151 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE HABITS OF 
NEMOPHILA. 
By Atrtoz Eastwoop. 
The Nemophilz comprised provisionally under the name 
of Nemophila Menziesii in a previous article! are un- 
doubtedly adapted for pollination through the agency of 
insects. The lines and dots of the petals, the honey glands 
and protective hairs, and, above all, the arrangement of the 
essential organs indicate it plainly. In Nemophila insignis 
and intermedia (?) there are two distinct kinds of plants, 
those with pistillate flowers only and those whose flowers are 
all hermaphrodite. This may also be the case in N. atom- 
aria; but so far all plants seen have only hermaphrodite 
flowers. 
The hermaphrodite flowers of the group are proterandrous. 
Soon after the flower expands the stamens begin to discharge 
their pollen; the stigmas are immature and non-receptive and 
the two branches of the style are almost side by side as 
shown in figures A and C, the papillae on the surface of the 
stigma being undeveloped though perceptible. The stamens 
are extrorse and discharge the pollen among the hairs of the 
corolla appendages and of the ovary. The honey glands are 
quite large and are protected by the surrounding hairs. 
As the anthers grow old, shrivel and lose their pollen, the 
branches of the style begin to spread apart and grow longer, 
even curving downwards as if to reach the insects seek- 
ing the honey below at the base of the ovary; the stig- 
mas become bulbous and the papillae which were smooth and 
round develope almost into tubercles. Figures C and D show 
the difference between the mature and immature stigmas. 
In the pistillate flower (fig. B) the opening corolla shows 
quite a different condition. The stamens are, of course, ster- 
ile, mere ghosts of stamens with the outlines of filaments and 
anthers but without that which gives the anthers life. The 
pistil, however, is conspicuous, the branches of the style fully 
Eryruma, Vol. IIL., No. 11 [1 November, 1895]. 
1 Supra p. 139. 
