The Anatomy and Physiology oj Plants 75 



surrounded by or includes a store of material that can be 

 used by it in germinating when the seed is planted. The 

 seed now formed, with its germ and store of food, parts 

 with its water and ripens into a perfect seed, which is capa- 

 ble of remaining dormant for a longer or shorter period 

 in different plants; and when placed in the soil it imbibes 

 water and the living matter again becomes active, and the 

 food stored in the seed supports the growth until green 

 leaves are formed and new material for growth can be got 

 from the air. 



We have described a normal, complete, and perfect 

 flower. A complete flower has all the organs named, but 

 a flower may be perfect for all the purposes of seed- 

 making when the corolla and calyx are absent, hence the 

 distinction between a perfect and a complete flower. 

 Some species bear flowers on one plant which have only 

 the male organs, and have the pistils or female organs on 

 flowers borne by other plants. Some plants, like our 

 Indian corn, have male flowers or stamens on one part of 

 the plants and the pistils or female flowers on another 

 part. 



In Indian com the anthers with their pollen are the tassel, 

 and the pistils that belong to every grain on the ear are 

 what we call the silks, and the part of the silks that extend 

 beyond the ear are the stigmas which receive the pollen, 

 and this perfects the embryo or germ in the grain of corn. 

 The tassels with the pollen are elevated so that the pollen 

 does not generally fall on the stigmas of the same plant, 

 but is blown to others. But in a com field this pollen is 

 made in such great quantities that all the pistils usually 

 get a supply, and nature adopts this plan to prevent too 



