648 



BOTANY 



PART II 



number of its members by chorisis. The branching is frequently 

 accompanied by cohesion of the filaments. The carpels also some- 

 times exhibit an increase in number as a result of branching. The 

 superior ovary is then divided into a corresponding number of loculi. 

 Family 1. Malvaceae. Characterised by the flowers with the 





FIG. 667. Flowering branch and open fruit of Gossypium herbaceum. ( nat. size.) OFFICIAL. 



corolla contorted in the bud. Protandrous. Stamens united into a tube 

 around the ovary ; the free ends of the stamens, each of which bears 

 a single reniform theca, project from the margin of the staminal 

 tube. K 5, C 5, Aoo, G (3) or oo. Pollen grains with spiny exine, so 

 that they readily adhere to the hairy bodies of insects (Fig. 514). 



The genus Malva which occurs in Britain includes perennial herbs, with long- 

 stalked, palmately-veined leaves. Flowers solitary or in small cymose inflorescences, 



