THE ROSE-BAY — continued. 
Christian Conrad Sprengel, whose work on cross-pollination was published in 1793, 
observed the phenomena of dichogamy. He found the flowers strongly protandrous. 
When they open, soon after sunrise, the anthers are already ripe and the filaments 
project horizontally, whilst the style with the four lobes of its stigma closed together 
is bent downwards. The lower parts of the filaments are flattened and bear hairs 
which serve to protect the honey within the space between them and the style from 
rain. Visiting insects clasp the stamens and the lower petals, and thrust their 
tongues between the filaments. When the pollen has been shed, the stamens bend 
downward and the style upward, while the four stigmatic lobes spread apart, taking 
the place previously occupied by the anthers. Such was Sprengel’s observation, 
and when these arrangements occur, self-pollination will apparently be wellnigh 
impossible. Other observers, however, have found the flowers less protandrous. 
Schultz found that in mountainous regions the plant was less protandrous than 
in the lowlands ; Baron Kerner von Marilaun found that, in the absence of 
insect visits, self-pollination is sometimes possible ; and Warming even found 
protogynous flowers. 
The tall unbranched stems of this species, often deeply tinged with red and 
reaching a height of from two to six feet, when surmounted by the handsome 
tapering raceme of loosely arranged rose-pink blossoms naturally attracts attention 
in our August woodlands ; and the lanceolate leaves, often glaucous on their under 
surfaces, suggest the obvious comparison to a Willow or Sallow, whence such 
popular names as the North of Ireland one, Blooming Sally , have originated. The 
plant has become much more abundant of late years, especially in moist places in 
woodlands ; but even establishing itself on vacant building sites in the heart of the 
metropolis. Often securing the first footing after a forest fire, it has acquired the 
name Ildmarke in Denmark and Fire-weed in America. When less familiar, it was, 
perhaps, its delicate beauty which suggested an exotic origin and gave it such names 
as Tame Withy, and French or Persian Willow. There are, however, two varieties, one 
of which, E. macrocarpum Stephens, with capsules over two inches in length, has 
more claim to be considered indigenous than the other, E. brachycarpum Leighton, 
the common garden form, in which the pod is only an inch long. This latter often 
occurs as an escape. 
