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CALYX. 
Spatha : Signifies a sheath. It is that kind of calyx which 
first encloses the flower, and when it expands, bursts lengthwise 
and often appears at some distance below it. The wild turnip 
or arum furnishes an example of this kind of calyx, enclosing 
with the spatha, a kind of infloresence called a spadix. From 
the peculiar appearance of the spadix, as it stands up surround- 
ed by the spatha, it is in England vulgarly called Jack in the 
pulpit. The spatha is com- 
mon in many of our cultiva- 
ted exotics, as in the daffodil 
(narcissus) when it appears 
brownish and 'withered, after 
the full expansion of the flow- 
er. You see here a represen- 
tation (Fig. 17.) of the spatha 
of the Arum (6.) and of the 
Narsissus (c). In the Egyp- 
tian Lily, (calla,) the spatha 
is tvhite and permanent, the 
stamens and pistils grow sep- 
arately upon the spadix. Palms 
have a spadix which is branch- 
ed, and often bears a great 
quantity of fruit. 
Glume, is from the latin word gluma a husk. This is the 
calyx of the grasses, and grass like plants. In the oat, and 
wheat, it forms the chaff, a part which is thrown away as 
worthless. In the oat, the glume calyx is composed of two pie- 
ces or valves ; in some kinds of grain, of but one, in others of 
more than two valves. 
To the glume belongs the awn or beard. The corolla of 
grasses is husky, like the calyx, and is sometimes considered as 
a part of it. A French Botanist says, that there is in the gras- 
ses, neither calyx nor corolla, that these scales are only mem- 
branous bracts. He thinks, the confusion with respect to those 
parts has tended to render the study of grasses difficult. 
Calyptva. This term is derived from the Greek, and signifies 
a veil. It is the, cap, or hood of pistillate mosses, resembling 
in form and position the extinguisher of a candle. 
Volva, or curtain, the ring or wrapper of the Fungus plants. 
It first encloses the head of the Fungus, afterwards bursts and 
contracts ; remaining on the stems, or at the root. 
We have now considered the different kinds of calyx ; we 
find that the calyx is not essential, since it is wanting in some 
plants, but its presence adds to the completeness of the flower; 
Spatha — Glume — Calyhtra — Volva — Uses of the Calyx. — 
