. Freaks and marvels of plant life; or, Curiosities of vegetation. Plant anatomy. MIMICRY. 343 of a walnut were brought down from the interior to 'Georgetown in Demerara, the kernel of which, when â opened, and the membrane which covered it being removed, displayed the striking resemblance to a snake coiled up. There was the head, the mouth, .the eyes so complete, that one unacquainted with the fact would have believed them to be an imitation made by human hands, and not a freak of nature. As is often the, case with the productions of the interior, the colonists were entirely unacquainted with
. Freaks and marvels of plant life; or, Curiosities of vegetation. Plant anatomy. MIMICRY. 343 of a walnut were brought down from the interior to 'Georgetown in Demerara, the kernel of which, when â opened, and the membrane which covered it being removed, displayed the striking resemblance to a snake coiled up. There was the head, the mouth, .the eyes so complete, that one unacquainted with the fact would have believed them to be an imitation made by human hands, and not a freak of nature. As is often the, case with the productions of the interior, the colonists were entirely unacquainted with the mode of growth of the plant which produced these strange nuts. They were generally found , after the annual swelling of the Esse- quibo had subsided along its banks, and for a length of time it was pretended that they grew on a creeper, and from the resemblance of its kernel to a snake it was supposed that it might prove an antidote to snake poison.'' Subsequently it was found to be the produce of a large tree [Ophiocaiyon serpentinum) belonging to the same family as the horse chestnut. Our figure represents a nut cut open, and the kernel exposed â¢(fig- 79)- As in some sort to counterbalance a too rigid. Fig. 79- â Snake nut (Ophiocaryon serpenti- nuni) cut Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt), b. 1825. London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; New York, E. & J. B. Young
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectplantanatomy, bookyea
