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The fruit of a Peaflower is a legume, a form of fruit so 

 well known to us in the Pea or Bean. On maturity, it 

 splits along one or both margins to expose the seeds. The 

 shape of the pod and the number of the seeds normally 

 present are of interest, and are used to help to arrange the 

 huge family of Peaflowers in groups. In Prickly Beauty 

 the pod is very small, nearly round, splits principally 

 along the upper margin, and contains only two seeds. 



Those who wish may note two details to assist in identi- 

 fying the genus to which Prickly Beauty belongs, namely, 

 Pultenaea. In many plants, at the base of the stalk of the 

 leaf there is a pair of processes, arranged one on each side. 

 They may be in form anything from large and leaflike to 

 little spines or tubercules. They are called stipules. In 

 the genus to which Prickly Beauty belongs stipules are 

 generally, but not always, present, but when they are 

 they are always small, brown, spiney bodies, and in this 

 form they appear here. But a more constant mark of a 

 Pultenaea is that there are two little stipule-like bracts, 

 called bracteoles, placed upon the calyx. 



Peaflowers appear to be especially constructed to make 

 use of the visits of large insects, such as bees, for purposes 

 of cross-fertilisation. In the centre of the flower, around 

 the base, of the pistil, a sugary fluid is secreted. A bee 

 in search of this alights on the keel, and in struggling to 

 reach this nectar it depresses the point of the keel; the 

 anthers and stigma immediately jump up, with the result 

 that the pollen is dusted on the under part of its body- 

 When the bee visits another flower the process recurs, 

 with the result that the stigma is dusted with the pollen 

 it brought with it. It will be readily preceived there is 

 nothing in this to prevent the pollen of its own flower 

 getting on the stigma. This really occurs, and effects 

 fertilisation if no foreign pollen is present. Here comes 

 in one of the provisions . to prevent self -fertilisation. Its 

 own pollen acts very slowly, and if not given too long a 

 start the much more rapid developing foreign pollen over- 

 takes it, and fertilises the ovules. This selection of one 

 pollen over another is called prepotency. 



There is a small family, to which our Love creeper 

 belongs, whose flowers at first sight resemble Peaflowers. 

 But it is only a general resemblance; they are really not 

 at all alike and the fruit is not a legume. They will be 

 dealt with later. 



It would be a natural conclusion that plants related to 

 -one another should have similar fruits, and conversely that 



