THE COLUMBINE— continued. 
exhibit a very perfect pentamerous eucyclic symmetry, having five petaloid sepals, 
five of the remarkably spurred petals, sometimes fifty or more stamens, all in 
alternating whorls of five each, and five carpels. The sepals are generally pointed, 
the petals rounded at the apex, and the latter are prolonged backward into spurs 
sometimes very long and straight, or in other species, such as our own A. vulgaris^ 
hooked at the extremity towards the central axis of the flower. Honey is only 
secreted in the lower part of these spurs, which commonly exceed fifteen millimetres, 
or three-fifths of an inch, in length, and are only just wide enough at the entrance to 
permit the insertion of the head of a humble-bee. Only the long-tongued genus 
Bombus can reach the honey ; but individual bees seem to discover the possibility of 
getting it by boring a hole through the base of the spur from the outside ; and the 
hive bee {Apis melltfica Linn6) will avail itself of holes so made. The stamens are 
protandrous and some of those towards the centre of the flower are aborted. 
In the fruit stage the flower-stalk ceases to droop, so that the follicles, then 
held erect, open only along the upper part of their inner sides, and, as the withered 
stalks are jerked stiffly by the wind, only a few at a time of the numerous black, 
shining, smooth seeds are thrown out. 
Our species, A. vulgaris Linn6, is absent from Scotland and the extreme north 
of the Continent ; but is abundant in woods in some parts of England, more 
especially, perhaps, on a calcareous sub-soil. When truly wild it is apparently 
either blue, dull purple, or white-flowered. It grows two or three feet high and 
bears a rosette of long-stalked root-leaves which are bi-ternate with three-lobed, 
crenate leaflets, glaucous above and sometimes hairy or reddish on their under 
sides. The stamens mature and dehisce in succession ; but the innermost ones 
are reduced to broad, wrinkled, white antherless filaments. The stout cylindrical 
follicles are hairy, apparently as a protection against the rotting action of rain-water, 
which does not wet them. 
Under cultivation Columbines exhibit a great variety of abnormal and double 
forms of flower ; and not only have several very beautiful long-spurred species 
been introduced into our gardens, but numerous hybrids have also been raised. 
The geographical distribution of the genus being what it is, it will be realised that 
these are hardy forms, an ordinary light moist garden soil being generally suitable 
for all of them. As Parkinson says, the Columbine has long been 
“ Carefully nursed up in our gardens for the delight both of its forme and colours.** 
