THE FLORA OF SINGAPORE, 33 
Chestnuts, Sindora and Nurrinia are particularly attractive to 
them and the roar of their wings can be heard often at some 
distance from the tree. The chief of these flies is a black J/usca 
with redeyes. ‘The flowers of fly-fertilized plants are usually small 
and green or whitish, generally possessing an unpleasant odor. 
Smaller herbaceous plants growing in dark shady woods often 
have deep brownish purple flowers sometimes with an odor of 
carrion, at others sweet and aromatic, such are Amorphophallus, 
Thattea, Tacca and many orchids. These are also fly-fertilized. 
Many trees produce masses of white flowers in large panicles or 
corymbs. ‘These are very attractive to butterflies and bees, 
such are many of the Eugenias, Hvodia, Rhodamnia, and Melan- 
norrhea. I have noticed as showing the bearing of the color of 
the flowers on insect visitors, that while Huyenia lineata with 
corymbs of white flowers attracts innumerable butterflies and 
bees and the pollen-eating flies (Syrpha), another species of Kuge- 
nia with apple-green flowers, which is growing close by was 
not visited either by butterflies or bees, but by flies similar to those 
which visit the oaks. Pink flowers are not so common, and are 
usually visited by bees, as are the deep red blossoms of Cratory- 
lon arborescens, Gomphia Hookeri, and Hurycoma. Scarlet and 
bright reds are rare in Singapore except in introduced plants, 
but we have also the beautiful Aeschynanthus, Rhododendron, 
some Loranthi, and some species of //ornstedtia. The red flowers 
are most attractive to the Sun-birds, and to butterflies. Bright 
yellow flowers are chiefly to be met with in open country especi- 
ally near the sea; such are IWedelia, Vyris, Philydrum, Utricularia 
(most), Wormia, Timonius, and Gomphia sumatrana. The rarest 
color of all is blue, which is also to be met with almost exclu- 
sively in open spots. Burmannia coelestis, Commelina, Cyanotis, 
Urticularia ajfinis, Evolvulus, Monochoria, Desmodiun heterophylt- 
lum, are almost the only native blue flowers here. 
Visitors to the tropics are often surprised by the apparent 
paucity and inconspicuousness of the flowers. This is partly 
due to the enormous proportion of foliage, which conceals the 
flowers, but the fact that the greater number of our flowers are 
adapted for fertilization by Diptera and small Hymenoptera, the 
most abundant insects in the forests, and are consequently small 
and green or whitish, accounts to a large extent for the small 
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