

1 88 1] l ORONILLA yjT, 



in the staminal tube, and the opening caused by the free stamen enables 

 the bee to n-a<:h the nectar, and in so doing the bee fertilises the plai 

 In i tria, and in several othei species of Corom'/la, there is no 



nectar in the staminal tube or in the tub'.- of the corolla. But there are 

 peculiar glands with nectar on the outside of the calyx, and peculiar 

 openings in the tube of the corolla through which the proboscis of the 

 bee, whilst entering the flower in the usual way and dusting itself with 

 pollen, can reach these glands, thus fertilising the plant in getting the 

 nectar. On writing this to Mr. Darwin, I received the following 

 i haracteristic note. 



The first postscript relates to the rough ground behind my house, 

 over which he was fond of strolling. It had been ploughed up and then 

 allowed to go back, and the interest was to watch how the numerous 

 species of weeds of cultivation which followed the plough gradually gave 

 way in the struggle for existence to the well-known and much less varied 

 flora of an English common.'' 



Bassett, Southampton, Aug. 14th, i" 



You arc the man to conquer a C < nilla} I have been Letter 715 

 looking at the half-dried flowers, and am prepared t<> swear 

 that you have solved the mystery. The difference in the >ize 

 of the cells on the calyx under the vexillum right down to 

 the common peduncle is conspicuous. The flour still adhered 

 to this side ; I see little bractc<e or stipules apparently with 

 glandular ends at the base of the calyces. Do these secrete ? 

 It seems to me a beautiful case. When 1 saw the odd shape 

 of the base of the vexillum, I concluded that it must have 

 some meaning, but little dreamt what that was. Now there 

 remains only the one serious point — viz. the separation of the 

 one stamen. I daresay that you are right in that nectar was 

 originally secreted within the staminal tube ; but why has not 

 the one stamen long since cohered ? The great difference in 

 structure for fertilisation within the same genus s makes one 

 believe that all such points are very variable. With respect 

 to the non-coherence of the one stamen, d<> examine some 

 flower-buds at a very early age ; for parts which arc largely 

 developed are often developed U> an unusual degree ;it a very 

 early age, and it seems to me quite possible that the base of 

 the vexillum (to which the single stamen adhered) might thus 

 be developed, and thus keep it separate for a time from the 



1 In a former letter to Lord Farrer, Darwin wrote : " Here is a maxim 

 for you, ' It is disgraceful to be beaten by a Ct r milla 



1 Coronilla emerus is of the ordinary papilionaceous type. 



