45 MR. J. MIERS ON THE BARRINGTONIACEA. 
The stamens in several series are closely united at their base into а monadelphous tube; 
the filaments are slender, somewhat longer than the petals, and are spirally coiled in 
vestivation, but afterwards they spread into a feathery plume, are mostly furnished, at 
their curving apex, each with a small 2-celled anther; but in some genera those of the 
outer or of the inner series are bare, the intermediate series alone bearing anthers. 
The style, which rises from the centre of the ovary, is generally longer than the 
stamens, is subulate, rather slender, slightly curved, and terminated by a small elavate 
or lobed stigma, and is always persistent on the fruit. 
Another feature of importance is the disk, which assumes а form so peculiar that it — 
enables us to determine whether any plant presented to our notice belongs to Barring- 
toniacee or not—a test of much practical value. Аз before stated, it is epigynous, flat 
and annular, and bears upon its outer margin the staminiferous tube, while its inner 
margin is always more or less expanded into an erect urceolate prominence, sometimes 
into a tube of some length, which encircles the base of the style, leaving within it a deep 
hollow over the vertex of the ovary. 
"The ovary also affords good distinctive characters among some of the genera; it is 
always inferior, and adnate to the tube of the calyx; it is either 2- or 4-celled, with one 
or two, sometimes more, ovules in each cell. These ovules in some cases are erect, but 
more frequently are suspended from the summit of the cells by distinct funicles; or, 
when more numerous, they are attached to the axis; in all cases they are anatropous. 
In their subsequent development generally most of the cells are abortive, leaving only а, 
single fertile cell; and in that only a solitary ovule is matured. | 
The fruit varies in form, is generally of a large size, crowned by ће free persistent 
limb of the calyx; it has a thick. pericarp, frequently very thick, sometimes fleshy, but 
more often of a dry spongy consistence, lined within by an endocarp, forming an osseous 
or a coriaceous shell, covered by adhering longitudinal woody fibres. This shell is some- 
times 4-celled, but more frequently, by abortion, only 1-celled, with a single large seed; 
іп the genera Careya and Planchonia the seeds are smaller, more numerous, and im- | 
bedded in a tough pulp. In the African genus Petersia, the fruit assumes a very 
unusual form: the indehiscent pericarp is small, linearly oblong, thin, and scabrous out- 
side, and is cruciformly surrounded by 4 rounded membranaceous wings of much larger 
dimensions: this, by abortion, is 1-celled, containing a few linear terete seeds, attached to 
a parietal cord formed by its undeveloped three abortive cells. I did not succeed in 
determining the form or nature of the embryo, owing to the decay of the seeds. In 
Barringtonia and Planchonia the fruits are 4-celled, each cell in the latter producing 
several seeds, imbedded in a tough pulp. In these genera alone the seeds furnish an 
embryo with two distinct cotyledons, as will be subsequently shown. With the exception 
of these two and Pelersia, all the other genera (excluding one) uniformly present in each 
fruit a single large seed with an embryo of peculiar structure, upon the nature of which 
| ше opinions of botanists are much divided; and it is necessary to enter into much pre- 
iminary detail to ascertain the value of these conflicting views. 
This large embryo, apparently homogeneous in texture, invariably consists of two main 
| ке. опе реду encircled by the other at all points, often so intimately agglu- 
