. Plant life and plant uses; an elementary textbook, a foundation for the study of agriculture, domestic science or college botany. Botany. 312 FLOWERS. As to the sense of smell, however, insects are very keen. Fragrant flowers which are inconspicuous are visited much more than are showy ones which have no odor. Night- flying moths locate flowers readily by their fragrance, and there are some flowers which open and give out their fragrance only at night; the moonflower and night-blooming cereus are famous for this. There is reason to believe that many insects detect odors which we are quite un
. Plant life and plant uses; an elementary textbook, a foundation for the study of agriculture, domestic science or college botany. Botany. 312 FLOWERS. As to the sense of smell, however, insects are very keen. Fragrant flowers which are inconspicuous are visited much more than are showy ones which have no odor. Night- flying moths locate flowers readily by their fragrance, and there are some flowers which open and give out their fragrance only at night; the moonflower and night-blooming cereus are famous for this. There is reason to believe that many insects detect odors which we are quite unable to per- ceive. The skunk cabbage and the carrion-flower have decidedly disagreeable odors. These odors, like those of decaying flesh, are at- tractive to flies. c. Examples. — In their relation to insects there is a general difference between flowers with actinomorphic (regular) corollas and those with zygoihorphic (irregular) ones (see page 287). The former generally have a con- siderable variety of insect visitors, while the visitors of the latter are more limited as to kinds. It is among zygomorphic flowers that we find those highly specialized forms which make pollination possible by certain insects only. Flowers with regular corollas and spreading perianths, like buttercups or wild roses or apple blossoms, are open to all comers. Their pollen and their nectar may be Fig. 132. — A flower of Petunia visited by a hawk moth. Note the long corolla tube of the flower, and the long mouth part of the Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Coulter, John G. (John Gaylord), b. 1876. New York, American Book Co
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectbotany, bookyear1913
