SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR PREVENTING TRANSPORTATION 111 



ovarian wall is edible, its endocarp becoming a putamen. In the lemon 

 (Fig. 329), the papaw (Fig. 309), and the pumpkin it is the inner portion 

 which is edible, while the outer is not. In the watermelon the placentae 

 comprise almost the whole of the edible portion (Fig. 312), while in the 

 tamarind it is the middle layer of the ovary (Fig. 307). 



Edible Portions Not Pertaining to the Flower. — In all of the above- 

 mentioned cases it is some one or more of the parts of the flower which 

 eventually forms the edible pericarp, but there are numerous cases in 

 which other parts of the plant contribute to or form the whole of such 

 portion. In the Cashew (Fig. 306) the ovary (o) enlarges but little, 

 while the pedicel (fc) undergoes a great enlargement and becomes 

 edible. In the cactus (Fig. 2S1) the end of the branch is hollowed out 

 and the wall so formed becomes the edible pericarp of a single flower. 

 In the fig (Fig. 311) we have a similar hollowed branch, but instead of 

 being occupied by a single flower, the wall is lined by a great number of 

 them. 



Miscellaneous Methods of Transportation. — Besides the more common 

 methods of seed distribution referable to the pericarp, which are thus 

 subject to classification, we find numerous special de\ices which cannot 

 here be enumerated in detail. Fruits which grow beside or in the 

 vicinity of streams or other bodies of water are commonly adapted in 

 some way for using the latter as a A'ehicle for transportation. They are 

 frequently of a rounded form and of considerable weight, so that upon 

 falling they will roll into the water, where they are then enabled to 

 float by N'irtue of low specific gra^•ity, due often to the presence in them 

 of large ca\ities, as in the case of the cocoanut. The pericarp is in such 

 cases usually furnished with some means of protection against the action 

 of the water. The fruit of a species of Arena is so constructed that by 

 the change of form and position of its long awns in dry and wet weather, 

 respectively, it is enabled to tra\"el. 



Special Provisions for Preventing Transportation. — Finally, we must 

 note that some fruits are protected by special devices against trans- 

 portation. Thus, the mangrove possesses a seed which germinates while 

 still attached to its parent and which does not sever its connections 

 therewith until the young plant has descended many feet and fixed 

 itself into the mud below. The peanut, after anthesis, drives its ovary 

 beneath the surface of the soil, where its fruit is developed (Fig. 313). 

 Plants possessing such habits are always highly gregarious, occupying 

 the ground to the exclusion of all other species, thus securing their 

 perpetuation even while their dissemination is prevented. The high 



