Libro - GOETHE - The Metamorphosis of Plants

The Metamorphosis of Plants
of the stem leaf; then we saw the calyx appear through a contraction,
the flower leaves through an expansion, and the reproductive parts
through a contraction. We will soon observe the greatest expansion in
the fruit, and the greatest concentration in the seed. In these six steps
nature steadfastly does its eternal work of propagating vegetation by
two genders.
X. Of the Fruits
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Now we come to the fruits. We will soon realize that these have the
same origin as the other parts, and are subject to the same laws. Here
we are actually speaking of the capsules formed by nature to enclose
the so-called covered seeds, or, more precisely, to develop a small or
large number of seeds by fructification within these capsules. It will
not require much to show that these containers may also be explained
through the nature and structure of the parts discussed earlier.
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Retrogressive metamorphosis again makes us aware of this natural
law. Thus, for example, in the pinks—these flowers known and
loved for their irregularity—we often find that the seed capsules are
changed back into leaves resembling those in the calyx, and the styles
are accordingly shortened. There are even pinks in which the fruit
capsule is completely transformed into a true calyx. The divisions
at the tips of the calyx still bear delicate remnants of the styles and
stigmas; a more or less full corolla develops instead of seeds from the
very center of this second calyx.
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