DEGENERATION, 



103 



resemble, on a smaller scale, those of the nettle; 

 and the stamens here, again, are opposite to the' 

 calyx-lobes, which of course implies the suppression 



Fig. 36.-Male rtower of netile {^Urtica atoica); yreui, with stamens opposite 



the sepals. 



of a corolla. In the beech {Betidd) the three florets 

 under each bract are loosely and irregularly arranged ; 

 and in the male hornbeam {Carpinus) and hazel {Cory- 

 his) the perianth is wholly obsolete. All these are 



Fig. 37.— Flowtrs of alder {Alnus); jrreen, with stamens 



opposite the sepals. 



probably quite anemophilous. The willows {Salix), 

 on the other hand, though included by Sir John 

 Lubbock in the same category (doubtless through 



