OF THE PELLICULA 



to seeds, which come under the following denomi- 

 nations. 



Pellicula, the PeHicle, called by Geertner Epi- 

 dermisj closely adheres to the outside of some seeds, 

 so as to conceal the proper colour and surface of 

 their skin, and is either membranous, and often 

 down3^ as in Conrolvulas, or mucilaginous, not per- 

 ceptible till the seed is moistened, as in Salviaver- 

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

 of the seed in Chenopodhnn, called by Gasrtner 

 ZTtriculus, is merely a Pellicula. 



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 

 Euonymus, Engl. Bot. t. 362, the beautiful scarlet 

 cup in Jf'zelia, f. 203, and the double membranous 

 coat in Hippophae, t. 425, which last invests the 

 seed within the pulp of the berry. The outer of 

 these coats only is described by Grertner, as a pe- 

 culiar membrane lining the cell of the berry ; his 

 '^ integument urn duplex'' refers to the testa, which 

 I mention only to prevent misapprehension. The 

 ]\Iace which envelops the Nutmeg is a partial Aril- 

 luSj beautifully drawn in Gasrtner, if. 41. Narthe- 

 cium, Engl. Bot. t. 535, has a complete membra- 

 nous tunic, elongated beyond the seed at each end, 

 as in many of the Orchis tribe ; and such seeds, 



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