POLYGALEAE 147 



Kirchner, 'Flora v. Stuttgart,' pp. 353-4; Schulz, 'Beitrage,' II, pp. 18-19.) — 

 Serrated processes of the lower petal are made use of by insects as an alighting- 

 place. There are two folds on the upper side of the same petal which enclose 

 the anthers and the spoon-shaped end of the style. Behind this ' spoon ' is the 

 stigma, a sticky hook-shaped eminence. The anthers are so placed above the end 

 of the style that when they dehisce the pollen necessarily falls into the spoon, 

 where it is stored while the stamens wither. The proboscis of an insect probing 

 for the nectar secreted in the base of the flower must therefore first encounter the 

 pollen in the spoon, and then the stigma. This does not, however, result in self- 

 pollination, for it is not till the proboscis of the insect has been smeared with 

 glutinous matter from the stigma that pollen adheres to it, and this may be carried 

 to the stigma of the next flower visited. Hildebrand states that when insect-visits 

 fail the stigma bends down to the pollen in the spoon far enough to bring about 

 self-pollination. Schulz considers this curvature of the stigma to be an exceptional 

 occurrence, though there is no doubt that the pollen may come into contact with 

 the adhesive stigmatic surfaces. He asserts that self-pollination frequently takes 

 place at the beginning of anthesis, so large a quantity of pollen being discharged 

 from the anthers into the spoon that this is filled up to the level of the stigma, 

 against which some is necessarily pushed by the proboscis of an insect visitor, seeing 

 that the stigmatic surface immediately adjoins the posterior end of the spoon. 



Visitors. — Herm. Muller saw 3 Lepidoptera in the Alps. Buddeberg observed 

 the following in Nassau ; all skg.^ 



A. Hymenoptera. Apidac: i. Andrena albicans Milll. 5 ; 2. A. fulvago Chr. 

 $; 3. Eucera longicornis Z. S. B. Lepidoptera. Rhopalocera : 4. Lycaena sp. 



366. P. vtilgaris L. (Hildebrand, op. cit. ; Herm. Wiiller, 'Fertilisation,' 

 p. 123, 'Weit. Beob.,' II, p. 213; Kirchner, 'Flora v. Stuttgart,' p. 354; Schulz, 

 op. cit.; MacLeod, Bot. Jaarb. Dodonaea, Ghent, vi, 1894, pp. 241-6; Knuth, 'Bl. 

 u. Insekt. a. d. nordfr. Ins.,' p. 35.) — The flower mechanism agrees with that of the 

 last species. 



Visitors. — The following have been observed by Herm. Muller (H. M.) and 

 myself (Kn.); all skg. — 



A. Hymenoptera. Apidae: i. Apis mellifica Z. (Kn., H. M.); 2. Bombus 

 lapidarius Z. (Kn., H. M.) ; 3. B. terrester Z. (Kn., H. M.). B. Lepidoptera. (a) 

 Geovietridae : 4. Odezia chaerophyllata Z. (H. M.). {h) Rhopalocera : 5. Polyom- 

 matus hippothoe Z. (H. M.). C. Diptera. Empidae : 6. Empis livida Z. (H. M.). 



In the Pyrenees MacLeod observed a humble-bee skg. nectar, and a wasp 

 trying to suck it. 



367. P. amara L. — The flower mechanism of this species -agrees with that of 

 P. comosa. Kirchner states that the flowers of the variety austriaca Koch are in 

 all respects smaller. 



Schulz (' Beitrage,' II, p. 19), in a very large number of cases, was unable to 

 perceive the outward curving of the stigmatic process towards the spoon, which 

 Hildebrand described as taking place towards the end of anthesis. 



368. P. calcarea Schulz. — 



Visitors. — MacLeod observed a Lepidopterid skg. in the Pj'renees. 



L 2 



