OUTLINES OF BOTANY. XXIX 



2. the Style, proceeding from the summit of the ovary, and sup- 

 porting — 



3. the Stigma j which is sometimes a point (or punctiform stigma) or 

 small head (a capitate stigma) at the top of the style or ovary, sometimes a 

 portion of its surface more or less lateral and variously shaped, distinguished 

 by a looser texture, and covered with minute protuberances called papillce. 



122. The style is often wanting, and the stigma is then sessile on the ovary, 

 but in the perfect pistil there is always at least one ovule in the ovary, and 

 some portion of stigmatic surface. Without these the pistil is imperfect, and 

 said to be barren (not setting seed), abortive, or rudimentary (81), according 

 to the degree of imperfection. 



123. The ovary being the essential part of the pistil, most of the terms re- 

 lating to the number, arrangement, etc., of the carpels, apply specially to their 

 ovaries. In some works each separate carpel is called a pistil, all those of a 

 flower constituting together the gynoecium ; but this term is in little use, and 

 the word pistil is more generally applied in a collective sense. When the 

 ovaries are at all united, they are commonly termed collectively a compound 

 ovary. 



124. The number of carpels or ovaries in a flower is frequently reduced below 

 that of the parts of the other floral whorls, even in flowers otherwise symme- 

 trical. In a very few genera, however, the ovaries are more numerous than the 

 petals, or indefinite. They are in that case either arranged in a single whorl, 

 or form a head or spike in the centre of the flower. 



125. The terms monogynous, digynous, polygynous, etc. (with a pistil of one, 

 two, or more parts), are vaguely used, applying sometimes to the whole pistil, 

 sometimes to the ovaries alone, or to the styles or stigmas only. Where a more 

 precise nomenclature is adopted, the flower is 



monocarpellary , when the pistil consists of a single simple carpel. 



bi-, tri-, etc., to poly-carpellary, when the pistil consists of two, three, or 

 an indefinite number of carpels, whether separate or united. 



syncarpous, when the carpels or their ovaries are more or less united into 

 one compound ovary. 



apocarpous, when the carpels or ovaries are all free and distinct. 



126. A compound ovary is 



unilocidar or one-celled, when there are no partitions between the ovules, 

 or when these partitions do not meet in the centre so as to divide the cavity 

 into several cells. 



plurilocular or several-celled, when completely divided into two or more 

 cells by partitions called dissepiments {septa), usually vertical and radiating from 

 the centre or axis of the ovary to its circumference. 



bi-, tri-, etc., to multi-locular, according to the number of these cells, two, 

 three, etc., or many. 



127. In general the number of cells or of dissepiments, complete or partial, 

 or of rows of ovules, corresponds with that of the carpels, of which the pistil is 

 composed. But sometimes each carpel is divided completely or partially into 

 two cells, or has two rows of ovules, so that the number of carpels appears 

 double what it really is. Sometimes again the carpels are so completely com- 

 bined and reduced a3 to form a single cell, with a single ovule, although it really 

 consist of several carpels. But in these cases the ovary is usually described as 

 it appears, as well as such as it is theoretically supposed to be. 



128. In apocarpous pistils the styles are usually free, each bearing its own 

 stigma. Very rarely the greater part of the styles, or the stigmas alone, are 

 united, whilst the ovaries remain distinct. 



129. Syncarpous flowers are said to have 



several styles, when the styles are free from the base. 



one style, with several branches, when the styles are connected at the base, 



