DR THOMAS R. FRASER ON STROPHANTHUS HISPIDUS. 989 



The seeds with the small appendages attached to them are very beautiful and graceful 

 miniature representations of seeds with larger appendages. The follicle containing the 

 above seeds was 10 inches in length, and the seeds themselves were fairly mature, as their 

 sizes and weights show. 



The shaft of the comose appendage consists of a prolongation of the testa of the seed. 

 It is extremely brittle, and has a diameter of about the one-hundredth of an inch, which 

 remains pretty uniform throughout the whole length of the naked portion of the shaft."" 



The hairs in the tufted portion are unicellular, white, silky in lustre, and flexible, but 

 yet delicate and easily broken. They vary in length from a little less than 1 inch (0"9) 

 to 3 inches. Their diameter at the base is about 0*0022 inch (0*055 mm.), and they 

 gradually taper to a fine point of about 0*00012 inch (0*0032 mm.). At the base, there 

 is often a slight swelling or bulb. The structure of the hairs is represented in Plate IV. 

 figs. 9, 10a, and 10&. 



c. Fine Hairs covering, and longer than the Seeds, and interposed between the Seeds 

 and the inner surface of the Endocarp. — When a mature follicle is opened without any 

 special precaution, a large quantity of a soft down is seen to be mingled with the seeds, but 

 not attached to them. If the dorsal surface of the endocarp be carefully removed so as to 

 expose the interior of the follicle, especially after the follicle has been soaked in water 

 for a few days, the seeds are found to be concealed by a padding of hairs, interposed 

 between the seeds and the inner surface of the endocarp (see Plate VII. fig. 2). The 

 hairs constituting this padding appear to originate at the base of each seed, where the 

 collected hair-roots are seen as opaque transverse lines. For the most part, the hairs 

 proceed directly upwards, so as entirely to cover the dorsal surface, and a portion of the 

 comose appendage of the seed from whose base they appear to originate, and, also, a 

 part of the next seeds immediately higher up in the follicle and the interspaces between 

 them. A few hairs extend downwards. Nearly all the hairs are therefore interposed 

 between the dorsal surface of the seeds and the inner surface of the endocarp, and 

 between contiguous seeds ; only a small number lying upon the placental (or ventral) 

 surface of the seeds. 



The roots of the hairs are generally curved, and as the hairs become swollen above 

 the roots, the roots have very commonly a beak-like appearance (see Plate IV. fig. 12a). 

 Above the swollen portion, the hairs gradually taper to a somewhat blunt extremity. 

 Their length is from 0*657 to 1*12 inch, and their diameter at the end of the root is 

 about 0*00052 inch (0013 mm.), at the bulb-like swelling 0*0026 inch (0*065 mm.), 

 and at the tip or apex 0*00052 inch (0*013 mm.). Their naked eye and microscopic 

 appearances are illustrated in Plate IV. figs. 11, 12a, and 126. 



* The following are the diameters of the naked portion of the shaft of two comose appendages removed from 

 two average-sized follicles : — 



Near Base. Near Middle. Near Tuft. 



N , j 0-0112 inch. 0-015 inch. 0-0093 inch. 



' * * \ 028 mm. 0*25 mm. 0-23 mm. 



N ~ ( 0-0108 inch. 0'0092 inch. 0*008 inch. 



' * " ( 0-27 mm. 0-23 mm. 0"22 mm. 



