54 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



itinerant insect to its ambrosia that it may perpetuate its 

 species. 



Carefully pulling one of the slender white flower tubes 

 which is from one to two inches long and splitting it I see the 

 ovary near which nectar is found in small amounts. Its fra- 

 grance and the nectar suggests insect visitors ; the length of the 

 tube suggests a long tongued insect. I have consulted authori- 

 ties on botany and entomology and can find no one who has 

 any evidence of the visit of long tongued insects. Probably 

 the white color, the delicate fragrance and the long tube indi- 

 cates fertilization by one of the long tongued moths that fly 

 during the night but then it is so early in the year. There 

 are no special adaptations such as hairs, sticky fluid, etc., to 

 keep out the ants and bees who would be unable to pollinate 

 the flower. 



When the seeds ripen, as they do, almost an inch under- 

 ground, how do they get scattered? This is another sand 

 lily secret. Perhaps they are not raised above the ground 

 until the next spring when the new leaves push upward carry- 

 ing the seed pods with them. At this time the ground will 

 be moist and the seeds can germinate very readily. 



The secret of its luxuriant growth of green leaves, some 

 of which may l)e 10 inches long reminding one of grass blades 

 is not so hard to understand. The plant is a stemless one and 

 has deep growing fleshy roots which take up water and nour- 

 ishment from the soil storing these up while there is an 

 abundance and by the time the dry winds l)low over the plains, 

 the new roots and buds are already formed ready for their 

 next awakening a spring hence. 



