38 THE BOOK OP ROSES. 



hairy, bristly, or woolly substances ; and often 

 armed by sharp thorns attached to the bark. 



Let us now proceed to the detailed consider- 

 ation of these constituent parts of the rose. 



THE COROLLA. The corolla of the rose is 

 polypetalous, or composed of many petals, 

 never fewer than five, unless by deformity, 

 regular or similar in form. These five petals 

 constitute a single rose. With two rows of 

 petals, the flower is called half-double ; with 

 many rows, but still retaining stamens in the 

 centre, it is called double ; with very few sta- 

 mens left, it is called very-double ; and when 

 all the stamens and pistils are metamorphosed 

 into petals, it is called full. 



Double, half-double, and very-double, are 

 terms too vague for purposes of definition ; but 

 as botanists interest themselves but little in 

 the creation of double flowers, which they regard 

 as useless monsters, no effort has been made to 

 render such nomenclature more exact. 



The corolla of a rose is sometimes hemi- 

 spherical, sometimes nearly flat, sometimes, 

 according to botanical definition, cupuliform, 

 or cup-shaped ; and sometimes hypocrateriform, 

 or salver-shaped. 



PETALS. The petals of the rose are to be 

 considered as regards their form ; consisting of 

 the base, the summit, and the expanse. The 

 summit is the detached extremity of the petal ; 



