46 THE FLOWER 



various parts prove that it is equivalent to a simple shoot. 

 Further, we are familiar with the fact that seeds form in con- 

 nection with flowers, but on no other part of the plant. We 

 may, therefore, give the following definition of a flower : — A 

 flower is a simple shoot, or part of a simple shoot, which is set 

 apart for the purpose of effecting reproduction by means of seeds. 

 The lateral members — sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels — 

 represent leaves, and may be described as floral leaves. 



Comparing the flowers of the Scotch Pine and Buttercup, 

 it is apparent that there is a great difference between . their 

 carpels. They are types of the two great natural classes into 

 which we divide flowering plants, (i.) Gynmosperms, which 

 include Pines, Firs, Cedars, etc., have their ovules freely 

 exposed on open carpels, (ii.) Angiosperms, which include the 

 majority of familiar flowering plants — Buttercups, the Wall- 

 flower, the Hazel, Grasses, and Lilies, for instance — have 

 closed carpels, so that the ovules are concealed inside an 

 ovary. Further, a carpel of an Angiosperm has several differ- 

 entiated parts — an ovary, a stigma, and usually a style. 



