THE GYN^CIUM 85 



Most frequently the stamens of the andrcecium are distinct 

 and completely free from each other as in the buttercup, but in 

 some flowers the filaments of the stamens are united together and 

 only the anthers are free. When all the filaments are united 

 the stamens are described as monadelphous \ if two or several 

 separate bundles of united filaments are present the stamens 

 are said to be diadelphous and polyadelphous respectively. 



In the daisy, dandelion, and most plants belonging to the 

 CompositEe, the anthers are united and the filaments are free ; 

 such stamens are termed syngenesious. 



Stamens attached to the petals, as in the potato flower, are 

 described as epipetalous. 



(ii) The gynsecium is composed of carpels, each of which 

 generally consists of three parts : (i) a swollen hollow basal por- 

 tion termed the ovary, ^ x 

 (2) a thin more or less \ 

 elongated part called 

 the style, at the apex of 

 which is (3) the stigma. 



The style is in many 

 instances missing and ^(£1 



the stigma is then SeS- Fig. 37.— Pod of a pea (a single carpel}, v The ventral 

 ., - suture ; d the dorsal suture : s style ; t stigmatic surface ; 



sue upon the upper part yfunicle of the seed ; a seed. 



of the ovary. 



Within the cavity of the ovary are small round or oval bodies 

 termed ovules, which under certain circumstances to be mentioned 

 later develop into seeds. The part inside the ovary, on which 

 the ovules are borne is termed the placenta. 



The carpel may be considered as a leaf which has been folded 

 along the midrib and united at its edges. The line correspond- 

 ing to the united edges of the leaf is termed the ventral suture 

 of the carpel, and it is along this line that the ovules are generally 

 attached in two rows — one row belonging to each edge ; the line 

 corresponding to the midrib of the folded leaf is the dorsal suture. 



