THE WAT IN WHICH NEW PLANTS ARISE 147 



selected for observation. The separate parts of 

 this cup, or circle, are usually termed sepals, and 

 while they serve important uses in protecting other 

 parts of the flower, or the fruit, yet they are not 

 essential to reproduction, and are lacking in many 

 species. Immediately inside the sepals is a circle 

 of five large colored leaves, forming the most 

 showy part of the flower; these are the petals. 

 Like the sepals, they also exhibit great diversity 

 in number, size, shape, and color in different species. 

 Some are most beautifully painted and marked, 

 and it is principally to the development of these 

 organs in various plants that the florist's art is 

 directed. These organs, also, play only a minor 

 part in reproduction, and are lacking in many 

 species. 



Immediately inside the petals are to be seen a 

 nimiber of small knobs, or flasks, not much larger 

 than a pin's head, borne on curved stalks. These 

 are the stamens, and if the flasks are crushed or 

 torn open, they will be found to contain a yellow- 

 ish powder made up of a great number of pollen 

 grains. In the centre of the flower are five small 

 stalks extending up into the air, the styles. The 

 expanded surface of the tip are the stigmas. The 



