THE CUCUMBER AND GOURD FAMILY 75 



necessarily be different at the two ends. Every coil has, there- 

 fore, a turning point in the middle (fig. 76, x). If a tendril 

 cannot find a support to coil round, it produces little disks from 

 its epidermis and fastens to any flat object, or it penetrates into 

 any crevices. In this way, the creeper fastens itself to various 

 objects within its reach, and as the corkscrew-like tendrils act 

 like springs, the wind or any shaking influence cannot easily 

 tear away the plant from its support. That part of the tendril 

 which holds the support soon hardens, thus preventing the tendril 

 from slipping and losing its support again. 



4. The Leaves are spirally arranged round the stem. But 

 as a plant that lies or creeps on the ground can receive light 

 only on one side of its stem, all its leaves should be directed to 

 that side. To this end the long leaf-stalks make all sorts of 

 turns and twists, thereby placing the leaves so that not one of 

 them shades the other. 



The leaves are h'oad and cordate (heart-shaped), the largest 

 measuring about five inches each way. If w^e remember how suc- 

 culent all the parts of the plant are and how much water it there- 

 fore requires, we can easily see the advantage the plant derives 

 from the largeness of its leaves. Large leaves cover more ground 

 than small ones; hence, they prevent evaporation of water from 

 the soil in a greater measure than could be done by smaller leaves. 



Large leaves are liable to be torn by the wind much more 

 easily than small ones; and in heart-shaped leaves like those of 

 the Cucumber the weakest part is the base. Therefore this parti- 

 cular part is specially strengthened: there are five or seven 

 strong ribs issuing from the base of the leaf like fingers from the 

 palm of the hand, and two of them form the margin of the leaves 

 for a small stretch like the hem of a garment. 



5. The Flowers rise singly or in small clusters from the 

 axils of the leaves. The calyx and the yellow corolla are com- 

 bined at their base. The corolla forms a five-lobed bell. So far, 

 all flowers of the plant are alike. But if we proceed to examine 

 their stamens and pistils, we find that most of the flowers have 

 only stamens (fig. 77, i), whilst some have only pistils (fig. 77, 2). 

 The former are known as staminate or male flowers, the latter as 



