110 EEYTHEA. 



Miss Eastwood, Prof. Setchell and Mr. Jepson. Mr. J. W. 

 Blankinsliip has also kindly lent for study a number of speci- 

 mens from his private herbarium. 



There are four chief types of fruit to be distinguished in 

 the genus, which may be called the gracile^ dnhium, rhombic, 

 and capparideiim types. The first (Fig. 1) is the most fre- 

 quent form of fruit. It is a linear elongated 2-valved, 2-celled 

 strongly obcompressed capsule with carinate or rather con- 

 duplicate valves and a narrow complete partition. From the 

 peculiar form of the valves, a cross-section of this type of 

 capsule (Fig. 6) mach resembles a double bow knot. The 

 second, or diibium type (Fig. 2), is also linear and 2-valved, 

 but is not uniform throughout its length. While the upper 

 part is obcompressed and has conduplicate valves, a change 

 occurs somewhere in the pod (often although not always a 

 little above the middle), and the lower portion is somewhat 

 compressed laterally, with valves more or less flattened and 

 only slightly carinate. At the point (Fig. 2, a) where this 

 change occurs, the valves and replum not infrequently under- 

 go a torsion of about 90°, which brings the slight keel of 

 the lower portion of the valves (Fig. 2, c) just beneath and 

 almost continuous with the replum of the upper portion 

 (Fig. 2, b). The result of this torsion is to preserve to a 

 great extent the flatness of the pod throughout its entire 

 length. In cases where no torsion occurs the upper part of 

 the pod being obcompressed is out of plane with the lower 

 part, which is to some extent laterally compressed. When 

 the torsion occurs it is doubtless a mechanical adjustment of 

 tension in growth and naturally coincides accurately with the 

 change in the form of the valves. So neatly can this change 

 take place, that it sometimes requires a rather close inspec- 

 tion of a capsule of this kind to be sure that the median line, 

 which in the upper part represents the replum, in the lower 

 marks the middle of a valve. If such a capsule be examined 

 in cross-section it will be found that the part above the point 

 of change is 2-celled (with section similar to that shown in 

 Fig. 6), while the lower portion is somewhat rhombic in sec- 



