202 THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 



flower-stalk is a fourth scale, the inner pale ; then follow 

 two minute scales called lodicules (/), immediately above 

 which are three stamens with long, slender filaments and 

 large, easily moved (versatile) anthers. At the end of the 

 flower-axis is the pistil, consisting of one carpel. The ovary 

 contains one ovule and above it are two large, feathery 

 stigmas. There is no perianth unless the two lodicules 

 may be so regarded, but this is doubtful, and the flower is 

 said to be naked. Sometimes there are two pairs of pales, 

 and the lower ones may bear bristles, or awns, as in the 

 Vernal-grass (Fig. 138, 4), in which flower there are no lodi- 

 cules and only two stamens. In most cases the stamens 

 ripen and shed their pollen before the stigmas are ripe, but 

 in the Vernal-grass the stigmas are ripe first. The long, 

 slender filaments and large, easily moved anthers, the great 

 amount of pollen and the big, branched, feathery stigmas, 

 are excellent devices for wind-pollination ; while the fact 

 that the anthers and stigmas of the same flower are not 

 ripe at the same time secures cross-fertilization. 



To summarize : The flowers of Monocotyledons show 

 a series of modifications, from simple types pollinated by 

 the wind to complex forms adapted to the habits of special 

 insects. The Grasses, like the Willows, have no perianth, 

 and the essential organs are enclosed by bracts called 

 glumes and pales. The three stamens with their slender 

 filaments and large versatile anthers, and the branched 

 stigmas, are adapted to wind-pollination. The ovary is 

 superior and contains one ovule. The flower of the Blue- 

 bell is cyclic, and the parts are in five whorls of three each ; 

 the perianth is petaloid ; the syncarpous ovary is superior, 

 three-celled, and contains many ovules. The Daffodil 

 differs from the Bluebell in that its ovary is inferior and the 

 perianth has a corona. The Crocus also has an inferior 

 ovary, but has only three stamens. The flower has a long 

 tube, and the stigma-lobes are large. The flowers are 



