" CARYOPHYLLACE^ 107 



stamens and pistil also varies. Some plants are hairy, 

 some quite glabrous, and there appear to be in this 

 country ^ no intermediate forms. 



L. diurna. — This species in many respects resembles 

 L. vespertina, and the two have by many botanists been 

 regarded as varieties. They are no doubt descended 

 from a common ancestor, but while L. vespertina has 

 gradually adapted itself to moths, opening at night and 

 closing by day, L. diurna, on the contrary, is a bee 

 flower, opening by day and closing by night. It seems 

 probable that the common ancestor was red, which, 

 however, is not a suitable colour for night flowers. 

 Bees, as a rule, have a shorter proboscis than moths, 

 which may perhaps account for the fact that the tube 

 of the flower in L. diurna (12-15 mm.) is somewhat 

 shorter than that of L. vespertina. The seeds are black 

 or deep brown, large, and covered with points in parallel 

 longitudinal rows. 



SiLENE 



This genus differs from Lychnis in having three 

 styles, and the capsules open with six teeth. 



S. inflata. — Glaucous green, usually glabrous plants. 

 The flowers are protandrous, with white petals ; they 

 are adapted to butterflies and humble bees. In 

 this interesting plant there are, according to Axell," 

 three forms — those with both stamens and pistils, 

 those with stamens only, and those with pistils 

 only ; in the latter the flowers are smaller than in 

 the other two forms. Schulz has pointed out in 

 addition that some are gynomoncecious, and some 

 are andromonoecious. The tube of the flower is 10-12 

 mm. in depth, and wide enough to admit the pro- 

 boscis of a humble bee. Another remarkable point 

 about S. inflata is that while in most of the allied 

 species the calyx closely surrounds and thus supports 

 the petals, in this it is, as the name denotes, inflated so 



' Bateson and Saunders, Roy. Soc. Report to Evolution Committee, 1902. 

 '^ 0«i Anordnfor Fan. Vaxt. BefruTctn. p. 46. 



