8o 



THE BOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



" pappus " of the Dandelion is a case in point. The wind wafts 



the fruits long distances, and this largely accounts for the wide- 



spread habit of the plant, and 

 indeed of many Composites, 

 e.g. Thistle, Groundsel, Knap- 

 weed, Burdock. 



Sometimes the styles become 

 the organ of dispersion through 

 the long hairs developed on 

 them. The Water Avens (Geum 

 rivale) has very hairy styles, 

 which no doubt serve to dis- 

 perse the fruits. Another 

 species of Geum growing at 

 high altitudes, as for instance 

 on Swiss mountains, also has 

 very long hairy almost silky, 

 styles. The most common 

 species in England, Geum 

 **. * hedgerow plant, 

 develops styles each of which 



ends in a hook, and this serves the same purpose of dispersion. 

 The fruits of the Clematis are too well known to need 



description, but that of the Anemone pulsatilla is much less 



common, and shows styles even more 



hairy than the Clematis. In this plant 



the flower-stalks lengthen after flowering, 



perhaps also to help in dispersion. In the 



common Wild Anemone the fruits are downy, 



but have not got the long feathery awns of 



the Anemone pulsatilla. In this connection 



the " awns " of the grasses may be men- 



tioned. The most remarkable instance of 



this is Stipa pennata, a species much used in 



decoration. The Cotton-Grass, really a sedge, 



has a perianth of long cotton-like hairs which aid in the dis- 



persion of the fruit. 



In many cases the hairs forming the organ of dispersion are 



f Water 



