LESSONS IN BOTANY. 



2 i ! 



greater 



LESSONS IN BOTANY. VIII. 



I'lON XV.-FAUTS OK AN INDIVIDUAL FLOWER. 



HAVING already described tho chiof arrangement which flowers 



assume, wo may now prone. ,mo tho parts of v. hi.-h 



themselves are ma<lu up. For tho purpose of our lir.-it 



it will l>o well to Boleut a flower in which tho 



I p.irU uro all dovolopod ; for thin co-existonoe of all 



osaary to constitute a perfect flower in not invari- 



s one or more of those parts are want- 



s' in 



iilant. 



Tims In i.uiical pro- 

 ihi -tiona arc very apt 

 to assume monstrous 

 appoarauces, somo- 

 by tho suppres- 

 sion of organs, at other 

 times l>y their change, 

 or their presence in 

 i-odnmiiliers. In 

 point of fact, tho 

 number of 

 flowers are, 

 :ically speaking:, 

 monsters, core and cul- 

 tivation having suc- 

 ceeded in effecting re- 

 markable changes. 

 They are beautiful for 

 a mere lover of flowers 

 to look at, and often 

 the objects of much 

 solicitude, but quite 

 unfit for tho purpose of 

 being the subjects of a 

 young botanist's first 

 investigations. Thus, 

 how striking is the dif- 

 ference between the 

 wild and cultivated 

 roses ! The flower- 

 loaves of tho former 

 are few and distant, 

 the flower-leaves of tho 

 latter numerous and 

 tightly packed. Yet 

 tho additional flower- 

 leaves, called petals, 

 of the garden rose are 

 only modifications of 

 the stamens, or littlo 

 thread-like growths of 

 tho wild flower. In 

 saying, therefore, that 

 we will commence our 

 study of tho parts of 

 a flower by examining 

 a perfect specimen, 

 wo mean the perfec- 

 tion of nature, not tho 

 perfection of tho gar- 

 dener. 



* Tho reader cannot do better than select a ranunculus or 

 buttercup as the subject of his first floral dissection. 



On examining this flower it will be seen to consist of several 

 circular rows of organs, or whorls, as they are termed. Com- 

 mencing externally, wo first meet with tho whorl (Pig. 75), made 

 up of five parts coloured greenish-yellow. These five parts 

 collectively form what is termed the calyx, from the Greek 

 ;:aAu{ (pronounced ka'-lux), a husk, or shell, and each individual 

 cf the five parts is termed a sepal, said by Professor Henslow to 

 bo derived from a Latin word sepalum, a leaf, obtained by sub- 

 stituting cr (a) for tr (p) in the Greek word vtro\oy, which also 

 means a leaf. 



Proceeding with our dissection, we next arrive at the bright 



VOL. I. 



yellow flower-learo. (Fig. 76), each of which u termed a 

 fr.,m tho Greek vrro\ov (pronounced yet'-n-lo*), a leaf, and the 

 :.ve oolloctiTely are termed the corolla, from the Latin 

 cui-tilla, u. diminutive ef corona, a crown or garland. Tneee 

 portion- r flower, are not ito repro- 



, but are merely to be regarded iw protective covering* 

 for tho reproductive organ* within. Tho U-rm perianth, from 

 . k */> (peri), around, and oyfloi (an'-tbo), a flower, 

 U frequently given to the calyx and tho corolla of a flower 

 taken collectiTely, on account of tho fructifying portion* of 

 a flower being surrounded by thoM part*. Proceeding utill 



with our examination, 

 we next arrive at 

 many whorl* or cir- 

 cular row* cf <*- 

 ment (from the Latin 

 stamen, a thread or 

 fibre), or mala part* 

 of the flower. Our 

 diagram (Fig. 77) ro- 

 preoent* one of them 

 cat off. LUy, we 

 arrive at several whorl* 

 i "In, from the 

 Greek vapvoi (lar'-p^i) 

 fruit, or j<itil, from 

 the Latin pittillum, a 

 pounder, and to called 

 from their likeness to 

 the pestle used by 

 druggists (Fig. 78), 

 each consisting of the 

 ovary, or seed-Teasel 

 (from the Latin OKU.., 

 an egg), below; and 

 terminating above in 

 what is called the 

 stigma, from the Latin 

 stigma, a mark or 

 brand, the intermedi- 

 ate portion being called 

 the style, from the 

 Latin stylus, an iron 

 pen used for writing 

 on tablets by the Bo- 

 mans. 



Let the reader, then, 

 not fail to remember 

 that the stamens are 

 the male parts of 

 plants, and the carpels 

 or pistils are the female 

 parts. The carpels or 

 pistils we have already 

 stated to be each com- 

 posed of ovary below, 

 style in the middle, 

 and stigma above. 

 Each stamen is also 

 divided into &jilai*ent 

 or thread-like portion, 

 and anther or head. 

 This anther or head ia 

 filled with a dust, 

 called pulU-n, from the 



Latin pollen, fine flour, which, by falling upon the stigma, 

 causes the ovary to expand, tho fruit to open, and the *eed 

 to grow. This pollen the reader, we doubt not, hat wen a 

 thousand times over. It is very easily recognisable in moat 

 largo flowers, especially tulips, into which if we thrunt oar 

 fingers or our noses, one or the other, as the case may be, 

 comes back covered with a yellow powder. This yellow powder 

 is pollen, without which tho tulip plant would be totally in- 

 capable of producing seed. 



SECTION XVI. DIFFERENT FORMS WHICH THE CALYX 

 AND THE COROLLA MAY ASSUME. 



First of all, as to the calyx. In our example the buttercup 



16 



CALYX OF BANUNCULUS. 76. COROLLA OF BANUNCUIiUS. 77. STAKES OP RAJnTHCUUTS. 

 78. CABPELS OF BANUNCUL0S. 79. CALTX OF THE PIMPERNEL. 80. iJUINQUEFID CALYX 

 OF THE QEKTIAN. 81. IKEEOULAR CALYX OF THE DEAD-NETTLE. 82. CALYX OF THE 

 HADDEB. 83. ADHERENT CALYX OF THE SUK FLOWER. 84. CALYX OF THE OAVDKUOV. 

 85. CALYX OF THE CEMTKANTHUS. 86. INVOLUCRE OF THE STRAWBERRY. 87. ACORN AND 

 CUP. 88. SPINY INVOLUCBUJI OF THE CHESTNUT. 



