The Flower. 



99 



147. Composite (com-pos'-ite) Flowers* are made of 

 several individual flowers in the same flower-head. 

 The sun-flower (Fig. 50) is a familiar example of a 

 composite flower. One of the separate flowers is shown 

 in Fig. 51. At the 

 outer edge of the 

 flower-head, is a ' 

 row of individual 

 flowers, each of 

 which has a long, 

 yellow, petal-like 

 appendage (Fig. 

 52), called a ray. 

 The flowers bear- 



FiG. 50. Cross-section of flower-head of 

 mg rays are called sunflower, Helianthus annuus. Reduced. 

 The florets appear closely crowded Id the 

 ray-flowers. Some center of the head. 



composite flowers as of the tansyf are without ray-flowers. 



148. The Flowers o.f the Grass Familyl to which the 

 r cereals belong, as well as 



corn, sorghum, sugar cane, 



etc., are quite different from 



, those of most other plants. 



In this family, the flowers 

 are arranged in little groups, 

 each of which is called a 



Fig '51 Fig '52 



Fig. 51. Enlarged floret of spikelet. What we call a 

 sunflower. 



Fig. 52. Eay-flower of same.head of wheat IS made up 

 of a number of spikelets, one of which is shown in Fig. 

 53. Fig. 54 shows the spikelet dissected. The two 



• The plants having composite flowers form an extensive family In 

 botany, called Composltae. 



t Tanacetum vulgare. t Oramineae. 



