cucurbitace.t:. 35 



out nearly to the walls of the ovary : with 3 spurious dissepiments 

 produced inwards from where the midrib of these supposed carpels 

 would be situated,* so that the ovary appears 3-celled with parietal 

 placenta3 ; ovules numerous, in several rows, rarely few or soli- 

 tary ; style short, more or less deeply 3-cleft ; stigmas thickened, 

 papillose or lohed. Pruit fleshy or juicy, Avith a leathery rarely 

 membranous rind, often 1-celled by the disappearance of the par- 

 titions. Seeds anatropous, compressed in a juicy or membranous 

 arillus ; testa leathery ; albumen none ; cotyledons foliaceous. 



GUNUS L—B R Y O N I A. Zinn. 



Plowers monoecious or dioecious. Calyx in the male flowers 

 widely bell-shaped, 5-toothed : in the female with the base of the 

 tube subglobose adhering to the ovary, the upper portion con- 

 structed and produced above the ovary into a short slender tube ; 

 limb bell-shaped, 5-toothed, the limb and the part of the tube free 

 from the ovary deciduous. Petals 5, cohering only at the base or 

 free. Male flowers with triadelphous stamens with short filaments 

 and long sinuous 1-celled anthers ; female flowers with a short 

 thick style terminated by 3 spreading irregularly - cut stigmas 

 papillose on the inside. Fruit globose or ovoid, smooth, few-seeded, 

 usually 1-celled when mature. Seeds slightly compressed, more or 

 less distinctly margined, not expelled with elasticity when ripe. 



Trailing or climbing juicy herbs, with leaves palmately 5-lobed. 

 Tendrils simple or more rarely forked. Elowers rather small, 

 greenish-white, in axillary cymes or fascicles. Fruit small, usually 

 black or red. 



The name of this genus of plants appears to liave reference to the vigorous and 

 active growth of its annual stems, which proceed from the perennial root, and adhere 

 to other shrubs with their tendrils. The Greek word (jpvu) {hryo), I sprout up or 

 germinate, is the origin of the generic name of the plant. 



SPECIES I— BRYONIA DIOICA. Linn. 

 Plate DXYII. 



Leaves palmately 5-lobed, rough on both sides. Flowers dioe- 

 cious ; the male flowers in stalked corymbose cymes : the female 



■''■ See the diagram of the section of the ovary of Bryonia, Plate DXVIT., where 

 the spurious partitions are represented by double hard lines, and the supposed position 

 of the carpels by dotted lines. 



