PARTS OF THE PISTIL 31 



wise stated, spores of both sexes, are produced by tlie same plant, it 

 is Monoecious. If, in adition, the phmt bear some perfect flowers it is 

 Monoeciously Polviianious. 



Hermaphrodite and Perfect Flowers, — When, as illustrated in Fig. 17, 

 the flower possesses both gynaecium and androecium, it is Hermaphro- 

 dite, indicated by the symbol 9. Hermaphrodite flowers are not 

 always perfect, as one of the organs, while perfect in form, may be 

 functionless; whereas, in order to be perfect, both parts mnst be present 

 and functionally active. 



Degrees of Imperfection. — Imperfect flowers present all intermediate 

 grades between that last mentioned and that in which there remains 

 no trace of the lost part, or in which it has even been transformed into 

 an organ of a different kind. 



Parts of the Stamen. — The stem-like portion (Fig. 12, c) regarded as 

 corresponding to the petiole of the sporophyll, is the Filament. The por- 

 tion containing the spores or pollen is the Anther (d). The two halves of 

 the anther, each corresponding to a half of the lamina of the sporophyll, 

 are the Thecae (Fig. 14, a). At an earlier stage each theca is subdivided 

 into two Locelli (Fig. 14, c), and in many plants this condition persists 

 to maturity (Fig. 138). The portion connecting the thecae with one 

 another and with the filament is the Connective (b). Our detailed 

 study of the stamen, as of the pistil, may here be anticipated by the 

 statement that any or all of their parts may in different flowers be found 

 modified in an extreme degree by reduction, exaggeration, or special 

 form of growth, and may bear appendages in great variety, their true 

 nature, or even their identity, in many cases being thus masked. Often 

 an a])i)endage aj)parently consisting of a modified stipule exists. 



Parts of the Pistil. — The stem-like base (Fig. 9, a), not present on 

 most pistils, is the Stipe or Thecaphore. It represents the united 

 petioles of the sporophylls. The body of the pistil represents either a 

 single sporophyll having its edges brought together and united, with 

 the upper leaf-surfaces inside of the cavity (Figs. 219 and 220), or, as 

 in this case, more than one sporophyll, the edges of one meeting those 

 of the other in the same manner (Fig. 27, e) or in many cases in a^ifl'er- 

 ent manner. The edges, after meeting along the hollow portion, project 

 inward more or less, while along the tip, for a greater or less distance, 

 they may be everted, as seen in Fig. 17, b. A s])oroi)hyll of a pistil is a 

 Carpel, and we see that a pistil may consist of one or more carpels. 



The seed-rudiments which ])r()duce and contain the macrospores 

 are the 0^•ules (Fig. 10, b). The outgrowth from the inner wall of the 



