THE BINDWEED FAMILY 345 



lower end fastens itself to the soil. As the seedling contains 

 little or no* chlorophyll, and does not produce cotyledons, it 

 obviously must cease to grow as soon as the reserve material 

 contained in the seed is exhausted, unless it has by this time 

 come in contact with some other plant, from which it can 

 obtain nourishment. If, within four or five days after 

 germination, it does not meet with some support, the filament 

 falls to the ground, but may retain its vitality there for 

 several weeks, " waiting for something to turn up." Extra- 

 ordinary as it may appear, the dodder seems to be quite 

 unable to put out suckers or rootlets of any kind to obtain 

 nourishment from the damp earth. Should, however, it touch 

 a living plant in the course of its gyrations, it makes two or 

 three coils round it. It is apparently able to distinguish 

 between a dead and a living support. Wherever a coil 

 touches its prop, a row of small protuberant suckers appears, 

 which forces itself into the tissues of the host, and extracts 

 nutriment from it. When this attachment is made, the 

 portion of the plant below the lowest series of suckers, dies. 

 It has now severed its connection with the ground. If it has 

 the good fortune to find a host with juicy tissues, it quickly 

 puts forth a net-work of intertwining threads and tendrils, 

 that justify the name of " Hell-bind," sometimes given to it. 

 The development of Cassytha p. 177 is very similar to that of 

 Cuscuta. 



Cuscuta densiflora (The Dense-flowered Cuscuta). 

 A small plant, with matted, thread-like stems, and crowded racemes of 

 flowers, J in. long. It is found only in the South Island, and much resembles 

 the Brazilian C. racemosa. Port Underwood, South Island. 



