288 



DIOECIOUS AND 



CHAP. VII. 



pearance well-developed. The other half have a perfect 

 pistil, with the stamens short, bearing rudimentary an- 

 thers destitute of pollen; so that these bushes are fe- 

 males. All the flowers on the same plant present the 

 same structure. The female corolla is smaller than that 

 on the polleniferous bushes. The two forms are shown 

 in the accompanying drawings. 



Hermaphrodite or male. Female. 



EUONYMUS EUROP.EUS. 



I did not at first doubt that this species existed under 

 an hermaphrodite and female form; but we shall pres- 

 ently see that some of the bushes which appear to be 

 hermaphrodites never produce fruit, and these are in 

 fact males. The species, therefore, is polygamous in the 

 sense in which I use the term, and trioicous. The flow- 

 ers are frequented by many Diptera and some small 

 Hymenoptera for the sake of the nectar secreted by the 

 disc, but I did not see a single bee at work; neverthe- 

 less the other insects sufficed to fertilise effectually fe- 

 male bushes growing at a distance of even 30 yards from 

 any polleniferous bush. 



The small anthers borne by the short stamens of 

 the female flowers are well formed and dehisce prop- 

 erly, but I could never find in them a single grain 

 of pollen. It is somewhat difficult to compare the 



