56 CALTHA, HELLEBORUS, ANEMONE. [CHAP. 



Like Clematis, Thalictrum produces no honey. The 

 petals are absent and the sepals minute, but the 

 stamens are numerous and brightly coloured. 



Caltha palustris has large yellow sepals, but 

 no true petals. In the Hellebore also the petals 

 are minute, but secrete honey. The species of this 

 genus are said by Hildebrand to be proterogynous. 

 (See p. 28.) 



In Anemone nemorosa the colouring is given not by 

 the corolla, but by the calyx. The flower does not 

 appear to produce honey, but bees are said to pierce 

 the base of the flower, and lick the sap. Van 

 Tieghem however states that it gives off honey from 

 the whole surface of the receptacle. 



Delphinium (the Larkspur) and D. elatum (Figs. 51 

 54) have been well described by H. Miiller. The 

 five sepals are brightly coloured ; the upper one is 

 produced into a long spur (x x}. The two upper 

 petals are also produced into spurs which lie within 

 the former, and secrete honey. In order to reach 

 this it is necessary for the bee to press its proboscis 

 between the upper and lower petals, through the 

 interval (Figs. 51, 53 m). The lower wall of this 

 orifice is in front closed by the lower petals (Figs. 51, 

 53 P e P e \ which are turned upwards and sideways, 

 so as to form the lower wall of the orifice leading 

 to the nectary, and to cover the stamens and pistils. 

 Immediately behind the entrance to the tube, how- 

 ever, these petals contract so as to leave a space (in\ 

 The stamens (a) and pistil lie below this space, and as 

 the stamens ripen, they successively raise themselves 

 and their anthers pass through this space, as shown in 



