18 



WAYSIDE WEEDS. 



they are, what is their structure and functions, we 

 must tell in a future page ; only remark that, in the 

 Jlowers you have exa7nined, their attachment, in the 

 composition of the blossom, is the same as that of 

 the petals. Put aside the stamens, or puU them 

 off, and we come, at length, to our fiiend in the 

 centre, whose name we have abeady let out — the 

 pistil (Figs. 4, 6, 17, 18), and a very varied piece 



Pio. 17.— Plata of lychnis, a. Ovary. 

 b, styles; c, receptacle. 



Fig. IS.^eed-vessel and pistil 

 of common Stitehwort. 



of structure it seems, judging by the specimens. 

 In the poppy it is short, round, and marked or 

 rayed on the top ; in the buttercup it seems made 

 up of a number of projecting pieces; in the wall- 

 flower it ia prolonged; in the lychnis,* rounded and 



* To prevent confusion, it is necessary again to remark, that the 

 lychnis, or catch-fly, is one of those plants which usually have 

 their pistils, or central organs, in one bloBsom, and their stamens 

 in another. This our readers must verify for themselves by ex- 

 amination of the plants. 



