THE STAMENS 149 



the barberry (Fig. 150), in which the anther opens 

 by means of a lid. 



164a. The barberry flowers are honey-sweet, and attract the bees; 

 and the plant seems to make the most of its opportunity. When the 

 flowers are just expanded, and the sun is warm, touch the filaments 

 upon their inner side with a pin or point of a pencil. See what 

 happens. Observe, also, the curious way in which the anthers open. 

 The pupil will now be interested in the anthers of other plants of 

 this family, such as may-apple, jeffersonia, and blue cohosh. 



1646. The opening of any closed organ is known as its de- 

 hiscence. We have found, then, that the dehiscence of the anther 

 loeules is various, and that it follows at least three types or methods. 



165. We have seen that there are commonly 

 two loeules, and in the water-lily (Fig. 147) they 

 are separated by the width of the filament. A 

 flower of the scarlet sage of gardens and green- 

 houses is laid open in Fig. 151. The anthers are 

 at 1 and 2; but a closer examination of the 

 anther shows that it has but a single locule, and 

 as other mints have two, we are suspicious that 

 the other compartment has been lost. The truth 

 is that in some kinds of sage (as the common 

 garden sage) the two loeules are separated by a 

 stalk or bar, which runs crosswise the top of the 

 filament. This bar, separating the two loeules of 

 an anther, is called a connective. In the flower 

 .before us, the other locule has apparently van- 

 ished in the process of time, and the places where 

 we should expect to find it are at 3 and 4, on 



