60 STRUCTURAL BOTANY. [50, 51. 



to receive it just within the upper end of the nu- 

 cellus. 



The relations of the ovule to the pollen grain will be more suitably dis- 

 cussed hereafter under the head of fertilization. We "briefly remark here that 

 the immediate contact of the two is brought about, at the time of flowering, 

 by special arrangements ; and that, as the undoubted result of their combined 

 action, the embryo soon after originates in the embryo sac. 



CHAPTER X. 



THE FRUIT. PERICARP. 



143. After having received the pollen which the 

 anthers have discharged, the pistil or its ovary con- 

 tinues its growth and enlargement, and is finally ma- 

 tured in the form of the peculiar fruit of the plant. 

 The fruit is, therefore, the mature ovary. 



144. As to the other organs of the flower, having accomplished their work 

 the fertilization of the ovary they soon wither and fall away. Some of 

 them, however, often persist, to protect or become blended with the ripening 

 fruit. Thus the tube of the superior calyx ( 97) always blends with the ovary 

 in fruit; as in Currant, Cucumber, etc. In Composites, the persistent limb 

 enlarges into the pappus of the fruit. In Buttercups, the fruit is beaked with 

 the short, persistent style. In Clematis and Q-eum, it is caudate (tailed) with 

 the long, feathery style. In the Potato tribe, Labiatse, and many others, the 

 inferior calyx continues to vegetate like leaves until the fruit ripens. In some 

 cases the fruit, so called, consists of the receptacle and ovaries blended; as in 

 Apple and Strawberry. Again in Mulberry, Pig, and Pineapple, the whole 

 inflorescence is consolidated into the matured fruit. 



145. As a rule, the structure of the fruit agrees 

 essentially with that of the ovary. In many cases, 

 however, the fruit undergoes such changes in the 

 course of its growth from the ovary as to disguise its 

 real structure. An early examination, therefore, is 

 always more reliable in its results than a late one. 

 For example, the acorn is a fruit with but one cell 



