1892. | Flowers and Insects. ; 179 
It blooms from May 11 to June 29. 
LYTHRUM ALATUM Ph.—The plants are common in wet 
places. The stems grow 4 or 5 dm. high, are much branched 
and bear many loose racemes of purple flowers. The ‘six 
petals are each marked with a reddish line leading to the 
base. They expand so that the flowers measure 15 mm. 
across, 
The dimorphism of the flowers was first recorded by Hal- 
sted in the Bulletin of the Iowa Agricultural College, 1888. 
In the short-styled form the stigma reaches the throat of the 
calyx tube, and the stamens are exserted from 3 to 4mm. In 
the long-styled form the stigma is exserted about 3 mm., and 
the anthers only reach the throat. In this form the stamens 
are variable, sometimes giving an appearance of trimorphism; 
but the unequal length seems only to prevent crowding of 
the anthers in the narrow tube. 
The plants often grow in large patches, which renders them 
quite conspicuous, and very attractive to insects. The calyx- 
-; (18) E. fascipennis gon i 
i i : idia 
quadrata eae latifrons Lw.; (20) Trop 
Carlinville, 71) 
