156 THE MINUTE ANATOMISTS 



The Flower 



The parts of a flower Malpighi calls calyx, with its 

 foliola, flos with its leaves, stamens, style. The con- 

 struction of different flowers is illustrated by numerous 

 well-chosen examples ; the accompanying figures are 

 particularly instructive. He has no true notion of the 

 function of the stamens, but supposes that the " globules" 

 (pollen) are a kind of excretion, whose removal purifies 

 the sap. The outer whorls were removed by Malpighi 

 from unexpanded flowers, especially tulips, to see whether 

 in such cases the ovary would ripen ; sometimes its 

 development seemed to be retarded ; sometimes it was 

 normal. The experiment was of course inconclusive, as 

 no precautions were taken to prevent pollination from 

 other flowers, and Malpighi found himself still at liberty to 

 entertain his favourite speculations, that the outer floral 

 organs either keep off the sun's rays, or purify the sap.^ 



He remarks with astonishment that Nature should 

 have provided receptacles on the petals, in which to 

 store honey. The honey-pouches of Crown Imperial 

 are described.^ The honey, Malpighi clearly sees, must 

 be secreted by the petal, not brought from without. 

 Naturalists had hitherto explained it as a deposit from 

 the atmosphere. 



Staminate and pistillate flowers (nettle, maize, 

 cucumber, Amentiferae, &c.) are noted. It shows either 

 a momentary lack of acuteness or undue haste that the 

 occurrence of stamens in certain flowers which possessed 

 no ovary did not lead Malpighi to question his theory 

 that stamens protect the ovary or else supply it with a 

 purer sap. 



Malpighi traces with some detail the analogy between 



ip. 55. 2p. 47 . PI. XXVIII, XXIX, Figs. 162, 167. 



