LIFE HISTORIES OF FAMILIAR PLANTS 



occupied with a pin-like head or stigma. In the 

 other example, the mouth of the tube is seen to be 

 closed with five little oblong stamens all covered 

 with yellow pollen. . 



Now, watch the occasional bee that makes a 

 visit to these two different types of flowers. Here 

 is one alighting. With the sudden weight thus 

 imposed upon it the flower sways ; the bee, how- 

 ever, adroitly balances it again and proceeds to 

 bury its head amidst the five pollen-laden stamens, 

 while its long tongue is thrust down the tube to 

 sweep up the nectar, although this latter action is 

 concealed from us. The bee then withdraws its 

 sucking-trunk, hums, and away it goes to another 

 flower on a neighbouring plant, and there performs 

 similar manoeuvres. 



These actions of the insect are all very com- 

 monplace, of course, but nevertheless some won- 

 derful functions have been carried out while we 

 watched the bee visit these two blossoms. An ex- 

 amination of the second flower visited by the bee 

 will show that the mouth of the tube was not 

 occupied with stamens but with the pin-like head 

 of the stigma, as shown in the example on the left 

 of Fig. 59 (Plate 39). In Fig. 60 (Plate 39) the two 

 forms of flowers appear in section. It will there 

 be seen that in the '^pin-eyed" flower the stamens 

 occur about midway in the tube, while in the 

 other example the pin-like head of the stigma 

 is similarly placed. Thus the positions of the 

 stigma and stamens are exactly reversed in each 

 flower. 



78 



