SPRING CROCUSES 



69 



corm itself? It bears roots, and leaves, and flowers. 

 Clearly it must be the stem, a stem which is very 

 short, thick and fleshy, but as much a stem as a 

 cabbage-stalk is. You know the prostrate stem of 



X24. 



FIG. 16. Shoot of crocus, laid open to show the flower within. Also the pistil 

 removed from the same flower ; //, protective tunics, three in number ; 

 Ji, foliage-leaves, turned down, so as not to interfere with the view of the flower ; 

 /r, flo\\er-sheath or bract ; /s, sheaths of other flowers;;*, petals; a, anthers 

 of the stamens ; st, style, with three stigmas ; o, ovary. 



an Iris or a Solomon's Seal. Imagine it set upright 

 and reduced in length to a mere button, from which 

 leaf after leaf springs. The flowers are borne on 

 the low, cup-like summit, and there are eyes or buds, 

 as we shall shortly see. 



