22 SOUTH AFRICAN FLOWERING PLANTS. 



flower is very complicated, I will not now describe it. We 

 will begin with Fclargo'nium, or " Heron's-bill/' of which 

 South Africa has some 160 different kinds or species. 



Get a blossom of the largest kind you can find, 

 such as the one here figured (Fig. 12). You will 

 notice that the petals which stand up at the back are 



Fig. 12.— Pelarffo'nium cuculla'tum. I. Section through flower, 2^ sepals and 2J 

 petals being removed ; Sp, hollow spur of upper sepal. II. Style and stigmas of 

 a flower in the second (female) stage. III. Diagram of flower. 



larger and often streaked with a deeper colour than 

 the other three. It is a usual thing for irregular 

 flowers to be streaked or spotted in certain places only ; 

 but they occur just over the passage leading to the 

 honey ; hence they have been called " honey-guides," 

 or " path-finders/' showing the insects where they are 

 to search without any hunting. 



