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Re: Male plants????
Dave (in San Diego) wrote:
> Male plants???? This goes against everything I've ever been taught about
> plants when I was in school! Is this true?
Believe it. I recall way back in high school biology my instructor (Louis
Pasteur, I think... wait no, it was Mr. Stern who was more well-known as
the JV wrestling coach) handing out the obligatory mimeograph showing the
anatomy of a flower. Stamen, pistil and a few other odd parts all in one
flower - the classic drawing I'm sure we've all seen. But you don't have
to grow plants long to figure out that isn't always true.
There's plants with fully equipped flowers (roses, for instance) as in
the high school biology drawing, there's plants with separate male and
female flowers (e.g. corn) and there's plants with male flowers on
one individual and female flowers on another. In this latter case the
plants often look different - compare male (fruitless) mulberry trees to
female (fruit-bearing) trees.
There are other glitches and variations - far more than I can describe. I
suggest some time reading some botany and/or horticulture books to get a
better appreciation for the emense variety in plants.
Roger Miller