CHAPTER XLII. 



THE FLORAL SHOOT. 



I. The Parts of the Flower. 



The portion of the stem on which the flowers are borne is 

 the flower shoot or axis, or talcen together with the flowers, it is 

 knowr as the Flou'er Cluster. 



804 The flower. — The flower is best understood by an exam- 

 ination, first of one of the types known as a "complete'' flower, 

 as in the buttercup, tlie spring beautv, the bloodroot, the apple, 

 the rose, etc. 



There are two sets of organs or members in the complete 

 flower — (i) the floral envelope; (2) the essential or necessar}- 

 members or organs. 



The floral envelope when complete consists of — ist, an outer 

 envelope, the calyx, made up of several leaflike structures 

 (sepals), yery often possessing chloroph^■ll, which envelop all 

 the other parts o^^ the flower when in bud; 2d, an inner envelope, 

 the corolla, also made up of several leaflike parts (petals), usu- 

 ally bright colored and larger than the sepals. The outer and 

 inner floral envelopes are usuallv in whorls (though in close spirals 

 in manv of the buttercup familv, etc.), and for reasons discussed 

 elsewhere (Chapter XXXR') represent leaves. The essential 

 or necessarv members of the flower are also usuallv in whorls 

 and likewise represent leaves, but onlv in rare cases is there any 

 suggestion, either in their form or color, of a leaf relation.ship. 

 These members are in two sets: (i) The outer, or andraciitm, 

 consisting of a few or many ]>arts (stamens); (2) the inner set, 

 the gynoeciiim, consisting of a few or many parts (carpels). 



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