134 



THE SEED. 



[LESSON 21. 



of the small cone are few, and not very unlike the leaves (Fig. 265). 

 In Cypress they are very thick at the top and narrow at the base, so 

 as to make a peculiar sort of closed cone. In Juniper and Red Ce- 

 dar, the few scales of the very small cone become fleshy, and ripen 

 into a fruit which might be taken for a berry. 



LESSON XXI. 



THE SEED. 



366. THE ovules (323), when they have an embryo (or unde- 

 veloped plantlet, 16) formed in them, become seeds. 



367. The Seed, like the ovule from which it originates, consists 

 of its coats, or integuments, and a kernel. 



368. The Seed-COatS are commonly two (324), the outer and the 



inner. Fig. 315 shows the two, in a seed cut through 

 lengthwise. The outer coat is often hard or crustaceous, 

 whence it is called the Testa, or shell of the seed ; the 

 inner is thin and delicate. 



369. The shape and the markings, so various in dif- 

 ferent seeds, depend mostly on the outer coat. Sometimes it fits 



FIG. 314. Cone of Pitch-Pine (Pinus rigida). 



FIG. 315. Seed of Basswood cut through lengthwise: a, the hilum or scar; b, the outer 

 coat ; c, the inner ; d, the albumen ; e, the embryo. 



