SPRING FLOWERS 



163 



five long, narrow foliage-leaves. These are dark green with a 

 whitish stripe along the midrib. Above the foliage-leaves the 

 shoot continues as a long slender flower stalk. This bears two 

 scale-like sheaths, one near the base and 

 the other at the upper end just beneath 

 the ovary of the flower. This long inter- 

 node of the flower-stalk carries the base of 

 the flower nearer to the surface of the soil, 

 but it is still situated some distance below 

 the level of the latter. Usually the shoot 

 only bears the single flower, but some- 

 times a second flower is produced in the 

 axil of the scale at the base of the flower- 

 stalk of the first flower. 



The general relations of the parts of 

 a plant in flower are shown in Fig. 79, 

 which represents a plant of the Saffron 

 Crocus cut accurately in half. The old 

 corm rooted in the soil, the new corm 

 in process of formation, the scale-leaves 

 and the foliage-leaves are all seen. The 

 long flower stalk is also clearly visible 

 within the leaves of the shoot. 



The flower is also shown cut in half 

 in this figure. The ovary is inferior, and 

 comes at the end of the flower stalk. It 

 consists of three chambers, in each of 

 which are two rows of ovules. Above 

 the ovary comes a long slender tubular 

 region. This extends to well above the 

 level of the soil, and must not be mis- 

 taken for the flower-stalk. This tube 

 widens out above, and divides into the 

 six large coloured leaves of the perianth. 

 These are in two whorls of three, an outer 

 and an inner, and form the expanded, bell-shaped, upper region 

 of the flower. 



Just where the narrow tube widens into this region three 



FIG. 79. Plant of the Saffron 

 Crocus in flower cut 

 through longitudinally. 

 (After Baillon.) 



