230 THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 



herbaceous perennial. The plant is 3 to 6 in. in 

 height. 



The flowers rarely open and are cleistogamic, the 

 anthers and stigma being ripe simultaneously, and 

 thus the flower is self-pollinated as a rule. 



The capsule opens by two to five valves, and the 

 small seeds may be dispersed by the wind. 



The nutriment obtained by the digestion of insects 

 is devoted largely to the formation of seed. The 

 insectivorous habit seems to be a further stage in the 

 development of glands upon plants, which is of 

 frequent occurrence. In the Rue-leaved Saxifrage 

 the glands on the plant serve the same purpose, but 

 are not so specialised for this end as in the true 

 insectivorous plants. 



The Sundew has been called Lust-wort, Moor- 

 grass, Moor-wort, Red Rot, Rosa-solis, Sun-dew, 

 Youth wort. 



" Sin " is found in the prefix seen in the name 

 Sundew, and means " ever." 



Drosera rotundifolia. — In Fig. 46, with the 

 Sundew, which has the leaves expanded and the ten- 

 tacles erect, are plants of Alchemilla alpina and 

 Sphagna. 



30. The Mare's Tail Group. 



In the Order Haloragaceae are included the Mare's 

 Tail, Water Milfoils, and the Starworts. They are 

 all aquatic plants or members of the marsh form- 



