16 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER, 
AUGUST I, 1902. 
© SGlENTIEIG © 
BOS 
THE FLOWER. 
HE FLOWER BUD.—Before the floral 
appendanges become separated to form 
the fully opened flower they are packed 
closely together and form the bud. The 
manner in which the parts are ar- 
ranged with respect to one another 
im the bud is called the zstivation: 
In the Poppy the petals are crumpled 
in a 
up into a small space very 
peculiar manner. When fully expanded 
they are perfectly smooth. It may be 
Valvate, Induplicate, Reduplicate, Twisted, 
Imbricated. 
Calyx—The outermost envelope of the 
flower is called the calyx (or cup.) It 
consists of sepals which may be of various 
shapes ; the edges may be cut into curious 
appendages, as on the Rose ; or hooked ; 
in the Hibiscus it is double. Sometimes 
the calyx falls off before the flower is 
expanded, as in the Poppy, or along with 
the corolla (deciduous); or remains (per- 
sistent). In Eschscholtzia and Eucalyptus 
the parts remain united at the upper part - 
and become disarticulate at the base, so as 
to come off like a lid or extinguisher. 
Corolla — This envelope is generally 
coloured, conspicuous and oclorous ; it-is 
seldom green (except .in Fabiana). . The 
colouring matter is contained in cells, and 
is entirely different from chlorophyll (the 
colouring matter of leaves.) Hairs are 
sometimes found on the corolla and rarely 
stomata. Generally the corolla is thin, but 
in Stapelia it is thick and fleshy. Like 
leaves the petals (or parts which compose 
the corolla) may be of all shapes—lobed, 
toothed, fringed, heeled, &c. Rarely the 
number of petals is one, but usually equals 
the number of sepals. The ground-up 
petals of the Pyrethrum roseum are used 
to make insecticide. ; 
Stamens—The male portion of the flower 
consists of stamens, which vary in number 
from one to hundreds ; they are undoubtedly 
modified leaves, and are generally a 
multiple of the number of sepals. <A 
stamen is made up of two parts, the filament 
and the anther. In the pea tribe nine are 
united into a tnbe, while the tenth is free ; 
in Stylidium jointed and sensitive. . In 
Orchids the filaments are united with the 
pistil to form a column. Anthers consist of 
cells containing pollen, the grains of which 
are of all shapes and sizes. In Orchids it is 
in masses on a kind of stalk. Tetratheca 
has a four-lobed anther. In Salvia the 
anther lobes are separated by a stalklike 
arrangement. The lower lobe of each 
anther is set across the entrance to. the tube 
of the corolla and has no pollen, #.¢., abor- 
tive. The upper lobe, owing to the in- 
genious fashion in which the anther is 
pivoted, descends on to the back of a bee as 
it pushes its way into the corollatube. The 
pollen from the upper anther is thus carried 
Oo—-—— 
away by the insect to another flower for 
purposes of cross fertilisation. 
Pistil—This comprises the ovary (or seed 
vessel), the style (or column), and the stigma 
or head, which may be of various shapes ; 
in grasses it is feathery. Incidentally it 
may be mentioned that saffron—a colouring 
material—is made from the yellow stigmas 
of the Saffron plant, 4,000 plants being 
necessary to supply 1 oz. of saffron. 
The size of flowers varies considerably, 
one may be one-thcusandth part of a foot 
ouly in diameter, while in tle case of the 
Rafflesia the circumference is 9 ft This 
latter flower is found in Sumatra, it has no 
stalk or leaf, and is found growing on the 
roots of another plant, ¢7e¢, it is parasitic 
and like a fungus. It has a putrid odour 
when full blown, weighs about 15 Ibs., and 
the cup holds from 10 to 12 pints of water. 
An Orchid recently exhibited at a Show 
had petals with long appendages which 
measured* nearly 2 ft. in length. Some 
flowers bloom for many days in succession, 
others for a few hours only and fall off at a 
fixed hour. The Iris Susana (so an observer 
informs us) blooms on exactly the same 
date every year, irrespective of the dryness 
or otherwise of the season. The buds of 
Cistus and Flax expand at 5 a.m. and wither 
before noon. The Cereus blows at 7 p.m.. 
and closes at midnight. The blooming of 
flowers is held by many to be useful for the 
purpose of forecasting the weather. 
