2OO Fruits and Seeds. 



first class belong, among our common English plants, 

 the Burdock (fig. 78, a) ; Agrimony (fig. 78, b) ; the 

 Bur Parsley (fig. 78, c) ; Enchanter's Nightshade 

 (fig. 78, d) ; Goose Grass or Cleavers (fig. 78, e) ; 

 and some of the Forget-me-nots (fig. 78,/). The 

 hooks, moreover, are so arranged as to promote the 

 removal of the fruits. In all these species the hooks, 

 though beautifully formed, are small ; but in some 

 foreign species they become truly formidable. Two 

 of the most remarkable are represented above, 

 Martynia proboscidea (fig. 79, b) and Harpagophyton 

 procumbens (fig. 79, a). Martynia is a plant of 

 Louisiana, and if its fruits once get hold of an 

 animal it is most difficult to remove them. Har- 

 pagophyton is a South African genus. The fruits 

 are most formidable, and are said sometimes even 

 to kill lions. They roll about over the dry plains, 

 and if they attach themselves to the skin, the 

 wretched animal tries to tear them out, and some- 

 times getting them into its mouth perishes miserably. 



