Bishop Coxe.

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CHAPTER II

THE FLOWER BABIES


The flower itself has many parts, just as there are many parts to your
body. When the flower is a little bud, or baby, rocked by the breezes,
it is closely wrapped in a little green cloak. We call this cloak the
calyx, because when it opens it looks like a cup, and the word calyx
means cup. After the bud is grown, it opens its cloak and throws it
back. Then we see the pretty dress underneath. We call this dress the
corolla. Sometimes it is all in one piece, but often it is divided into
several leaf-like parts which we call petals.

If we look within the dress or corolla, we find the real body of
the flower, which is called the pistil. Its shape varies greatly in
different plants, but it always consists of two or three distinct parts.
One of these is the cradle for the seeds, and is called the ovary.
At one end of the ovary is usually a little tube leading down into it.
This tube is called the style, and the opening at the other end is
called the stigma. Each ovary or cradle contains one or more ovules
which by and by will grow into seeds. Just outside the pistil of a
flower you usually will find a row of slender, thread-like stalks, each