2 84 STUDIES IN SEEDS AND FRUITS 



Excellent illustrations of the fruits of Ravenala are given 

 by Schumann in his monograph on the Musaceae (Das 

 Pflanzenreich^ iv. 45). He, however, figures only the dry 

 fruit, as his description of eine holzige Kapsel would also imply. 

 The ripe fruit before dehiscence is yellowish and moist, and 

 it is only when it dehisces, dries, and turns brown that the 

 woody texture is disclosed. 



The contrast above drawn in the case of such different 

 kinds of capsular fruits as Momordka^ with 95 per cent, of 

 water. Mahogany, with about 66 per cent., and Ravenala^ with 

 about 62 per cent., leads one to compare these extreme examples 

 with other capsules as regards their water -contents. The 

 subject is discussed for fruits in general in the following 

 chapter. The data tabulated below are merely intended to 

 illustrate the great variation in the amount of water held 

 by capsular fruits when full-grown, and before they begin 

 to dehisce and dry, the seeds being for the convenience 



* The seeds are here included, but their influence on the total result is small. 



