1046 



THE NATURE BOOK 



with the outside of the flower, we find 

 the green sepal, wliich, in passing, it may 

 be pointed out, is partially tinted with 

 white. Next we shall find several rows 

 of well- formed petals, the only strange 

 point about these being that they steadily 

 decrease in size the nearer one gets to the 

 centre. If the investigation is pushed 

 still further, it \\ill be found that the 

 petals become even more narrow, until 

 they are strange linear processes which it 

 is difficult to call by any name. At last 

 one will be discovered which appears to 

 be curiously thickened at the point, and 

 if the termination of the organ be closely 

 examined the presence of a small amount 

 of pollen may be detected. The termina- 

 tion of this process, which can be called 

 neither petal nor stamen, continues to be 

 more and more modified as we near the 

 centre of the flower, until it is resolved into 

 two thickened parts, to be recognised as 

 the anthers. When this stage is reached 

 the petal-like lower part disappears and 

 a slender thread takes its place, thus form- 

 ing the filament, which goes to the making 

 of the typical stamen. In the central 

 rows of stamens it is not possible to dis- 

 cover the least resemblance between the 

 petals and the male reproductive organs. 



The Water Lily is not the only flower in 

 which the intimate connection between 

 the petal and the stamen may be traced. 

 Something on much the same hnes is to 

 be seen in the case of certain species of 

 Paeony, and other instances might be 

 brought forward. It will hardly be 

 necessary to bring forward further proof 

 that the relationship between stamens 

 and petals is a fact beyond question. 



It will not be quite such a simple matter 

 to trace in a clear fashion the leaf origin 

 of the pistil as it has been in the case of 

 the three other organs which have been 

 dealt with. It sometimes happens in 

 freak flowers that the stamens are trans- 

 formed into carpels, and even on occasion 

 strange processes have been found which 

 bear a resemblance to both male and female 

 organs. In the case of an abnormal Saxi- 

 frage mentioned by Kerner, it appeared 

 that the anthers and ovules can be pro- 

 duced from exactly the same part of the 

 stalk. There is, therefore, without doubt, 

 a close connection between the stamens and 

 carpels. It is interesting tc; push the 



matter still further and endeavour to find 

 out whether we cannot find in a m.ore 

 direct way that the pistil is akin to the 

 leaf. 



There does not seem to be any flower in 

 a natural state wliich offers us a com- 

 plete explanation as to the origin of the 

 female organs. Even in the case of most 

 double flowers it is not easy to find an 

 instance which helps us to understand the 

 evolution of the carpels. There is, how- 

 ever, one double blossom which lets a good 

 deal of hght on to the problem, and this 

 is the Cherry. The flower will well repay 

 anyone who is interested in the matter 

 to study a Httle closely. If the inner petals 

 of a well-developed bloom of the double 

 Cherry are torn away, it will be found that 

 a small leaf occupies the place of the usual 

 carpel. This leaf has the two edges folded 

 towards each other, and the midrib is 

 greatly prolonged, having a little knob 

 at the summit. Now if this process be 

 compared with the normal carpel of a 

 single Cherry blossom, it is quite easy to 

 see that the two sides of the leaf represent 

 the walls of the ovary, whilst the elongated 

 process can be none other than the style. 



When the carpels have passed their 

 maturity it is not at all an uncommon 

 thing for them to develop into very leaf- 

 like organs. This is the case in the seed 

 vessels of the Pea, where it is discernible 

 that the two sides of the pod are not un- 

 hke the lobes of a leaf joined together by 

 a midrib. A most suggestive monstrosity 

 is occasionally seen in the case of the Pea 

 pod. This happens when for some reason 

 the ovules fail to develop and the two sides 

 of the pod do not close together in the 

 normal fashion. When this is the case it 

 is seen that the lobes of the seed vessel 

 are still more leaf-like than is usually the 

 case. Small projections are to be observed 

 along the edges of this process, which may 

 be called the carpellary leaf, and these 

 will show where under ordinary conditions 

 the ovules would have been. 



For })urposes of convenience the differ- 

 ent parts of the typical flower have been 

 dealt with in the order in which they occur 

 in the actual specimen when a start is 

 made from the outside. By doing so it 

 has been made clear that every part of 

 the flower has a most intimate connection 

 with any other portion. In every case one 



