96 STUDIES IN SEEDS AND FRUITS 



Stellaria Holostea Caryophyllaceae 



Swietenia Mahogani (Mahogany) Meliaceae 



* Tamarindus indica (Tamarind) Leguminosae 



Tamus communis Dioscoreae 



Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Buttneriae 



Vicia sativa Leguminosae 



RESULTS CONCERNING SOME OF THE ABOVE IMPERMEABLE AND 

 VARIABLE SEEDS FROM PROFESSOR EWART'S TABLES (Prise. 

 Roy. Soc. Viet. 1908). His results for seeds more than 1 5 or 

 1 6 years old are not given. 



Adenanthera pavonina, seeds 8 years old, swelled after riling. 



Albizzia Lebbek, seeds 1 1 years old, scratching needed for 

 germination. 



Canavalia gladiata, 10 years old, I out of 6 seeds required filing 

 for germination. 



Canavalia obtusifolia, 1 6 years old, required sulphuric acid for 

 germination. 



Erythrina indica, of 50 seeds, 8 years old, 6 swelled in water. 



Guilandina bonducella, seeds 15 years old, required the acid for 

 swelling. 



Leuctena glauca, seeds 1 5 years old, all swelled in water. 



Mucuna urens, 10 years old, required filing for swelling. 



Poinciana regia, 9 years old, outer skin impermeable until filed. 



imperme- Those who have studied the dispersal of seeds by the 



dispersal* by ocean-currents have laid stress on the circumstance that many 

 water. o f t h e seec } s capable of transportal over wide tracts of sea 



belong to leguminous plants ; and I need here only allude 

 to the circumstance that the four West Indian and Central 

 American seeds (Dioclea reflexa, Mucuna urens, Guilandina 

 bonducella, Entada scandens] that are most frequently stranded 

 intact on the western shores of Europe belong to this order. 

 When Professor Ewart remarked (p. 1 84) that " macro- 

 biotic " seeds show no special adaptation for dispersal and 

 that " none are wind or water-borne," he apparently had 

 forgotten that there are included in his list the seeds of plants 

 like Canavalia obtusifolia, Erythrina indica, and Guilandina 



* Tamarind seeds absorb water very slowly at first, requiring often an immersion of 

 a week or more before there is any marked increase in the weight. 



