FLORAL MECHANISMS 



97 



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scene reminds us of a town in the Old World domi- 

 nated by a cathedral tower, stately and sombre. 

 The purple flower-clusters are made up of 

 numerous tubular, perfect flowers, interspersed 

 with chaff. A small cluster is shown in the lower 

 part of the drawing, on the left, and a single flower 

 on the right, both greatly enlarged. 



In the centre of each flower is 

 a pistil, surrounded and clasped by 

 stamens whose anthers unite into 

 a tube to hold the pollen. The 

 corolla consists of a tube opening 

 out in five curving points. 



When these first expand the pis- 

 til is shorter than the stamens, but 

 it gradually grows, pushes out the 

 pollen where the bees can get it, 

 and then, still elongating, develops 

 its stigma to be fertilised. 



In daisies and dahlias we can 

 see a very pretty demonstration 

 of this action. Around the base 

 of the central flower-cluster we see 

 a ring of pollen like a golden 

 crown. Watching the flower from 

 day to dav, we see this ring: climb 

 higher and higher, as the suc- 



JOE PYE WEED 



