272 
THE PLANT WORLD. 
been placed high up on a long thorn, the lengthening of the em¬ 
bryo may go on until the endosperm is exhausted, and so the 
plantlet dies without making its goal. Under these circum¬ 
stances the length attained may be 6 to 8 cm. The embryo may 
Fig. 54. Dendropthora gracilis Urban. Found growing on a juniper 
in Jamaica. The leaves are reduced to scales. The flowers are dioecious, 
in spikes. The berry is red. (a) Longitudinal section of berry, showing 
seed enclosed in the fleshy pericarp. ( b ) The seed germinating; the end 
of the hypocotyl has broadened into a disc. 
grow straight, or it may wind more or less about other spines 
which perchance it meets in its way (Fig. 55), and then the pro¬ 
jecting papillae with which the radicle is supplied may serve as 
supporting or clinging organs. At the same time the root end of 
