The Angiosperms 175 



of flowers, whether monosporangiate or amphi- 

 sporangiate, have all the parts entirely separate and 

 often indeterminate in number. These simple types 

 are often inconspicuous and are probably all capa- 

 ble of self-pollination, supposing that they are 

 amphisporangiate. Where the flowers are diclinous, 

 and often when they are amphisporangiate, as in 

 most grasses, the distribution of the pollen is almost 

 always effected by the wind. With the increase in 

 specialization, the flower first assumes a definite 

 number of parts, and there is a tendency towards 

 cohesion of its parts, which is usually seen first in 

 carpels. Such floral types as the lilies and mus- 

 tards are examples of this. In the typical mono- 

 cotyledonous flowers the carpels are equal in num- 

 ber to the other cycles of floral leaves, but in most 

 of the dicotyledons the number of carpels is re- 

 duced. There are, however, numerous types among 

 the simpler dicotyledons where the carpels are also 

 equal in number to the other parts of the flower, 

 and these are said to be " isocarpous." The gera- 

 nium and flax may be cited as examples of such 

 isocarpous flowers. 



The cohesion of the floral parts increases with 

 the specialization of the flower, and this may even 

 extend to the stamens as well as the corolla. Thus 

 in some of the Pea-family the stamens are grown to- 

 gether into a tube, and the same is seen in the mal- 

 lows. The carpels in the greater number of angio- 

 sperms are grown more or less together and form 



