364 IN LOWER FLORIDA WILDS 



Here along the edge of the hammock the moon- 

 flowers (Ipomcea bona-nox) have climbed to the 

 very tops of the tallest trees, forming a mantle of 

 soft, luxuriant, cordate foliage. Sometimes a few 

 flowers open before sunset but most of them bloom 

 just as dusk is coming on. The great disk-like 

 corolla is fully five inches across and the length 

 of the whole flower is about seven inches. The 

 twisted buds gradually unfold and become inflated, 

 then they suddenly expand, much like the opening 

 of an umbrella. If a puff of wind sweeps over them 

 hundreds burst out at once as if touched by a 

 magician's wand, and the effect of such a sudden 

 display of loveliness is indescribable. All through 

 the night they spread their glorious white salvers 

 to the darkness, or perhaps to the moonlight, and 

 then at sunrise they close up and fade, as Kingsley 

 has said: "After one night of beauty and life, and 

 probably of enjoyment." Yes, why not enjoy- 

 ment? Why may they not in addition to life and 

 beauty have some power of sense and feeling? 

 On some plants the flowers last well into the morn- 

 ing, or if it is cloudy the greater part of the day. 

 They open in undiminished numbers during cold 

 nights. 



