DICOTYLEDONS 



Fig, 132. — Staniinate flower of Hazel 

 inserted on bract (6r), with which two 

 prophylls (pr) are fused. 



Fig. t33. — Diagram of ditto. 



sists solely of four stamens, which are attached to the bract 



in place of being on a flower-stalk in the axil of that bract. 



Each stamen is halved almost 

 to the base of its filament, 

 so that at first sight there 

 appear to be eight stamens, 

 each of which possesses only 

 half a complete anther. The 

 anther is crowned by a tuft 

 of hairs. 



The bud of the dwarf 

 branch (fig. 134) which 

 produces the carpellary in- 

 florescence is often , loosely 

 described as being the in- 

 florescence. The bud is 

 really the commencement of 



a foliaged branch which terminates in an inflorescence; but 



the foliage-leaves do not unfold till 



after the flowering is over. On the 



axis of this bud the most external 



and lowest leaves are two prophylls ; 



then succeed three to four pairs of 



scale - Uke stipules (sc), and' within 



these two to four foliage-leaves. ' Thus 



so far the bud is Uke a vegetative 



bud; but above these foliage-leaves 



follows the true inflorescence. The 



carpellary inflorescence consists of 



four to eight spirally -placed bracts 



(i>r) with axillary flowers, which are 



borne on a shortened axis. In the 



axil of each bract (fig. 135) there 



stand the buds of two carpellary 



flowers, so that the whole inflores- 

 cence possesses eight to' sixteen 



flower-buds. But only a few of the 



flower - buds develop into mature 



flowers. Each carpellary flower has 



a minute, indistinctly lobed, green Fig. 134.— Vertical section of 



perianth (pe), which is inserted on the Xeity^Ml^sclT'"" " " 



