218 



lyUSSONS WITS PLANTS 



nating with the divisions and borne upon the calyx, 

 are five petals. The central part of the flower 

 is occupied by five monadelphous stamens with 

 versatile anthers, and out of the 

 tube formed by the filaments 

 project the three styles, with 

 their capitate or ball -like stig- 

 mas. It now remains to in- 

 terpret the hair -like fringe which 

 stands above the petals. This 

 arises from the petals, and, 

 therefore, is of different origin 

 from the stamens, and cannot 

 be interpreted as stamens. We 

 have found a comparable struc- 

 ture in the narcissus (Fig. 183). It is a crown or 

 corona. The passion flower, therefore, is described 

 as a perigynous, polypetalous, quadriserial flower, 

 and presumably is not far removed, in classification, 

 from the crape myrtle (247a). 



251. A picture of the flowering spurge (euphor- 

 bia) is at Fig. 210. It appears to be a simple 

 flower with five white petals, five or six stamens, 

 and a curious 3-merous pistil ; but this supposi- 

 tion is wholly wrong. The five petal -like bodies 

 are expansions of an involucre ; the apparent 

 stamens are each a staminate flower arising from 

 the axil of a bractlet and standing upon a jointed 



Fi3. 210. 

 Flowering spui-ge. 



