SOME FANTASTIC FLOWERS 51 



that the lower colored parts are not blossoms, but 

 just bracts. 



< The Castilleja decided to group her small flowers 

 near each other, but she saw no need of multiplying 

 blossoms just to attract color-loving eyes; so, instead, 

 she dyed the leaf-like bracts that they might be seen 

 afar and serve as signals. Then she built the calyx 

 into the tube and rouged it. She evolved the corolla 

 like the calyx, but that proved too simple. So, she 

 flattened it out and then divided it into two parts. 

 The back part is a long beak-like shape, which 

 stoops over and encloses the four stamens and the 

 style; the front lip is short and small, with three 

 little teeth on its upper surface. The insect creeps 

 in over the short lip and works his way down to the 

 honey. As he comes out, he gets entangled in the 

 upper lip and hits the stigma first and leaves the 

 pollen he carries from another blossom. He also 

 gets a new dusting to take away with him. Observe 

 the various blossoms on the same stalk. Do the sta- 

 mens and pistils mature at the same time? In some 

 of the flowers, you find the style with its stigma 

 hanging out of the floral tube. What does that 

 mean? 



Some botanists claim that Castilleja is a para- 

 sitic creature, feeding on the roots of other plants. 

 What do you think about that? If you study the 

 plant carefully, you may be able to clear its name 

 of this charge. It certainly has none of the ear- 



