222 OF THE VITELLUS, 



leaves, being destined solely to nourish the germi- 

 nating embryo, till its roots can perform their office. 

 In the Date Palm,/! \99, Ga!rtJie)\t. 9, this part is 

 nearly as hard as a stone; in Mlrabilis, E.vot. Bot. 

 t. 23, it is like wheat flour. It is wanting in several 

 tribes of plants, as those with compound, or with 

 cruciform flowers, and the Cucumber or Gourd 

 kind, according to Gaertner. Some few leguminous 

 plants have it, and a great number of others which, 

 like them, have cotyledons besides. We are not 

 however to suppose that so important an organ is 

 altoo:ether wanting, even in the above-mentioned 

 plants. The farinaceous matter, destined to nourish 

 their embryos, is unquestionably lodged in their 

 cotyledons, whose sweet taste as they begin to ger- 

 minate 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. 



Vitellus, the Yolk, first named and fully illus- 

 trated by Goertner, is less general than any of the 

 parts already mentioned. He characterizes it as very 

 firmly and inseparably connected with the Embryo, 

 yetnever rising out of the integuments of the seed 

 in germination, but absorbed, like the Albumen^ for 

 the nourishment of the Embryo. If the Albumen 

 be present, the Vitellus is always situated between 



