Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany: For High Schools and Elementary College CoursesCampbell, Douglas Houghton
Science
Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany: For High Schools and Elementary College Courses
Campbell, Douglas Houghton
Botany -- Textbooks
The upper part of the pistil is variously modified, having either
little papillæ which hold the pollen spores, or are viscid. In either
case the spores germinate when placed upon this receptive part
(stigma) of the pistil, and send their tubes down through the tissues
of the pistil until they reach the ovules, which are fertilized much
as in the gymnosperms.
The effect of fertilization extends beyond the ovule, the ovary and
often other parts of the flower being affected, enlarging and often
becoming bright-colored and juicy, forming the various fruits of the
angiosperms. These fruits when ripe may be either dry, as in the case
of grains of various kinds, beans, peas, etc.; or the ripe fruit may
be juicy, serving in this way to attract animals of many kinds which
feed on the juicy pulp, and leave the hard seeds uninjured, thus
helping to distribute them. Common examples of these fleshy fruits are
offered by the berries of many plants; apples, melons, cherries, etc.,
are also familiar examples.
The seeds differ a good deal both in regard to size and the degree to
which the embryo is developed at the time the seed ripens.
CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANGIOSPERMS.
The angiosperms are divided into two sub-classes: I. _Monocotyledons_
and II. _Dicotyledons_.
The monocotyledons comprise many familiar plants, both ornamental and
useful. They have for the most part elongated, smooth-edged leaves
with parallel veins, and the parts of the flower are in threes in the
majority of them. As their name indicates, there is but one cotyledon
or seed leaf, and the leaves from the first are alternate. As a rule
the embryo is very small and surrounded by abundant endosperm.
The most thoroughly typical members of the sub-class are the lilies
and their relatives. The one selected for special study here, the
yellow adder-tongue, is very common in the spring; but if not
accessible, almost any liliaceous plant will answer. Of garden
flowers, the tulip, hyacinth, narcissus, or one of the common lilies
may be used; of wild flowers, the various species of _Trillium_
(Fig. 83, _A_) are common and easily studied forms, but the leaves are
not of the type common to most monocotyledons.
The yellow adder-tongue (_Erythronium americanum_) (Fig. 81) is one of
the commonest and widespread of wild flowers, blossoming in the
northern states from about the middle of April till the middle of May.
Most of the plants found will not be in flower, and these send up but
a single, oblong, pointed leaf. The flowering plant has two similar
leaves, one of which is usually larger than the other. They seem to
come directly from the ground, but closer examination shows that they
are attached to a stem of considerable length entirely buried in the
ground. This arises from a small bulb (_B_) to whose base numerous
roots (_r_) are attached. Rising from between the leaves is a slender,
leafless stalk bearing a single, nodding flower at the top.
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