THE GARDEN STOCK 



17 



therefore superior to the other parts of the flower. If the 

 pistil be cut across (Fig. 3, 4) and examined by the aid of a 

 pocket lens, it will be seen to consist of two chambers, each 

 containing two rows of minute bodies called ovules (ov). 

 The structure from which the ovules arise is called the 

 placenta {pi), and the ovule-bearing part of the pistil is 

 known as the ovary (5 0). On the top of the ovary is 

 a very short neck the style (sy), terminating in a 

 two-lobed structure the stigma (st). The pistil may 

 thus be seen to consist of 

 two bodies fused together ; 

 these are called carpels. 

 When two or more carpels 

 are united, the pistil is said 

 to be syncarpous (Gr. syn 

 = together, karpos = fruit). 

 These organs are called floral 

 leaves ; the sepals and petals 

 are leaf-like, but the stamens 

 and carpels bear little resem- 

 blance to leaves. Fig. 4 is 

 a plan showing the relative 

 positions of the parts. Such 

 a plan is known as a ' floral 

 diagram '. 



In the lower, older part of the inflorescence it will be 

 noticed that all the parts of the flower have fallen off, with 

 the exception of the pistil, and that this has grown enor- 

 mously to form a long narrow fruit (Fig. 1, fr). Select a 

 mature fruit and dissect it (Fig. 5). Remove the two side 

 lobes, which separate easily from the base upwards. It 

 will then be found that a frame is left, called the replum (re) , 

 with a thin membrane stretching across it. Attached to 

 the frame by slender stalks are the flattened seeds (sd), 

 each surrounded by a thin wing. The wall of the ovary, 



1296 R 



Fig. 4. Floral Diagram. 

 a, anterior ; g, pistil ; k, sepal ; 

 /, lateral ; p, petal ; Pr, poste- 

 rior ; s, stamen ; x, axis. 



