hortorum and muscorum, sucking the former in a proper manner, though they sometimes bite holes through the corolla. (1/5. H. Muller has also seen Anthophora pilipes and a Bombylius sucking the flowers. 'Nature' December 10, 1874 page 111.) No doubt moths likewise visit the flowers, as one of my sons caught Cucullia verbasci in the act. The pollen readily adheres to any thin object which is inserted into a flower. The anthers in the one form stand nearly, but not exactly, on a level with the stigma of the other; for the distance between the anthers and stigma in the short-styled form is greater than that in the long-styled, in the ratio of 100 to 90. This difference is the result of the anthers in the long-styled form standing rather higher in the tube than does the stigma in the short-styled, and this favours their pollen being deposited on it. It follows from the position of the organs that if the proboscis of a dead humble-bee, or a thick bristle or rough needle, be pushed down the corolla, first of one form and then of the other, as an insect would do in visiting the two forms growing mingled together, pollen from the long-stamened form adheres round the base of the object, and is left with certainty on the stigma of the long-styled form; whilst pollen from the short stamens of the long-styled form adheres a little way above the extremity of the object, and some is generally left on the stigma of the other form. In accordance with this observation I found that the two kinds of pollen, which could easily be recognised under the microscope, adhered in this manner to the proboscides of the two species of humble-bees and of the moth, which were caught visiting the flowers; but some small grains were mingled with the larger grains round the base of the proboscis, and conversely some large grains with the small grains near the extremity of the proboscis. Thus pollen will be regularly carried from the one form to the other, and they will reciprocally fertilise one another. Nevertheless an insect in withdrawing its proboscis from the corolla of the long-styled form cannot fail occasionally to leave pollen from the same flower on the stigma; and in this case there might be self- fertilisation. But this will be much more likely to occur with the short-styled form; for when I inserted a bristle or other such object into the corolla of this form, and had, therefore, to pass it down between the anthers seated round the mouth of the corolla, some pollen was almost invariably carried down and left on the stigma. Minute insects, such as Thrips, which sometimes haunt the flowers, would likewise be apt to cause the self-fertilisation of both forms.

The several foregoing facts led me to try the effects of the two kinds of pollen on the stigmas of the two forms. Four essentially different unions are possible; namely, the fertilisation of the stigma of the long-styled form by its own-form pollen, and by that of the short-styled; and the stigma of the short-styled form by its own-form pollen, and by that of the long-styled. The fertilisation of either form with pollen from the other form may be conveniently called a LEGITIMATE UNION, from reasons hereafter to be made clear; and that of either form with its own-form pollen an ILLEGITIMATE UNION. I formerly applied the term "heteromorphic" to the legitimate unions, and "homomorphic" to the illegitimate unions; but after discovering the existence of trimorphic plants, in which many more unions are possible, these two terms ceased to be applicable. The illegitimate unions of both forms might have been tried in three ways; for a flower of either form may be fertilised with pollen from the same flower, or with that from a another flower on the same plant, or with that from a distinct plant of the same form. But to make my experiments perfectly fair, and to avoid any evil result from self-fertilisation or too close interbreeding, I have invariably employed pollen from a distinct plant of the same form for the illegitimate unions of all the species; and therefore it may be observed that I have used the term "own-form pollen" in speaking of such unions.

Charles Darwin

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