50 THE GARDEN OF EARTH 



The question of their seeds is interesting, because 

 from them come many of our favourite fruits. And 

 though they are so nearly related, they differ oddly in 

 the manner in which those fruits grow and ripen. 



For instance, with the Strawberry flower. Within 

 its clustering stamens are several pistils, each of which 



FRAGARIA VESCA (Wood Strawberry). 



has its own stigma, its own style, its own ovary, the 

 last-named holding one tiny beginning of a seed. 



As time goes on, the petals having done their work 

 fade and drop off, and the sepals close in around the 

 young fruit. This fruit really is the receptacle of the 

 flower; a sort of tiny cushion, from which the pistils 

 grew. It begins to swell, and gets gradually larger and 

 larger. Later on it also gets rosier and rosier. 



