TREES WITH HIGHLY-DEVELOPED FLOWERS 307 



As is commonly the case with buds, the last leaves formed 

 in the season are greatly reduced and become the oldest and 

 lowest scales of the winter bud, and sometimes traces of 

 blades are found on their tips. Note the number and the 

 different lengths of the internodes in a year's growth, and 

 compare the shoot with one-year shoots of other trees. 

 Often the lowest nodes are short, then follow longer ones, 

 and finally shorter ones again at the end of the season. The 

 leaves appear early, and this often leads to irregular growth. 

 For if the leaves are killed by late frosts, as is frequently the 



Fig. 203. Flowers of Horse-Chestnut. r, male flower ; 

 2, hermaphrodite flower : female stage ; 3, later stage : stamens 

 raised to level of stigma. 



case, new leaves are produced from buds which otherwise 

 would not have opened until the following season. 



The flowering buds are very large (Fig. 103) ; the inflo- 

 rescence is a big erect panicle ; the main axis is racemose 

 and the branches are cymose. After flowering, the inflo- 

 rescence is cut off by a cork layer forming a large scar, which 

 has a bud on both sides (Fig. 68, 5) ; with the growth of 

 these, false dichotomy results. Three kinds of flowers 

 often occur in the same inflorescence through abortion : 



(1) upper male flowers, which open first (Fig. 203, 1) ; 



(2) perfect (hermaphrodite) flowers, in which the stigma 

 ripens before the stamens (Fig. 203, 2) ; (3) abortive 

 flower-buds, which fall off without opening. 



The flower is irregular, has five sepals, five petals (though 



u 2 



