anther

[In Fr. anthère; Lat. anther a = a medicine composed of flowers; Gr. ἀνθηρός ( antheros ) = flowery, blooming; ἀνθέω (antheo) =to blo om, to bloom; ἄνθος ( anthos ) = 3 blo om, a flower.] Bot. An organised body constituting part of a stamen, and generally attached to the apex of the filament. As a rule, it is composed 11/ IMG:content-0574.png:[graphic] 2 IMG:content-0575.png:[blocks in formation] of two parallel lobes or cells; sometimes, however, there are four, and sometimes only one. The cells are united by the connective, and contain pollen. When the time for shedding it arrives, the anthers burst generally by a longitudinal fi ure from the base to the apex, but in some plants in other ways. anther is the theca of Grew, the capsula of Malpighi, the apex of Ray, the testiculus or testis of Vaillant, the capitulum of Jungius, and the spermatocystidium of Hedwig. (Lindley: Introd. to Bot.) The Anther - dust : The pollen from an anther. It constitutes a yellow dust, which, when it falls from the atmosphere, has often been mistaken for a shower of sulphur. It is very copious in the Coniferæ.