10 



convex surface, the tissue is softer than the rest, and 

 grows into loose papillae ; this is the stigma which receives 

 and retains the pollen. In each ovary there is a singis 

 ovule, which grows erect from near the base. This ovule 

 will, after fertilisation by the contents of the pollen grain, 

 become a seed. 



Buttercups are cross-fertilised by flies or other small 

 insects which travel from flower to flower in quest of 

 honey. This honey is here developed on the petals. In 

 most Buttercups may be seen rather below the middle on 

 the upper surface of each petal a little pouch, which con- 

 tains a small but constant supply of sweet fluid. 



The fruit is not much altered. The thalamus grows a 

 little larger, and each carpel grows to accommodate the 

 seed, and becomes harder. The style remains as a modi- 

 fied hook which, by sometimes catching on to the fur of a 

 passing animal, assures the fruit being dispersed to a dis- 

 tance. As only one seed is formed in each carpel, nothing 

 would be gained by the carpel bursting to allow it to 

 escape. In ordinary talk we call the mature carpel a seed, 

 but it is in this instance more than that. 



Clematis, though so different in habit, has a flower of 

 very similar construction. In most cases Clematis is a tall 

 climber, clinging to any available support by means of the 

 leaf stalks. These stalks have the unusual power of bend- 

 ing round any object they may touch. They thus do the 

 work commonly done by tendrils. The leaves of Clematis, 

 unlike those of other genera of the family, are arranged in 

 pairs. There is not a calyx and corolla, but only one circle 

 of petal-like leaves. By common consent, where there is 

 only one such organ, though it may be coloured like a 

 corolla, it is called a calyx, and each element is therefore 

 called a sepal, though it may look like a petal. In both 

 our common species of Clematis these sepals are white, 

 and usually, but not always, four. The stamens are long, 

 and their anthers narrow, ending in acute points. The 

 pistil is formed as it is in Ranunculus, only the styles are 

 long and clothed with long hairs, giving them a feathery 

 appearance. The single ovule, instead of arising from the 

 base of the ovarian chamber, hangs down from the top. It 

 is common to find in flowers of Clematis that one will 

 bear perfect stamens developing pollen, but the carpels are 

 imperfect, and so it does not develop seed, while others bear 

 perfect carpels but rudimentary stamens. Our common 

 bush Clematis is called Clematis aristata, from the aristate- 

 or pointed shape of the anthers. The little creeping one- 



