As certain insects prey upon plants or rob them of their nectar, so certain plants prey upon insects, literally eating them or absorbing them into their system. Best known among these are the [pitcher plants], a swamp species, whose leaves are pitcher-like and with a hood or awning over the top to keep out the rain; these leaves are half filled with a sweet fluid that attracts insects, makes them tipsy and causes their death in the watery grave, the plant feeding largely upon the resulting broth. Of another type is the [round-leaved sundew], also a common plant; its leaves are covered with short bristly hairs, a drop of gum glistening at the end of each. A fly investigating these is soon caught in the sticky gum and the leaf slowly folds together, enveloping the victim in what might be termed the stomach of the plant. Perhaps the most interesting and surely the most peculiar plant is the Venus fly-trap, which is found only in eastern North Carolina. At the end of each leaf is apparently a smaller one, perhaps an inch in diameter; this is fringed around the edge and rather bristly in the centre. These central bristles are very sensitive and if touched or an insect lights upon the leaf, the two parts of the leaf instantly clasp together on the central stem as a hinge. If nothing is caught, in a short time the trap opens again; if, however, the attempt has been successful it will remain closed for several days or a week, until the victim is entirely absorbed by the glands on the inner surface of the leaf.
As in the animal world, so in the plant world; always a struggle for existence, the strong surviving and the weak falling by the wayside. The old adage that “In union there is strength” is amply proved by many of the composite flowers, such as the [asters] and [goldenrods], whose stalks are not only capped with numerous flower-heads, but each flower-head is composed of hundreds of little perfect florets, so closely set together that even should an insect but crawl across the flower-head he will fertilize a number of them. That their plan is a good one is seen by the steady increase in the numbers of these flowers and the rapid strides with which they occupy new territory. On the other hand, compare such flowers as the [lady’s slippers], [fringed gentian] and numbers of others that are yearly becoming less common.
FLOWER GUIDE
WILD FLOWERS EAST OF THE ROCKIES
Grouped in their Natural Order as in the Latest Edition of Gray’s Botany
[CAT-TAIL FAMILY]
(Typhaceæ)
The members of this family are very abundant aquatic herbs with perennial roots. We have two species with differences as noted below. Both have staminate yellow flowers in a spike above pistillate brown ones; the former soon fall or blow away, while the latter develop into the large, familiar, brown cat-tail that is often used for decorative purposes.
(A) Common Cat-tail (Typha latifolia) has yellowish staminate flowers encircling the upper end of the flower stalk, and immediately below a long cylindrical mass of brownish pistillate ones. The pollen grains are arranged in fours. Leaves three to eight feet long, sheathing at the base. Found in marshes throughout the United States and southern Canada, flowering in June and July.
(B) Narrow-leaved Cat-tail (Typha angustifolia) has narrower leaves, averaging less than ¾ in. broad. The two kinds of flowers are separated by a bare space of stalk and the pollen grains are simple.