A mass of pulp between
anthers and stigma prevents any of the flower's own pollen from
self-fertilizing it. These little blossoms, barely half an inch
long, with their ingenious mechanism to compel
cross-fertilization, repay the closest study.
At midnight the leaves of the ground-nut.and wild bean "are
hardly to be recognized in their queer antics," says William
Hamilton Gibson. "The garden beans too play similar pranks. Those
lima bean poles of the garden hold a sleepy crowd."
PINE SAP; FALSE BEECH-DROPS; YELLOW BIRD'S-NEST
(Hypopitis Hypopitis; Monolropa Hypopitis of Gray) Indian-pipe
family
Flowers - Tawny, yellow,ecru, brownish pink, reddish, or bright
crimson, fragrant, about 1/2 in. long; oblong bell-shaped; borne
in a one-sided, terminal, slightly drooping raceme, becoming
erect after maturity. Scapes: Clustered from a dense mass of
fleshy, fibrous roots; 4 to 12 in. tall, scaly bracted, the
bractlets resembling the sepals. Leaves: None.
Preferred Habitat - Dry woods, especially under fir, beech, and
oak trees.
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