206 



bulkiest were barely two inches long, those of greater length 

 being invariably somewhat attenuated (cucumber-shaped). 



Baillon, in the Histoire des Plantes, Vol. I., figures the fruit of 

 C. l(^vigatus, Willd., as an oblong spheroid, with a distinct cylin- 

 drical neck, like that of a bottle. None of the pods I examined 

 showed exactly this form. The summit in some cases was 

 tapering-elongated, quite commonly a little protuberant, some- 

 times perfectly flat, and in a few instances distinctly umbilicate, 

 (Wood's '^ involute at top'' indicates that his specimens were of 

 this latter form.) Nuttall's " marked with the vestiges of the 

 calycine laciniae '' is equivalent to Wood's *' longitudinally veined. 

 These markings are really the ridged margins of the adnate por- 

 tion of the bracts, the free portion being entirely deciduous. The 

 sepals and petals^ are also deciduous, but their bases persist, 

 forming a ring often obscure but sometimes quite distinct. 

 Another ring is formed within this by the short, persistent, pubes- 

 cent and usually more or less recurved filaments. It is worthy of 

 note that these enter the orifice of the fruit and are adnate to its 

 inner surface. In very rare cases this orifice Is large enough to 

 allow the ripe achenia to escape; most generally it is too small 

 for this, and not seldom it appears quite closed. Nuttall's state- 

 ment that the pod never opens is therefore strictly true only in 

 the sense that it never dehisces or ruptures in any way. ''Becom- 

 ing perfectly dry '* is a correct characterization ; " and rigid" might 

 properly have been added, as they resist considerable pressure 

 but break finally instead of yielding, Nuttall does not note the 

 color. Most of those examined were of a blackish weather- 

 beaten brown. In fact, taken In bulk, the pods of Calycanthus 

 at a casual glance closely resemble the perfectly ripe fruit of 

 Jiiglans cinerea, L., though far less uniform in either size or shape. 

 The original color at maturity, judging from the fresher specimens, 

 is an orange brown. 



The wall of the pod is thin, and the large cavity is ordinarily 

 about half filled by the loose achenia. When shaken, the resem- 

 blance to a baby's rattle is very marked. The inner surface is of 

 a rich reddish-brown color, with a slight and scattered silvery- 

 white pubescence. The adnate filaments mark the surface above 

 with radiating ribs. In well developed specimens slight ridges 



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