SECT. I. THE FLOWER. ]0<) 



is essential to the fructification ; the stamen being 

 capable of performing its functions without a fila- 

 ment, but never without an anther. The consequence 

 is, that many stamens are destitute of the filament 

 altogether, as in the genus Aristolochia. But where 

 the filament is present, though the thread-shaped 

 figure is the most general, as in Plantain,, yet it is 

 by no means universal. For in some stamens the 

 filament is bristle-shaped, as in Papaver ; in some it 

 is flat and spear-shaped, as in Ornithogalum urn- 

 bellatum ; in some it is awl-shaped, as in Allium 

 okraceum ; in some it is club-shaped, that is 

 thickening towards the summit ; in some it is petal- 

 oid, that is expanding like a petal, as in Nymph&a 

 alba ; in some it is wedge-shaped, that is petaloid 

 at the summit but tapering towards the base, as in 

 Lotus tetragonolobus ; in some it is heart-shaped, 

 that is petaloid and notched at the summit but 

 tapering towards the base, as in the genus Maker- 

 nia ; in some it is branched, as in Carolinea 

 princeps ; in some it is jointed, as in genus Salvia ; 

 in some it is cuspidated, that is having the summit 

 divided into several stiff joints, as in Sand Garlick ; 

 and in some it is without an anther, as in Gra- 

 fiolus. 



In its direction it is upright, as in Sambucus 

 Ebuhis ; or expanding, as in Ranunculus ; or in- 

 flected, as in the labiate flowers ; or reflected, as 

 in Urtica pilulifera ; or spiral, as in the genus 

 Hirtdla. 



In most flowers the filaments are distinct and 



