230 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



walls are markedly thickened and many pored. The 

 parenchyma of the pericarp makes up the greater mass 

 of this structure ; it is very irregular, thin- walled, and the 

 cells inclined to be elongated parallel to the surface of 

 the fruit. These cells contain starch and have a number 

 of large oil glands, which have distinctly suberized walls. 

 Oil, fat, and crystals of ciibebin may also be found in this 

 parenchyma. 



The fibro-vascular bundles run up in the stem and 

 spread out in this parenchymatic layer. They soon 

 become fragmentary, however. The inner zone of the 

 pericarp is made up of very large stone cells, cells from 

 five to ten times the size of the stone cells lying just be- 

 neath the epidermis. These are usually arranged with 

 their longest axis at right angles to the thin seed coat, 

 which is just beneath. This seed coat consists of one 

 to two layers of compressed cells, the outer row of which 

 may have a slightly thickened wall. The seed coat cells 

 are dark-brown. Inside of the seed coat the cells of the 

 perisperm are large, thin -walled, starch-filled, paren- 

 chymatic cells. The starch grains are very small and 

 compound. The perisperm also contains large oil cells. 

 The starch grains develop as the fruit grows older. 

 Hence specimens according to their age will contain more 

 or less starch. The unripe seed should contain no well- 

 formed grains. Needle-like crystals, occurring in groups, 

 are often observed both in the pericarp and in the peri- 

 sperm. By some writers these are termed crystals of 

 cubebin. Meyer believes them to be either fatty crystals 

 or a terpene hydrate. 



Powder. — Powdered cubeb (No. 50) is grayish-brown 

 in color. The most prominent features of the powder 

 are stone cells, oil globules, starch grains in the ripe fruit, 

 crystalline masses, and parenchyma. Less conspicuous 

 are epidermal structures and fibro-vascular elements. 



The stone cells present a variety of shapes and sizes. 



