FLOWERS: THEIR FORMS AND KINDS. , 67 
Morning-Glory, the Lily (Fig. 1-12), and the Stonecrop (191), they will soon 
learn to understand it in any or all of its diverse forms. The principal varieties 
or special forms that occur among common plants will be described under the 
families, in the Flora which makes the Second Part of this book. There stu- 
dents will learn them in the easiest way, as they happen to meet with them in 
collecting and analyzing plants. Here we will only notice the leading Kinds of 
Variation in flowers, at the same time explaining some of the terms which are’ 
used in describing them. 
201. Flowers consist of sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils. There may be few 
or many of each of these in any particular flower; these parts may be all separate, 
as they are in the Stonecrop; or they may be grown 
together, in every degree and in every conceivable 
way; or any one or more of the parts may be left 
out, as it were,'or wanting altogether in a particular 
flower. And the parts of the same sort may be all 
alike, or some may be larger or smaller than the 
rest, or differently shaped. So that flowers may be 
classified into several sorts, of which the Noe 
are the principal. 
202. A Complete Flower is one which has all the 
four parts, namely, calyx, corolla, stamens, and pis- 
tils. This is the case in all the flowers we have 
yet taken for examples; also in Trillium (Fig. 138, 
reduced in size, and here in Fig. 162, with the 
blossom of the size of life, and spread open flat). 
203. A Perfect Flower is one which has both sta- 
mens and pistils. A complete flower is of course a 
perfect one; but many flowers are perfect and not 
complete ; as in Fig. 163, 164. 
204. An Incomplete Flower is one which wants at 
least one of the four kinds of organs. This may 
happen in various ways. It may be 
Apetalous ; that is, having no petals. This is the 
case in Anemony (Fig. 163), and Marsh-Marigold. For these have only one row 
of flower-leaves, and that is a calyx. The petals which are here wanting appear 
162 
Complete flower of Trillium, 
163 
Incomplete fower of Anemony, 
a 
