THE STRAWBERRY 263 



its ancestors and take on new and strange cus- 

 toms unless it finds advantage in so doing. The 

 case of the strawberry is no exception. That this 

 plant is admirably adapted to its environment, 

 and for that matter to environment of great 

 diversity, is shown by the fact that strawberries 

 of one species or another grow in regions as 

 widely separated as Patagonia and Norway and 

 Alaska. 



And that the anomalous character of its fruit 

 has very distinct advantages is evidenced by 

 the fact that in all the diversified regions in 

 which it grows the strawberry holds to precisely 

 the same architectural scheme in the building 

 of its fruit. 



The leaves and stems and manner of growth of 

 the different species may vary considerably, al- 

 though even here there is no very wide diversity. 

 But as to fruit, every strawberry of whatever 

 species may be instantly recognized as a straw- 

 berry by the most casual observer. You may 

 never have seen the species before, but you could 

 not possibly mistake the fruit for the fruit of any 

 other tribe of plants. 



A pulpy berry with tiny seeds sprinkled over 

 it and only half imbedded in the pulp, like seed 

 on the frosting of a cake, is a strawberry and 

 nothing else. 



