Many other instances could be given, since the loss of
color in berries is a very common occurrence, so common that for
instance, in the heath-family or Ericaceae, with only a few exceptions,
all berry-bearing species have white-fruited varieties.
The same correlation is observed in the seeds. The white-flowered flax
may be seen to yield yellow and not brown seeds as in the blue species.
Many varieties of flowers may be recognized by the color of their seeds,
as in the poppies, stocks and others. Other white-flowered varieties may
be distinguished when germinating, their young axes being of a pure
instead of a purplish green. It is a test ordinarily used by gardeners,
to purify their flower beds long before the blooming time, when thinning
or weeding them. Even in wild plants, as in _Erodium_, _Calluna_,
_Brunella_ and others, a botanist may recognize the rare white-flowered
[147] variety by the pure green color of the leaves, at times when it is
not in flower. Some sorts of peas bear colored flowers and a red mark on
the stipules of their leaves. Among bulbous plants many varieties may be
recognized even in the dry bulbs by the different tinges of the outer
scales.
Leaving the colors, we come now to another instance of correlation,
which is still more astonishing. For it is as rare, as color-varieties
are common.
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