Although in bloom from June to October, insects seldom visit it,
for it secretes very little, if any, nectar. As might be expected
in such a case, its stem is smooth.
When the amphibious WATER PERSICARIA (P. amphibium) lifts its
short, dense, rose-colored ovoid or oblong club of bloom above
ponds and lakes, it is sufficiently protected from crawling
pilferers, of course, by the water in which it grows. But suppose
the pond dries up and the plant is left on dry ground, what then?
Now, a remarkable thing happens: protective glandular, sticky
hairs appear on the epidermis of the leaves and stems, which were
perfectly smooth when the flowers grew in water. Such small
wingless insects as might pilfer nectar without bringing to their
hostess any pollen from other blossoms are held as fast as on
bird-lime. The stem, which sometimes floats, sometimes is
immersed, may attain a length of twenty feet; the rounded,
elliptic, petioled leaves may be four inches long or only half
that size. From Quebec to New Jersey, and westward to the
Pacific, the solitary, showy inflorescence, which does well to
attain a height of an inch, may be found during July and August.
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