64 BOOK OF OLD-FASHIONED FLOWERS 



the flower quickly opens and emits a strong scent as 

 of hyacinths. Five of its stamens quickly develop, the 

 pollen ripens and the anthers burst. At three o'clock 

 in the morning, or thereabouts, the scent ceases to be 

 produced, the five anthers wither, and the corolla closes. 

 During the following day the flower looks as though 

 dead or dying. At the same hour as on the previous 

 evening, however, it again opens and again becomes 

 fragrant. Five more stamens develop and ripen their 

 pollen, after which the plant again closes as before. 

 The proceeding is again repeated on the third night, 

 the pistil, however, now developing instead of the 

 stamens. The stigma having been fertilised with 

 pollen brought by moths from another flower, the 

 corolla closes as before in the early morning, and never 

 again reopens. Other of the Silenes, such as S. noctiflora^ 

 S, irrflata^ S, vespertina, and S. lo?igijlora, also bloom at 

 night and are equally interesting. 



Almost a shrub in size, the Marvel of Peru {^Mirabilis 

 jalapa) is one of the handsomest of night blooming plants, 

 opening its variously coloured ephemeral flowers at 

 about eight o'clock, and closing them again for good 

 and all before three o'clock the following morning. 

 It is a somewhat delicate plant and will only thrive in 

 warm soils and sunny situations. A plant not often 

 seen in gardens is the fragrant Sand Verbena {Ahrofiia 

 fragrans)^ a Californian perennial of fairly vigorous 

 trailing habit, producing a quantity of beautiful flowers 

 of purest white which open and yield a vanilla-like 

 fragrance at night. 



Although too delicate to be grown all the year 

 through in the open air of this country, several of the 

 Thorn apples or Daturas can easily be grown as half- 

 hardy annuals, and during July and August are objects 

 of great beauty. The mauve-tinged white trumpets of 

 D, Ceratocaula which open and aflbrd sweet fragrance 



