RAN ALES 415 



the wood: vessel elements, simply perforate or scalariform with few 

 bars; fibers, with simple pits, sometimes septate; parenchyma, absent or 

 sparse; rays broad, primary only. This wood resembles that of the 

 Berberidaceae. 



In this family, which has primitive floral structure — absence of fusion 

 and primitive sporophylls— the advanced floral character — unisexuality 

 — and specialized xylem are doubtless related to the habit of the genera, 

 which are chiefly lianas. 



Sargentodoxaceae 



The Sargentodoxaceae is a small unigeneric family, segregated ( 1926 ) 

 from the Ranunculaceae. Sargentodoxa is a woody Chinese vine, clearly 

 ranalian, but with characters resembling those of several families other 

 than those of the Ranunculaceae. The staminate flowers resemble those 

 of the Lardizabalaceae; the stamens, those of CercidiphyUuin and 

 Euptelea; the pistillate flowers, in their gynoecia, are like those of 

 Schisandra. The stamens have well-differentiated anthers and elongate 

 connective. The many carpels are borne on an elongate receptacle. The 

 seeds are ranahan, with minute embryos. Anatomically, little is known 

 about this family. In some characters — simply perforate vessel elements 

 and fibers with bordered pits — the xylem is advanced for a ranalian 

 taxon, but the genus is a vine. The Schisandraceae are perhaps the 

 closest relatives of the Sargentodoxaceae. 



Berberidaceae 



The Berberidaceae, a small family, commonly placed close to the 

 Ranunculaceae, are heterogeneous in many characters. Their gynoecial 

 structure is especially complex and obscure, and has had several in- 

 terpretations. 



The family shows several lines of specialization: herbs of different 

 habits, and woody shrubs; some gynoecia with three, and others with 

 two carpels; placentation of various not readily identifiable forms. 



The gynoecium of Berberis has commonly been interpreted as uni- 

 carpellary, but anatomy shows that it is syncarpous and, in most flowers, 

 consists of three intimately fused carpels. This interpretation is sup- 

 ported by study of occasional flowers that show their nature by ex- 

 ternal structure — where there is only one carpel, there is a ventral 

 suture; where two, there is incomplete fusion distally. 



Podophyllum peltatwn, much used in teaching because of its ap- 

 parently simple structure, is an unfortunate choice, because the gynoe- 

 cium consists of two carpels, with one reduced, and the two placentae 

 united to form one large, "parietal" placenta. External evidence of the 

 syncarpy is the absence of the ventral suture which is present in uni- 



