The Cornflower 



disappointment, for the dainty envelope is absolutely 

 empty. They are all a mere pretence of flowers, their 

 attractive appearance is their only recommendation. 



We pass on to the very different little florets in 

 the centre. Small, and without brilliance, they 

 are nevertheless each a complete flower. , The second 

 diagram shows one of these florets. The purplish, 

 insignificant petals — the shape of an urn upon a 

 long pedestal — spread out into five small rays at 

 top. At the bottom of the pedestal tube is a honey 

 sac. There is no scent, however. 



Above the five petal rays the stamens project 



as a long, dark pillar, really a tunnel, with five 



very short filaments below in the petal urn, to 



speak of the five stamens whose united heads form 



the tunnel. Through the centre of this tunnel runs 



the ovary column, the Uttle one-seeded ovary being 



away below the petals. The top of this column 



ends in a fork, and just under this fork is a ring of 



very small hairs forming a circular brush. Now, the 



interesting point in this flower is that the stamens 



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