BEBBIUS 



277 



cohosh (common in woods) and the golden -seal, 



or hydrastis, have berries or drupelets. All these 



are ranunculaceous plants. A still greater range 



is found in the rose family, of 



which one interesting case may 



be mentioned. The peach is 



esteemed for the pulp of the 



thickened pericarp, but the seed 



is inedible. The almond, which 



is so closely akin that there has 



been serious discussion as to 



whether it may not be the 



original form of the peach, is 



prized for its sweet seed, but the 



pericarp is hard and woody, and 



often dehisces like a pod! From 



all these examples it would seem 



that the nature or character of 



the fruit is a very specialized 



feature of the particular plant. 



327. Berries are usually ripened 

 pistils, or at least ovaries, but other parts of 

 the floral structure may be inseparably united 

 with the ovary in baccate fruits, or the berry may 

 be even a ripened seed. An example of the 

 latter is afforded by the blue cohosh, a small 

 perennial herb growing in woods. The ovary is 

 2-ovuled, but the enlargement of these ovules, 



