Nature and development of plants . ,while in the rose it is fleshy and often brightly colored, servingin some cases as food for birds and thus effecting seed distribu-tion. The most pronounced changes are seen in the apple andplum families. In the former group, the carpels become tough,forming the core (Fig. 314, C) and the edible part is thegreatly enlarged receptacle. The plum, cherry, peach, etc., repre-sent the ovary alone, the cup-like portion of the receptacle iscast off as the fruit matures and the ovary becomes a drupe(Fig. 314, F). In the pea family, the ovary usually becomesa pod wit
Nature and development of plants . ,while in the rose it is fleshy and often brightly colored, servingin some cases as food for birds and thus effecting seed distribu-tion. The most pronounced changes are seen in the apple andplum families. In the former group, the carpels become tough,forming the core (Fig. 314, C) and the edible part is thegreatly enlarged receptacle. The plum, cherry, peach, etc., repre-sent the ovary alone, the cup-like portion of the receptacle iscast off as the fruit matures and the ovary becomes a drupe(Fig. 314, F). In the pea family, the ovary usually becomesa pod with elastic valves but it is also variously modified. Inthe peanut, after the withering of the flower, the pistil is thrustinto the ground where it develops as a pod that does not openat all. In other genera, the pod is nut-like as in the clovers,spirally coiled in alfalfa, or separable into nut-like joints thatare provided with hooks as in the tick trefoil (Meibomia) (, B). Doubtless these methods of distributing their well-. Fig. 317. Fruits of the pea family: A, fruit or pod of the ground nut,showing the manner of seed dissemination by the snapping back of thevalves with a twisting motion. B, fruit or lomentum of tick-trefoil (Mei-bomia). The lomentum breaks into as many nut-like parts as there areseeds in the fruit. C, hooked bristles on the surface of lomentum. developed seeds, their symbiotic relations with the bacteria (page57) and especially the elaborate mechanism of the irregularflowers have been the causes that have led to the abundance and 424 THE SAPINDALES wide distribution of these plants. It will be noticed in thefollowing orders as in the preceding Orchidales, that the irregu-lar and more highly constructed flowers are generally representedby a great number of genera and, barring some weakness, as forexample, the poorly developed embryos of the orchids and theirpeculiar habitats, by a great number of individuals in eachspecies. 145. Sapindales, the Soapber
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