III.] VIOLA. 6i 



such as the secretion of honey, the colour of the corolla, 

 the radiating lines on the petals, and the smell. 



1. Why is the flower situated on a long stalk, 

 which is upright, but curved downwards at the free 

 end ? — In order that it may hang down ; which, 

 firstly, prevents rain from obtaining access to the 

 honey ; and, secondly, places the stamens in such a 

 position that the pollen falls into the open space 

 between the pistil and the free ends of the stamens 

 If the flower were upright, the pollen would fall into 

 the space between the base of the stamen and the 

 base of the pistil, and would not come in contact with 

 the bee. 



2. Why does the pollen differ from that of most 

 other insect-fertilised flowers.'— In most of such 

 flowers the insects themselves remove the pollen from 

 the anthers ; and it is therefore important that the 

 pollen should not easily be detached and carried away 

 by the wind. In the present case, on the contrary, it 

 is desirable that it should be looser and drier, so that 

 it may easily fall into the space between the stamens 

 and the pistil. If it remained attached to the anther, 

 it would not be touched by the bee, and the flower 

 would remain unfertilised. 



3. Why is the base of the style so thin .?— In order 

 that the bee may be more easily able to bend the style. 



4. Why is the base of the style bent .?— For the 

 same reason. The result of the curvature is that 

 the pistil is much more easily bent than would be 

 the case if the style were straight. 



5. Finally, why does the membranous termina- 

 tion of the upper filament overlap the corresponding 



