6i2 Handbook of Nature-Study 



ridge along their centers. These spoon-bowls unite at the tip, and 

 between them they clasp the anthers and stigma. Special attention 

 should be given to the division between the two portions of these inner 

 petals; for it is a hinge, the workings of which are of much importance to 

 the flower. On removing the outer petals, we find a strange framework 

 around which the heart-shaped part of the flower seems to be modeled. 

 These are filaments of the stamens grouped in threes on each side; the 

 two outer ones of each group are widened into frills on the outer edge, 

 while the central one is stiffer and narrower. At the mouth of the 

 pitchers all these filaments unite in a tube around the style; near the 

 stigma they split apart into six short, white, threadlike filaments, each 

 bearing a small, brilliant yellow anther. So close together are these 

 anthers that they are completely covered by the spoon-bowls made by 

 the inner petals, the pollen mass being flat and disklike. During the 

 period when the pollen is produced, the stigma is flat and immature; but 

 after the pollen is shed, it becomes rounded into lobes ready to receive 

 pollen from other flowers. 



Although the description of the plant of this flower is most complex 

 and elaborate, the workings of the flower are most simple. As the nectar- 

 pitchers hang mouth down, the bee must cling to the flower while probing 

 upward. In doing this she invariably pushes against the outside of the 

 spoon-bowls, and the hinge at their base allows her to push them back 

 while the mass of pollen is thrust against her body; as this hinge works 

 both ways, she receives the pollen first on one side and then on the other, 

 as she probes the nectar-pitchers. And perhaps the next flower she visits 

 may have shed its pollen, and the swing door will uncover the ripe stigma 

 ready to receive the pollen she brings. 



The sepals are two little scales opposite the bases of the outer petals. 

 Before the flower opens, the "spouts of the nectar-pitchers" are clamped 

 up on either side of the spoon-bowls, as if to keep everything safe until 

 the right moment comes; at first they simply spread apart, but later 

 curve backward. The seed-pod is long and narrow, and in cross-section 

 is seen to contain two compartments with seeds growing on every side of 

 the partition. 



The bleeding heart is a native of China, and was introduced into Europe 

 about the middle of the last century. 



Reference Our Garden Flowers, Keeler. 



LESSON CLIV 

 THE BLEEDING HEART 



Leading thought The bleeding heart flower has its pollen and stigma 

 covered by a double swing door, which the bees push back and forth when 

 they gather the nectar. 



Method Bring a bouquet of the bleeding heart to the schoolroom, and 

 let each pupil have a stem with its flowers in all stages. From this study, 

 encourage them to watch these flowers when the insects are visiting them. 



Observations i. How are these flowers supported? Do they open 

 upward or downward? Can you see the tiny sepals? 



How many petals can you see in this flower? What is the shape 

 of the two outer petals? How do they open? Where is the nectar 

 developed in these petals? 



