138 THE EVOLUTIONIST AT LARGE. 



veronica, that pretty sky-blue speedwell which 

 abounds among the meadows in June and 

 July. But these particular speedwells gave 

 up devoting themselves to insects and be- 

 came adapted for fertilisation by the wind 

 instead. So you must look close at them to 

 see at all that the flowering spike is made up 

 of a hundred separate little four-rayed blos- 

 soms, whose pale and faded petals are 

 tucked away out of sight flat against the 

 st2m. Yet their shape and arrangement 

 distinctly recall the beautiful veronica, and 

 leave one in little doubt as to the origin of 

 the plant. At the same time a curious 

 device has sprung up which answers just the 

 same purpose as the separation of the male 

 and female flowers on the dog's mercury. 

 Each plantain blossom has both stamens and 

 pistils, but the pistils come to maturity first, 

 and are fertilised by pollen blown to them 

 from some neighbouring spike. Their fea- 

 thery plumes are admirably adapted for 

 catching and utilising any stray golden grain 



