33 



had fallen, and the pistillate not until both had dropped, and 

 so in each group, there was never more than a single open flower 

 at any one time. The staminate flower consisted of from 12 to 

 16 stamens arising from a mound of tissue at its center, sur- 

 rounded by three rather conspicuous woody, white, deltoid pet- 

 als 5 mm. long, beneath which were hidden three additional 

 scale-like perianth segments. 



The first staminate flowers were generally found to be open 

 as soon as the inflorescence had escaped from the enclosing 

 spathes. Thereafter a new set opened every morning, following 

 the sequence set forth above, and by evening there was a rain 

 of spent flowers with withered anthers beneath each flowering 

 tree. The opening of new staminate flowers continued for from 

 12 to 14 days after the escape of the inflorescence, when the 

 buds of this kind were practically exhausted, and the pistillate 

 flowers now began to function. These did not become receptive 

 until most of the staminate flowers of the inflorescence had 

 fallen. Perhaps it is not quite accurate to speak of the "opening" 

 of the pistillate flowers, (unless one means their stigmas), for the 

 six white, scale-like divisions of the perianth did not actually 

 expand, but the ovoid ovary closely embraced by them swelled 

 until it spread them apart a bit, and the three sessile stigmas 

 peeped forth from between them. They were stigmatic along 

 their inner faces, and a drop of fluid collected in the angle be- 

 tween them. The inflorescence bore receptive pistillate flowers 

 for a period of 5 or 6 days after the majority of the staminate 

 had fallen. Thus the period of anthesis of the inflorescence con- 

 sidered as a whole was 18 or 19 days, and the time during which 

 it bore functional staminate flowers about double that for the 

 pistillate flowers. 



The course of events which has just been described was ren- 

 dered somewhat irregular by the behavior of those flowers at 

 the extremities, especially at the apex, of each branch of the in- 

 florescence. After all of the staminate flowers had fallen from 

 the main portion of the branch, and the pistillate flowers had 

 begun to become receptive, there were generally a few lingering 

 staminate flowers at these extremities. Different branches did 

 not always enter the pistillate stage on the same day, so there 

 was a certain amount of overlapping between the staminate 

 stage of one branch and the pistillate stage of its neighbors. 



