in.] VIOLA. 67 



open, the pollen drops out ; and as the flower is 

 reversed and hangs down, the pollen falls into the 

 closed space between the pistil and the membranous 

 terminations of the stamens. The pistil is peculiar, 

 the base of the style not being straight as usual, 

 but thin and bent (Fig. 57). The stigma st is the 

 enlarged end of the pistil ; and shows several small 

 fleshy projections. It will be obvious from the above 

 description that when a bee visits the flower, her 

 head will come in contact with and shake the stigma, 

 thus opening, as it were, the box containing the 

 pollen, and allowing it to fall on the head of the bee. 

 It is thus carried away, and some can hardly fail to 

 be deposited on the stigma of the next violet which 

 the bee visits. 



Sprengel, in his description of V. odorata, gives the 

 following list of questions and answers as regards this 

 species ; passing over, however, the more general points, 

 such as the secretion of honey, the colour of the corolla, 

 the radiating lines on the petals, and the smell 



1. Why is the flower situated on a long stalk, 

 which is upright, but curved downwards at the free 

 end ? In order that it may hang down ; which, 

 firstly, prevents rain from obtaining access to the 

 honey ; and, secondly, places the stamens in such a 

 position that the pollen falls into the open space 

 between the pistil and the free ends of the stamens. 

 If the flower were upright, the pollen would fall into the 

 space between the base of the stamen and the base of 

 the pistil, and would not come in contact with the bee. 



2. Why does the pollen differ from that of most 

 other insect-fertilised flowers ? In most of such 

 flowers the insects themselves remove the pollen 



F 2 



