362 



STUDIES IN SEEDS AND FRUITS 



failures are indicated when seeds, though actually in contact, are 

 separated in a sense by a slight contraction of the pod, suggest- 

 ing, as I would suppose, the existence of a rudimentary ovule in 

 the flower which has disappeared in the fruit. The constriction 

 of legumes is so generally associated with the early failure of 



Erythrina 

 corallodendron 



SOPHORA 

 TOMENTOSA 



Diagram of a seven-seeded dry 

 pod, showing also six aborted 

 seeds in the broader necks : 

 drawn to a true scale. 



Diagram of a portion of a green 

 pod, showing the effect of failure 

 of the seeds on the form of the 

 fruit. The pod has not begun to 

 dry, and the seeds are soft and 

 large : drawn to a true scale. 



ovules and young seeds that one would be scarcely justified in 

 regarding a slight contraction as belonging to another order of 

 things. Single-seeded fruits are spindle-shaped and contain 

 the remains of at least six or eight seeds that failed in an early 

 stage of their growth. When examining these pods I had no 

 opportunity of inspecting the flowers ; but I should imagine 

 that the average ovular complement would be twenty, though 



