536 Handbook of Nature-Study 



it to hold itself firmly ; but if it catches to something as unstable as its own 

 tendrils, they twist until so hard-twisted that they form a support in 

 themselves. 



It is rather difficult to perceive the alternate arrangement of the leaves 

 on the bindweed stem, so skillful are they in twisting under or over in 

 order to spread their whole graceful length and breadth to the sun ; to the 

 careless observer they seem only to grow on the upper or outer side of the 

 vine. The leaves are arrow-shaped, with two long, backward, and out- 

 ward projecting points, or "ears," which are often gracefully lobed. 

 Early in the year the leaves are glossy and perfect ; but many insects love 

 to nibble them, so that by September, they are usually riddled with holes. 



The flower bud is twisted as if the bindweed were so in the habit of 

 twisting that it carried the matter farther than necessary. Enveloping 

 the base of the flower bud are two large sepal-like bracts, each keeled like 

 a duck's breast down the center; if these are pulled back, it is seen that 

 they are not part of the flower, because they join the stem below it. There 

 are five pale green sepals of unequal sizes, so that some look like fragments 

 of sepals. The corolla is long, bell-shaped, opening with five, starlike 

 lobes; each lobe has a thickened white center; and while its margins are 

 usually pink, they are sometimes a vivid pink-purple and sometimes 

 entirely white. Looking down into this flower-bell, and following the 

 way pointed out by the white star-points which hold out the lobes, we find 

 five little nectar-wells; and each two of these wells are separated by a 

 stamen which is joined to the corolla at its base and at its anther-end 

 presses close about the style of the pistil. When the flower first opens, it 

 shows the spoon-shaped stigmas close together, pushing up through the 

 anther cluster; later, the style elongates, bringing the stigmas far beyond 

 the anthers. The pollen is white, and through the lens looks like 

 tiny pearls. 



When we study the maturing seed-capsule, we can understand the 

 uneven size of the sepals better; for after the corolla with the attached 

 stamens falls, the sepals close up around the pistil; the smallest sepal 

 wraps it first, and the larger ones in order of size, enfolding the precious 

 parcel; and outside of all, the great, leafy bracts with their strong keels 

 provide protection. The pod has two cells and two seeds in each cell. 

 But it is not by seeds alone that the bindweed spreads; it is the running 

 rootstock which, when the plant once gets a start, helps it to cover a large 

 area. The bindweed is a relative of the morning-glory and it will prove 

 an interesting study to compare the two in methods of twining, in the time 

 of day of the opening of the flowers, the shape of the leaves, etc. So far 

 as my own observations go, the bindweed flowers seem to remain open 

 only during the middle of the day, but Miiller says the flowers stay open 

 on moonlight nights to invite the hawk-moths. This is an interesting 

 question for investigation, and it may be settled by a child old enough to 

 make and record truthful observations. 



There are several species of bindweed, but all agree in general habits. 

 The field bindweed lacks the bracts at the base of the flower. 



