[Illustration: Fig. 70. Buds of the Rose; A with the calyx covering the inner parts, B with the petals opening out.]
[Illustration: Fig. 71. Flower of the Rose, with separate petals.]
Directly within the calyx we come to the parts which are generally bright and prettily coloured, and which give the chief beauty to the flower. In the harebell which we are examining these parts are joined up to form a bell, but in the rose they are each separate (~see~ fig. 71). In both harebell and rose we find five of these parts, and the same number in the primrose, where you will find that they are joined up at the base to form a long, narrow tube, and then spread out separately like those of a rose. Both in the harebell and primrose, where they are joined up, we can tell the number of parts which go to make the whole bell or tube (and this is nearly always the case in bell flowers), while, of course, where the parts are free it is quite easy to count them, and we find that for each kind of flower their number is always fixed. For example, we find five in the harebell, rose, primrose, and many others, four in the poppy, wallflower, cress, and so on. These parts are called the ~petals~, and in almost all flowers you will find that they are bright and pretty, and stand out from the surrounding green leaves, so that they are easily seen. When the cups or bells hang down they may protect the parts within from the rain, but that is not generally their chief work. The ~first duty of the petals is to be attractive~. You will understand better why this is so after we have gone further into the flower.
[Illustration: Fig. 72. Primrose flower cut open, showing the stamens (~s~) attached to the tube formed by the petals.]
[Illustration: Fig. 73. Flower of Speedwell, with only two stamens (~s~).]
Within the petals, and, in most cases, lying at the base of the bell, you find several yellowish dusty sacs, on fine thread-like stalks. In most flowers they are all free from each other and from the petals, but in the primrose they are fastened to the tube of the petals (~see~ fig. 72). In some flowers you will find a great many of these, as you do in the wild rose (~see~ fig. 71) and the poppy, where there are so many that you can hardly count them. In other flowers there are very few; for example, there are only two in the blue speedwell (~see~ fig. 73). In most flowers the single ~stamens~, as they are called, are very much alike in their structure, and they all have the same work to do. Look at these structures in a tulip or lily, where they are very big, and carefully pull one off and examine it (fig. 74). You will find that it consists of a stalk which we call the ~filament~, with two long sacs at the tip which hold the yellow dust, and which we call the ~anthers~. If you examine a fully blown flower of the tulip or lily, you will find that the sacs split open right down their length and let out a fine yellow powder. ~This powder is the important thing about the stamens, and is called the~ =pollen=. In all stamens you will find the anthers or pollen sacs, while the stalk, which is less important, is not always developed. Sometimes the sacs split right open like those in the lilies, but there are other ways of opening; as for instance, in the rhododendron you will see a little round hole at the tip of each anther, which lets the pollen shake out like pepper out of a pepper-pot.