XXVI INTRODUCTION 



flower is sometimes called calydfjoral, as if these parts sprang 

 from the calyx. 



The Calyx (from the Greek kaliix, acup) is usually green and 

 leaf-likCj though it may be peialoid, as ni the Marsh-marigold. 

 Its sepals may be free {polysepalous) or united (gamosepalous), like 

 a cup. In all hypogynous flowers it will be, as we have seen, in- 

 ferior, and in all epigynous ones, superior. In direction the sepals 

 may be ereei, as in the Cabbages ; aseefidiiig, as in Rtustaid ; spread- 

 ing, as in Strawberry ; or replexed, as in the bull^ous Buttercup. At 

 their base they may he poiie/ied, as m the two outer ones of most 

 Crrtei/erce : or they may be spurred, as in one of those of the 

 Larkspur. Even when made up of fivQ united sepals, the calyx 

 is often bi-labiatee or two-lipped, as in the;Broom and the Sage. It 

 may be iuhular, as in Centaury; tubular 20c\d. plaited, as in Prim- 

 rose, folded so as to be star-shaped if cut acrcjss ; l>ell-sliaped, as 

 in Henbane ; barrel shaped, or ii?-ieolaie,.'M\A. inpiaied, or separated 

 by some considerable space from the corolla within it, as in the 

 biiadder-campion ; or cylindric, as in the Carnation. In some 

 CompositcR and other flowers the calyx is replaced by a circle of 

 hairs called a pappus, which often enlarges in the fruit stage, as in 

 Thistle-down. Tn duration the calyx iifay be caducous, falling off 

 as the flower opens, as in Poppies ; deciduous, falling with the petals 

 and stamens when the seed is set, as in the Cherry; or persistent, 

 remaining in the fruit stage, as in the Strawberry. \Vhen persistent 

 it is generally marcescent or withered, as in the Hawthorn, Apple, 

 Medlar, and Gooseberry. 



The Corolla ("little crown ") is the/ing of more delicate, or 

 petaloid, leaves within th^ calyx, which are usually 

 coloured — that i.s, not green — and often fragrant. 

 They are also usually attaehcd by a narrower base 

 ^ ->-„;,^.-^^x;n ?'"'''^" ''""=^ sepals, this being sometimes drawn out 

 ^^^^^'''^^'j into a long narrow poijtiijn or ciaio, as in the 

 Pinks, when the broader upper part is dis- 

 tinguished as the iiini'. If coherent the petals 

 are gainopeialous and the united part forms the 

 coroUadube, the junction* of the tube with the 

 free limb being known as the tliroat. In the 

 Borage tribe the throat of the corolla is generally 

 '^'^"'pink'"'"^'' furnished with little sca!les or swellings." If not 

 '"'■ , coherent the petals are /(?/iy^rf<7/(Wj-, and this is a 



discriminating character of great importance in the classification 

 of Dicotyledons, as also is their insertion, whether Ii\po:;xnous, 

 perigynous or epigynous, and, to a less extent, their symmetrv. Of 

 polypetalous types the most important are the cruciform, consisting 



