114 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



serves the same purpose of bridging over an adverse sea- 

 son. 



The mention of the seed brings us to the consideration 

 of another feature of the leaf^one of the most wonderful 

 of all — and that is, its metamorphosis into the flower. 

 The popular idea is that leaf and flower are fundamentally 

 distinct, and we cannot wonder at this when, for instance, 

 to take a present example, we see the broad, fan-like 

 leaves of the horse chestnut and comjjare them with the 

 tall, snow^y plume of its flowers, or when we contrast the 

 simple foliage of the rose with its finest blooms. The bot- 

 anist, however, will tell us, and be able to prove to us, if 

 we be intelligent enough to follow him, that ever}' blossom 

 is built up of modified leaves, i. e., leaves which in process 

 of time have gradually changed both form and function, 

 until from simple flowers like the Richardia, in which we 

 see, as it v\^ere, a step, more and more complex ones have 

 arisen, until all indications of origin appear to be lost. 

 Flowers, however, occasionally hark back, some of their 

 parts or organs assuming green and leafy forms, and in so 

 doing give clues to their genesis. 



When, too, we consider the general sameness of func- 

 tion in leaves — i. e., to catch as much sunlight and absorb 

 as much carbonic acid as possible, we fail to be struck by 

 their infinite diversity of form, even though we take into 

 account the necessity of great modifications to enable 

 plants to live in the equalW varied environments w^hich 

 land and water present. Finally, amid the marvels of leaf 

 formation, we must not omit to mention the presence 

 within some of them, perhaps in far more of them than we 

 imagine, of nerves and muscles, however differently these 

 may be constituted from those of animals. It suffices to 

 mention the sensitive plant and Venus' flytrap to bring 

 this fact to mind ; while a very little study of climbing 

 vines with twisting stems and tendrils wall show to us, as 

 they did to Darwin, that plants are by no means the sense- 

 less things they are usually regarded as being.— Journal 

 of Horticulture. 



