G. M. Thomson. — On the Fertilization of Flowering Plants. 259 



towards tlie apex of the carina, and lodges on the hairs of the style. As 

 soon as the vexillum opens, it ciu'ves completely backwards ; an arrange- 

 ment which tends to make the flower more prominent and conspicuous 

 than it would other^\dse be. The carina opens about the middle, the two 

 petals diverging slightly at that part, opposite to the anthers of the shorter 

 stamens ; in their upper part they remain in contact with each other, their 

 edges slightly folded together, so as to hold the style and enclosed pollen 

 firmly. The flowers are scentless, but the cup-like calyx contains a large 

 drop of honey. It is this delicacy which attracts the honey-birds, which 

 search the flowers with great diligence. In inserting their heads into the 

 flowers, they push back the carina with considerable force ; this retains its 

 hold of the style for a time, u.ntil the pressure is too great, when the 

 latter is jerked forward by its own elasticity, and throws out the accumu= 

 lated pollen on the intruder's head. The filaments of the stamens are 

 normally so long as to exceed the carina, but many of them are bent com- 

 pletely back for part of their length. I am not aware what is the use or 

 object of such an arrangement. 



Sophora tetraptera. This is another species chiefly visited by honey- 

 birds. It usually flowers very early with us — from July to September — at 

 which time of year there are very few insects about. Like the last-named 

 species, this has very conspicuous pendulous flowers, which are hardly 

 papilionaceous however ; they are not sweet-scented, but contain a quantity 

 of honey in the cu^d of the calyx. The style projects a considerable distance 

 beyond the stamens, and rather out of their line, while only the extreme 

 point is stigmatic. I have no idea whether this species and Clianthus 

 puniceus are self-fertile or not, but they are certainly well-fitted for cross- 

 fertihzation by the numerous birds which visit them. 



Nat. Ord. EosACEiE. 



This order, like the last, is very poorly represented in these islands, 

 being represented by only four genera and ten species, of which latter two 

 are cosmopolitan. Some of its species, however, are remarkable for the 

 contrivances which enable them to wage a very successful warfare with 

 their neighbours, — the Fiubus with its powerful recurved spines, and some 

 species of Accena with their singular barbed bristles developed from the 

 calyx-lobes, being pre-eminent in this respect. 



Rubus australis is invariably dioecious, a fact which Hooker, in the 

 "Handbook of the N.Z. Flora," appears not to have noticed, or to have 

 overlooked. I have examined great numbers of flowers for several years 

 past, and have never found even a trace of hermaphroditism. I do not 

 know whether this character holds throughout New Zealand; I have oc- 

 casionally found that certain species of plants which produce hermaphro- 



