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THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
Definition of a Flower. — Even the botanist finds it 
hard to say exactly what a flower is. An essential part of 
every flower is either pistils or stamens, and usually both 
are contained in the same flower. These organs, however, 
are morphologically transformed leaves bearing spores of 
two kinds, the small spores being known commonly as 
pollen and the large ones as ovules. But even among the 
feni allies, such as the selaginella, there are leaves of this 
kind, so that under this definition it would not be incorrect 
to claim that some femworts have flowers. If, however, 
we define a flower as one or more sets of essential organs 
surrounded by floral leaves, we will have to exclude the 
conifers and many amentaceous plants from the lists of those 
that bear flowers. 
The Striped :Maple. — One of the handsomest small 
trees in any locality is the striped maple {Acer Pennsyl- 
vanicum). The deep green bark striped with pure white 
is most noticeable during the colder months of the year, but 
the drooping racemes of straw-colored flowers in early 
spring and the fresh dark green of the leaves in summer 
are equally attractive. With us the tree is seldom found in 
cultivation, but the British are more appreciative and often 
plant it. It is hoped that our own country will not have to 
be settled as long as those of the Old World have before we 
appreciate the beauty of a plant without regard to its place 
of origin. In England the tree is sometimes called snake's 
bark maple, though it may be questioned whether anyone 
ever saw a snake with bark on it ! There seems to be no 
use for coining this absurd name when the plant already has 
several more expressive. In this country, in addition to the 
name at the beginning of the paragraph, it is called moose- 
wcHjd. whistlewood and striped dogwood. 
