266 THE STRUCTUKE OF FLOWERS. 



characters prevailing' in this group consist of elongated 

 papillose or plumose stigmas, or else they spread out into 

 laminge (Euphorbia). The filaments are usually slender and 

 movable, with versatile anthers, bearing incoherent and 

 often smooth pollen-grains. In some cases the filaments are 

 elastic, and project the pollen outwards ; or the whole flower 

 may oscillate on a slender pedicel or peduncle, as the catkins 

 of the Amentiferce, the flowers of Bumex, etc. Long, slender 

 filaments are seen in Grasses, Sedges, Rushes, Hemp and 

 Hop, Plantains, Littorella, and Poterium. Nettles and their 

 allies are remarkable for their elastic filaments, which 

 materially aid ia the dispersal of the pollen. 



On the other hand, Palms, Bulrushes, etc., have more or 

 less rigidly fixed flowers and floral organs. 



There is little doubt but that all wind-fertilised angio- 

 sperms are degradations from insect-fertilised flowers. This 

 is obviously so when many of the allies of an anemophilous 

 genns or species are constructed for insects. Thus, Miiller 

 says that Thalictriim oninus * is anemophilous, while T. 

 flavtivi is visited by several species of insects. Poterium 

 Sanguisorha is anemophilous ; and Sanguisorba officinalis 

 presumably was so formerly, but has reacquired an entomo- 

 philous habit ; the whole tribe Poterieai being, in fact, a 

 degraded group which has descended from Potentillece. Plan- 

 tains retain their corolla, but in a degraded form. Juncece 

 are degraded Lilies ; while Cyperacece and Graminece among 

 monocotyledons may be ranked with Amentiferce among 

 dicotyledons, as representing ordei'S which have retrograded 

 very far from the entomopbilous forms from Avhich they 

 were possibly and probably descended. 



* I do not know on what reason ; for the stigmas are not charac- 

 teristic of such flowers. On d priori grounds I should have inferred its 

 being self -fertilising, as the anthers completely conceal the few and 

 small carpels. 



