Read it through once

The flower consists of three upright petals and three hollow sepals, which make so many canals leading down to the honey, and roofed over by an arched and coloured style. As the bee hurries down the canal to its nectar, its back is first brushed by a narrow lip-like stigma and then dusted with pollen. The leaves overlap in a curious way, and, when they have withered, their stringy remains serve to protect the fleshy stem. _Orris root_, which is used in perfumery, is the stem of the _Iris florentina_.