Jan., 1907.] 
Color of Ohio Flowers. 
57 
COLOR OF OHIO FLOWERS. 
Clara G. Mark. 
From earliest times the flowering plants have received a 
great degree of attention, which no doubt is attributable for the 
most part to their varied and often brilliant colors. There have 
been manv curious beliefs and theories with regard to the color¬ 
ing of flowers, both as to its cause and as to its significance. Of 
these theories the one that has been most generally accepted in 
modern times is that the color of flowers is a device to attract 
animals, particularly insects, which may serve to carry pollen 
from one flower or plant to another. That insects are sometimes 
attracted by color has been proved; but it has been demonstrated 
that a color sense is almost wholly lacking except in the higher 
insects, and when present has been developed in comparatively 
recent times. This precludes the idea of color attraction in so far 
as at least a part of the pollen-carrying insects are concerned, and 
it gives weight to the probability that a majority of such insects 
are attracted by the form and odor of flowers rather than by their 
color. It follows that while the attraction of pollen-carrying 
insects may be in some cases one of the incidental results of the 
coloring of flowers, it can hardly be said to be the primary pur¬ 
pose of such coloring. The supposition at the present time is 
that the purpose of the coloring in the flower is to increase the 
temperature to a greater or less degree and so stimulate the activ¬ 
ity of the protoplasm; also the colored parts of the flower may 
serve as a screen to protect the more delicate reproductive parts 
from the action of the direct rays of the sun. 
The two principal classes of pigments occurring in flowers 
are the lipochromes and the anthocyans. The lipochromes vary 
through the different tints of yellow, orange and dull red and 
occur in the flowers as crystalloids. The anthocyans form a 
series of substances varying from red to blue and violet and are 
always found in solution in the cell sap. The color of a flower 
may be due to the presence of one or both of these classes of 
pigments. It has been found by experiments that flowers of 
different colors show a marked difference in temperature when 
exposed to the same conditions of light, moisture, etc. 
In studying the Ohio angiosperms with regard to the color¬ 
ing of the flowers, they were first divided into two general groups: 
First, those without typical floral parts, such as grasses and 
sedges; second, those with typical floral parts. This second 
group was again separated into two divisions: First, those in 
which the flower or flower cluster is so large as to be conspicuous; 
second, those in which the flower or flower cluster is incon¬ 
spicuous. Record was kept in a general way of the seasons of 
