything which ever belonged to them 

 except a few stamens, or a few stamens and a 

 pistil, as the case may be. They completely cover 

 the column or spadix, which stands up inside the 

 enfolding leaf, and in the calla of commerce they 

 are so massed together that it is difficult to dis- 

 tinguish them even with a lens. 



The calla's past condition may be surmised from 

 the present state of some of its humble cousins 

 which are to be found around ponds and in bogs 

 in the northern and central United States. 



In the sweet-flag or calamus, for instance, the 

 flowers which crowd the spadix are perfect and 

 complete (Fig. 32). 



Each has six flower-leaves, which are now re- 

 duced to half-transparent greenish scales, six sta- 

 mens, and a three-celled ovary enclosing several 

 seeds (Fig. 33). 



By studying these flowers we see how a mass 

 of perfect little lilies may have been altered into 

 a mere club of stamens and pistils. 



