Thus one may know
the age of a root by its seals, as one tells that of a tree by
the rings in its trunk.
The dingy little cylindric flowers, hidden beneath the leaves,
may be either self-pollenized or cross-pollenized by the
bumblebees to which they are adapted. "We may suppose," says
Professor Robertson, "that the pendulous position of the flowers
owes its origin to the fact that it renders them less convenient
to other insects, but equally convenient to the higher bees which
are the most efficient pollinators; and that the resulting
protection to pollen and nectar is merely an incidental effect."
Certain Lepidoptera, and small insects which crawl into the
cylinder, visit all the Solomon's seals.
The SMOOTH SOLOMON'S SEAL (P. commutatum; P.giganteum of Gray),
with much the same range as its smaller relative, grows in moist
woods and along shaded streams. It is a variable, capricious
plant, with a stout or slender stem, perhaps only one foot high,
or again towering above the tallest man's head; the oval leaves
also vary greatly in breadth and length; and a solitary flower
may droop from an axil, or perhaps eight dingy greenish cylinders
may hang in a cluster.
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