THE GERANIUM TRIBE. 41 



quickly curving upwards towards the top of the style, 

 opening, at the same time, by their face, so as to let 

 their seed drop out {fig. 6. a.). This is caused by 

 the styles contracting from dryness, and shortening ; 

 they stick so close together at their points, that they 

 cannot separate there, and so they actually pull the 

 ovary up by the roots, and then roll up upon 

 themselves, as if they were frightened at what they 

 had done. The seeds are often beautiful objects, 

 and are sometimes curiously pitted or netted all 

 over their surface. No workman ever gave such 

 finishing to the setting of the most costly gems, as 

 Nature has given even to the seeds of a weed. 



Among our wild flowers are two genera which 

 belong to the Geranium tribe ; the Geranium itself, 

 and the Storksbill (Erodium). The latter is very 

 common in gravelly and sandy wastes, and looks so 

 like a Geranium, that you will, most likely, mistake 

 it for one. You may, however, know it by five only 

 of its ten stamens bearing anthers. In the Geranium 

 you will find that the five outermost of the stamens, 

 are much shorter than those which form the inner 

 row, and more stunted {fig. 2.), but they all have 

 anthers. In the Storksbill the five outer are still 

 more stunted, and have no anthers. But the most 

 interesting part of the tribe is that which is cultivated 

 in green-houses, and to which I have already said the 

 name Pelargonium is applied. This differs from 

 both the other genera in the stamens being more than 

 five, and fewer than ten in number, and in the co- 

 rolla being irregular, that is to say, different in dif- 



