
          589

But what pleased me most was to see the plant in fruit, something
which I had never seen before.  Whether this is because the plant fruits
rarely or because the time of this conspicuous appearance is only <s>of</s> for a few days 
I will have to learn later.  When I first saw the gaudy orange-red, very
conspicuous looking objects I thought they were flowers and no doubt
a new "find".  On closer approach I saw at once that they were not flowers
and they put me so much in mind of the fungous growth observed on the
Juniperus[note at top of page: May 11, 1901.]  that I thought perhaps these were also of the same nature I now
however, took one in hand and examined it closely.  A little green ball
about ½ to ¾ in. in diameter attached to the stem by a little stalk ½ in. in
length, and more or less completely <s>so</s> covered by little orange-red fleshy appendages
striking out for among the green chaff, making the entire fruit[note at top of page: 
Which was very succulent, so much so, in fact, that in handling it one's
hand was covered with its rather muscilaginous juice.] an inch to 1½ in.
in diameter.  [sketch of fruit].  At the outer extremity of these fleshy appendages was the one
single seed, quite large & minutely dotted.  The remains of the style were still
visible as a long purplish thread.  [sketched diagram of - One of the fleshy appendages [letters S-style and O-seed.]]  There were all
stages of this fruit from the hard green balls without appendages up to fully
ripe.  When the fruit begins to ripen you can see the little appendages forming
& peeping out from all over the green ball, they protrude farther and
farther, until in the fully ripened fruit they project about ½ in.  After this
they deteriorate and soon nothing is left but a shrivelled globular brownish
        