Fruits and Seeds. 



205 



6. Or let us take one natural order. That of the 

 Roses is particularly interesting. In the genus 

 Genm the fruit is provided with hooks ; in Dryas it 

 terminates in a long feathered awn, like that of 

 Clematis. On the other hand, several genera have 

 edible fruits ; but it is curious that the part of a 

 plant which becomes fleshy, and thus tempting to 

 animals, differs considerably in the different genera. 

 In the Blackberry, for instance, and in the Rasp- 

 berry, the carpels constitute the edible portion. 

 When we eat a Raspberry we strip them off, and 

 leave the receptacle (the white fleshy part) behind ; 

 while in the Strawberry the receptacle constitutes 

 the edible portion the carpels are small, hard, and 

 closely surround the seeds. In these genera the 



