SECT. I. ORGANOGRAPHY AND GLOSSOLOGY. 



105 



the cellular matter between them. The outer skin forms 

 the " epicarp," the inner the " en. 

 docarp/' and the intermediate por- 

 tion is the " sarcocarp." In many 

 pericarps^ these parts are not well 

 defined ; but in such as are fleshy, 

 as in the stone-fruits, peaches, 

 plums, &c., it is the endocarp which 

 develops into the " stone," the epi- 

 carp forms the " skin," whilst the 

 sarcocarp becomes the delicious and 

 edible portion of the fruit. 



(107.) Dehiscence. When the 

 ripened pericarp divides spontane- 

 ously, in any definite manner, it is said to be " dehis- 

 cent/' and the line of division is termed 

 the " suture," whilst the separate parts 

 are called " valves" (fig. 111.). In ge- 

 neral, the suture tallies either with the 

 adhering edges of the carpels, or with 

 a line parallel and midway between them, 

 in the position of the midrib or nerve of 

 each carpel. In the former case, the dehiscence is 

 termed " septicidal " (a), as 

 in the Colchicum autumnale ; 

 and in the latter, which is the 

 most usual, " loculicidal" (6), 

 as in the tulip. In a few 

 plants, as in the common pimpernel (Anagallis arven- 

 st's), the suture is transverse to the lines 112 

 formed by the edges of the carpels ; such 

 a pericarp is termed a " pyxidium " (fig. 

 1 12.). In some cases, the dehiscence is so 

 limited, that it merely forms pores or small 

 valves, at the extremities of the pericarp. 

 In many pericarps there is no particular 

 line of suture : but they rupture irregu- 

 larly, to permit the escape of the seed ; or else they 

 decay and gradually rot without bursting. 



