184 ESSENTIALS OF BOTANY 
Of what use are the sepals after drying up? Why do-the fruits 
cling to the plant long after ripening ? 
Carefully remove the sepals and examine the fruit within them. 
What is its color, size, and shape? Make a sketch of it as seen with 
the magnifying glass. Note the three tufted stigmas attached by 
slender threads to the apex of the fruit. What does their tufted 
shape indicate? 
What .evidence is there that this seed-like fruit is not really a 
seed ? 
Make a cross-section of a fruit and notice whether the wall of 
the ovary can be seen distinct from the seed-coats. Compare the 
dock fruit in this respect with the fruit of the buttercup shown in 
Fig. 186. Such a fruit as either of these is called an akene. 
