EARLY SUMMER FLOWERS 217 



sleeve, and the fruitlet may thus be carried to a distance before it 

 drops on the soil. Since the fruitlet contains only one seed, it 

 does not open, and the seed remains protected by the walls of the 

 fruit until germination. It is very interesting to contrast the 

 mode of dispersal of the fruitlets in the Avens with what occurs in 

 the fruit of the Strawberry, which is developed from a very similar 

 pistil. 



Nectar is secreted in the flowers by a ring of the receptacle 

 between the innermost stamens and the pistil, and the flowers 

 are visited by a number of insects. The arrangements of the 

 parts is such as to favour cross-pollination, though self-fertilisa- 

 tion is possible. The stigmas begin to be mature when the 

 flower opens, and project in front of the stamens. The latter 

 are bent inwards in the bud, owing to the curvation of the fila- 

 ments, but straighten and diverge as they are ready to open. 



Besides the Common Avens, the Water Avens (Geum rivale, L.) 

 and a form which is intermediate between the two, and is prob- 

 ably a hybrid, are found in Britain. 



THE BUGLE (Ajuga reptans, L.). 



The Bugle is to be found in grassy land, usually in moister 

 spots and in the shade of woods. It often grows in numbers in 

 one spot. The flowering season is from May to July, and for the 

 proper study of the plant a number of specimens with intact 

 branches should be collected. It will be found that each plant 

 (Fig. 98) consists of a short, underground stem, from which long 

 whitish roots extend downwards. This bears a rosette of crowded 

 foliage-leaves or their remains, and in the axils of some of the 

 leaves buds can be seen, some of which have developed into 

 prostrate branches or runners. The main stem continues into 

 the erect flowering shoot. All these parts must be considered 

 if we are to understand how the Bugle maintains itself and 

 extends in the struggle with other plants. 



The stem of the erect main shoot is square with somewhat 

 rounded angles. Each node bears a pair of leaves, the pairs alternat- 

 ing at successive nodes. The leaves have simple blades, narrowing 

 below where they pass into the leaf-base, but not very distinctly 



