Glossary of plant morphology others may form a tight spiral, or whorl, around the flower stem. First, at the base, are those non-reproductive structures involved in protecting the flower when it is still a bud, the sepals, then are those parts that play a role in attracting pollinators and are typically coloured, the petals, which together with the sepals make up the perianth (perigon, perigonium). If the perianth is differentiated, the outer whorl of sepals forms the calyx, and the inner whorl of petals, the corolla. If the perianth is not differentiated into sepals and petals, they are collectively known as tepals. In some
Cliffortia have arisen at four independent occasions. Trimerous flowers have three sepals of variable size, and in male flowers six to many stamens. Tetramerous flowers have four sepals of 5 mm long at most and either four or eight stamens. In female flowers the sepals are united at their base to form a calyx tube, and have one or two styles, that are finely divided like an ostridge feather. One or two achenes may develop in each flower, within the inflating calyx. The first who mentioned species that are currently assigned to "Cliffortia" was Leonard Plukenet in 1696. Names published before