144 THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS 



soon become extinct. There are, however, a few 

 species, like the bee-orchid, which are self -fertilised 

 and do not need to employ such cunning. 



The cuckoo-pint is extremely discourteous to her 

 guests ! After they have been bidden to enter, and 

 are once inside, they go to the dining-room, or lower 

 chamber, where the sweets are stored; quickly the 

 flower closes, and the imprisoned insect is not per- 

 mitted to leave until the pollen from the male flow- 

 ers is properly distributed to the female flowers. In 

 this plant the male and the female flowers live on 

 the same stalk. But the fertilisation cannot take 

 place without the aid of a pollen-bearer, and the 

 poor trapped insect acts as the needed messenger. 

 When the fertilisation has been accomplished, the 

 flower slowly opens, and the affronted insect de- 

 parts. 



Not the least curious among the kidnappers, and 

 surely the most cruel, is the goose-plant. This 

 strange plant monstrosity is botanically known as 

 Aristolochia gigas, and its native home is Guate- 

 mala. The flower-bud is shaped strikingly like a 

 goose swimming in water. This bud is usually 

 about fourteen to sixteen inches in length, and when 

 it first bursts into bloom, the curve, representing 

 the breast of the goose, displays the most exquisite 

 velvety linings of dark purples that shade into 



