66 



ACADEMIC BOTANY. 



Fig. 79— Plants, with Ivs. nnd fls , of Indian Lotus (A'ctara- 

 hivtm speciostim) : A, ripe fruit, consisting of the top-shaped 

 torus with many separate 1-seeded fruits (nuts) embedded in 

 its top. B, separate nut. C, same opened, showing the 

 2 large cup-shaped cot.vledons and the green leafy plumule 

 between them. All reduced. 



large green leaves, with a leaf-bud between them, thus being almost 

 viviparous (126). The fruity torus (A), which is supplied with 

 nourishing juices, 

 detaches itself from 

 its peduncle at ma- 

 t u r i t y and floats 

 away to found a new 

 colony. Meanwhile 

 the nuts sprout, still 

 feeding on this nour- 

 ishing mother ; so 

 that by the time she 

 reaches a barrier of 

 the mud in which 

 the plant delights, 

 her young ones are 

 ready to separate 

 from her and begin 

 an independent ex- 

 istence. The na- 

 ture-loving Hindoo 

 no doubt had dis- 

 cerned this high 

 character, preserved 

 perhaps through 

 millions of years ; for fresh-water plants keep their habits and features 



almost unchanged. And this is 

 probably the reason why the Lo- 

 tus Lily became the Eastern 

 emblem of Creation and Ma- 

 ternity. 



The Yonquapene {Nelumbium 

 luteum) of our Southern States, 

 introduced also into some North- 

 ern localities, is twin-sister to the 

 Eastern Lotus. The great Vic- 

 toria Lily of South America also 

 belongs in this Order. 



118. The Barberry (Fig. 

 5, 3) is in this Subdivis- 

 ion. Here is the Custard 

 Apple (Fig. 80); the Nut- 

 meg (Fig. 196); the Mag- 

 nolia (Fig. 133); the Caly- 

 canthus (Fig. 176). The 

 floral number is in these Orders Three, or some multiple 

 of three ; whilst the parts incline still more to be distinct 

 and free. 



Fio. 80.— Br., with Ivs. and fr, of Sour 

 Sop {Anona mvjricaia) ; fruit, veit. sec. 



