THE PELLITORY OF THE WALL— continued. 
segments. Each of these involucres is described as enclosing three flowers. 
When fully developed, however, each little axillary cluster is a polygamous cyme 
or glomerule of seven flowers. Of these, the central, terminal, or first-formed 
floret is carpellate. It originates in the axil of the primary bract and is flanked 
laterally by two free secondary bracts or bracteoles. It consists of four perianth- 
leaves united at the base into a tubular hairy calyx investing the one-chambered 
ovary, which is surmounted by a slender style thickening upwards and ending 
in a tufted, papillose, or brush-like typically wind-pollinated stigma. In the 
axil of each of its two bracteoles is a perfect flower again flanked by two 
bracteoles or tertiary bracts with flowers in their axils with two bracteoles each. 
Hence the two lateral groups of three flowers each have been described as 
surrounded by a seven-lobed involucre, i.e. by one secondary bract, two tertiary 
ones, and four quaternary. The two lateral perfect flowers each consist of a 
tubular, red, four-lobed, persistent calyx, which is hairy, and enlarges and hardens 
at a later stage ; four stamens, opposite the calyx-segments ; and a carpel. These 
flowers are exceedingly protogynous, the style protruding from the bud and the 
stigma becoming incapable of fertilisation, or even being shed, together with the 
style, before the anthers are mature. These flowers, therefore, when seen in their 
later stage, have been described as purely staminate. The stamens are much like 
those of the Nettles, their filaments being incurved in the bud, wrinkled trans- 
versely, and irritably elastic, and their anthers having two rounded distinct or 
“ distant ” chambers, which explosively turn inside out when mature, thus violently 
discharging a puff of light dust-like pollen. The four tertiary flowers of the 
glomerule may sometimes be entirely staminate, so that the inflorescence, comprising 
perfect, carpellate, and staminate blossoms, is termed polygamous. As in the Nettles, 
the explosion of the ripe anthers may be brought about by the slightest contact with 
any foreign body, or apparently merely by a ray of sunlight. As, however, the 
blossoms are destitute of honey or perfume, they are hardly likely to be visited by 
insects, unless for the sake of the pollen, and the explosiveness of the anthers would 
render this difficult for an insect to collect. No insect-visitors are, in fact, recorded ; 
and, although unexplained, the protogynous condition is very characteristic of 
anemophilous flowers. 
The fruit is an indehiscent achene, enclosed within the enlarged persistent 
calyx, and contains one erect ovule. 
The whole plant is mucilaginous and has formerly been used in medicine as an 
emollient, an infusion or tea made from it being then a favourite and innocuous, 
but by no means potent, rural medicine. 
