137 

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CHAPTER XIV. 

 BOTANICAL EXPLANATIONS. 



From Flora's Interpreter. 



FLOWERS. 



There are seven elementary parts in a flower or, proper- 

 ly speaking, flower and fruit. 



1. Calyx. The outer or lower part of the flower, gen- 



erally not colored. 



2. Corol. The colored blossom of the flower, within or 



above the calyx. 



3. Stamens. The mealy or glutinous knobs, generally on 



the ends of slender filaments. 



4. Pistil. The central organ of a flower; the base of this 



becomes the pericarp or seed. 



5. Pericarp. The covering of the seed, whether pod, 



shell, bag, or pulpy substance. 



6. Seed. The essential part, containing the rudiments of 



a new plant. 



7. Receptacle. The base which sustains the other six 



parts, being at the end of the stem. 



Any accidental appendage is a nectary. The form and po- 

 sitions of these organs, and of no other part, are employed 

 in distinguishing the Classes, Orders, and Genera. 



Double flowers are formed by changing the stamens into 

 petals. Botanists term these vegetable monsters. 



