THE LTFE-HISTOEY OF PLANTS. 



121 



the rest. Let us take as an example the Wliite Lily ; 

 its flowers are large and their parts conspicuous ; any 

 other Lily will do provided it be a true Lily, and 

 not one or other of the half -hundred things which 

 are Lihes in name only. 



In the centre of a Lily flower (Fig. 66) may he seen 

 six white threads projecting from the flower, each 

 wdth an oblong top, generally covered with yellow 



Fig. 66.— Flower of tlie White Lily. 



whether by the wind or by insects, as hereafter to be 

 explained. In Fig. 70 are shown various forms of 

 pollen-grains. 



The pistil of the Lily, below, is shown in Fig. 71, 

 and consists of- an " ovary," the thickened green por- 

 tion wliich is prolonged above into a column, which 

 is the " style," on the top of which is the three-lobed 

 knob or " stigma." Within the ovary at the base are 

 the " ovules " or rudimentary seeds, in this case con- 

 tained within three compartments, as may be seen by 

 cutting the ovary across. These parts may also be 

 seen plainly in the Piimrose (Fig. 72)^ in which 



^ Fig. 68.— 



Fig. 67.— Stn- Stamen of Fifr. 69.— Stamen 

 mens of Iris. Solanum. of Amaryllis. 



Evening Primrose. 



HoUylioek. 



Hollyhock with extei'oal 

 envelope removed- 



Phlox. 



Fig. 70. — PoLLEN-GEAiNS (l^iolilj magnified). 



Wheat. 



dust. These are the " stamens," and they surround 

 a central column with a thick three-lobed knob at 

 the top, and an oblong swollen portion at the bot- 

 tom ; this latter is the " pistil." 



The stamens (of which examples are given in 

 Figs. 67, 68, 69) consist of a longish thread analogous 

 to the stalk of the leaf, and called the filament. It 

 supports a case at the top, the " anther," in which 

 are contained the "pollen-cells" or microspores, and 

 which escape by the bursting of the anther, either 

 by long slits (Fig. 67), by holes or pores (Fig. 68), 

 or by valves or trap-doors. 



The pollen-cells are very varied in different plants, 

 the forms ha\ang reference to^their mode of transit, 



however the ovary has no compartments, but only a 

 single cavity. In Fig. 73 may be seen the essential 

 parts of the flower of the Vine after the removal of 

 the petals. Here are seen the five stamens, each 

 with its anther at the top. surrounding the pistil, 

 which in this case consists of the ovary and a 

 stigma at the top without any intermediate style, or 

 with a very short one. 



At Fig. 74 are represented the six stamens of 

 a Wallflower surrounding the central pistil, and of 

 v/hich two are shorter than the other four (the 

 mark of the order Crncifercc, to which the Wall- 

 flower, like the Cabbage, belongs) . 



The same parts are seen in the Foxglove flower, 



