238 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



producing a smaller fruit. Its taste, though quite 

 aromatic, is less sharp than the German fennel. 



Histology. — The epicarp of the half fruit, which is 

 less smooth, is formed of tabular cells with walls slightly 

 but evenly thickened on all sides. Viewed on the sur- 



FiG. 68. — Fennel. 

 Cross-section of mericarp of fennel: com, Commissural side; c, ribs 

 with small vessel bundles; vt, vittas, and vl, valleculae, oil passages; 

 c (in center), endosperm of seed; sh, endocarp sheath (Tschirch). 



face, they are irregular in outline, somewhat angular, 

 with sparsely distributed oval or almost round stomata. 

 Imbedded in the mesocarp of the usual thin-walled 

 tissue are the oil tubes, six in number, two on the inner 

 face, the other four in the outer intercostal spaces. The 



