THE MEZEREON 259 



The flowers are not very conspicuous, and by day- 

 time have hardly any scent. But towards evening 

 they emit a sweet odour, which attracts night-flying 

 insects such as moths, which are of service as cross- 

 pollinators. The flower is so constructed that it can 

 only be entered by insects on the wing. The droop- 

 ing position, and the recurved perianth segments are 

 designed for this very purpose, and the latter, with 

 their smooth, waxy, inner surface furnish no " alight- 

 ing place " for an insect. To get at the honey, the 

 moth or other visitor has to hover on the wing below 

 the flower, and thus its proboscis or tongue comes in 

 contact with both the stamens and t^ie stigma. 

 These organs both mature at the same time, so it 

 sometimes happens that the pollen is deposited by 

 the insect on the stigma of the same plant, and thus 

 self-fertilisation, as well as cross-fertilisation, may 

 take place. 



Though the flower, both in the bud and when 

 fully opened, droops as above mentioned, when the 

 fruit is mature, the stalk straightens out and the 

 capsule is borne erect. 



The Mezereon. 



The Mezereon {Daphne mezereum, Linn,, natural 

 order Thymeleacese, the Daphne family) is one of the 

 three Daphnes, and the only British species, found 

 in Alpine Switzerland, though the Spurge Laurel 

 {Daphne laureola, Linn.) occurs at lower elevations. 

 It is built on much the same lines as the Alpenroses, 



