Iplant partnersbips 131 



wands of bloom, delicately fragrant; in all these 

 varieties the placement of stamens and pistils and 

 the method of fertilization deserves careful study. 



The true " long purple " of Shakes]3eare, which the 

 " showy orchis " resembles, is the purj^le loosestrife, 

 an English flower become naturalized in the United 

 States. The leaves are opposite, lance-shape, heart- 

 lobed at base, sometimes changing to whorls of 

 three ; the flowers are a deep purple-pink, with 

 wrinkled petals, sometimes five, sometimes six. 

 This is an instance of a flower with stamens in 

 " two sets," there are six long and six short stamens. 

 There is but one pistil, and this is peculiar in the 

 varying length of the style ; there are three different 

 lengths, which appear in different flowers. This 

 variation in the length of filaments and style is by 

 no means accidental, but is carefully arranged for 

 the purposes of fertilization. For such purpose 

 the orchids have been slowly differentiated from a 

 simple flower of an original snow-drop pattern ; and 

 so in the flaming tassels of loosestrife has devel- 

 oped trimorphism, the stamens varying in length, and 

 being especially fitted and ripened to suit the three 

 different lengths of pistil. The loosestrife is a lover 

 of stream borders and marsh lands, and in August 

 flushes wide spaces with the rich color of its long, 

 irregular spikes of bloom. 



