i 
SPEAR-MIN'.. 73 
A much better example of this type of plants 1s the imtro- 
duced Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), an extremely common 
weed in grassy land throughout these islands. The floral 
clusters are subtended by large rounded bracts. The calyx 
is distinctly 2-lipped, the upper lip being flattened and 
8-toothed, and the lower 2-toothed. The purple corolla 1s also 
2-lipped, but the order is 
the reverse of that which 
prevails in the calyx. The 
4 stamens are didynamous, 
the anthers meeting in 
pairs, and having their 
cells diverging widely from 
one another. 
Vig. 186. Flower of Prunella, Fig. i387. Stamen 
from the front (mag.). of Prunella 
_ (mag.). 
Compare also, with these Thyme (Thymus), Marjoram 
(Origanum), Balm (Melissa), Horehound (Marrubiwm), or 
Lavender (Lavandula). | 
In Sage (Salvia officonalis) only two stamens are developed, 
and these have the connective produced into an elongated 
eurved arm, with an anther at each end, 
that at the upper end being fully developed, 
while the other is abortive. This is a con- 
trivance to insure the dusting of the pollen 
on to the back ot any in- 
sect entering the flower. If 
you look into a Salvia 
flower, you see the two pol- 
len-bearing anthers stand- 
ing up against the upper 
lip of the corolla: now 
thrust the blunt end of a 
pencil into the flower, and notice that as soon as the lower 
ends of the connectives are forced down the upper ends 
come forward and touch the pencil. Of course, if it were a 
bee instead of a pencil you can see that it would receive a 
dusting of pollen on its back. This peculiarity of structure 
is even better seen in the handsome red and blue Salvias 
(S. fulgens and S. patens) of the flower-border. 
Big. 138. Flower Jig.139. Stamen 
of Sage. of Sage (mag.). 
