igo THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 



bee pushes its proboscis into the tube, it obtains the honey 

 through two openings, one on either side of the base of the 

 free stamen. The stamens and style are thus exposed ; 

 the pollen is swept out by a brush of hairs at the end of the 

 style and dusts the under surface of the bee. When the bee 

 flies away, the keel springs back to its former place. If at 

 this time the stigma is ripe, it may be touched with pollen 

 as the keel returns to its place ; self-pollination would thus 

 occur. As the bee flies from flower to flower it may deposit 

 pollen on the stigma of another flower of the same species 

 and so effect cross-pollination. 



The pistil (Fig. 131, 3) consists of one carpel (apocarpous), 

 and is covered with hairs. Look for the small ovules 

 within the ovary. 



Other pea-like flowers should be compared with the 

 Sweet-Pea, and their characteristics noted. The Vetch, 

 Broad Bean, and Scarlet -Runner are similar to the Sweet- 

 Pea : the style is provided with a pollen-brush and the 

 flowers may be visited a number of times. The Scarlet- 

 Runner, however, is peculiar in that the keel and style are 

 spirally coiled. The flower of the Garden Pea is regularly 

 self-pollinated. No European insect is strong enough to 

 open the flower and pollinate it. The White Clover pro- 

 duces much honey, and its short flower-tube does not 

 exclude short-tongued bees. When an insect alights on 

 the wing-petals, the stamens and stigma emerge from the 

 flower. After the visit they return to their former position 

 within the keel. 



The Gorse (Fig. 132) differs in several respects from the 

 above. All the stamens are united to form a tube ; no 

 honey is secreted, and the flowers are visited by bees and 

 other insects for the sake of the pollen. The stamens ripen 

 and shed their pollen into the tip of the keel. A bee, resting 

 on the wings and pressing its head beneath the standard, 

 bursts open the keel and the under side of its body is first 



