294 Transactions of the Society. 



Pinguicula and Utricularia (plate IV. fig. 2). The seeds of Pin- 

 guicula are relatively large, oblong, terete or nearly so, with a 

 furrow on one side corresponding to the raphe, netted, with the 

 meshes in longitudinal lines, light brown and shining. They are 

 slightly prolonged at the base and the funiculus is partly persistent. 



They are very light and adhere readily to the fingers, so that 

 they could often be carried away by any animal treading on them. 



The British Utricularias are all water-plants, celebrated for 

 their curious " eel traps," which serve to capture minute water- 

 animals. The seeds are small, oblong and striated. 



Jasmixace^e. — The structure of the fruit presents again, in this 

 family, great differences. In some genera it is a capsule, in others 

 a berry. 



We have two genera, Fraxinus, the Ash, with dry capsules, 

 commonly called keys, which, including the wing, are about an 

 inch and a half in length, thin and light, so that they are easily 

 carried by the wind. They have a slight twist, as in other similar 

 fruits, and this probably tends to carry them further. 



Such winged fruits are very typical of high trees. On the other 

 hand, our second genus of the family, Ligustrum (the Privet), like 

 so many other bushes and low trees, has a berry fruit. In the 

 early stages there are two ovules in each cell, but, as in so many 

 other cases, only one comes to maturity. 



The fruit is black, and the leaves nearly evergreen. It is 

 evidently intended to be eaten by birds, and the embryo is pro- 

 bably protected by the hard endosperm. 



Apocynaceje. — The fruit consists of two oblong or elongated 

 capsules or follicles, each of a single cell, diverging as they ripen. 



Vinca minor, the lesser Periwinkle, is the only truly British 

 species. It has oblong-cylindrical seeds, terminated abruptly at 

 each end. They are probably disseminated by birds and small 

 quadrupeds. 



Geistianace^e. — Fruit a capsule, dehiscing along the margins 

 of the carpels ; many-seeded. The fruit is generally a capsule, but 

 sometimes, though not in British genera, a berry. The capsules of 

 Limnanthemum, as in some other water-plants, sink below the 

 surface while the seeds are ripening. As in so many seeds which 

 are intended to be scattered from capsules, those of Gentiana 

 Amarella are pitted and glossy. 



Polemoniace;E. — The fruit is a 3-celled capsule, opening by 

 three valves opposite the middle of the cells. The seeds have a 

 narrow wing, but are probably more effectively dispersed by being 

 jerked from the capsule. 



CoNVOLVULACEyE. — The fruit is either a capsule, with valves 

 detaching from the septum, or a berry. In most of our species 

 there are four seeds, each forming a quarter of a sphere, so as to 

 fill up the capsule. 



