432 HYPERTROPHY. 
of pea with pods double the ordinary size.’ M. Clos” 
mentions a case wherein the carpels of Delphinium 
dictyocarpum were hypertrophied. The change in size 
may or may not be attended by a difference in form ; 
thus, in certain Leguminose, as Medicago lupulina, Meli- 
lotus leucantha, the carpels are sometimes hypertrophied 
and elongated, so as to resemble a claw or hook.’ 
The fruit of the common groundsel (Senecio vul- 
garis) is In its normal condition two or three times 
shorter than the involucre, and cylindrical for its whole 
length, but it frequently happens that the fruits be- 
come as long as the involucre itself, and taper from the 
base upwards, so as to become beaked. Under this 
head may also be mentioned the fleshy bulbils that are 
found in the capsules of Crinum, Amaryllis, and Agave. 
These are true seeds enormously dilated.* In these 
seeds the outer coating becomes very thick and fleshy, 
and is traversed by spiral vessels. 
It is obvious that very important results in a practical 
pomt of view may be and have been arrived at by 
cultivators availing themselves of this tendency of 
plants to increase in dimensions under certain circum- 
stances. It is needless to do more than refer to the 
many fruits, vegetables, and cereals, which have thus 
become enlarged and improved by careful selection and 
rearing. 
Alterations of consistence often accompany changes im 
size. The change may be one whereby the tissues 
become unusually hardened, by the excessive formation 
of secondary woody deposits, or softer and more suc- 
culent than ordinary, from the formation of an in- 
ordinate amount of loose cellular tissue. Generally 
1 «Ann. Soc. Linn..,’ Paris, t. i, p. 139. 
2 *Mém. Acad. Toulouse,’ t. 6, 1862. 
3 *T). C. Prod.,’ ii, pp. 172, 187. 
* Richard, “ Obs. sur les bulbilles des Crinum ;” ‘Ann. Se. Nat.,’ t. ii, 
p02) pl. a) viel; 2c see also A, Braun, “ Mémoire sur les graines 
charnues des “Amaryllidées,” &e.; ‘Ann. Sc. Nat.,’ 1860, vol. xiv, p. 1, 
tab. 1. 
a 
