16 ERVTHKA. 



Gentiana sceptrum, Griseb., was abundant in a very wet 

 meadow. The flowers are from one and one-half to two inches long 

 and are mainly a deep blue. The anthers are from three to five 

 lines below t!ie stigma; they are about two lines long and shed their 

 coarse abundant pollen extrorsely. The folds of tlie corolla remain 

 unexpanded so that the large bilaminate stigma, mature from the 

 first, nearly fills the contracted throat, and is nearly sure to be 

 struck by any entering guest. But as the folds of the corolla can be 

 forced open to admit a cylinder five lines in diameter, a large insect 

 could enter bodily down to the contracted portion of the tube, i. e., 

 within less tlian half an inch from the base. The widened filaments 

 form a close cylinder, withont which abundant honey is secreted by 

 five glands at the base of the corolla; the folds of the corolla extend 

 to this cylinder of filaments so that there are five slender tubes 

 leading to the honey, specially adapted, one would think, to the long 

 tongues of the Lepidoptera. I made several pilgrimages to this 

 meadow when the weather was favorable for insect visitors, but did 

 not succeed in seeing any other than small flies and one small bee 

 evidently after pollen. The elaborate structure of the flower would 

 of course lead one to expect other guests. Of a large number of 

 flowers collected at 3 p. m. — the flowers close soon after — about 

 ninety per cent had tlieir stigmas visibly pollinated. 



GiLiA viRGATA, Stcud., is very abundant in the pine woods in 

 July and August. The tube of the flower is but a line long; the 

 funnel-form throat, about two lines long, is white, with yellow spots 

 and has an oblique entrance, the corolla being more deeply incised 

 below. The stamens decline toward the lower petals of this decid- 

 edly irregular corolla, and the anthers open widely and curve 

 upward. The bees commonly cling to the entire group of anthers as 

 they search for honey. The stigmas, which are small for Gilias, 

 mature late and also lie in the way of the entering guest. Honey 

 is very plentiful and the plants are thronged with bees and butter- 

 flies, particularly with Anthophoras and hive bees. 



GiLiA DENSiFOLiA, Beuth., grows in showy masses, but is not so 

 common in Bear Valley as O. virgata. It is done flowering by 

 August. The flowers are deep blue with distinct white lines. The 



