IQ4 Fruits and Seeds. 



a tuft or crown, which botanists term a " pappus." 

 Of this the Dandelion and John Go-to- Bed-at- 

 Noon, so called from its habit of shutting its flowers 

 about mid-day, are well-known examples. Tufts of 

 hairs, which are themselves sometimes feathered, are 

 developed in a great many flowers allied to the 

 Dandelion, though some as, for instance, the Daisy 

 and Lapsana are without them ; in some very 

 interesting species, of which the common Hawkbit 

 of our lawns and meadows is an example, there are 

 two kinds of fruits, as shown in fig. 76, b, one with 

 a pappus and one without. The former are adapted 

 to seek "fresh fields and pastures new," while the 

 latter stay and perpetuate the race at home. 



7. A more or less similar pappus is found among 

 various English plants in the Willow Herb (figs. 

 28 and 76, a), Hawkbit (fig. 76, b), Tamarix (fig. 

 76, <:), Willow (fig. 76, <f), Cotton Grass (fig. 76, e), 

 and Bullrush (fig. 76, /"); while in exotic species 

 there are many other cases as, for instance, the 

 beautiful Oleander. As in the wings, so also in 

 that of the pappus, it is by no means always the 

 same part of the plant which develops into the 

 crown of hairs. 



8. In other cases seeds are wafted by water. Of 

 this the Cocoa-nut is one of the most striking 

 examples. The seeds retain their vitality for a 

 considerable time, and the loose texture of the 

 husk protects them and makes them float. Every 

 one knows that the Cocoa-nut is one of the first 



