44 



ELEMENTS OF BOTANY. 



The pyxis is a pod which opens transversely, the upper portion form- 

 ing a lid or cover (Fig. 92). 



Compound fruits are those resulting from many blossoms aggregated 

 into one mass. The most common form is the strobile, or cone, the 

 fruit of the coniferoe. 



The cone is composed of open pistils, commonly in the form of flat 

 scales, regularly overlying each other, and all pressed together into a coni- 

 cal shajDe (Fig. 93). Each scale bears one or two seeds on its inner sur- 



Fig. 92. — Pyxis of henbane. 



Fig. 93. — A pine cone. 



face. When mature and dry the scales diverge and permit the seeds to 

 escape. 



In some plants the scales forming the cone become fleshy and more 

 or less united to each other, so as to form a fruit resembling a berry ; of 

 such a character are the cones of juniper, commonly known as juniper 

 berries. 



THE SEED. 



Ovules which have been fertilized and undergone subsequent develop- 

 ment become seeds. 



The seed consists of a kernel covered by an integument. The integu- 

 ment or seed-coat is divisible into two layers, an external often hard and 

 crustaceous, termed the testa, and an internal one, which is thin and 

 delicate. 



The testa sometimes fits the kernel closely, as in the bean ; again, it 

 is expanded into a wing (Fig. 94) or is tufted with long, soft hairs, as in 



