104 



THE FLOWER 



—■stg 



ries within it an inlieritance of the racial characteristics: 

 tlie forms (if the leaves, the colors of the flower, tlic height 

 and cliaracter of the stem, even the movements of the 

 parent plant are passed down througli the ovule (with the 

 aid, as will shortly be seen, of the pollen) to the plant 

 which is to spring from the ovule. 



189. The ovule-bearing organ is the jjistil (Fig. 132). 

 Three parts are usually distinguishable : the hollow lou er 

 portion is the ovarij ; the column sur- 

 mounting this is the style; and at the 

 tip of the style — sometimes on its 

 side — a part of the surface without 

 epidermis and moist or even sticky, 

 is termed the stii/ma. The style ma}' 

 be lacking; the stigma is then sessile 

 on the ovary (Fig. 131). 



190. Tlie flower commonly contains 

 but one pistil. Such flowers as those 

 of the Pea and lica.n illustrate the 

 simplest case of all, wdien the pistil is 

 solitary and has but one cavity with 

 ovules borne on but one side (jf it. In the Buttercup 

 (Fig. 133) there are many pistils, each simple, with a 

 single cavity, cordaining but a 

 single o^•ule. In tiie majority 

 of plants, however, the two or 

 more original pistils grow up 

 from a very early stage in their 

 development united throughout 

 the greater part of their length. 

 Compound pistils are thus 

 formed. The several cond)ined 

 carpels. 



191. The portion of the ovary to which the ovules are 

 attached is the placenta, and the manner in Mhicli the 

 ovules are distributed on the interior surfaces of the ovary 

 is the placentattoii. AVhen the ovules are numei'ous, the 

 placenta is apt to Ije a ^vell-de\■eloped cushion or projection 



Pistil of Wild Ge- 

 ranium ; 0^', f)va- 

 ry; stl, style; 

 stg, stigiua. 



. Flower of the Buttercup. 



pistils are then termed 



