THE GEORGIA BARK OR QUIXINE TREE. 



41 



imbricated in the bud. The five stamens are exserted with Ions: 

 heavy anthers and obtuse stigma. Accurately speaking, there 

 are but four petals, for one is broader than the others with the 

 lines of indentation, but it rarely splits. They are a soft creamy 

 tone in color, thickly dotted with ]Mnk and are one and a half inches 

 long, recurving strongly, as paper can be curled by means of a 

 sharp surface — an unfurled flower would measure an inch across 

 the top instead of a half inch. They are covered throughout 



Fig. 6. Flower of Piiiclciicya piibcns. 



with a soft hairiness which holds the dew and gives the appear- 

 ance of being encrusted with rubies and diamonds. The hairv 

 surface is no doubt a protection against insects, as would be 

 inferred by the tentative steps of a bee as he lights thereon bv 

 accident from some nearby flower. The depth of the corolla sug- 

 gests, too, the necessity of a long bill for its fertilization or the 

 securing of the honey stored so deep. The seed pods are in clus- 



