SECT. V. THE FRUIT. 14Q 



its most frequent modifications: it is either sphe- 

 rical, as in the Cherry ; or eliptical, as in the Al- 

 mond ; or oblong, as in the Coffee-tree; or cylin- 

 drical, as in Epilobium ; or inversely conical, as in 

 the Pear; or inversely heart-shaped, as in Veronica ; 

 or kidney-shaped, as in Anacardium ; or three 

 cornered, as in the Tulip ; or twisted, as in Me- 

 dicago sativa ; or jointed, as in Hedysarum ; or 

 inflated, as in Staphylea ; or winged, as in Crown 

 Imperial; or stellate, as in the Poppy. The apex 

 is described also as being acute, as in Sago ; or 

 obtuse, as in the Filbert ; or truncated, or emar- 

 ginate, as in Thlaspi ; or umbilicate, as in the 

 Apple. 



The size of the fruit is also very various, but is Size, 

 not always proportioned to the plant that produces 

 it. The Oak and the Ash though among the largest 

 of trees, produce a fruit that is comparatively but 

 very diminutive ; while the Gourd, whose stem is 

 but herbaceous and creeping, produces a fruit of a 

 most enormous bulk. The largest fruits occur 

 among the palms, or among the Cucurbit aceous 

 and Leguminous plants. The fruit of Leontarus 

 maldivica is often a foot and a half in diameter ; 

 and that of Mimosa candens often six feet in 

 length. 



The fruit in its immature state is always soft Contex- 

 and pulpy, but in its matured and ripened state it tu 

 is generally firm and compact, and sometimes so 

 very hard that it can scarcely be cut. In the 



