IRIS. 243 



unite with one another and with the perianth, and so con- 

 tinue down to tlie triple adherent ovary. 



The J^ruity when mature, is a dry, oblong, obscurely 

 3-cornered capsule, 3-celled and 3-valved. The seeds are 

 numerous. A dissection shows them to contain a minute 

 monocotyledonous embryo in a large albumen. 



jF'e7'Hlization, — Half concealed beneath the arching 

 stigmas we find the 3 stamens, with the anthers extrorse, 

 that is, opening and discharging their pollen outward — 

 averse from the stigma. This suggests the inquiry. How 

 can the pollen from the anthers ever reach the stigmas ? 

 Instead of facilitating, special care seems to have been taken 

 to guard against it ; the anther and stigma placed back to 

 back, the former beneath and shedding its pollen downward. 

 It is clear that self-fertilization is impossible. In the cavity 

 at the bottom of the flower is a drop of nectar. First, the 

 attention of the foraging bee is caught by the gay colors of 

 the flower ; then he is drawn by the nectar. Alighting on 

 a spreading sepal he brushes the anther both coming and 

 going, catches on his head and back more or less of the 

 pollen, which will thus be carried and scattered either on 

 the stigma of the same flower, or of the flower next visited, 

 where also he is again dusted. The result is an endless 

 interchange of pollen, with a greater probability of cross 

 than of dose fertilization. 



The Name. — Iris versicolor is the classical name — Iris, 

 the fabled deity of the Rainbow ; versicolor, various-colored. 

 Other species of Iris will be found in the meadows and bogs, 

 and still others in the gardens. Let them be compared with 

 this and their dilfercuces noted. 



