188 ON SEEDLINGS 



shallowly indented at the base, while on the other hand there 

 is a slight swelling at the micropyle caused by the radicle 

 being closely pressed against it. The embryo when normal 

 is transverse to and parallel with the placenta, but there are 

 exceptions when more than one embryo occurs in a seed. 



The fruit of Ardisia polycephala is depresso-globose, and 

 considerably flattened on the top. The embryo is terete and 

 thickened or clubbed at the tip of the radicle, with the back 

 of the cotyledons to the placenta. The fruit of A. japonica 

 (fig. 504) is perfectly globular with exception of the basal in- 

 dentation. The seed presents the remarkable peculiarity of 

 often containing several embryos, as many as six being 

 sometimes present. The radicle in such a case points in 

 various ways, and in germination each embryo makes its exit 

 at different places. Even although the embryo is solitary 

 in a seed of A. crenulata, it is nearly always excentric and 

 ascending. The cotyledons of this species never leave the 

 seed, but during germination they attain a considerable size, 

 and become slightly convolute with the edge of one within 

 that of the other. 



Seedlings. There is considerable variation amongst the 

 seedlings of this Order, and of the four genera and eight 

 species observed hardly any two are exactly alike in form as 

 far as the cotyledons are concerned. Those of Maesa argentea 

 are small, oval, and entire. The first leaf is ovate and 

 serrate, the size rapidly increasing in succeeding ones. The 

 cotyledons of Jacquinia ruscifolia are oblong-ovate, coriaceous, 

 and very persistent. The first pair of leaves are opposite, 

 elliptic, and larger than the cotyledons. The second pair 

 are also opposite, smaller, and sometimes at least very un- 

 equal in size. After this the leaves are lanceolate-elliptic, 

 and whorled. 



A very remarkable case occurs in Embelia Eibes (fig, 

 502) the cotyledons of which are ovate, acute, glandular- 

 ciliate and finely serrate along the whole margin in the young 

 state, but ultimately on the upper half only, owing apparently 

 to intercalary growth at the base. The venation of the full- 

 grown cotyledons would seem to indicate the same fact, for 

 the trinerved condition of the upper part is evidently 



