24 STRUCTURAL BOTANY 



So far the organs of the flower have borne an 

 obvious resemblance to ordinary leaves. The next 

 whorl is very different, and consists of bodies which, 

 so far as their outward form is concerned, are not at 

 all leaf-like. Each consists of a longish stalk, bearing 

 at the top a little boat-shaped case of a yellowish colour. 

 These are the stamens (see Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11). 

 There are six of them, four of which are longer than 

 the other two. The two shorter stamens stand on 

 either side of the flower, and each of them is placed 

 just between two of the petals, and just opposite the 

 two inner lateral sepals. The four longer stamens 

 are placed rather farther in, so that all six stamens 

 might be regarded as forming two whorls. The 

 longer ones are in two pairs, each pair standing 

 between two petals, and just opposite the two outer 

 (posterior and anterior) sepals. (See diagram, Figs. 

 12 and 13.) 



The stalk of the stamen is called the filament ; 

 the body at the top of the filament is the anther. 

 The filament is continued up through the middle of 

 the anther, and is here called the connective, because 

 it connects together the two halves (loles) of the 

 anther. When ripe, the anther bursts to discharge 

 a yellow powdery substance called pollen. 



Just inside the bases of the two shorter sta- 

 mens are two large green honey-glands (nectaries). 

 The filaments are bent outwards to make room for 

 them, and this causes the bulging of the adjacent 

 lateral sepals, which we noticed in examining the 

 calyx (see Figs. 9 and 11). 



