"What is ftill more extraordinary, there are not want- 

 ing amongft vegetables fome inftances, in which the 

 fmalier animals meet their fate by alighting on the 

 flowers or leaves ; being either held faft by a vifcous 

 exfudation from the furface, or confined by the preffure 

 of the irritable parts of the plant. One of the moft cu- 

 rious inftances of this kind is in a fpecies of Apocynum, 

 well known to Botanifts by the name of Apocynum 

 androfaemifolium. In the flowers of this plant the an- 

 therse, which are fituated pretty deep in the flower, 

 converge, fo as to form a fhelter for the ne&aria lying 

 below them, and in the centre of which is contained 

 a fmall quantity of that fweet juice fo peculiarly attrac- 

 tive to infects. The antherae are poifeffed of a very 

 great degree of irritability, and fuddenly converge 

 much clofer on being touched ; when therefore a fly, 

 or other fmall infect alights on the flower and inferts 

 its probofcis into the centre, it is fuddenly caught 

 by the converging antheras, and detained in this mi- 

 ferable lituation till it perifhes. 



But a ftill more wonderful example of vegetable irri- 

 tability occurs in the plant reprefented on the annexed 

 plate. In this plant the furface of the leaves is irritable 

 in the higheft degree, and each leaf being furnifhed 

 round the edge with a feries of fpiny procefles, and 

 converging longitudinally when irritated, with a very 

 considerable degree of preffure, it follows that whatever 

 infect is fo unfortunate as to alight on |;he leaf, is, 

 (unlefs it be extremely nimble) caught as effectually- as 

 a moufe in a trap, and is even generally fqueezed to 

 death by the preflure. The plant is moil irritable du- 

 ring the warm part of the day, and in full funfhine. 



It 



