THE HORNBEAM. 



273 



THE FEMALE CATKIN AND YOUNG LEAVES. 



By this time the leaves have begun to develop and the 

 female catkins have appeared. They are smaller than the male 

 flowers, and are less densely covered by the slender green pointed 

 caps, between v\'hich the stigmas show like threads of crimson. At 

 the base of the female tlorets are green scales like the leat-stipules 

 in form. 



By June these catkins have grown to about tour inches in length, 

 and their unusual form and papery texture make them very conspicuous 

 objects. At this stage the green caps or sheaths are sometimes as 

 much as two inches long and roughly triangular in shape. Each is 

 made up of pointed lobes ; the central one which is the longest, 

 diminishes in width towards the tip by regular steps. The sheaths 

 are placed opposite to one another so that they form a sort of 

 inverted bell, at the base of which is an angular nut. Down the 



