THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 
Vol. 11. March 15, 1902. No. 3 
FLORAL ECCENTRICITIES. 
By Alberta A. Field. 
How natural it is for us to interest ourselves in abnormal con- 
ditions, and also to be more observant of "their" than "our'* 
oddities. But not alone on us supreme (?) creations of the uni- 
verse do these eccentricities expend themselves, for there 
are many "queer people" among all sorts and conditions, from the 
highest to the lowest, and while less has been written upon the 
peculiarities of plants, much has been observed that must engage 
our interest. Sometimes these peculiarities are of the species and 
sometimes of the individual, but generally speaking they are ab- 
normal. A little observation of plant life will teach us that they 
possess many human characteristics or attributes and upon oc- 
casion exhibit energy, endurance, ambition, sensitiveness (this in 
a marked degree), incongniousness, adaptability, modesty (but 
less of this characteristic than the sentimentalist would have us 
believe) , secretiveness, determination, all these and more. 
In speaking of the different flower characteristics I forgot to 
mention one of the most strongly marked, and that is the desire 
for the perpetuation of its kind, and there is no end to which a 
plant will not resort to secure this result. Since science has so 
enlightened us upon the subject of vegetable fecundation, our ap- 
preciation of the difficulties that many plants are obliged to over- 
come, is greatly intensified. In many cases the staminate and 
pistillate flowers grow on separate plants, and alien assistance 
has to be resorted to for the transference of the quickening pollen 
dust. Some of the more prudent ones, to guard against the ac- 
cidents of destruction by the elements and other emergencies, pro- 
duce cleistogamous flowers below or above the ground, which 
never open, but remain closed and amply self-fertilizing to pre- 
