SEED-COLORATION 395 



in Tobago and Grenada. The seed is exalbuminous, and has a 



thin covering or skin, which, if I remember rightly, is brownish 



in colour. As I write I have by my side the exalbuminous 



seeds of Monstera pertusa^ a climbing aroid, gathered in Grenada 



over a year ago. In this case also the embryo is dark green. 



Further details on this subject will be found in Note 18 of 



the Appendix. 



Before leaving the subject of the colour of embryos, a Theconnec- 

 r , 11 , , . . tion in ex- 



lew more remarks may be made on the relation m ex- albuminous 



albuminous seeds of the Leguminosae between white embryos J.elS^"se«ls 



and the colour of the seed. If we can judge from the between 



■" '-' 'white em- 



behaviour of the genera Canavalia and Phaseolus, where bryosand 



white embryos seem characteristic, there is no connection the seed. 



between the two. The four species of Canavalia with which 



I am acquainted, C. ensiformis, C. gladiata, C. ohtusi/olia, and 



a Tobago species, of which the specific name is unknown to 



me, all have white embryos. In the first the seed is white, 



in the second dull red, in the third banded brown, and in the 



last pale brown. The same indication is afforded by four 



kinds of Phaseolus, all of which have white kernels or embryos, 



namely, P. vulgaris (French Bean), with reddish-brown seeds ; 



P. multiflorus (Scarlet-runner), having two varieties, one with 



seeds showing black mottling on a reddish ground, the other 



with white seeds ; and a West Indian species with white seeds. 



From these data it would seem that, as already pointed out in 



the case of leguminous exalbuminous seeds where the embryo 



is green in the unripe and yellowish in the resting seed, there 



is no connection between the colour of the embryo and the 



coloration of the seed-coats. 



The hard red seeds of diflFerent species of tropical The red 



leguminous plants, such as Abrus precatorius, Adenanthera leguminous 



pavonina, different species of Erythrina, etc., invite attention for P'^nts. 



many reasons. As presented to view in the opening pods, 



they must often attract the notice of birds ; but with the 



exception of Erythrina and Adenanthera I have not come upon 



many references to birds selecting them for food. In my 



