I'KOTECTIUX OK Kirr.MV. SEEDS MSAINST LNIMALS. 



143 



able morsels Bor animals. A less common t lition, and one deserving of special 



mention, occurs in Beveral Mimosas belonging t<> the immediate alliance 01 the 

 Sensitive 1'lant (e.g. Mimosa pudica, M. polycarpa, M. hwpwfoda)-, of these the 



last-named may serve as type (see tie-. -'i:'.!! 1 >. Th.- poils here an- . l.-nsely crowded 

 together, and their dorsal and ventral sutures form a strong framework bearing a 

 double row of short spines. These spines hinder all animals from interfering with 



Fig. 337.— Coniferous Fruits and Seeds. 



> Branch of the Larch (Larix Europaa) with ripe cone. 2 Branch of Pimis serotina with ripe cone. s Female Bower 

 ■ ■i the Cypress. * Longitudinal section of the same. 5 Ripe cone of the Cypress (Cuprexsus sempervirens). 6 Single carpel 

 of the Cypress with numerous ovules. " Branch of Gingko biloba with unripe fruit. 1. -. b . " natural size. The other 

 Agares enlarged. 



the fruits. As the seeds ripen, the valves fall away from their spiny framework, 

 and are, with their contained seeds, dispersed by the wind. As a rule, the valves 

 break up at this time into one-seeded segments (fig. 339 1 ), and being very light in 

 proportion to their area, are carried considerable distances. 



In the instances just enumerated the protection is provided only up to the time 



that the s Is an- ripe. With the severance of the seeds from the parent plant the 



protective function of the spines is at an end. The spinose investment as a rule 

 remains upon the plant, and only rarely, as in the winged fruit of Centrolobium 

 robustum (see fig. 339 5 ), does the thorny ovary wall (pericarp) become detached 

 with its contained seed. Under these circumstances the spines may play a further 



