SOME PLANT MARRIAGES 



457 



sorrel (R. obtusifolius and acetosa) belong, are of this kind, and are 

 anemophilous. In the Alpine Dock (R. alpinus) and the Garden Sorrel 

 iR. scutatus). the anthers are pendulous at the ends of the delicate filaments, 

 and the pollen-dust is shaken out of them in the lightest breeze. 



Most of the Sor- 

 rels, however, and 

 with them the 

 Grasses, Sedges, 

 Rushes, and "Wild 

 Plantains, are em- 

 braced under a far 

 more common va- 

 riety of anemophil- 

 ous flowers name- 

 ly, the forms with 

 long stamens. In the 

 Rye-plant (Secale 

 cereale], for instance, 

 the essential organs 

 protrude freely from 

 the widely expanded 

 flowers, and cross- 

 pollination is effected 

 on a large scale by 

 the wind. Delpino 

 has some interesting 

 observations on the 

 Ribwort Plantain 

 (Plantago lanceolata) 

 which seem to show 

 that the flowers of 

 this species are in 

 process of develop- 

 ment from an ane- 

 mophilous to an en- 

 tomophilous form. 

 He says : " One form, 

 with a strong and 

 very tall scape, and 

 very broad white 

 anthers which quiver 

 in the wind, grows 

 in meadows and is 

 exclusively anemo- 



Fio. 562. LARGE PLANTAIN (Plantago major). 



An abnormal form with the flowc 

 edges. The form is ec 



spikes hearing 

 tant, being re 



eroiis large bracts with purple 

 lueed true from seeds. 



