1002 



THE NATURE BOOK 



venturing to meddle with anything that 

 at all looked like the obnoxious weed. 

 As has been suggested, there are quite a 

 number of plants which bear a fair 

 similarity to the true Nettle, such as the 

 Red and the Yellow Nettle, the Betony, 

 the Gipsywort. One can scarcely think 

 that it is entirely chance which has ordered 

 this remarkable repetition of one sug- 

 gestive form. 



Whether an\'thing which may be called 

 protective resemblance exists among 

 plants is at present an open question, but 

 certain succulent species are very curious 

 in this connection. The most striking of 

 these plants is Mesembryanthemiim intn- 

 catiim, a South African species which 

 flourishes in desert regions. The whole 

 of this quaint vegetable consists of 

 succulent shoots which grow close to the 

 ground, and these so strongly resemble 

 the stones among which they nestle as 

 to be most perfectly hidden. Even after 

 a close examination it is impossible 

 to distinguish the plant from the 

 stones. Several allied species are also 

 remarkable on account of their rock- 

 like appearance, which, whether it be 

 accidental or not, can hardly fail to cause 

 the plants to be overlooked time and 

 again. A few of the Cacti may also be 

 said to bear a strange resemblance to 

 their environment, most striking of all 

 in this direction being the Cereiis mon- 

 struosHS. This plant, which produces 

 oddly-shaped stems, is coloured in such 

 a dull brown manner that it does not look 

 in the least like a growing vegetable. 



It is often in the very beginning of a 

 plant's existence that the most need 

 arises for protective means. It is there- 

 fore not surprising to find quite a number 

 of seeds which may be regarded as 

 examples of simulation. Doubtless many 

 of these resemblances are purely accidental, 

 but in others one cannot but think that 

 there is a real purpose in the resemblance. 

 Many seed vessels bear an astonishing 

 likeness to beetles and other insects. In 

 a leguminous plant which is called Scor- 

 piuriis the pods so closely resemble a 

 scorpion that even an experienced eye is 

 deceived at a distance. In the same way 

 the seeds of the Castor Oil Plant {Riciniis) 

 are very much like a small beetle, and the 

 resemblance is still more strong in the 



seeds of some of the species of Jairopha. 

 More remarkable than any of the instances 

 mentioned above are the large seeds of 

 the genus Chelonosperinnm, plants indi- 

 genous to certain of the Pacific Islands. 

 These most wonderfully resem.ble the 

 giant Coleoptera, which are such a feature 

 of insect life in this part of the world. 



One can well understand that gra- 

 nivorous birds, which would tear these 

 seeds in pieces and destroy them, might 

 mistake them for very formidable beetles, 

 and thus leave them alone. In much the 

 same way the smaller seeds might be left 

 alone by grain-eating birds, under the 

 impression that they were insects. In 

 passing, it may be pointed out that in 

 the case of these latter it might be an 

 advantage for them to be swallowed by 

 birds, provided that their external coating 

 was able to withstand the action of the 

 digestive juices. Thus the resemblance 

 which they bear to small insects would 

 make them attractive to insectivorous 

 birds, and even if the winged creatures 

 did not actually swallow the seeds, they 

 would probably be sufficiently interested 

 to carry them a little distance before the 

 mistake was found out. 



The good things with which the flower 

 is stored are not intended for all comers. 

 The matter is viewed in rather a different 

 light, however, by certain insects who 

 seem to regard the feast as having been 

 specially prepared for their delectation. 

 To ward off the attacks of these plunderers 

 has called for no little ingenuity on the 

 part of the plant. There is little doubt 

 that the shapes of certain flowers have 

 been modified largely for the purpose of 

 excluding small creeping insects. The urn- 

 shaped blossoms of the Whortleberry 

 secrete their honey right at the base of the 

 corolla, where it can only be reached by 

 long-tongued insects. Even if a creeping 

 visitor could negotiate the rounded sides, 

 it would not be able to enter the flower, 

 so narrow is the opening. Many plants 

 bearing flowers in which the nectaries 

 and pollen are fairly accessible, arrange 

 to prevent creeping insects from getting 

 near to the blossoms at all. 



The stems of not a few plants are 

 densely covered with minute hairs, which 

 render it almost impossible for crawling 

 insects to mount up to the flower. In 



