PISTILLATES AND STAMINATES 25 



they have faded, seem to return again in October 

 as fluffy, fihiiy things, ghosts of the dead flowers 

 of summer. Staminate and pistillate flowers grow 

 on separate plants, but the latter have the curious 

 habit of producing sterile stamens along with the 

 pistils, which may indicate a tendency or an aspira- 

 tion on the part of the plant ultimately to produce 

 perfect flowers. The pollen is carried by bees, bee- 

 flies {Bomhilius) , and the bright-coloured flies of 

 the Syrphidw; and at night their white blooms and 

 heavy perfume attract numberless small white 

 moths. 



Tall Meadow-rue — Thalictrmn polygamum 

 July-August 



The tall meadow-rue, shown at the head of this 

 chapter, is a dignified and decorative plant of the 

 same family, the Crowfoot, with flowers somewhat 

 similar. Like the clematis, the flowers of the tall 

 meadow-rue are dioecious, and the pistillate blos- 

 soms also sometimes bear stamens; but in this case 

 they are fertile, pollen-bearing stamens, making 

 such flowers perfect. This shows that the rue is 

 just a little higher in the scale of development than 

 the clematis, and a little nearer to the ideal flower- 

 ing plant. 



