EBENACE^ 203 



few-celled by abortion and one- or few-seeded. The seeds 

 are pendulous, more or less compressed and oblong, or if 

 solitary globose, two- to three-furrowed on the back, with 

 a membranous or coriaceous testa. Endosperm is copious, 

 cartilaginous, and in many cases ruminated. The embryo 

 is axile, and straight, oblique or slightly curved, and half 

 the length of the endosperm or longer. The cotyledons are 

 foliaceous and much wider than the superior cylindrical 

 radicle. 



Seedlings. The cotyledons of Diospyros Embryopteris 

 (fig. 508) are lanceolate-oblong, entire, trinerved, the nerves 

 giving off short branches. The first pair of leaves are oppo- 

 site, obovate-oblong, with a closely anastomosing venation. 

 The ultimate leaves are lanceolate-oblong, coriaceous, entire, 

 with ascending slightly incurved venation. In an unnamed 

 species of Diospyros the cotyledons are ovate, trinerved from 

 a little above the base, and 2-5 cm. long exclusive of the 

 short petiole. The first twelve internodes of the stem are 

 short, after which the primary axis becomes arrested and 

 branches are developed horizontally from axillary buds a 

 little below the apex which bears minute scale-like leaves. 

 Previous to this ten ovate leaves are produced with incurved 

 venation. 



Diospyros Embryopteris, Pers. (fig. 508). 



Hypocotyl erect, subcompressed, but possibly accidentally, lon- 

 gitudinally ridged and furrowed, glabrous, straw-coloured, about 

 4 cm. above the soil. 



Cotyledons lanceolate-oblong, obtuse, entire, narrowed somewhat 

 to the base and sessile, glabrous, three- or faintly five- to seven- 

 nerved with slightly branching nerves, thin, T9-2-2 cm. long, 6-7'5 

 mm. wide. 



Stem erect, subcompressed, densely covered with ascending pale 

 brown hairs, ultimately woody ; 1st internode 9 mm. long. 



Leaves simple, entire, cauline, opposite in the seedling stage, 

 ultimately alternate, exstipulate, petiolate, alternately and ascend- 

 ingly penninerved, much reticulated, glabrous above, ciliate at the 

 margin, and thinly covered beneath with adpressed hairs, coriaceous, 

 evergreen ; petioles very short, semiterete, flattened and shallowly 

 grooved or channelled above, densely hairy in the seedling but less 

 in the adult plant or glabrescent. 



