1 70 PLANT BIOLOGY 



Gymnospermous Fruits. In pine, spruces, and their kin, 

 there is no fruit in the sense in which the word is used 

 in the preceding pages, because there is no ovary. The 

 ovules are naked or uncovered, in the axils of the scales of 

 the young cone, and they have neither style nor stigma. 

 The pollen falls directly on the mouth of the ovule. The 

 ovule ripens into a seed, which is usually winged. Because 

 the ovule is not borne in a sac or ovary, these plants are 

 called gymnosperms (Greek for "naked seeds"). All the 

 true cone-bearing plants are of this class; also certain 

 other plants, as red cedar, jumper, yew. The plants are 

 monoecious or sometimes dioecious. The staminate flowers 

 are mere naked stamens borne beneath scales, in small 

 yellow catkins which soon fall. The pistillate flowers are 

 naked ovules beneath scales on cones that persist (Fig. 

 29). Gymnospermous seeds may have several cotyledons. 



SUGGESTIONS. 168. Study the following fruits, or any five fruits 

 chosen by the teacher, and answer the questions for each : Apple, 

 peach, bean, tomato, pumpkin. What is its form ? Locate the 

 scar left by the stem. By what kind of a stem was it attached ? 

 Is there any remains of the blossom at the blossom end? De- 

 scribe texture and color of surface. Divide the fruit into the seed 

 vessel and the surrounding part. Has the fruit any pulp or flesh? 

 Is it within or without the seed vessel? Is the seed vessel simple 

 or subdivided? What is the number of seeds? Are the seeds 

 free, attached to the wall of the vessel, or to a support in the 

 center? Are they arranged in any order? What kind of wall has 

 the seed vessel? What is the difference between a peach stone 

 and a peach seed? 169. The nut fruits are always available for 

 study. Note the points suggested above. Determine what the 

 meat or edible part represents, whether cotyledons or not. Figure 

 248 is suggestive. 170. Mention all the fleshy fruits you know, 

 tell where they come from, and refer them to their proper groups. 

 171. What kinds of fruits can you buy in the market, and to what 

 groups or classes do they belong? Of which ones are the seeds 

 only, and not the pericarps, eaten ? 172. An ear of corn is always 

 available for study. What is it a fruit or a collection of fruits ? 

 How are the grains arranged on the cob ? How many rows do 

 you count on each of several ears ? Are all the rows on an ear 



