SEX IN LIVING FOEMS 89 



of the flower. This part of the plant corresponds to 

 the male organ of reproduction in animals. A stamen 

 has been called, not inaptly, a vegetable husband. 

 Some flowers have many stamens, or vegetable hus- 

 bands, which reminds us of the custom in Thibet and 

 some other Eastern countries which allows a woman 

 to have several husbands. 



Polygamous Flowers.— The great naturalist, Lin- 

 naeus, whose name was immortalized by his careful 

 study and classification of organized life, made the 

 number of stamens possessed by various flowers the 

 basis of a systematic classification. 



For example, a flower having but one stamen was 

 classed as monandria, which means, literally, one hus- 

 band; one having two stamens was classified as dian- 

 dria; flowers having a large number of male organs 

 were termed polyandria, or many husbands. 



The Female Organs of Flowers.— The pistil occu- 

 pies the very center of the flower. It produces and con- 

 tains in a cell, the female element, termed the ovule. 

 It is surmounted by the style and the stigma. 



A series of plants in which the sexual organs are 

 not visible to the eye are called cryptogamia, which 

 means, literally, hidden marriages. 



As we proceed to study the anatomy of the human 

 sexual apparatus, we shall be constantly struck with 

 the remarkable correspondence between animals and 

 vegetables in the structure and functions of the sexual 

 apparatus. 



Sexual Organs of Animals.— The male reproduc- 

 tive element is called spermatozoon, or zoosperm. The 

 female element is called an ovum, literally, an egg. 



The Spermatozoon.— The male reproductive ele- 

 ment of animals is formed by an organ called the testis, 



