A Family History. 



229 



insects, and therefore, like most other small field roses, 

 it has conspicuous yellow petals to attract its winged 

 allies. But the salad-burnet, starting from a some- 

 what similar form, has undergone a good deal of 

 degradation in adapting itself to wind-fertilisation. 

 It has a long spike of flowers, like the agrimony ; but 

 these flowers are very small, and are closely crowded 

 together into a sort of little mophead at the end of the 



A B 



Fig. 48.— Single flower of Salad Burnet, male and female. 



stem. They have lost their petals, because these were 

 no longer needed to allure bees or butterflies, and they 

 retain only the green calyx or flower-cup, so that the 

 whole spike looks merely a bit of greenish vegetation, 

 and would never be taken for a blossoming head by 

 any save a botanical eye. The stamens hang out on 

 long thread-like stems from the cup, so that the wind 

 may catch the pollen and waft it to a neighbouring 

 head ; while the pistils which it is to fertilise have 



