130 THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS 



for it. However, all do not see it equally well, 

 and for this reason many claim that to see it one 

 must be possessed of abnormal sight. 



But these strange ideas regarding the so-called 

 "corpse-lights" and "will-of-the-wisps" are being 

 fast exploded by science. Plants have a way of 

 bottling up sunlight, and giving it forth when they 

 desire; this phenomenon is well understood. The 

 pokeweed gives forth a dark greenish lustre in the 

 dark; and the scarlet poppy emits tiny waves of 

 reddish light after sundown. 



The dainty snowdrop emanates light to a pro- 

 nounced degree. Its drooping white blossoms ap- 

 pear almost as so many dim electric bulbs. 



On the western plains of Texas there grows an 

 orange-yellow flower in great abundance, which 

 is known as the Alamo-weed. This plant gives 

 forth a very strong light, a steady glow, which is 

 evident at a distance during the hours of darkness. 

 To most residents of the temperate and torrid 

 zones, the tiny "lightning bug" is a familiar sight 

 on summer evenings; and on the Texas plains, 

 where the Alamo-weed finds its home, there are 

 great quantities of these phosphorescent insects. 

 During the daylight hours the flowers of the 

 Alamo-weed, a phosphorescent plant, are thickly 

 covered with apparently slumbering phosphores- 



