Outlines of botany Author:John Locke Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PART III. Fructification, (fructijicatio.) THE FRUCTIFICATION consists of the Floweu and Fruit. The fructification is a temporary part of vegetables, de... more »stined for the reproduction of the species, terminating the old individual and beginingthe new. Observation. The fructification is an essential part of every vegetable. Every species of plants produces flower and fruit. The seed is the essence of the fructification, and the whole use of the flower is to serve in perfecting it. A plant may be propagated by roots, layers, offsets, scions and buds, but the plants thus produced, are only extensions of the same individual, and retain all its peculiarities. Although a plant may thus be propagated to a considerable ex- tent, yet it appears that if it be not renewed by seed, it will sooner or later become extinct, or, as it is commonly expressed, will run out ; hence we infer that propagation by seed is the oiily true reproduction of plants. Lintiicus distinguishes seven parts of fructification, some of which are essential to the very nature of :i flower or fruit, others not so indispensably necessary, and therefore not always present. I. Calyx, (calyx.) PI. 13, fig. 1. Flower-cup, generally resembling the leaves in texture and colour, and forming the outermost part of the flower. This is not essential, and is often absent. Observation. Commonly called the green leaves of the flower. II. Cor M.a, (roroYfl ) PL 12, fig. 1. a. a. a. The more delicate coloured internal leaf or leaves, likewise not essential. Observation. 1 Commonly called the fo-aer leaves. 2 I'etal is the term given to each separate leaf of the corolla. This is exemplified in the Tarioui kinds of pp'ej wliich are propgttd by en- traiting and inocmlation. III. Stamen, (stonen.) PI. 1...« less