62 NEHEMIAH GREW 



serving to draw off the redundant part of the sap, not needed to 

 produce the seed. He also used the word "attire" for the florets 

 of the Compositae, but qualified it by calling the stamens the 

 " seminal attire," and the florets of compound flowers the " florid 

 attire." He says that " every Flower with the Florid attire " (or, 

 as we should now say, " every composite flower ") " Embosomes, 

 or is, a Posy of perfect Flowers.'' He recognised the "globulets " 

 (pollen grains) as being of the same nature as those in the 

 anthers of simple flowers. He describes the disk florets with 

 remarkable accuracy, but falls into the error of supposing that 

 the pollen grains are in some cases originally produced by the 

 style and stigmas, which he calls the " Blade," and which he did 

 not recognise as part of the female organ. His figures make it 

 clear that he mistook the stylar hairs for little stalks organically 

 connecting the pollen grains and the style. In other cases, how- 

 ever, he observed that the pollen grains occurred on the inner 

 side of what we now know as the staminal tube. 



Grew enters into considerable detail as regards the structure 

 of flowers, and it is only possible to mention here a few of the 

 points to which he draws attention. He observed the frequent 

 occurrence of capitate glandular hairs, which he describes as 

 *' like so many little Mushrooms sprouting out of the Flower" 

 their heads sometimes exuding a " Gummy or Balsamick Juycer 

 He describes the varieties of aestivation of the floral leaves, and 

 notes that, in the Poppy, the large size and fewness of the petals 

 prevents their being folded into a compact body by any of the 

 ordinary methods. " For which reason, they are cramb'd up 

 within the Empalemetit ^ by hundreds of little Wrinckles or 

 Puckers ; as if Three or Four Fine Cambrick HafidcJierchifs 

 were thrust into ones Pocket'' 



We have said something about Grew's work on seeds, in 

 dealing with his first treatise. He was always much interested 

 in this subject, and returned to it again in his later work. He 

 mentions the mucilaginous testa possessed by many seeds, but 

 which only becomes noticeable when they have been moistened. 

 That of ^^ Nasturtium Hortense" he describes as very large, "even 

 emulous of the inner Pulp surrounding a Gooseberry- Seed." He 



' Calyx. 



