John Burroughs, who included the blossoms of several trees in his
list of fragrant ones, found only thirty-odd species in New
England and New York.
Examine a well-developed ball of bloom on the button-bush under a
magnifying glass to appreciate its perfection of detail. After
counting two hundred and fifty minute florets, tightly clustered,
one's tired eyes give out. A honey-ball, with a well of nectar in
each of these narrow tubes, invites hosts of insects to its
hospitable feast; but only visitors long and slender of tongue
can drain the last drop, therefore the vicinity of this bush is
an excellent place for a butterfly collector to carry his net.
Butterflies are by far the most abundant visitors; honey-bees
also abound, bumblebees, carpenter and mining bees, wasps, a
horde of flies, and some destructive beetles; but the short
tongues can reach little nectar. Why do the pistils of the
florets protrude so far? Even before each minute bud opened, all
its pollen had been shed on the tip of the style, to be in a
position to be removed by the first visitor alighting on the ball
of bloom.
Pages:
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601