192 



ON SEEDLINGS 



epicarp thin ; mesocarp pulpy, pale pink or almost colourless ; 

 endocarp crustaceous, marked longitudinally from base to apex 

 with strong, simple or somewhat forking nerves ; placenta promi- 

 nent, causing a slight indentation in the base of the seed, and 

 thinned away towards the sides, forming a cup round the base of the 

 seed. 



Seed solitary, globose, slightly in- 

 dented at the base, conforming to the 

 cavity of the ovary ; testa thin, pale 

 brown, membranous. 



f \ \^\Nr i jy*C_ y Endosperm fleshy, subtransparent, 



Vy"""^*^ I \f~ : ~~ J ^ firm, but when dry horny, constitut- 

 v. -/ J-S\ ! / /Ov ing the greater bulk of the seed. 



Embryo straight, transverse to the 

 seed, or more often ascending, more 

 than half the width of the seed, but 

 proportionately much shorter than 

 that of A. japonica or A. poly- 

 cephala, 2-75-3-25 mm. long ; coty- 

 ledons minute, ovate, obtuse, entire, 

 colourless, lying with their edges per- 

 pendicular to the hilum ; radicle cylin- 

 drical, stout, obtuse, abutting against 

 the testa and causing a slight eleva- 

 tion, pale greenish, several times 

 longer than the cotyledons, horizontal 

 or more often ascending. 



Seedling (fig. 503). 

 Primary root long, fleshy, gradu- 

 ally tapering, giving off a few scattered 

 lateral rootlets. 



Hypocotyl terete, fleshy, stout, pale 

 or dirty white beneath the soil, and 

 pale green dotted with red above it, 

 minutely pubescent, about 2 cm. 

 long, 1*5-2 mm. thick. 

 Cotyledons spathulate, remaining in the testa until the endo- 

 sperm is exhausted, and carrying up the testa with them, ultimately 

 perishing and falling away.~ 



Stem erect, terete, fleshy and soft, ultimately frutescent, minutely 

 pubescent, pale green dotted with red, subverrucose ; 1st internode 

 6-5 mm. long ; 2nd 2 mm. ; 3rd 1'5 mm. ; 4th 3'5 mm. 



PIG. 503. Ardisia crenulata. 

 Nat. size. 



