148 Mr. Brown on some remarkable Deviations 
Tn the specimens of a plant lately sent from Brazil by Mr. Sel- - 
low, I observe a similar economy. In this case the ovarium, which 
is originally unilocular with five parietal placentz, soon after fe- 
cundation opens regularly into five equal foliaceous valves, to the 
inner surface of each of which an indefinite number of ovula are 
attached. ; ! 
The genus Reseda, whose capsule opens at top at a very early 
period, may be considered as affording another instance, though 
much less remarkable, of the same anomaly. And it is possible 
this may be the real structure in certain cases of which a very dif- 
ferent view has been taken. > 
In the instances of naked seeds now given, the bursting of the 
pericarpium precedes the distinct formation of the embryo, while 
the proper coats of the seed remain entire till after its separation 
from the parent plant, and germination has commenced. | 
It may not be uninteresting to contrast this economy with that 
of the Mangroves and other plants of tropical countries, which 
grow on the shores, and within the influence of the tide. In many 
of these the embryo, long before the seed loses its original attach- 
ment, acquires a very considerable size; and the first effect of this 
unusual development is the rupture, in most cases succeeded by 
the complete absorption or disappearance, of the proper integu- - 
ment of the seed. In some instances the development proceeds 
still further, and the pericarpium itself is perforated by the embryo, 
which, while preserving its connexion with the parent plant, often 
attains the length of from eighteen inches to two feet. This hap- 
pens in Rhizophora and Bruguiera, or the Mangroves properly so 
called. In some of the spurious Mangroves, as Avicennia and 
ZEgiceras, a lesser degree of development takes place, and in ge- 
neral their pericarpia remain entire till they have dropped from 
the tree. In both cases the final cause of the economy is suffi- 
ciently 
