92 DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY! PART i. 



together, so as to form one mass, this is termed a com- 

 pound "pistil;" but when they are distinct, as in the 

 present case, each forms a separate pistil. Having 

 given a general notion of the various parts of the 

 flower, we must now enter a little more fully into a 

 description of the several whorls, and mention some 

 of the numerous modifications which they present; 

 also premising, that although it is not necessary for 

 flowers to be composed of all the four kinds of organs 

 here enumerated, and that some contain only one or 

 other of the two innermost, yet, wherever more than 

 one kind are present, these always maintain the pre- 

 cise order of collocation, which we have stated above 

 the calyx outermost, then the corolla, next the sta- 

 mens, and the carpels in the centre. 



(93.) Perianth. In the bractece, we often find a 

 striking resemblance to the leaf; but in the several parts 

 of the perianth, this becomes so much slighter, that in 

 most cases the close affinity between these organs would 

 scarcely be acknowledged, were it not clearly perceptible 

 in some flowers ; and also established by those cases of 

 monstrous development, where the several parts of the 

 perianth assume a leafy appearance. In many cases, and 

 especially in monocotyledonous plants, the several whorls 

 of the perianth so nearly resemble each other, that no 

 distinction can be drawn between calyx and corolla, 

 and the separate parts are described as " segments of 

 the perianth." In those Dicotyledones where the pe- 

 rianth consists of a single whorl, it generally assumes 

 the usual characters of a calyx ; and is always so con- 

 sidered by most modern botanists, though Linnaeus and 

 others, have described it as a corolla, in many species 

 where it happens to be coloured. Stomata exist both 

 on the calyx and corolla, but more especially on the 

 former. 



(94.) Calyx. Although the calyx very frequently 

 " persists," or remains whilst the fruit ripens, after 

 the corolla has fallen, it is in some instances very 

 fugacious. The sepals frequently cohere by their edges 



