172 GLIMPSES INTO PLANT-LIFE 



self-fertilised. The common violet, for instance 

 produces, in addition to its well-known fragrant 

 flowers, certain inconspicuous blossoms, hidden 

 under the leaves and close to the root, very seldom 

 noticed by any but botanists, and known to them 

 as cleistogamic flowers ; these are fertile, and 

 always produce seed. Other such plants are the 

 woodsorrel and sundews. 



It is interesting to observe the various ways in 

 which flowers are protected from browsing animals, 

 snails, and caterpillars b}' thorns, spines, prickles, 

 and spiny bracts. The teasel secretes water in the 

 bracts around its stem, which prevents ants from 

 ascending to the flowers, and in many plants we 

 may see quantities of small insects caught by a 

 sticky gum exuded from the leaves and twigs. 



Many delicate plants entirely alter the position 

 of their flowers in order to protect them from rain. 

 On a sunny day the wood-anemone holds its little 

 snowy cup so as to receive the full sunlight, but on 

 a damp day e\"ery blossom is closed and held 

 downwards. We may observe this in the po[)p}', 

 the blue-anemone, and nearl)'all comjjcjsite flowers. 



These are merely hints scattered over a wide 



