THE COROLLA 



213 



sake of brevity these terms are generally written, in botani- 

 cal descriptions, 2merous, 3merous, 4merous, Smerous, 

 which are pronounced respectively, dimerous, trimerous, 

 etc. 



THE COROLLA 



Material. — Practical illustrations of Sections 303-318 must be 

 sought for out of doors, by observing the various flowers and weeds 

 with which the student comes in contact in his daily walks. 



303. Cohesion and Adhesion. — A flower that is perfectly 

 symmetrical and regular, with all its parts free and distinct, 

 like the star-of-Bethlehem and most of the lily family, is 

 not often met with. Frequently one or more of the organs 

 are wanting ; more frequently still they are combined and 

 consolidated in various ways with each other or with 

 organs of a different set. Union between organs of the 

 same set is called cohesion; between organs of different 

 kinds, adhesion, or adnation. The opposite of coherent 

 is distinct ; of adherent, 

 free. 



304. Apopetalous and 

 Sympetalous Corollas. — 



Consolidation may occur 

 between any parts of the 

 flower, either of the same 

 or of different sets, but 

 is more conspicuous in 

 the corolla, so that this 

 character has been made 

 the basis of one of the 

 great divisions of seed- 

 bearing plants, which are 

 classed as apopetalous and 

 sympetalous , according as 

 their corollas are com- 

 posed of separate or of 

 united petals. Flowers 

 1;}iat have no corolla are 



416 419 



414-419. — Irregular apopetalous corollas 

 {after Gray) : 414, a larkspur flower; 415, 

 sepals, J, J, and petals, /, /, displayed ; 416, 

 diagram of arrangement ; 417, corolla of the 

 violet; 418, sepals and petals displayed; 

 419, diagram of arrangement. 



