THE CANADIAN nORTICULTURTST. 



123 



EASY LESSONS IN BOTANY. 



BY H. B. SPOITON, BARBIE. 



LKSSOX II. 



We are now ready to look at the 

 flowers. But before going minutely 

 into the structure of any one blossom, 

 we may learn something from a general 

 irlance at the flowering portion of each 

 of the whole hve specimens. Take the 

 Buttercup first. Do you see that the 

 flowers are at the ends of the stem and 

 brswiches, and that there is only one 

 blossom on each such end 1 How is it 

 in Wallflower I The blossoms, you 

 observe, have the same situation ; they 

 are all at the to[)S of the branches. But 

 there is at the same time a marked 

 Jiflerence between the flowering of this 

 })lant and that of Buttercup, which you 

 doubtless discover at once. Wallflower 

 has its blossoms in clusters ; and while 

 some of the lower ones have probably 

 withered away, there are others in full 

 bloom, and others nearer the top as yet 

 only in bud. What about Hepatica 1 

 The flowers seem to be at the ends of 

 stems, one on each stem, as in Butter- 

 cup ; only, curiously enough, these 

 flowering stems appear to be without 

 leaves. In Dandelion, we seem to have 

 the same arrangement as in Hepatica. 

 The Dandelion, liowever, will be the 

 subject of special examination by and 

 bye. In Geranium, the blossoms are 

 in clusters, each blossom at the end of 

 a little stalk of its own, and the whole 

 of each cluster borne on the end of a 

 much stouter stalk which springs /rom 

 the side of the stem. 



Now let us sum up all this ; but first 

 of all let it be understood that we shall 

 use the word inflorescence to mean the 

 mode of flowering observed in any 

 ]ilant. So far as we can tell, then, 

 iVora the five plants before us, blossoms 

 are produced either in clusters of some 

 kind, or singhj, and they are ])roduced 

 either at the ends of stems and branches, 



or on the sides of the stems. If pro- 

 duced singly, whether at the ends or 

 on the sides of the stem, we shall say 

 the inflorescence is solitary/. If pro- 

 duced in clusters, then the nanie to be 

 given will depend on how the cluster 

 is formed. If you jmt Wallflower 

 and Geranium side by side, you will 

 see that the flower clusters are not at 

 all the same. In Geranium, the little 

 stalks which bear the sepaiate blos- 

 soms are bunched together, and their 

 lower ends are all joined to the upper 

 end of the stout stalk which cariics 

 the cluster ; but in Wallflower the 

 little stalks rise one aboA'e another 

 from the sides of the stout one. As 

 we go on, we shall find a great many 

 other sorts of clusters, and in good 

 time we shall learn the proper name to 

 apply to each of them. In the mean- 

 time, you may content yourself with 

 noticing, in the case of such flowers as 

 come in your way, whether the inflor- 

 escence is solitary or otherwise. 



When the flowers (in clusters or 

 solitary) are found at the ends of 

 stems, we ehall say that the inflores- 

 cence is terminal. This is the case in 

 Buttercup, in Wallflower, in Hepatica, 

 and in Dandelion, but not in Geranium. 

 How shall we desci'ibe the inflorescence 

 in this and similar plants ? In all 

 plants which flower on the sides of the 

 stems, you will find that the blossom 

 (or cluster) begins its growth in the 

 angle formed hi/ the petiole of a le(f 

 With the st'-'ui. Now the angle on the 

 upper side of a petiole, where it joins 

 the stem, is known as the axil of the 

 leaf. So, as all flowers which are not 

 terminal spring from axils, we shall 

 call such inflorescence axillary. 



Having now gained some general 

 ideas as to the situation of flowers and 

 flower-clusters, let us take a single 

 blossom and see what it consists of. 

 First take a Buttercup. It is clearly 

 made up of a great many pieces, some 



