THE SEED. : 135 
521. Any enlargements of the testa in the vicinity of the 
hilum, or at the other extremity, are called caruncule, or 
_strophiole. 
522. Hairs on the testa, at any particular part, are term- 
ed Coma. In some cases, as the Cotton, the whole of its 
surface is covered with hairs. 
_ 523. The albumen forms a great part ofthe seed in mono- 
-cotyledonous plants: these have only one cotyledon, which 
is generally small, as in the Wheat and other Graminee, 
The albumen affords nourishment to the young embryo 
during the first stage of its growth, becoming soluble and of 
a saccharine nature. It is a store of nutritious matter, laid 
up during the growth of the ovule, being formed of that part 
of the liquor amnios, which was not required to bring the 
seed to perfection. The white matter in the Cocoa Nut is 
the albumen, and the fluid is the residue of the liquor am- 
nios, which is very plentiful i in this plant. 
_ 524, The albumen may, in general, be eaten with perfect 
safety, even in families of a dangerous nature, as the Eu- 
phorbiacew. In Wheat, Oats, and Barley, it consists ie 
cipally of starch and gluten, and is very wholesome. 
. 56. Fig. 57, 
525. The embryo is the organized body which lies inner- ee 
most, and is the essential part of the seed, being the proper 
rudiment or germ of the new plant. (See Figs. 56, 57). It 
consists of the cotyledons (¢ c), the gemmule or —_ 
and the radicle (). ee 
