$9& OF THE PELLICULA 



so far capable of resuming its former na- 

 ture, that the juices of the earth are im- 

 bibed through it previous to germination. 



There are various accessory parts, or 

 appendages, to seeds, which come under 

 the following denominations. 



Pellicula, the Pellicle, called by Gaertner 

 Epidermis, closely adheres to the outside of 

 some seeds, so as to conceal the proper co-? 

 lour and surface of their skin, and is either 

 membranous, and often downy, as in Con- 

 volvulus, or mucilaginous, not perceptible 

 till the seed is moistened, as in Salvia ver- 

 benaca, Engl. Bot. t. 154. Perhaps the 

 covering of the seed in Clienopodium, called 

 by Gtertner Utriculus, is merely a Pelli- 

 cula. 



Arillus, the Tunic, is either a complete or 

 partial covering of a seed, fixed to its base 

 only, and more or less loosely or closely 

 enveloping its other parts, Of this nature 

 is the pulpy orange-coloured coat in Eu- 

 onymus, t. 362, the beautiful scarlet cup 

 in Afzelia, and the double membranous 

 «oat in Hippophde, t. 425, which last in- 

 vests the seed within the pulp of the berry. 



