CALYX

( Gr. a:«A.:^|, a cup.) The name given by botanists to the outermost of the enveloping organs of a flower. It is usually green, and sometimes bears a great resemblance to leaves; but it Is also frequently richly coloured, as In the Mirabilis, Salvia splendens, . This organ appears to have the office of protecting the more tender parts lying within It, and is therefore usually present in flowers; when absent, its protecting office is always performed by some modification of bracts, as in the Arum and the Willow. If it is adherent to the sides of the ovary, it is called superior; if partially adherent, half superior; and if quite free from the sides of the ovary, it is inferior. In systematical botany these differences are of great importance. [s. 196]