THE PLANT AND ITS HELPERS 83 



any grains which happen to come in contact 

 with it. 



A certain number of plants rely upon water 

 as a medium for the distribution of their pollen. 

 Of this a British marine species, the Grass Wrack, 

 is an example. The pollen grains are here of 

 tubular form, and being of like specific gravity to 

 the water, are conveyed by the currents from the 

 anthers of the male flowers to the stigmas of the 

 female organs. 



More strange still is the story of the Italian Eel 

 Grass (Vallisneria spiralis], a native of Southern 

 Europe. The male and female flowers are produced 

 on different specimens, and at first both kinds are 

 developed low down, quite close to the roots of the 

 plant. As soon as the female blossoms have nearly 

 matured, however, the long stems on which they 

 are borne (previously packed away in a receptacle) 

 unwind and bring the flower heads to the surface. 

 At this time the submerged male buds become 

 detached and rise to the surface. After a short 

 interval the blossoms open back three sepals, and 

 in this way form a kind of raft upon which they 

 can float about, driven in all directions by the 

 wind. Sooner or later the majority of the little 

 boats will be certain to come to a halt against one 

 of the female blossoms, with the result that the 



