DODDER AND BROOMRAPE. 129 



derive nutriment from the stouter stem with 

 no expense to itself, and it might naturally 

 be expected to grow strong and healthy, and 

 hand down its peculiarities to its descend- 

 ants. As the leaves would thus be rendered 

 needless, they would first become very much 

 reduced in size, and would finally disappear 

 altogether, according to the universal custom 

 of unnecessary organs. So we should get 

 at length a leafless plant, with numerous 

 flowers and seeds, just like the dodder. 

 Parasites, in fact, whether animal or veget- 

 able, always end by becoming mere repro- 

 ductive sacs, mechanisms for the simple 

 elaboration of eggs or seeds. This is just 

 what has happened to the dodder before me. 

 The other queer plant here is a broom 

 rape. It consists of a tall, somewhat faded- 

 looking stem, upright instead of climbing, 

 and covered with brown or purplish scales 

 in the place of leaves. Its flowers resemble 

 the scales in colour, and the dead-nettle 

 in shape. It is, in fact, a parasitic dead- 



K 



