LIFE HISTORIES OF FAMILIAR PLANTS 



composed of numerous mimite flowers ; they differ, 

 though, from the catkins of the hazel and those 

 species considered in Chapter IV., in various ways. 

 Two examples are shown in Fig. ']'] (Plate 54). 

 The one on the left is fully developed, while the 

 one on the right has yet to complete its develop- 

 ment. It is obvious that the example on the left 

 is the golden or yellow ^^palm," and apparently 

 the example on the right is the grey or silver. 

 That is a point, though, to which I desire particu- 

 larly to call the reader's attention. 



A specimen such as that shown on the right or 

 the picture will, if its stem is placed in water for a 

 few days, develop into the golden or yellow form 

 shown on the left. There are, however, some of 

 the grey or silver forms that will never change 

 into the yellow kind; in Fig. ^% (Plate 55), an 

 example is shown. Here, again, on the left a 

 fully-developed specimen is figured and, on the 

 right, one at an earlier stage. Another point that 

 should be observed is that the fully-developed 

 silver '^ palm " is never found growing on the same 

 tree as the fully-developed yellow kind. Some- 

 times it may appear to be so, but a little obser- 

 vation will show that the apparent silver ^^palm " 

 is the undeveloped yellow like that on the 

 right of Fig. 'j'] (Plate 54). Indeed, a glance at 

 the examples figured in the two photographs 

 will demonstrate that the catkins are different in 

 form, even in their earlier stages, when they both 

 bear a grey or silvery appearance ; and yet they 

 come of identical species. What, then, is the 



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