Fig. 161
Here you have the plan on which the cherry blossom is built (for flowers, like houses, are built on different plans), and the building plan of the cherry blossom is one of the simplest of all. So it is well, before studying more difficult flowers, to feel quite at home with this one. And you must try to remember first what work each part of the flower is expected to perform; for you see that the leaves of the green cup, the pretty white leaves, the pins with dust boxes, and the pin with a seedbox, have each and all their special task,—a task which they alone are able to accomplish.
Now, in talking about a flower it is troublesome to use a great many words where one would answer every purpose, so I will tell you what these different parts of the flower have been named; and by taking a little trouble to remember these names, we can save a good deal of time.
The green cup is called the “calyx.”
“Calyx” is a Greek word meaning “cup.”
The circle of leaves which grow above the green cup or calyx is called the “corolla.”
“Corolla” comes from a word which means “crown.”
The pins with dust boxes are called “stamens.”
“Stamen” comes from a word meaning “to stand.”