Pharmaceutical botany - Lighthouse Survival Blog

THE FLOWER 41
as in Clematis. In the reduplicate they are turned outward, as the
sepals of Althea.
Vexillary, the variety shown in the corolla of the Pea, where the
two lower petals are overlapped by two lateral ones, and the four in
turn overlapped by the larger upper ones.
Contorted, where one margin is invariably exterior and the other
interior, giving the bud a twisted appearance, as in the Oleander and
Phlox.
The Flower
The flower is a shoot which has undergone a metamorphosis so as to
serve as a means for the propagation of the individual.
Fig. 30.—Diagrams of floral structures. A, shows the relations of the floral
parts in a hj^ogynous flower. B, The same in a perigynous flower. C, The
same in an epigynous flower. D, A stamen. E, A simple pistil in longitudinal
section. F, The same in cross-section. G, Transitonal forms between true petals
(left) and true stamens (right). H, Slight union of two carpels to form a compound
pistil. / and /, Union of carpels more complete. K and L, Cross-sections of compound
pistils, of three carpels. In B: a, stamen; b, petal; c, sepal; d, pistil; e,
receptacle; /, pedicel. In D: a, anther ceU; 6, connective; c, filament. In E: a,
stigma; h, style; c, ovules; d, ovary. {From Hamaker.)
The parts of the flower are Sepals, Petals, Stamens, and Carpels,
all of which are inserted upon a shortened axis called the Receptacle
or Torus. This is usually flat or convex, but may be conical and fleshy
as in the Strawberry ; concave as in the Rose and Fig; or show a disc-like
modification, as in the Orange. The axis of a flower cluster, if short, is
sometimes called a common receptacle, as in the floral axes of the Dande-
lion and Lettuce.