43° ANGIOSPERMAE—MONOCOTYLEDONES 



that they bloom in February, and are marked with dark spots which in the distance 

 look like larger bees. 



Visitors. — The bee Xylocopa violacea L. is attracted by the mimicry just 

 described, and effects cross-pollination. 



CXI. ORDER AMARYLLIDEAE R. BR. 



Literature. — Knuth, 'Grundriss d. Bliitenbiol.,' p. 99; Pax, ' Amaryllidaceae,' 

 in Engler u. Prantl, ' D. nat. Pflanzenfam.,' II, 5, pp. 100-117. 



The two whorls of the superior petaloid perianth serve to render the flowers 

 conspicuous. In Narcissus and Tazetta this is further increased by a corona, which 

 at the same time serves to conceal the nectar more deeply. 



861. Narcissus L. 



Homogamous to feebly protogynous humble-bee or lepidopterid flowers, secreting 

 and concealing nectar at the base of the perianth tube. Sometimes dimorphism to 

 polymorphism. 



Loew (' Bliitenbiol. Beitrage,' II, p. 84) distinguishes the following groups 

 according to pollination mechanisms. 



(i) Humble-bee flowers: corona large, bell-shaped; perianth expanded at the 

 end like a funnel, only slightly or not at all narrowed by the anthers. N. odorus Z., 

 N. Pseudo-Narcissus /.. 



(2) Intermediate stage between humble-bee and lepidopterid flowers : corona 

 cup-shaped, tolerably deep ; perianih tube narrow, moderately long ; upper anthers 

 projecting from, and lower ones enclosed in it. N. triandrus Z. 



(3) Lepidopterid flowers : corona shaped like a flat dish, with crenulate margin ; 

 perianth tube long, very much narrowed by the anthers. N. poeticus Z., N. biflorus 

 Curt. 



(4) Humble-bee and lepidopterid flowers : corona cup-shaped ; perianth tube 

 moderately long, slightly expanded at the top ; flowers small ; perianth lobes 

 shorter than the tube. N. Tazetta Z., N. polyanthos Loisel., N. primulinus Haw. 



(5) Lepidopterid flowers : corona shaped like a shallow dish ; perianth tube 

 very long and thin, and narrowed still more at the entrance by the anthers. 

 N. Jonquilla Z. 



2687. N. poeticus L. (Kirchner, 'Flora v. Stuttgart,' p. 73; Kemer, 'Nat. 

 Hist. PI.,' Eng. Ed. 1, II, p. 311.) — The white, pendulous flowers of this species are 

 adapted for pollination by Lepidoptera. They possess a strong odour of pinks and 

 are rich in nectar, with a greenish-yellow, dish-shaped corona, possessing a crenulate, 

 vermilion-red margin. Kirchner describes them as homogamous, Kerner as feebly 

 protogynous. The perianth tube is about 30 mm. long. The six anthers are situated 

 in the entrance in two whorls, one close under the other, the upper three being 

 smaller than the lower three. They all dehisce introrsely, and must be touched 

 by visitors as well as the stigma, for they fill the flower entrance almost completely. 

 The stigma is situated in the entrance to the perianth tube between the three upper 

 anthers, so that automatic self-pollination must take place if insect-visits fail. Kerner 



