196 COLOURS OF FLOWERS AS A MEANS OF ATTRACTING ANIMALS. 



for them a scarlet colour may be an effective means of allurement even from a great 

 distance. Butterflies, as already mentioned, hover over the flovs^ers of the Scarlet 

 Geranium; Monarda didyma is industriously visited by a large humble-bee, and 

 various animals are seen to fly to other scarlet-red flowers, especially in tropical 

 regions. Such flowers in particular affect the humming-bird. Indeed it seems 

 that this tiny bird in its seai-ch after honey prefers scarlet flowers. Perhaps it 

 depends upon this that plants with scarlet flowers are distributed chiefly in those 

 regions where humming-birds have their home. Certainly it is noteworthy that 

 the scarlet colour is only rarely met with in Asia and Europe, particularly in the 

 Alpine, Baltic, Black Sea, and Mediterranean Floras; whilst an exceptionally lai-ge 

 number of such flowers occur in America, particularly in Carolina, Texas, Mexico, 

 the West Indies, Brazil, Peru, and Chili. In the primeval forests of Central 

 America every traveller is struck by the great number of Lianes and Epiphytes of 

 the families Acanthaceas, Bignoniaceae, Bromeliacete, Cyrtandrese, and Gesueraceae, 

 which bear scarlet flowers, and of which we may mention as examples — Bignonia 

 venusta, Lamprococcus miniatus, Pitcairnia fiavimea, Nemanthus Guille- 

 minianus, Mitraria coceinea, and Beloperone involucrata. Lobelias, Fuchsias, 

 and Begonias with fiery red cups (Lobelia cardinalis, fwlgens, graminea, sidendens, 

 Texensis, Fuchsia coceinea, eylindria, fulgens, radicans, spectabilis, Begonia 

 fuchsioides, &c.), the scarlet species of Sage which are surrounded by humming- 

 birds (Scdvia coceinea, cardinalis), the various species of Alonsoa and Russelia 

 belonging to the Scrophulariacese, the remarkable Erythrinas {Erythrina crista- 

 galii, kerbacea, speeiosa), and the Cffisalpiniese of the genera Amherstia and 

 Brownea (Amherstia nobilis, Brownea coceinea and grandiceps), whose flowers are 

 so constructed that their honey can hai-dly be obtained except by the hovering 

 humming-bii'd — all these find a home in the American regions above-mentioned. 

 Further observations in tropical regions are required to ascertain whether there are 

 not other flower-visiting animals besides humming-birds and butterflies, especially 

 flies and beetles, which can distinguish scarlet flowers and fly to them; for certain 

 plants, as, for example, the Brazilian Aroids with their large scarlet spathes, 

 e.g. Anthurium Seherzerianum (the Flamingo Plant), A. Andremim and Lawrenee- 

 anum, have no honey, and are consequently disregarded by humming-birds and 

 butterflies. 



That scarlet flowers are not visited by the hawk-moths, owlet-moths, and other 

 crepuscular and night-flying animals is obvious, since when twilight falls, scailet, 

 as well as purple-red, violet, and blue flowers become invisible. At this time only 

 those flowers can be seen which are coloured white or yellow on the side turned 

 towards the fl3'ing animals, as, for example, the Evening Primrose ((Euothera), the 

 Honeysuckle (Loniccra Caprifolium), some Nyctaginere (e.g. Mirabilis longiflora), 

 many Solanacese (e.g. Nieotiana affinis. Datura Stramonium), numerous Caryo- 

 phyllacese of the genus Silene (e.g. Silene nutans, longiflora, Sa.mfraga), various 

 species of Tiicca and Calonyetion, and, most of ail, the large-flowered Mexican 

 Cactuses of the genus Echinocactus and Cereus, of which the species known as 



