Libro - GOETHE - The Metamorphosis of Plants

The Metamorphosis of Plants
XI. Of the Coverings Lying Next to the Seed
82
By way of contrast, the seed is in the most extreme state of contraction
and inner development. In various plants we can observe that the seed
transforms leaves into an outer covering, adapts them more or less to
its shape, and often has the power to annex them fully, completely
changing their form. We saw above that many seeds can develop in
and from a single leaf; hence it will come as no surprise to find a
single embryo clothed in a leaf covering.
83
We can see the traces of such incompletely adapted leaf forms in many
winged seeds (e.g., the maple, the elm, the ash, and the birch) (images
43–46). The calendula’s three distinct rings of differently formed seeds
offer a remarkable example of how the embryo pulls broad coverings
together, gradually adapting them to its shape (figure 17). The outer
ring is still related to the petals in form, except that a rudimentary
seed swells the rib, causing a fold in the leaf; a small membrane also
runs lengthwise along the inside of the crease, dividing the leaf in
two. The next ring shows further changes: the broad form of the leaf
has entirely disappeared, along with the membrane; but its shape is
somewhat less elongated, while the rudimentary seed on the back
has become more visible, and the small raised spots on the seed have
grown more distinct. These two rows appear to be either unfructified
or only partially fructified. They are followed by a third row of seeds
in their true form: strongly curved, and with a tightly tilted involucre
that is fully developed in all its ridges and raised portions. Here we
again see a powerful contraction of broad, leaflike parts, a contraction
produced by the inner power of the seed, just as we earlier saw the
flower leaf contracted by the power of the anthers.
75