246 GLIMPSES INTO PLA XT-LIFE 



That charming Alpine plant Lhimea borcalis 

 has a pair of bracts closely adherent to the fruit 

 and these bracts are covered with stalked glands 

 of a stick)' nature, so that when an animal, bird, 

 or e\en a passing moth brushes against the little 

 fruits they stick to the intruder and are thus borne 

 awa)^ Now it may perhaps occur to the thought- 

 ful reader that the Linna^a seed-vessel, being part 

 of a growing plant, w^ould not readily break off 

 with a slight touch, but it is another instance of 

 that consummate skill and arrangement that is so 

 apparent to the close observer. In the stalk of the 

 little fruit there is a special separating layer ^ 

 (analogous to that of the falling leaf which we 

 noted in a previous chapter), and at this point the 

 fruit readily separates if the slightest pressure is 

 brought to bear upon it. This example is typical 

 of what takes place in such plants as Salvia 

 gluti)iosa and Plumbago capcnsis and Rosea. As a 

 contrast to these various modes of dispersion I 

 may mention those seed-vessels which are actually 

 buried by the plants themselves, such as the 

 ground-nut, ivy-leaved toadflax, and others. We 



' Called bolanically an "absciss layer." 



