270 LESSON'S WITH PLANTS 



of the mignonette is perfectly 1-loculed. We have 

 also observed the various and sometimes undefina- 

 ble dehiscence of pods, and have found that some 

 fruits which are so much like pods that they are 

 called pods by botanists are wholly indehiscent, and 

 that even • legumes may be indehiscent. "We are 

 thus impressed with the fact that names and 

 definitions are merely convenient means of designat- 

 ing a few of the most pronounced features of 

 plants, and do not necessarily represent structures 

 which are typical or fundamental in the plant 

 kingdom. 



Suggestions. — We will now be interested in finding, non-typioal, 

 or, rather, undefined, methods of dehiscence. We should also look 

 for gradations between simple and compound capsular fruits. One 

 of the best examples is to compare the simple follicles of colum- 

 bine (Fig. 247) or larkspur with the loosely compound pods or 

 capsules of the closely related nigella, or love-in-a-mist. The 

 nigella is an easily grown annual, and seeds may be secured from 

 any seedsman. It is an anomaly in the crowfoot family, because 

 its follicles are grown together for the greater part of their length, 

 making a true capsule. 



LI. KEY -FRUITS 



319. The pupil's attention has been directed to 

 the flowers of the maple (Fig. 211) . If he were 

 to examine the ovary in a maple flower, he would 

 find it to be 2-lobed and 2-loculed, with two ovules 



