156 BOTANY 
The part of the anther uniting the lobes is called 
the connective. In the violet this is in each stamen 
produced into a little hood, while in two it is prolonged 
backwards into a spur: in the salvia it is enormously 
enlarged. In the violet and some other flowers, the 
filament has almost disappeared and the anthers may 
be regarded as sessile. To show the importance of 
pollen, take away the stamens from a number of 
flowers while still in bud. Cover these with paper 
bags tied tightly round the stalk so that no pollen 
may reach them from outside. It will be found that 
the flowers so treated will not set fruit, though normal 
flowers on the same branch do so in the ordinary way. 
Carpels. Whereas the stamens constitute the male, 
the carpels form the female reproductive organ of the 
flower. These develop into the fruit and contain the 
ovules that eventually become the seeds. The carpels 
of any one flower are collectively known as the 
gynecium (Gk. gyne a woman and oikos a house). 
The gynecium may consist of a single carpel, as 
in the bean, of a number of separate carpels, as in the 
buttercup, or a number of united ecarpels, as in the lily. 
The term pistil requires careful consideration. Where 
the gyncecium consists of only one earpel or a number 
of united carpels, the term pistil and gynecium signify 
the same thing, i.e., the whole female organ of the 
flower. When, however, the gynecium consists of a 
number of separate carpels, each earpel is a vistil, so 
that, while the pea and lily have only one, the butter- 
cup has many pistils. In such eases the terms earpel 
and pistil refer to the same thing. 
As a rule, each pistil has at its base a swollen 
portion called the ovary which encloses and protects 
the ovules. Rising from this is a slender lengthened 
portion called the style, and, on this, usually at the 
tip, is a moist sticky surface called the stigma. 