In the process of fertilization, pollen from 
the stamens is transferred by different 
agencies to the sticky surface of the stigma ; 
fine thread-like processes travel down the 
style to the ovaries, and as a result seeds 
are produced. This transference of the 
pollen may be brought about by (1) the 
pollen dropping from the anthers on to the 
stigma in the same flower ; (2) by the agency 
of the wind blowing the pollen, or (3) by 
insects carrying it from flower to flower, 
Self-fertilization, or the transference -of 
pollen from the anthers to the stigma of the 
same flower takes place in some cases, but 
just as in the animal kingdom blood mar- 
riages are detrimental, so self-fertilization in 
the vegetable world produces plants weak 
and sickly. Cross-fertilization, or the trans- 
ference of pollen from the anthers of one 
flower to the stigmas of another (generally 
on different plants} results in strong, healthy 
plants. It is a well-known fact that self- 
fertilization is the exception and cross- 
fertilization the rule amongst plants, and the 
devices adopted, so to speak, by flowers to 
prevent the former and encourage the latter 
are truly remarkable and ingenious. Evi- 
dence in the vegetable kingdom goes to prove 
that self-fertilization was the original and 
only means by which plants were reproduced 
in the early days of the world’s history ; 
cross-fertilization is the outcome of evolu- 
tion, and isa much more highly developed 
system and one which tends to produce 
plants more and more suited to environment. 
The chief agents in the process of fertiliza- 
tion are insects which unconsciously carry 
pollen while seeking their food. Plants are 
indispensable to insects and insects to’ plants, 
In the process of evolution insects have be- 
come better fitted for obtaining food from 
plants, and the latter have become more 
perfectly adapted to the requirements of the 
insects. ‘In general, different groups of 
insects, according to their sense of taste or 
colour, the length of the tongue, their move- 
ments and dexterity, have produced various 
odours, colours, and forms of flowers ; insects 
and flowers have both progressed towards 
perfection,” says one writer. 
The subject of fertilization is a most 
fascinating one, and one which will lead the 
naturalist who studies it to marvel at the 
apparent intelligence of plants. In another 
article we shall dwell at length on the 
cross-fertilization “devices” which are to be 
found in almost every flower around us. 
Professor Henslow is at issue with most 
scientists of the present day on the subject 
of fertilization. He maintains that self- 
fertilization is the rule and not the exception 
amongst flowers, and cites a great number of 
examples. He also holds that Darwin was 
entirely misled by his own experiments, and 
illogical; that cross-fertilized plants may fora 
time (as Darwin showed) thrive and be 
stronger but eventually decline, while self- 
fertilized ones, which are at first weak, 
gradually improve. We do not ask our 
readers to believe either theory. If they are 
anxious to settle the matter in their own 
minds and turn attention to the literature 
of the subject perhaps they may be able to 
decide who is right. 
Pronunciation of Plant 
Names. 
Y) ANY amusing anecdotes have been 
KZ told of the mispronunciation of the 
names of flowers by uneducated gardeners, 
and small blame to them, seeing that most 
of the words are Greek or Latin Ifthe 
English alphabet had distinct long and short 
vowels few of these errors would occur, but it 
is generally a matter of guesswork, and wrong 
guesses have become perpetuated. Strictly 
speaking the ‘‘o” is long in Anemone and 
Argemone, but it would be pedantic so to 
call them. Dahlia should have the first 
vowel pronounced as in father ; Dalea is a 
different plant. Erica and Iberis require the 
“i” and “e” long respectively. Gladiolus 
should have the “i” long and the “‘o” short. 
In Clematis and Cyclamen the ‘a” is short. 
In Tecoma the first vowel is long, the second 
short. In Tropaeolum and Pittosporum the 
second “0” is short. In Niphetos the “e” 
is short ; and the “i” of pudica is long in the 
name of the sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica, 
and in the rose Thalia. In Kniphofia, the 
-Red-hot Poker, the “p” and “h” are pro- 
” 
nounced separately. The “g” in words de- 
rived from the Greek is hard, as in Geum, 
and the “ch” like k.” ‘“X” at the begin- 
ning of words is sounded as ‘‘z,” as in Xeran- 
themum, < 
