397 



those of the uppermost with stamens only, the middle 

 ones hermaphrodite. Perianth a five-toothed tube, slit 

 down on one side, with another petal inside quite 

 detached from it. We may regard this five-toothed 

 perianth as being composed of the union of five sepals 

 or petals, w r hich with the single petal inside make up 

 six. Enclosed in the free petal, five stamens, cor- 

 responding to the five teeth of the perianth tube, with 

 nothing opposite to the free petal ; or in ovary 

 flowers a three-celled ovary and a slender style the 

 base of which is thickened ; stigma six-lobed. 



There are many ovules in the ovary, but in the com- 

 mon plantain these do not develop into seeds. The 

 wall of the ovary itself becomes very thick and its inner 

 part consists, when ripe, almost entirely of thin-walled 

 tissue containing a good deal of water with starch and 

 sugar, and its outer part forms the skin of the fruit. 

 The fruit is in fact a berry, and in wild species fertile 

 seeds are produced as in ordinary berries. 



We see that the flowers may be considered or made 

 up on the usual monocotyledonous plan of five whorls 

 of three members each, just like the AMARYLLIDE^E 

 and the LILIAC^E, but complicated by the union of the 

 three sepals and the two anterior petals into one 

 tube, with the third, the posterior petal, free, and 

 by the absence of one stamen, the one which should 

 stand opposite this free petal and would therefore 

 belong to the outer whorl of stamens. 



The Plantain, MUSA, is by far the most important 

 member of its family and the only one always avail- 

 able. Two others HELICONIA and STRELITIA are 

 often grown in large gardens, and so is also the 



