On Plants and Insects. 



i6 5 



one set standing in front of the sepals, the other 

 in front of the petals. Like other night flowers, it 

 is white, and opens towards evening, when it also 

 becomes extremely fragrant. The first evening, 

 towards dusk, the five stamens in front of the sepals 

 (fig. 60) grow very rapidly for about two hours, so 



Fig. 59. NOTTINGHAM CATCHFLY (Silcne nutans}. 



that they emerge from the flower; the pollen ripens, 

 and is exposed by the bursting of the anther. So 

 the flower remains through the night, very attractive 

 to, and much visited by, moths. Towards three in 

 the morning the scent ceases, the anthers begin to 

 shrivel up or drop off, the filaments turn themselves 

 outwards, so as to be out of the way, while the 



