THE FLOWER. 
123 
are said to b § fertile, because they bear seed. They 
are also called female flowers. 
Perfect flowers, like Fig. 211, are said to be her¬ 
maphrodite , because both sexes are united in the same 
individual. 
Fig. 214. 
A Neutral Flower. 
Observe well and remember the following charac¬ 
ters ; they occur very often in writing about plants: 
A perfect flower is indicated thus, £ . 
A staminate, sterile, or male flower, thus, $ . 
A pistillate, fertile, or female flower, thus, 9 . 
Look over the charts for examples of perfect, im¬ 
perfect, and neutral flowers. 
EXERCISE XLI. 
Monoecious, / Uoecious, and Polygamous Plants . 
When both staminate and pistillate flowers grow 
upon the same plant (Fig. 215), it is said to be monoe¬ 
cious. 
