14 Plants and their Ways in South Africa 



near the lower end of their ^sterns. Were these found in the 

 calabash seeds ? How is the plumule brought above ground m 

 the broad bean V 



"April Fool " seeds (Hiemanthus) may not wait to be 

 planted. The juicy berries within which they grow supply 

 moisture, and after sufficient time for ripening they germinate 



Fig. 20. — Bean seedlings. 



of themselves. As growth begins the root is pushed out by the 

 cotyledon, the tip of which, remaining in the seed, absorbs 

 the stored food until the root is old enough to reach the soil 

 and do its work. After a few days the plumule thrusts up 

 its head through a slit in the base of the cotyledon. \\'hen 

 planted, does the tip of the cotyledon come above the soil ? 

 While studying the germination of April Fool seeds, com- 



