CHAPTER X 
ANGIOSPERME (MONOCOTYLEDONS) 
THE second great division of the seed-bearing plants, 
the Angiosperms, is preéminently the prevailing modern 
plant type. These are the plants ordinarily thought of 
as “flowering plants.” They are at once distinguished 
from the Gymnosperms by the development of a closed 
ovary formed from the carpel, or by the union of two 
or more carpels. Within this closed cavity are borne 
the ovules or macrosporangia, which are usually, but 
not always, outgrowths of the carpellary leaves. Some- 
times the apex of the floral axis or shoot is transformed 
directly into the ovule. 
The flowers of the Angiosperms exhibit extraordi- 
nary variety, and contrast strongly with the very uni- 
form character of the flowers of most Gymnosperms. 
In the simplest types (Fig. 43) the flowers of the 
Angiosperms are nearly as simple as the simplest 
Gymnosperms, but as a rule they are far more complex. 
This arises primarily from a multiplication of the 
sporophylls, but is further complicated by the develop- 
ment of accessory leaves, sepals and petals, never found 
in the Gymnosperms. 
In most Angiosperms both sorts of sporophylls are 
usually associated in the same flower; 7.e. the flower 
contains both carpels and stamens, which are sur- 
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