Mr. J. Miers on the Bignoniacese, 165 



the carpellary constitution of the ovary and fruit in the Catalpea. 

 In some species of Spathodea, in Stereospermum, in Parmentiera, 

 and partially in Sparattosperma, the dissepiment seen in fig. 6 

 becomes swollen and enlarged by solid deposits into a cylindrical 

 plug, which nearly fills the entire cavity of the Fig. 11. 



two valves, the body of the seeds being left im- 

 bedded in corresponding cavities of the plug 

 (as in fig. 11), while the wings remain pressed 

 against the inner face of the valves. In Spa- 

 thodea falcaia and in Spathodea alternifolia, the 

 capsule is much compressed, and the dissepiment, instead of 

 being cylindrical, is greatly flattened, though still filling the 

 entire space formed by the two valves : this dissepiment is deeply 

 sulcated along the middle of both faces, almost to the centre, 

 the groove being divided by an extremely narrow ridge, the 

 margins of which are attached to the middle of the valves, from 

 which they afterwards separate : this ridge is an extreme abbre- 

 viation of the shorter seminigcrous arms of the cruciform dis- 

 sepiment described in Heterophragma (fig. 10), and is in like 

 manner seminigerous ; it contains the same placentary threads 

 which are seen in the centre of the large cylindrical plug of 

 Stereospermum chelonoides. In a section of Fig. 12. 



the dissepiment of Spathodea falcata (fig. 12) 

 there are seen two of the deep cavities alter- 

 nately formed in it upon each side of the 

 ridge, each of which cavities is filled with a single seed attached 

 by its marginal hilum to the ridge. From this arrangement it 

 is seen that the seeds are strictly centripetal, the radicle of the 

 embryo pointing to the axis of the fruit, contrary to the usual 

 disposition of the order. These several developments therefore 

 may all be referred to one simple normal structure, diff'erent 

 from that of the Bignoniece ; and the Catalpea thus constitute a 

 second very natural tribe. 



From the last-mentioned group, as indi(*ated by DeCandolle, 

 we must exclude Platycarpum (and, of course, Henriquezia) , as 

 it is evident that their ovary is constructed of two carpels only, 

 which, though placentiferous on the midrib of their folded car- 

 pellary leaves, as in the two preceding divisions, are difi'ercntly 

 placed in regard to each other; for the midribs of the carpels 

 are disposed back to back, as in fig. 7, and con- pie. 13, 



joined so as to form a bilocular ovary, as in 

 fig. 13, with the placentation in the axis and the 

 ovules fixed in the angle of each cell : the fruit 

 thus resulting is a 2-celled loculicidal capsule, the valves remain- 

 ing attached to the axis, and the cells opening along the sutural 

 line of the sterile margins of the carpels. In this group the 



