THE PLAN OF THE FLOWER. 



89 



436. Glandular bodies are often found upon the receptable in the 

 places of missing stamens or carpels, or as abortive organs of some kind. 

 Examples are seen in the Crucifers and grape. In grass-Parnassus they 

 are stalked and resemble stamens. 



437. Union op organs. This condition in some way occurs in almost every 

 flower, and more perhaps than any other oaiase tends to disguise its plan and origin. 

 The separate pieces which stood each as the representative of a leaf, now, by a gra- 

 dual fusion, lose themselves in the common mass. Nevertheless, marks of this pro- 

 cess are always discernible either in parts yet remaining free, or in tlie seams where 

 the edges were conjoined. The floral organs may unite by cohesion or adhesion. 



438. Cohesion, when the parts of the same whorl are joined to- 

 gether, as the sepals of the pink, the petals of morning-glory, the sta- 

 mens of mallows, the carpels of poppy. 



439. Adhesion, when the parts of different whorls are conjoined, as 

 the stamens with the corolla in phlox, with the pistils in milkweed, 

 ladies' slipper ; or calyx with ovary in apple or wintergredn (Gaultheria). 



440. The adjective free is used in a sense opposite to adhesion, 

 implying that the organ is inserted on (or grows out of)' the receptacle, 

 and otherwise separated from any other kind of organ. The adjective 

 distinct is opposed to cohesion, implying that like organs are separate 

 from each other. 



This subject and also the next will be more particularly noticed in another chap- 

 ter. 



288 284 285 



283, Flower of Aoonitum Napellus displayed ; «, », «, s, «, the five sepals, the upper one hooded ; 

 PtP^ P) ^^^ fiv® petalsi of which the two upper are nectaries covered hj the hood, and the three 

 lower very minute. 284, Flower of Oatalpa, 2-lipped, 5-lobed. 285, Corolla laid open, showing 

 the two perfect stamens and the three rudimentary. 



441. Irregular development. Our typical flower, it will be re- 

 membered, is regular ; and observation proves that all flowers are ac- 

 tually alike regular in the early bud. These inequalities or " one- 

 sided" forms, therefore, which characterize certain flowers are occasioned 

 by subsequent irregular growth from a regular type. The irregularity 

 of flowers may consist 



