_Connate_ is a term common for either not free or not distinct, that is, for parts united congenitally, whether of same or of different kinds. _Adnate_, as properly used, relates to the union of dissimilar parts. 272. In still another form of expression, the terms superior and inferior have been much used in the sense of above and below. _Superior_ is said of the ovary of Flax-flower, Cherry, etc., because above the other parts; it is equivalent to "ovary free." Or it is said of the calyx, etc., when above the ovary, as in Fig. 273-275. _Inferior_, when applied to the ovary, means the same as "calyx adnate;" when applied to the floral envelopes, it means that they are free. [Illustration: Fig. 273. Hawthorn-blossom in section; parts adnate to whole face of ovary, and with each other beyond; another grade of perigynous.] [Illustration: Fig. 274. Cranberry-blossom in section; parts epigynous.] 273. =Position of Flower or of its Parts.= The terms superior and inferior, or upper and lower, are also used to indicate the relative position of the parts of a flower in reference to the axis of inflorescence. An axillary flower stands between the bract or leaf which subtends it and the axis or stem which bears this bract or leaf. This is represented in sectional diagrams (as in Fig. 275, 276) by a transverse line for the bract, and a small circle for the axis of inflorescence. Now the side of the blossom which faces the bract is the _Anterior_, or _Inferior_, or _Lower_ side; while the side next the axis is the _Posterior_, or _Superior_, or _Upper_ side of the flower. [Illustration: Fig. 275. Diagram of papilionaceous flower (Robinia, Fig. 261), with bract below; axis of inflorescence above.] [Illustration: Fig. 276. Diagram of Violet-flower; showing the relation of parts to bract and axis.] 274. So, in the labiate corolla (Fig. 256-258), the lip which is composed of three of the five petals is the _anterior_, or _inferior_, or _lower_ lip; the other is the _posterior_, or _superior_, or _upper_ lip. 275. In Violets (Fig. 238, 276), the odd sepal is posterior (next the axis); the odd petal is therefore anterior, or next the subtending leaf. In the papilionaceous flower (Fig. 261, and diagram, Fig. 275), the odd sepal is anterior, and so two sepals are posterior; consequently, by the alternation, the odd petal (the standard) is posterior or upper, and the two petals forming the keel are anterior or lower. § 5. ARRANGEMENT OF PARTS IN THE BUD. 276. =Æstivation= was the fanciful name given by Linnæus to denote the disposition of the parts, especially the leaves of the flower, before _Anthesis_, i. e. before the blossom opens. _Præfloration_, a better term, is sometimes used. This is of importance in distinguishing different families or genera of plants, being generally uniform in each. The æstivation is best seen by making a slice across the flower-bud; and it may be expressed in diagrams, as in the accompanying figures.