MAGNOLIACEJE. 



131 



them. These six leaves are imbricated, or more rarely contorted 

 in the bud, and also fall very shortly after the expansion of the 

 flower. Above them commences the spiral of the pieces of the andro- 



MagnoUa Yulan. 



Fig. 167. 



Longitudinal section of flower. 



Magnolia grandiflora. 



Fig. 168. 



Fruit. 



ceum and gynseceum. The stamens are indefinite, each con- 

 sisting of a subsessile anther, with an apiculate connective. 



' The stamens of J/, grandiflora L., have a short 

 filament quite continuous at its summit with tlie 

 apiculate connective. The cells of the anther are 

 distinctly introrse, the somewhat bulging back of 

 the connective being left quite uncovered. Each 

 cell is divided longitudinally into two smaller cells, 

 very distinctly seen in a transverse section of the 

 anther. Tlie cells have nearly the same position 

 in M. glauca L. ; they are not seen at all on the 

 back of the anther, lu M. macrophylla Micnx. 

 the anthers long remain sessile ; it is only a few 

 days before anthesis that we can distinguish the 

 short flattened filament. The connective ends in 

 a pyramidal point with three faces. The two 

 cells occupy the inner face only, and in certain 

 stamens nearly touch on the middle line; in 



others, a broader vertical strip separates them. 

 The stamens of M. Yulan Desf. are unequal, 

 the inferior being by far the shorter. Their 

 anthers are less introrse than in the preceding 

 species, as are those of M. purpurea Curt. 

 {Yulania Japonica Spach), where the cells are 

 nearly marginal. Still they are inserted on 

 planes bevelled ofl'the inner surface, and are hence 

 rather introrse than extrorse. Tliis position of 

 the cells does not appear sufficient to characterize 

 a genus. The filament is thick and fleshy in M. 

 Yulan Desf., and remains so for some time after 

 the withering of the empty anthers. Nearly all 

 the species have very caducous stamens. Cultiva- 

 tion often transforms a certain number of these 

 into petals, then very evidently arranged in a spiral. 



K 2 



