THE FLOWER AND ITS PARTS 



93 



united nearly to the top. The calyx is green in most 

 flowers, but, in the tulip and some other plants, it is of 

 another color. The 

 calyx forms a sort of 

 cup that supports the 

 rest of the flower. 



The Corolla and the 

 Petals The more 

 spreading part of the 

 cherry blossom, marked 



COr. in Fi"Ure 49, is the FlG- 49- Section of cherry blossom. 



corolla. In the cherry flower, the corolla consists of five 

 distinct parts called petals. In many plants, as the pump- 

 kin and the morning glory, the petals are united. ( Fig- 

 ure 50.) The corolla is usually of some 

 other color than green. This helps to 

 make the flower more easily seen, so 

 that insects can find it. 



The Stamens and their Parts. In- 

 side the corolla is a group of slender 

 organs, s. s. (Figure 49), called sta- 

 mens. Each stamen consists of three 

 parts : the long and slender portion at- 

 tached to the calyx below, called the 

 filament; the swollen portion at the top, 

 called the anther; and a dustlike substance found on or 

 within the anther, called the pollen. The office of the 

 stamen is to produce the pollen, without which vital seeds 

 can not be formed. Some flowers have more stamens 

 than the cherry blossom, while others do not have so 

 many. 



FIG. 50. Calyx and 

 corolla of Morning 

 Glory. 



