124 BOTANICAL GAZETTE. [May, 



a narrow entrance. The stamens stand in a compact circle 

 close to the petals, and the anthers are indehiscent. The 

 filaments vary from the outer, which are long and broad, to 

 the innermost, which are short and slender. The claw-like 

 scales which surround the concave stigma form with it a lit- 

 tle bowl, which holds a large drop of water. At this time 

 the stiLimatic papilla- are well developed, and the flower is 

 evidently in the female stage. 



On the second morning the water has disappeared from 

 the stigmatic basin, and the papillae look dry and shrivelled. 

 The claw-like scales are curled in strongly over the stigma, 

 and the inner stamens, which are now dehiscent, have fallen 

 over it, so as completely to hide it. The outer stamens are 

 turned outward, and the petals are widelv expanded. 



Of eight flowers which were marked, four opened on 

 three days and four on four days. One of the latter had 

 some anthers still closed at noon of the fourth day, promis- 

 ing to open again on the fifth. The flowers are therefore 

 female on the first day and male for two or three davs after. 

 It follows that, when about the same number of new flowers 

 open daily, there will be two or three times as manv in the 

 male as in the female stage. 



All ot the insects which I saw on the flowers were in 

 search of pollen, which the numerous stamens vield in abund- 

 ance. Insects coming from the old flowers* drop into the 

 new ones, and plunge into the stigmatic basin. If, in their 

 attempts to escape, they trust their weight to the inner sta- 

 mens, these bend so suddenly as to throw them again into 

 the water. If the insect does not drop into the stigmatic 

 basin, but lights on the stamens, the slender filaments act 

 like the lip of Calop^ogon and let him down upon the stigma. 



The water on the stigma seems to be intended to loosen 

 the pollen from the scop* of bees which have been collect- 

 ing it on the older flowers. I have not discovered any sweet 

 taste in the water, nor have I seen insects attracted by it. 

 Moreover, it seems to be present in too great quantity for tlu 

 purpose of nectar. Indeed, when insects are thrown back 

 repeatedly into it, they may be drowned. I have seen Aga- 



postemon radiatus and Ilafictus occcidentalis drowned in the 

 same basin. 6 



If my interpretation is correct, the flower is remarkable 



«,„, J 0n lTorr - B l l l - X.' 5,) f0 "'" i ,,ead insects in flowers of N. odorata. which he 



\ n ?\Z m'i fti""* 1 . l ,y , th f %. wer cl< "? U P- Delpino (178) also found dead insects in 



rth .1 . ;i' iZ "l! "!'' lr » eat ' " • \ r «» u " of the heavy odor of the flower. Planchon 



in nn m > ."* ^ .1 J a I din *' ,S;I1 ' thl,lks " a result of the accumulation of carbonic 

 acta m tne bottom of the tlnwer 



