PERFECT FLOWERS 



61 



stigma before its pollen. The pistil emerges from 

 the little green flower, like a tongue, and later the 

 stamens push out also; and as the blooming pro- 

 gresses upward, we find stamens, /. 

 pistils, and buds in successive stages, 

 one above the other. 



GREATER MULLEIN 



Verbascum thapsius 



June-Sept. 



We are apt to pass by 

 in scorn this common and 

 unattractive weed, which 

 seems, with its presence, 

 to make the waste places 

 only more desolate. But 

 though its leaves are like 

 faded flannel, and its 

 flowers are of an unattrac- 

 tive yellow, yet its erect 

 spike possesses a certain rugged 

 grace, and its flowers prove to be 

 quite interesting in their manner of 

 procuring cross-fertilisation. 



As will be seen in the upper of 

 our small sketches, the flower first opens its three 

 lower petals, uncovering its prominent pistil, whilst 



MULLEIN 



