No. 390] | MONOCOTYLEDONOUS FLOWERS. 499 
pollen and an ovipositor for puncturing the yucca pods. In 
the evening this small moth climbs in succession half a dozen 
stamens, and collects the pollinia in a compact ball beneath its 
head; it then punctures the pod and deposits its eggs among 
the ovules, after which, in order that the growing’seed pods 
may afford food for the young larvee, it deliberately climbs the 
short style, and intentionally rubs the pollen with its tentacles 
upon the viscid stigma. As the stamens are shorter than the 
pistil the plant would not produce seed unless fertilized by 
Pronuba. 
The Convallariaceze commonly grow in moist woods and 
thickets, and have dull-colored, rather inconspicuous flowers. 
Of the 23 species 2: are greenish-yellow, 11 white, I rose- 
purple, 4 purple, and 5 green; there are no bright red or blue 
flowers, and none adapted to Lepidoptera. The most frequent 
visitors are bees and flies. The greenish flowers of Asparagus 
are mellifluous, pleasantly scented, and mellitophilous. The 
male flowers are twice the length of the female, and in conse- 
quence of their increased conspicuousness are visited first by 
bees. On the greenish-yellow flowers of C/lintonia borealis I 
have collected the honey-bee, Bombus consimilis, and small 
beetles, Anthobium pothos, feeding on the pollen. The short, 
white, bell-shaped flowers of Convallaria are open to all bees, 
but the longer tubular blossoms of Polygonatum only to bum- 
blebees. The largest genus is Trillium with 8 species; 3 
white, 4 purple, and 1 greenish. The purple-flowered species 
have been derived, apparently, directly from the primitive green, 
for 7. viride is light green or purplish-green, T. erectum is 
purple, sometimes greenish, and T. sessile is purple or green. 
A white variety of T. erectum is common, especially in New 
York, the specimens of which in my herbarium are smaller 
` than the purple form. C. M. Weed saw the flesh fly, Lucilia. 
cornicina, on the flowers of this species, which has a disagree- 
able odor, and I have also seen minute Diptera. Several spe- 
cies are pleasantly odorous and are probably visited by small 
bees. The Smilaceæ have small, regular, diœcious, greenish 
flowers attractive to Diptera. 
The Amaryllidaceæ are principally a tropical family, only 
