48 Artificial Systems and Terminology of Organs [Book i. 



therefore, the pith of the seed (that is, the substance of the 

 cotyledons and of the endosperm) springs from the moister and 

 purer part of the food, while the husk which surrounds the 

 seed for protection springs from the coarser part. It was 

 unnecessary to separate a special fertilising substance from 

 the rest of the matter in plants, as it is separated in animals 

 which are thus distinguished as male and female.' 



This last remark and some lengthy deductions which follow 

 are intended to prove, after the example of Aristotle, the 

 absence and indeed the impossibility of sexuality in plants, and 

 accordingly Cesalpino goes on to compare the parts of the 

 flower, which he knew better than his contemporaries, with the 

 envelopes of the ova in the foetus of animals, which he regards 

 as organs of protection. Calyx, corolla, stamens, and carpels 

 are in his view only protecting envelopes of the young seed, 

 as the leaves are only a means of protecting the young shoots. 

 Moreover by the word flower ('flos') Cesalpino understands only 

 those parts of the flower which do not directly belong to the 

 rudiment of the fruit, namely, the calyx, the corolla, and the 

 stamens. This must be borne in mind if we would understand 

 his theory of fructification, and especially his doctrine of meta- 

 morphosis. We must also note, that by the expression pericarp 

 he understands exclusively juicy edible fruit-envelopes, though 

 at the same time pulpy seed-envelopes inside the fruit pass 

 with him for pericarps. The parts of his flower are the ' folium,' 

 which evidently means the corolla, but in certain cases includes 

 also the calyx ; the ' stamen,' which is our style ; and the ' flocci,' 

 our stamens. We see that Cesalpino uses the same word 

 ' folium ' without distinction for calyx, corolla, and ordinary 

 leaves ; just as he, and Malpighi a hundred years later, unhesi- 

 tatingly regarded the cotyledons as metamorphosed leaves. 

 In fact the envelopes of the flower and the cotyledons approach 

 so nearly to the character of leaves, that every unprejudiced 

 eye must instinctively perceive the resemblance ; and if doubts 

 arose on this point in post-Linnaean times, it was only a conse- 



