White and Greenish 



leave some of the vitalizing dust clinging to them on the moist 

 and sticky stigma, which will wither to prevent self-fertilization 

 before the flower's own curved anthers mature and shed their 

 grains. Sometimes, when the blossoms do not run on schedule 

 time, or the insects are not flying in stormy weather, this well- 

 laid plan may gang a-gley. An occasional lapse matters little; 

 it is perpetual self-fertilization that Nature abhors. 



Indian Hemp; Amy-root 



{ApocYuiiin cdiiiiabiiiin) Dogbane fnmily 



Flowers — Greenish white, about ]{ in. across, on short pedicels, in 

 dense clusters at ends of branches and from the axils. Calyx 

 of s segments ; corolla nearly erect, bell-shaped, s-lobed, with 

 5 small triangular appendages alternating with the stamens 

 within its tube. Stem : i to 4 ft. high, branching, smooth, 

 often dull reddish, from a deep, vertical root. Leaves : Oppo- 

 site, entire, 2 to 6 in. long, mostly oblong, abruptly pointed, 

 variable. Friiif : A pair of slender pods, the numerous seeds 

 tipped with tufts of hairs. 



Preferred Habitat — Gravelly soil, banks of streams, low fields. 



Flowering; Season— ]\iX\ii — August. 



Distribution — Almost throughout the United States and British 

 Possessions. 



Instead of setting a trap to catch flies and hold them by the 

 tongue in a vise-like grip until death alone releases them, as its 

 heartless sister the spreading dogbane does (see p. 134), this awk- 

 ward, rank herb lifts clusters of smaller, less conspicuous, but in- 

 nocent, flowers, with nectar secreted in rather shallow receptacles, 

 that even short-tongued insects may feast without harm. Honey 

 and mining bees, among others; wasps and flies in variety, and 

 great numbers of the spangled fritillary (Argyuniscybele) and the 

 banded hair-streak {Thecia calaniis) among the butterfly tribe; 

 destructive bugs and beetles attracted by the white color, a faint 

 odor, and liberal entertainment, may be seen about the clusters. 

 Many visitors are useless pilferers, no doubt ; but certainly the 

 bees which depart with pollen masses cemented to their lips or 

 tongues, to leave them in the stigmatic cavities of the next blos- 

 soms their heads enter, pay a fair price for all they get. 



From the fact that Indians used to substitute this very common 

 plant's tough fibre for hemp in making theirfishnets, mats, baskets, 

 and clothing, came its popular name ; and from their use of the 

 juices to poison mangy old dogs about their camps, its scientific 

 one. 



243 



