290 Transactions of the Society. 



In two of our four English genera, Solanum and Atropa, the 

 fruit is a many-seeded berry. 



In Solanum the fruits are deeply, but finely pitted and rugose, 

 and are no doubt scattered by birds when eating the pulpy fruit. 

 In S. nigrum the fruit is black. In S. Dulcamara, which has a 

 climbing or straggling habit, they are red and very conspicuous in 

 autumn after the fall of the leaf. On the Continent they are some- 

 times black, sometimes red, sometimes yellow or yellowish-green, 

 and are said to come true from seed. Atropa Belladonna has a 

 rather large, black berry. 



In Datura Stramonium the fruit is a large, globular, prickly 

 capsule, which opens at the top. The seeds are large, numerous, 

 and wrinkled, flattened by mutual pressure, and black. 



In our fourth genus, the Henbane {Hyoscyamus niger) the 

 fruit is also a capsule. It is crowned by the persistent and en- 

 larged calyx, which forms a cup, from which the seeds are gradually 

 scattered by the wind, when the cap of the capsule has been 

 thrown off. The seeds are numerous, laterally much compressed, 

 reniform, and approximately orbicular, but varying a good deal in 

 shape and size. They are somewhat deeply pitted. 



Valeriane;e. — The fruit is small, dry, and seed-like, 3-celled, 

 each with one ovule, two of winch, however, come to nothing. The 

 empty cells, no doubt, serve to lighten the seed. In Centranthu 

 and Valeriana the border of the calyx develops into a beautiful 

 feathery pappus. In Valerianella. there is no pappus. The fertile 

 cell is larger than the others. The fruits present curious little 

 differences in the different species. 



DiPSACEiE. — In this order, which is very nearly allied to the 

 Valerianese, though in appearance more nearly resembling Com- 

 posites, we have two genera, Dipsacus and Scabiosa. In Dipsacus 

 the bracts surrounding the flower-head form a sort of cup surround- 

 ing the seeds, and from which they are ejected. In the Fuller's 

 Teasel, which is generally regarded as a mere variety of D. sylvcstris, 

 but the origin of which is not known, the scales are hooked. 



In Scabiosa the calyx terminates in fine bristles, which must 

 often get entangled in the hairs and wool of passing animals. 



Composite. — Of this great family we have nearly fifty British 

 genera. As to the number of species, there are great differences 

 of opinion. This is due in great measure to the difficulty of 

 determining the number of species in the very complex and 

 variable genus Hieracium. The ovary is inferior, 1-celled, 

 1-ovuled. The fruit is always dry ; it is an " achene," generally 

 sessile, sometimes provided with a long beak. 



The modes of dispersal of the seeds, or, to speak more techni- 

 cally, the achenes, are very various. When they are small, as in 

 the Daisy, they probably adhere to the feet of animals, especially 

 in wet weather. In many cases, no doubt, they are carried by 



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