204 
THE LIFE OF FLOWERING PLANTS 
like the tassel of the corn, and pistillate flowers, bearing 
pistils only, like the young ear of corn with its long silks 
(pistils). Some plants, like the corn, bear both kinds on 
the same plant, even though in separate flowers. In this 
case we say the plant is monoecious (mo-ne'shus: Greek, 
monos, one ; oikos, house). 
Other plants have only 
staminate or only pistil¬ 
late flowers like the wil¬ 
low and ash which we 
call dioecious (dl-e'shiis: 
Greek di, two; oikos, 
house) plants. 
Regular flowers are 
those which have all the 
parts of a kind the same 
size and shape. Such a 
flower is the lily. 
Irregular flowers have 
many variations, but they 
are all alike in having the 
parts of the same set of 
different size and shape. 
The bean flower, the nas¬ 
turtium (see Figure 182), 
and the violet illustrate 
this. 
Double flowers are those 
in which the stamens or 
part of them have turned to petals. How would this affect 
the production of seed? Cleistogamous flowers (klis-tog'a- 
mus : Greek, kleistos, closed; gamos, marriage) are those which 
some plants form for the sole purpose of producing seeds 
without the help of insects. They usually grow below the 
surface of the ground, have no petals, have only one or two 
Figure 188 . — Pistillate Flowers of 
Corn. 
Immature grains, each of which has a 
long, green style, the “silk.” The husks 
are modified leaves. 
