SEEDS. ~07 



tinct from the embryo, and easily detached from it, 

 being external in the umbelliferous plant?, internal as 

 in Mirabilis, and unilateral as in Knotgrass and Pink. 

 It is farinaceous as in Mirabilis and in most of the 

 Grasses, and constitutes the nutritive portion of grain 

 Seeds with this kind of albumen frequently have the 

 embryo external, and as they contain no oil, they never 

 become rancid. More frequently the albumen is car 

 nose or fleshy, as in the Lime tree ; and sometimes it is 

 corneous, being very bard, and resembling a horn. 

 " It is wanting in several tribes of plants, as those 

 with compound or with cruciform flowers, and the 

 Cucumber or Gourd kind, according to Geertner. 

 Sorneft.w leguminous plants have it, and a ^reat number 

 of others which, like them, have cotyledons besides. 

 We are not however to suppose that so important an 

 organ is altogether wanting, even in the above men- 

 tioned plants. The farinaceous matter, destined to 

 nourish their embryos, is unquestionably lodged in 

 their cotyledons, whose sweet taste as they begin to 

 germinate, often evinces its presence, and that it has 

 undergone the same chemical change as in Barley. 

 The albumen of the Nutmeg is remarkable for its 

 eroded variegated appearance, and aromatic quality : 

 the cotyledons of this seed are very small."* 



Vitbllus. — This occurs between the embryo and al- 

 bumen, and is so closely connected with the former, 

 that it cannot easily be detached. It does not escape 

 from the shell during germination, nor does it become 

 a seminal leaf, but like the albumen it is entirely con- 

 verted into the nourishment of the young plant. In 

 some of the aquatic plants Ceratophylhim and Nelumbo 



* Smith. 



