Pos 
304 LOCULICIDAL DEHISCENCE.—COCCI. 
ments in the middle. Examples may be seen in the Iris (fig. 
712) and Hibiscus (fig. 672). As in septicidal dehiscence, the 
valves may either carry the placentas and seeds with them (jig. 
673), as in the Hibiscus and Iris ; or they may break away from 
the placentas, and leave them united in the form of a central 
column (fig. 674) ; or each carpel may simply open at its dorsal 
suture, and the valves bearing the dissepiments may remain 
attached to the placentas. 
In some forms of septicidal dehiscence the carpels separate 
without opening, as in Scrophularia, in which case they may 
Fic. 672. Fic. 673. Fic. 674. Fic. 676. 
Fig. 672. Capsule of a species of Hibiscus, dehiscing loculicidally. ¥, v, v. 
Valves. c. Dissepiments. g. Seeds.—/ ig. 673. Diagram of loculicidal 
dehiscence, in which the valves carry the placentas with them.——Fig. 
674, Diagram of loculicidal dehiscence, in which the valves have sepa- 
ratedfrom the placentas which remain asacentral column with the seeds 
attached. Fig. 675. Fruit of the Castor-oil Plant (Ricinus communis), de- 
hiscing in a septicidal manner. ¢, ¢c,c. Carpels. a. Columella. sd. Dorsal 
suture where each carpel ultimately opens. Fig. 676. Fruit of a species 
of Geranium. c. Persistent calyx. a. Axis or carpophore from which the 
ovaries, 0, 0, with their styles, ¢, ¢, are separating. s. Stigmas. 
afterwards open by their dorsal sutures, that is, in a loculicidal 
manner. Inother cases, the axis is prolonged in the form of a 
columella or carpophore, as in the Mallow and Castor-oil Plant 
(fig. 675, a), and in the Geraniacez (jig. 676, a), and Umbel- 
liferze (fig. 717), and the carpels which are united to it also 
separate without their ovaries opening. The ovaries of such 
carpels frequently open afterwards by their dorsal sutures (jig. 
675, sd). When such carpels separate with a certain amount of 
elasticity from the axis to which they are attached, as in some 
Euphorbiacex, they have been called cocci (fig. 675, ¢, ¢, ¢). 
By some botanists, all carpels which thus separate from the axis 
