122 MYSTERIES OF THE FLOWERS 



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MILKWEED 



true horns of plenty, in which they 

 eagerly drink. But the stamens 

 are not easy to find even with a 

 microscope, and are revealed only 

 by dissection. Having thus sepa- 

 rated the parts, I can best explain 

 their complex arrangement by 

 building them up again. 



Upon the calyx grow two pis- 

 tils, but these are embedded in a 

 fleshy column and their stigmas 

 can be reached by the pollen only 

 through five small holes. 



A single stamen is shown in the 

 adjoining sketch. It has a very 

 short filament, two anthers, and 

 two wing-like appendages. Five 

 of these stamens cluster round the 

 column and shed their pollen in- 

 ward against it, the wings of one 

 stamen meeting the wings of sta- 

 mens on either side to form a little 

 tent or pocket which we will call 

 the pollen-chamber. 



Now the pollen in the milkweed 

 is not the usual fine, mealy sub- 

 stance, but a mass like a croquette, 



