parr] © THE MECHANISMS OF FLOWERS. 12 
Or 
Orv. CARYOPHYLLEZ; a. SILENEZ. 
t 52. DIANTHUS DELTOIDES, L.—The stamens and petals spring 
_ from an annular ridge of the receptacle encircling the stalk of the 
_ ovary. This ridge bears on its inner border a yellow fleshy cushion 
_ which secretes honey. 
The pistil, the stamens, and the claws of the petals, which are 
_ grooved to inclose the five inner stamens, are all closely surrounded 
_ by the tube of the calyx, which is 12 to 14 mm. long, and a 
little over 2mm. wide. A very narrow passage is thus left, 
Fic. 39.—Dianthus delloides, L. 
k 1.—Flower in first stage, viewed from above. Five anthers. covered with pollen, protrude from 
the flower; two that have not yet dehisced are visible in the mouth of the tube. 
1 2.—Pistil at close of the first stage, after all the ten anthers have dehisced. The two styles are 
still twisted together, 
__. 8.— Ditto, with the base of the petals and stamens, more magnified. a, nectary, surrounding the 
base of the ovary as a fleshy ridge ; b, filaments; c, petals. 
4 OE ead in second stage, after removal of the petals. Most of the anthers have fallen off, 
st. stigma. ‘ 
5.—Pistil in second stage. The two styles have separated, but each retains its spiral twist, so 
that stigmatic papille are turned towards all sides, 
12 to 14 mm. long, leading to the honey, which is lodged between 
the base of the stamens and the ovary. This passage is, in the 
first state of the flower, so much blocked by the five inner 
anthers, that the honey is only accessible to the proboscis of 
_ Lepidoptera. The flowers are thus specially adapted for butter-. 
flies; but their protruding anthers are taken advantage of by 
pollen-seeking insects which act as subsidiary fertilisers. 
Flowering begins by the petals, hitherto erect and involute, 
spreading out horizontally; they are rose-red, with’ slightly in- 
dented purple transverse lines near the base, and spreckled 
externally to these transverse lines with small white spots, each 
Aa Dy a 
