CHAP. II. 
STAMENS. 
149 
nective. In many of the cases of excessive divergence of the 
cells the line of dehiscence of the anther is changed from lon- 
gitudinal to vertical (Plate III. fig. 20. 17.), and has actually 
been supposed to be really transverse ; an error which in most 
cases has arisen from not understanding the real structure of 
the anther. Some anthers, however, no doubt have cells that 
burst transversely, as Lemna, Alchemilla arvensis, Securi- 
nega, &c. (See Plate III. fig. 12. 16. 30.) 
All anthers are not two-celled, their internal structure 
being subject to several modifications. It sometimes happens 
that the septum, instead of being very obscurely formed, pro- 
jects forward into the cavity of the anther, till it meets the 
inflexed lips of the fissure : in such a case the anther is spu- 
riously four-celled, as in Tetratheca. In Epacris the two 
parallel cells become confluent into one, and the anther is 
therefore one-celled. In Maranta and Canna only one cell 
is produced, the other being entirely suppressed. In most 
Amarantaceae, and some other plants, the anther seems to be 
absolutely one-celled. (Plate IV. fig. 8.) 
Other deviations from the normal form of anther occur, 
which are less easy to reconcile with the idea of a two-celled 
type. In some Laurineae the anther is divided into four cells, 
one placed above the other in pairs ; in ^giceras it consists 
of numerous little cavities ; and in the singular genus Rafflesia 
the interior is separated into many cellules of irregular figure 
and position, described by Brown as " somewhat concentrical, 
longitudinal, the exterior ones becoming connivent towards 
the apex, sometimes confluent, and occasionally interrupted 
by transverse partitions." In these instances the septa may 
be understood to arise from portions of the cellular tissue of 
the anther remaining unconverted into pollen. 
With regard to the deviation from the usual mode of de- 
hiscence. Brown observes {Linn. Trans, xiii. 214.), " that 
they are numerous : in some cases consisting either in the 
aperture being confined to a definite portion, — generally the 
upper extremity of the longitudinal furrow, — as in Dillenia 
and Solanum ; in the apex of each theca being produced 
beyond the receptacle of the pollen into a tube opening at 
L 3 
