THE FLORAL ENVELOPS, OR PERIANTH. 



93 



45*7. UNION. We have seen that the floral organs are often in va- 

 rious ways united. Considering their crowded state in the flower, we 

 rather wonder that they do not always coalesce in their growth. 



458. The calyx with united sepals was called by the early botanists 

 monosepalous ; the corolla with united petals was called monopetalous 

 (/zovof, one from the false idea that such an organ consisted of a sin- 

 gle piece or leaf!). Opposed to these terms were polypetalous (rroAvf, 

 many), petals distinct, and polysepalous, sepals distinct. 



459. THE MONOSEPALOUS CALYX, OR MONOPETALOUS COROLLA, al- 

 though thus compounded of several pieces, is usually described as a 

 simple organ, wheel-shaped, cup-shaped, tubular, according to the de- 

 gree of cohesion. The lower part of it, formed by the united claws, 

 whether long or short, is the tube ; the upper part, composed of the 

 confluent laminae, is the border or limb ; the opening of the tube above 

 is the throat. 



460. THE BORDER is either lobed, toothed, crenate, etc., by the dis- 

 tinct ends of the pieces composing it, as in the calyx of pink, the calyx 

 and corolla of Primula, Phlox, and bellwort, or it may become by a 

 complete lateral cohesion, entire, as in morning-glory. Here the com- 

 pound nature of the organ is shown by the seams alone. 



301 



800, Flower of Saponaria (bouncing bet) ; petals and claws quite distinct. 301, Phlox; clawf 

 united, with lamina distinct. 302, Spigelia (pink-root), petals still further united. 803, Quamo- 

 clit coccinea, petals united throughout 



461. A TERMINAL COHESION, where summit as well as sides are 

 joined forming a cap rather than cup, rarely occurs, as in the calyx of 

 the garden Escholtzia and the corolla of the grape. 



462. THE MODCS OF ADHESION are various and important, furnishing 

 some of the most valuable distinctive characters. An organ is said to 

 be adherent when it is conjoined with some dissimilar organ, as stamen 

 with pistil. All the organs of our typical flower are described as free. 



