CALIFORNIA PLANTS IN THEIR HOMES 



are pairs of white, pointed "appendages," the botanists 

 would say. These white teeth fit closely together and 

 nearly close the flower; they, of course, protect the pollen, 

 and the cluster lily needs neither to hang its flowers down 

 nor to close them at night. But the appendages have other 

 uses. Down at the very base of the cup is a little ring of 

 honey ; these white points form a conical cover for the cup, 

 leaving just a bit of an entrance at the top. So only 

 insects with long slender tongues or wee insects, called 

 thrips, can get the cluster lily's honey. 



The pistil of the cluster lily differs from those we have 

 noticed before. The ovary really consists of three little 

 rooms, or cells, as they are called. Above the ovary is a 

 white stem called the style, and at its top are three little 

 lines of fuzz ; these are the stigmas, and they are quite 

 ready for pollen when the bud begins to open. So, like the 

 peony stigmas, they guard the entrance to the honey in the 

 bud, and are sure to be struck by the bee's or butterfly's 

 tongue. Now, if the guest has first visited an older flower, 

 he must have touched the anthers, because they are close 

 to the narrow opening left by the appendages ; so every 

 guest that comes from an older to a younger flower effects 

 cross pollination. 



Examining the stamens carefully, you will see that the 

 three long anthers open at the side, and so shed pollen for 

 the benefit of other flowers, but that the three short anthers 

 discharge their pollen directly on the stigmas. The cluster 

 lily, then, seems not to trust its guests entirely, but after a 

 little, pollinates itself. This lily is rather ungenerous as 

 well as exclusive, for it serves only a little honey at the bot- 

 tom of its deep, covered cups. It seems to invite large 

 bees ; the cup is not too deep for their tongues, and blue is 

 supposed to be their favorite color ; but the practical bees 

 are quick to learn that there is little honey, and they rarely 

 visit the lilies when more generous flowers are near. But- 



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