150 The Romance of Wild Flowers 
these bursting pods may be heard incessantly, and 
the fusillade of seeds distinctly felt. 
It must not be presumed that all these plants 
producing pods (legumes) like the Furze exhibit 
sunilar elasticity of the valves; in some species the 
pod opens along one side only, in others not at all, 
but becomes detached from the stem and drops to the 
ground, where the decaying of the 
pod sets free the seeds. 
The Broom (Cytisus scoparius) has 
flowers similar to those of Genista, 
but larger than those of Furze, and 
lke both, honeyless. These honey- 
less flowers, as Mr. Darwin has 
remarked, are so constantly visited 
1 by bees that it is not reasonable to 
suppose they get nothing for their 
pains; it appears to me probable their tongues suck 
some pleasant moisture through the tissues of the 
staminal tube, just as in the Orchids they suck the 
walls of the spur. Without the 
visits of bees the Broom-flower 
never opens its keel; but bees 
are especially fond of it, and 
may be constantly seen about 
a bush when in flower. To 
quote Mr. Darwin: “ When a 
bee alights on the wing-petals 
of a young flower, the keel is 
slightly opened, and the short 
stamens spring out, which rub their pollen against 
the abdomen of the bee. If a rather older flower 
is visited for the first time (or if the bee exerts 
Broom 
Broom, !tst condition 
