46 



ESSENTIALS OF VEGETABLE PHARMACOGNOSY. 



Again we find, as in the case of the bor- 

 age, that carpels, originally coherent, sep- 

 arate before performing their function, s^o 

 that we must regard each of the separated 

 carpels, as well as the entire gynaecium, 

 as in the nature of a fruit. Occasionally 

 even a carpel will itself divide into sepa- 

 rate parts, each of which is equally en- 

 titled to be designated as a fruit. In titill 

 other cases the ripened gynaceia of moi'e 



than one flower cohere and perform the 



fruit function as one body, as in tlie case 



of the partridge-berry and the fig. Finally 



we note that many fruits can perform 



their function in either way — namely, by 



of their carpels, or parts thereof 



individually, or as aggregations procaed- 



ing from a single flower (blackberry), or 



from many flowers (figs, hop, *S:c.). It is 



therefore to be noted that that which is 



at one time to be regarded as a fruit, is at 



another time only a part of one, according 



to the manner in which it performs its 



function. 



From the foregoing considerations we 



may deduce the following definitions 

 fruit: — 





pistil with the contained seed or seeds. 

 Such a fruit is regarded as possessing but 

 two portions, namely, the seeds and the 

 Pericarp. But since in many cases the 

 calyx, disk or other part is closely adnata 

 to the wall of the ovary and more or less 

 indistinguishable from it, it becomes im- 

 practicable to restrict the term pericarp 

 to a part consisting only of the pistil. Agaia 

 we find that there are all intermediate 

 forms and degrees of adnation and separa- 

 tion between the ovary and the accrescent 

 parts of accessory fruits. It, therefore, 

 appears most convenient to define the peri- 

 carp in a broad sense as the fruit wHJi 

 the exception of the seeds. When the 

 pericarp consists of other elements than 

 the ovarian-wall it is called a Pseudocarp 



or Anthocarp. 



When the pericarp is seen to consist of 

 three demonstrable layers these are called 

 respectively Exocarp, the outer; Endo- 

 carp, the inner, and Mesocarp, the middle. 

 When an exocarp is thin and membran- 

 aceous, like the skin of a plum, apple, or 

 tomato, it is called an Epicarp, and when 

 an endocarp is hard and strong, like the 



A Fruit is a separate ripened carpel, or stone of a peach or the **core" of an apple. 



part thereof, or an aggregation of ripened 

 carpels, together with any adherent parts. 



Multiple or Collective Fruits are those 

 proceeding from the gynaecia of more 

 than one flower. 



Aggregate Fruits are those which pro- 

 ceed from a number of separate pistils of 



one flower. 



Simple Fruits are those proceeding from 

 a single pistil. 



Apocarpous Fruits are those consisting 

 of one carpel or more than one un-united 

 carpels. 



it is called a Putamen. 



We shall now consider the manner in 

 which the four objects of fructification 

 are accomplished through the modifica- 

 tions effected in each of the floral parta 

 and in the parts adjacent, by fertilization, 

 including such new appendages as are 

 thus caused to develop. The develop m<int 

 and maturity of the fruit are effected by 

 the stimulation, through fertilization, of 

 the nutritive functions of the pistil, the 

 torus, adjacent portions of the plant, and 

 through the combined influence of all the 



Syncarpous Fruits are those consistijig flowers, a similar stimulation of all por- 



of coherent carpels. 



Accessory Fruits are those in which 

 some part other than the ripened ovary 

 constitutes the conspicuous portion. 



The student cannot have failed to note 

 in reading the above statements that the 

 composition of the fruit is extremely vari- 

 able and in some cases complicated. In 

 accordance with this fact the classification 

 of parts of the fruit is open to great dif- 

 ferences, according to the principles upon 

 which the observer bases his classifica- 

 tion. The typical fruit may be considered 

 as that which consists only of the ripened 



tions of the plant. So far as the develop- 

 ment of a protecting container for the ma- 

 turing seed is concerned, the object in gen* 

 eral demands the development of nothing 

 more than the ovarian wall; but the ef- 

 fects of adnation and the requirements of 

 the other objects result in the extension 

 of this process to various other parts cf 

 the flower or even of its supporting parts. 

 The development of such parts in connec- 

 tion with the ovarian walls will there- 

 fore receive attention in considering the 

 methods by which such other objects are 

 accomplished- It has been stated that i-ot 



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