CUPHEA VISCOSISSIMA. BLUE WAX-WEED. 43 



hair to catch insects, and in a certain sense to eat them. Our 

 plant is seldom seen without insects adhering to the sticky- 

 stems, and it is not at all unlikely that by the aid of the exudation 

 from the glandular hairs the nitrogenous substance of the insect 

 is absorbed and made use of. We have, however, never been able 

 to note the slightest motion in these glandular hairs, as Mr. 

 Darwin observed in the Drosera. 



Another singular feature to be noted is that, while in most 

 plants the peduncle or flower-stalk arises from the axil or point 

 just between the stem and the base of the stalk, in this case it 

 comes from between the two opposite petioles. This is a feature 

 common to many other Cupheas. The flower is probably formed 

 from the whole central growth of the axis, and then subsequently 

 pushed out of position by the development and growth of a new 

 central axis or stem. Another very interesting matter is the 

 way in which the seeds are attached on one side only of the 

 placentae, and also the bursting of the capsule, with the thrusting 

 out of the seeds before they are mature. The rupture of the 

 carpel and pushing out of the mass of seeds is clone with great 

 rapidity, and is worthy of being closely watched by the observer. 

 The seeds have to ripen after their exposure to the open air, — 

 a phenomenon not often met with in the vegetable world. Our 

 artist has shown this feature very well in the plate (Fig. 2). 



The geographical relations of this plant are also quite inter- 

 esting. The home of the genus is in Mexico and Brazil, and 

 there are about a hundred species known, but only two grow 

 within the limits of the United States, and of these, only this one 

 is found to any extent in our country. It may be considered an 

 emigrant from the tropics, and perhaps is still wandering north- 

 ward. The earlier botanists gave Pennsylvania as its most 

 northern limit, but Dr. Gray, in the later editions of his Manual, 

 locates it as far north as Connecticut. It is mostly confined, 

 however, to the seaboard States, though as we go south it passes 

 the Mississippi and extends down the continent to Brazil. 



It has not made its mark in literature in any special capacity. 



