104 THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 



toothed. The stalks of the pods or siliculas are 

 long, slender, unequal, and spreading. 



The pods are flattened at the margin, inversely 

 egg-shaped, lance-shaped, or elliptic. The pouch is 

 oblong, not so long as the stalk, twice or more as 

 long as broad. The valves are flat and membranous. 

 The cells contain tv^enty to forty seeds. 



The plant is also called Erophila, w^hich comes from 

 eavy spring, and phileo, love, referring to its early 

 flow^ering habit. The name verna refers to the early 

 flovy^ering character, in spring, the plant being in bloom 

 from March to June. It is a herbaceous annual, i to 

 6 in. in height. 



In this species the anthers and stigma mature 

 together. The four honey -glands are small, green and 

 fleshy. They lie between the base of a short stamen 

 and the long one which comes next to it, a short stamen 

 standing between contiguous honey-glands. The 

 long stamens are on a level with the stigma, which 

 they closely encircle. Moreover, they open towards 

 the stigma, so that it is regularly covered with pollen. 

 Though the short stamens stand below the stigma, 

 they also open inwards. 



When an insect inserts its proboscis to reach the 

 honey between the short stamens it thus dusts itself 

 with their pollen and carries it away to another 

 flower. In this way there are arrangements equally 

 for self- and for cross-pollination. The flower is 

 self-fertile, and since at so early a period of the year 

 few insects but the hive-bee and some other 



