290 OF THE ALBUMEN, 



neither rises out of the ground, nor per- 

 forms the proper functions of a Cotyledon, 

 for what these plants produce is, from the 

 first, a real leaf; or, if the plant has no 

 leaves, the rudiment of a stern, as in Cus- 

 cuta. In either case, the part produced is 

 solitary, never in pairs ; hence Gcertner 

 was led to reckon Cyamas Nelumbo, Exot. 

 Bot. t. 31, 32, among the monoeotyle- 

 donous plants, the body of its seed remain- 

 ing in the earth, and the leaves springing 

 one at a time from the Embryo, just as in 

 the Date Palm, Wheat, Barley, &c. 



The Seed-lobes of Mosses, according to 

 the observations of Hedwig, Fund, part 2. 

 t. 6; are above all others numerous and 

 subdivided, as well as most distinct from 

 the proper leaves ; so that these plants are 

 very improperly placed by authors among 

 such as have no Cotyledons, a measure 

 originating probably in theory and ana- 

 logical reasoning rather than observation. 



Albumen, the While, is a farinaceous, 

 fleshy, or horny substance, which makes up 

 the chief bulk of some seeds, as Grasses, 



