THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
77 
Midwinter Violets. — Viola odorata the original 
form of the species, single, blue and fragrant, makes an 
extremely interesting winter plant indoors if given suit^ 
able quarters. The plants are quite hardy but can not 
endure the high temperature of living rooms. On the 
other hand they delight in a comparatively low tempera- 
ture. Unheated rooms, having windows with a southern 
exposure, where sunlight is ample and the night tempera- 
ture does not go below the freezing point, offer ideal 
winter conditions for these fair little plants. In such 
places thej will flourish and reward one with a wealth of 
bloom and fragrance for the little caretaking they require, 
—J. Ford Sempers, Aikin^ Md, 
Plants with Nodding Tips,— In the plant kingdom 
are to be found many peculiar adaptations. One of the 
most interesting is the habit which some species have of 
keeping the growing tip curved downward during the 
period of development or until the stem has attained its 
growth for the season. This curving of the tip of the stem 
appears much like the arch commonly developed in sprout- 
ing seedlings but must be for a different purpose. The 
nodding of the growing tip is strikingly seen in such 
plants as Solid go canadensis and Asimina triloba. Some 
species of a genus may nod while others show no sign of a 
curve in the stem tip. Thus Gaura parviBora nods very 
strongly while Gaura biennis, it appears, does not nod at 
all. In most cases the curve is quite rigid but in some the 
nodding is merely the result of the flexibility of the stem, 
A few species have the tips nod at night but become nearly 
straight in the daytime. Whatever the cause or factor 
which induces plants to nod, there is probably no doubt 
but that the habit is a means of protection to the delicate 
terminal bud. — Ohio Naturalist, 
