312 
Transactions of the Boyal Society of South Africa. 
favourite spring flower of mine, and the relationships of plants and animals 
are one of my favourite studies. 
The other peculiarity of structure of the flowers of Sehcea is the swollen 
portion of the style, designated by various names, e.g.., as a hairy ring,''' 
or a tubercular thickening,! but described more correctly by Schinz | 
as Papillemmolst (papillose swelling). It is not a ring, but consists of two 
flat longitudinal swellings, separated by a narrow portion of the smooth 
style. Schinz says : " The Brown's bodies and the papillose swelling 
must have something to do with the pollination of the flowers by means 
of insects ; the function of the former is comprehensible, but that of the 
latter not — at least, not at present." My observations on Sehcsa exacoides 
do, I think, now supply this information. 
Seb^a Exacoides {L.), Schinz. 
1. Flower, f of corolla removed. 2. Stamen. 3. Pistil. 
4. Section through secondary stigma. 5. Thrips (larva.) 
When, years ago, I examined the swollen part of the style for the first 
time under the microscope, I could not help noticing, that it possessed 
exactly the same structure as the receptive surface of the knob-shaped 
stigma, and that numerous pollen grains were adhering to the papillose 
surface. Gradually I came to the conclusion, that this might be a 
stigmatic organ, but as nothing of a similar kind was known from other 
plants I hesitated to express this opinion without further investigations. 
* Gilg in Engl. Pflanz. Fam. IV., 2, p. 64. f Baker in Flora Trop. Afr. IV., p. 546. 
I Schinz, loc. cit., pp. 6 and 7. 
