32 THE BOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



be made out in the upper figure of the accompanying plate, which 

 represents a shoot of the Ivy bearing inflorescences with fully 

 open flowers. Sometimes the number of sepals, petals, and 

 stamens is six instead of five. 



When the flower opens the anthers shed their pollen, and 

 when this is over they drop off. The flower has thus a first pollen- 

 shedding stage, which is followed by a pollen-receiving one as the 

 stigma matures. When visited by flies and bees in search of the 

 nectar, cross-pollination is almost certain to occur, since the 

 insects will get the under sides of their bodies dusted with pollen 

 from flowers in the first stage, and will, on visiting flowers in the 

 second stage, deposit this on the stigma. 



When the flowers have been pollinated the ovary enlarges 

 and develops into the fruit. The inflorescences now have the 

 appearance represented in the lower photograph on the plate. 

 The petals and stamens have dropped away from the flowers, 

 and the ovary has developed into a bluish-black berry. Round 

 the flattened upper surface of this are the minute sepals, while in 

 the centre the withered style projects. The fruit, like the ovary 

 from which it developed, is divided into five cavities, in each of 

 which is a single seed. The berries are eaten by birds, and the 

 seeds thus distributed. 



THE HONEYSUCKLE (Lonicera Periclymenum, L.) 



Although there are a considerable number of British plants that 

 support a relatively slender stem by climbing on rocks or other 

 plants, very few are perennial plants with a woody stem increasing 

 in thickness year after year. Such woody climbers form a very 

 prominent feature in tropical forests. The Ivy, which has been 

 described above, and the Honeysuckle or Woodbine, are among 

 the few woody climbers in Britain. The Honeysuckle occurs 

 throughout the country in copses and hedgerows, where it obtains 

 the support of the bushes or trees. The plant is firmly rooted in 

 the soil, and the main stems persist season after season and grow 

 in thickness. They are not, however, capable of supporting the 

 mass of branches and foliage of the plant, which frequently extends 

 over the summit of the supporting tree. The main stem of the 



