96 STUDIES IN SEEDS AND FRUITS 



Stellaria Holostea Caryophyllaceae 



Swietenia Mahogani (Mahogany) Meliaceae 



* Tamarindus indica (Tamarind) Leguminosae 

 Tamus communis Dioscoreae 

 Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Buttneriae 

 Vicia sativa Leguminosae 



Results concerning some of the above Impermeable and 

 Variable Seeds from Professor Ewart's Tables (Proc. 

 Roy. Soc. Vict. 1908). His results for seeds more than 15 or 

 16 years old are not given. 



Admanthera pavonina^ seeds 8 years old, swelled after filing. 



Albizzia Lebhek^ seeds 1 1 years old, scratching needed for 

 germination. 



Canavalia gladiata, 10 years old, I out of 6 seeds required filing 

 for germination. 



Canavalia obtusifolia, 16 years old, required sulphuric acid for 

 germination. 



Erythrina indica, of 50 seeds, 8 years old, 6 swelled in water. 



Guilandina bonducella, seeds 15 years old, required the acid for 

 swelling. 



Leuceena glauca, seeds 1 5 years old, all swelled in water. 



Mucuna urens, 10 years old, required filing for swelling. 



Poinciana regia, 9 years old, outer skin impermeable until filed. 



imperme- Those who have studied the dispersal of seeds by the 



dispersaTby ocean-currents have laid stress on the circumstance that many- 

 water, of the seeds capable of transportal over wide tracts of sea 

 belong to leguminous plants ; and I need here only allude 

 to the circumstance that the four West Indian and Central 

 American seeds {Dioclea reflexa, Mucuna urens, Guilandina 

 bonducella, Entada scandens) that are most frequently stranded 

 intact on the western shores of Europe belong to this order. 

 When Professor Ewart remarked (p. 184) that "macro- 

 biotic", seeds show no special adaptation for dispersal and 

 that " none are wind or water-borne," he apparently had 

 forgotten that there are included in his list the seeds of plants 

 like Canavalia obtusifolia, Erythrina indica, and Guilandina 



* Tamarind seeds absorb water very slowly at first, requiring often an immersion of 

 a week or more before there is any marked increase in the weight. 



