38 Kennert : Seeds and Seedlings of Arisaema 



cotyl, in this case, increases in size at first without sending up a 

 plumule, and it is only after the seedling has exhausted the entire 

 food supply of the endosperm and has separated from the seed 

 that the plumule appears. 



Like A. tripliyllum the Indian species, A. flavurn, follows the 

 normal type of germination, and its plumule arises shortly after 

 the hypocotyl emerges from the seed. The seedling is only about 

 one half the size of that of A. tripliyllum. 



As the general structure of the seedling of A. triphyllum re- 

 sembles most closely that displayed by A. Dracontium, this species 

 was chosen as a basis for comparison in the study of the curious 

 variations of A. Dracontmvi. 



The fruits of A. Dracontmvi and A. triphylliini are very simi- 

 lar. In both the scarlet berries, which have a sweetish, slightly 

 acrid taste, are closely crowded upon the spadix. The berries of 

 A. Draconthun are larger and fleshier than those of A. tripJiyllum 

 and contain from three to six seeds, while those of A. triphyllum 

 are one- or three- seeded. In shape the seeds of both are some- 

 what ovoid. At the hilum, the seed of A. Dracontitini is generally 

 puckered into two or three ridges and the short stalk of the funic- 

 ulus is conspicuous, while in A. triphyllum the seed is flattened in 

 the hilar region, but also bears a prominent funiculus. Elsewhere 

 the seeds are well rounded, except when flattened by the pressure 

 of other seeds in the same berry. Both seeds bear a rudimentary 

 aril which consists of a small disc-shaped fleshy mass situated imme- 

 diately inside the coats at the hilar end of the seed, and extending 

 as a core down the funiculus. The average size of the seeds of A. 

 Dracontium is 3.5 mm. in transverse and 4.25 mm. m longitudinal 

 diameter, while the average seed of A. triphyllum is 4 mm. in trans- 

 verse and 3.5 mm. in longitudinal diameter, almost exactly revers- 

 ing the proportions of A. Dracontium. When only a few are pro- 

 duced in a berry, the seeds of A. Dracontium are larger in both 

 axes than those of A. triphyllum, which develop singly. When, 

 however, a number of seeds mature in the same berry they develop 

 in such a position as to exert a lateral pressure upon each other 

 and in consequence the transverse diameter remains shorter. In 

 these cases the seeds of A. Dracontium do not attain the size of 

 even the smallest of A. triphyllum. On the whole, however, A. 



