STAMENS. 79 



torus or receptacle (fig. 104, c), that is, from the supe- 

 rior extremity of the pedicel of the flower, 

 d\ /M between the corolla and the pistil (figs. 



\---a 103 and 104). Generally they are distinct 

 b from each other, and entirely free, but some- 

 times they are joined together, and in this 

 * c way form one or more bodies, to which we 

 give the name of androphor (from the 

 Greek, andros, the genitive of aner, man, 

 anther, and phoreo, I support anther-bearer: -fig. 105). 



In certain plants, such as the mallows, this cohesion takes 

 place between the filaments of all the stamens, so that the 

 androphor constitutes a tube of greater or less length, in the 

 interior of which the pistil is lodged (fig. 110, p. 81). At other 

 times the stamens are united in two or more 

 bundles (fasciculi) and then form two or more 

 ondtophors. And there are flowers in which 

 the anthers cohere to each other, although 

 the filaments are distinct (Jig* 105, a). 



44. The point where the stamens cease ^o 

 adhere to the neighbouring parts varies; some- 

 times they arise below the portion of the pistil 



called the ovary (figure 104); they are then Fig. 105. 



termed hypogy'no is (from the Greek, upo, under, and gune, 



woman or pistil) ; at other times these organs, as well as the 



petals, seem to arise at a greater or less distance above the calyx, 



and are then termed perigy'nous (fig. 81) (from the Greek, peri, 



around, and gune, pistil). At other times again, the portion of 



the pedicle which bears them is prolonged in the 



same way between the calyx and the ovary, but 



adheres to the latter organ as well as to the calyx, 



and in this instance the stamens seem to arise 



above the ovary, and are named epigy'nous (from 



the Greek epi, upon, and gune, woman or pistil). 



Fig. 106 : o, the ovary ; e, the stamens ; s, the 



stigma. 



45. In consequence of these differences, the 



sfamens may have four different and fixed posi- Fig. 106. 

 tions : 



Explanation of Fig. 104. A vertical section of the same flower, to show 

 the interior of the ovary ; a, the lodges or cells of the ovary ; 6, the 

 ovules ; r, the torus or receptacle ; rf, filament of the stamen. 



Fig. 105. A flower opened to show the coherence of the stamens by the 

 anthers (a) while the filaments are distinct. 



44 What is meant by a hypogy'nous stamen ? What is meant oy a 

 pengy nous stamen ? What is meant by an epigy'nous stamen ? 

 45. What are the several positions of the stamens? 



