390 SYSTEMATIC BOTANY 



and in it is embedded the embryo. At the base of 

 the nut are three round depressions one of which can 

 be easily pierced. 



Now the ovary has three cells, the ripe fruit only 

 one. This means that always two of the cells cease to 

 develop, but get squeezed to one side by the one cell 

 which does grow. The three depressions at the base 

 of the ripe nut correspond to the channels (vascular 

 bundles) through which water and nourishment pass up- 

 wards into it, but those which lead to the two abortive 

 cells become blocked with hard matter and so cannot 

 be pierced as easily as the one belonging to the fertile 

 cell. The nut, we see therefore, is part of the ovary 

 and is not a seed ; the seed is indistinguishable as 

 such, having grown and amalgamated with the wall of 

 the cell in which it lies. 



Outside the nut, is a thick fibrous covering which 

 is developed also from the ovary. When ripe this be- 

 comes very dry and contains spaces filled with air only, 

 which make the whole fruit very light for its size, so 

 that it floats easily in water. It may be for this 

 reason that Coco-nut palms are so widely distributed 

 and constantly found on sea-beaches of tropical coun- 

 tries and islands (p. 246). 



BORASSUS FLABELLIFER, L. 



The Palmyra or Toddy-palm occurs inland and in 

 Central India, where the Coco-nut is not grown. Its 

 dark-coloured stem, ringed with broad leaf-scars in 

 which, as in the Coco-nut, may be seen the scars of 

 the numerous vascular bundles that run from stem to 

 leaf, ends in a crown of broad digitately folded leaves. 

 This type of Palm leaf is known as the 'fan.' 



