founded on the Structure of their Seedlings. 79 
appear during the winter, and are replaced in the following 
spring by the development of buds formed underground. 
Geophilous characters are shown most clearly by plants 
which put forth aerial shoots during a short annual season 
only. Such are the two classes of plants termed ‘ alpines’ 
and ‘ bulbs ’ by gardeners. The underground organs of such 
plants attain to some size, not unfrequently exceeding that of 
the aerial shoot. They are native to situations which have 
a short annual period in which the conditions are favourable 
to vegetation, and a longer dead season. The short hot 
summer of the arctic regions and of alpine summits, which 
does not begin until the snow melts, and is followed by a 
long frost-bound winter ; the summer in the interior of South 
Africa, ushered in by rains, and followed by a season of dry 
cold ; the damp warm spring of the Mediterranean region 
succeeded by a hot dry summer ; these are examples of 
climatic conditions favourable to highly specialized geophytes, 
and within such regions the habit was no doubt developed. 
In order to use the short season of vegetation to the best 
advantage the geophilous plant or geophyte must be furnished 
with a store of nourishment, and this is placed at some distance 
below the surface of the soil for protection against the cold 
or heat of the dead season. A plant so provided can throw 
up leaves and flowers at a few days’ notice from the bud 
attached to its swollen axis or tuberous root. 
The leaves when once above the ground make the most of 
their short life. They restock the underground organs with 
food for the following season, and they support the flowers, 
and later the maturing fruit, until the seed is ripe. When 
this occurs before the advent of the cold or drought withers 
the aerial shoots, the cycle of development is complete, but 
in such localities it must often happen that an early frost 
or a dry season kills all the seed formed by a plant before 
it is ripe. 
The fact that all the species mentioned in Table I, with 
the exception of Rhizophora , are highly specialized geophytes 
suggests very strongly that union of the cotyledons is an 
