A CHAPTER TO STUDY. 9 



Staminate Flowers are those that have stamens but are 

 without pistils. 



Pistillate Flowers are those that have pistils but no 

 stamens. 



The terms male and female that are sometimes employed in- 

 stead of STAMINATE and PISTILLATE are used wrongly and 

 should be avoided by even those that have no pretention to 

 botanical knowledge. It is the product of these organs and 

 not they themselves that should be so called if the terms are 

 used at all ; but staminate and pistillate are the correct and 

 accepted expressions. 



Cleistogamous flowers are those small, inconspicuous blos- 

 soms of the late season that usually grow near the ground and 

 never open. They are, however, fruitful, being self-fertilized 

 within themselves. Violets bear them abundantly. 



Leaves may be looked upon as appendages of the stem. 

 They are the digestive organs of the plant and assimilate the 

 sap into material for sustaining its tissues. 



The Blade is the usually broad, flat part of the leaf. 



Stipules are the two small blade-like parts at the base of 

 the petiole. They are often inconspicuous, or absent. 



Bracts are the modified leaves of an inflorescence or those 

 that are under a flower. Usually they are green and of different 

 size and shape than the rest of the foliage ; sometimes, how- 

 ever, they are highly coloured and petal-like. 



The three principal ways in which leaves are arranged upon 

 the stem are : 



Alternate : that is when one leaf appears just above the other 

 on another side of the stem. (Fig. 27.) 



Opposite : when two appear at each joint, having the semi- 

 circle of the stem between them. (Fig. 28.) 



Whorled : when they grow at intervals in a circle around the 

 stem. (Fig. 29.) 



The Veining of the leaves is classed under two divisions : 

 Netted- Veined and Parallel-Veined. 



Netted-Veined leaves are those in which the veins branch 



