SPERMATOPHYTES 



121 



carded, although its real meaning records a mistake, for it 

 has been long used and is shorter than megasporangium. 

 In using it, however, it must be realized that " ovule " is 

 just another name for the megasporangium of Seed-plants. 

 It is convenient to have a name to distinguish the stro- 

 bilus that bears ovules 

 (megasporangia) from 

 the one that does not, 

 and the most appropri- 

 ate one seems to be 

 ovulate strobilus or ovu- 

 late cone. Some persist 

 in calling the ovulate 

 cone the " female cone " ; 

 but the cone (strobilus) 

 is made up of sporo- 

 phylls borne by a spo- 

 rophyte, so that it can- 

 not very well be either 

 male or female, terms 



FIG. 97. Staminate cone of pine : A, longi- 



that belong tO the ga- tudinal section of cone, showing the stamens 



mo+rmUxH-o (microsporophylls) bearing pollen sacs (mi- 



tupliy l/e. crosporangia) upon the under side ; B, views 



Staminate strobilus. of stamen from the side and from below> 



the latter showing the two pollen sacs; C, 



The Smaller COne Of the cross-section of a stamen, showing the two 



n i i pollen sacs containing pollen grains (micro- 



pine Will DC IOUnd tO spores) ; D, a winged pollen grain, showing 



consist of microsporo- ^ n the early cells of the male gameto " 

 phylls borne upon a cen- 

 tral axis, much smaller and more delicate than the megasporo- 

 phylls (Fig. 97, A). On the under side of each microsporo- 

 phyll are two microsporangia, lying side by side (Fig. 97, 

 B and C). The old names for these structures among Seed- 

 plants are as follows : the microsporophylls were called 

 stamens, the microsporangia were called pollen sacs, and the 

 microspores were called pollen grains or simply pollen. In 

 this way it has become evident that such well-known struct- 



