430 OX SEEDLINGS 



more rarely to the inner angle of the cell, and amphitropous 

 or campylotropous. There is frequently a spongy arillode at 

 the micropyle. The fruit is monocarpellary and crustaceous, 

 coriaceous, baccate or samaroid, or it is polycarpellary, with 

 one-celled, one-seeded, free or connate carpels. The seed is 

 erect, very rarely ascending, and globose, reniform or lenticular 

 and compressed. The testa is membranous or crustaceous, 

 and smooth, rugose or downy. A small bilobed aril is fre- 

 quently present ; but in Stegnosperma it is large and covers 

 the seed. The embryo is relatively large, peripherical, and 

 surrounds the farinaceous or fleshy endosperm, in elongated 

 seeds it is hooked or abruptly deflexed at the apex. The coty- 

 ledons are incumbent, foliaceous, and plicate-convolute, or 

 linear, narrow and semiterete or plano-convex. The radicle is 

 elongated and close to the hilum. 



Some exceptional cases occur in the Order. The ovary is 

 half inferior in Agdestis ; and in Stegnosperma it is one-celled 

 and rnany-ovuled, while the fruit is three-valved and three- to 

 five-seeded. The large aril of Stegnosperma is also notable. 



At least three distinct types of seeds have come under 

 my observation. The simplest, represented by Phytolacca 

 pruinosa, is exactly similar to what occurs in Illecebraceae 

 and Chenopodiaeeae. The seed is reniform, laterally com- 

 pressed with a large peripheral embryo surrounding a mode- 

 rate quantity of farinaceous endosperm. The cotyledons 

 are linear, plano-convex, slightly wider than the radicle and 

 about twice as long. The seed of P. acinosa corresponds 

 closely to that of its congener. 



The seed of Kivina lasvis is small, orbicular, laterally 

 compressed, notched at the base, densely pubescent and un- 

 equal in thickness. The embryo is curved, horse- shoe fashion, 

 round the endosperm ; but the cotyledons are very wide, 

 thin, longitudinally convolute and somewhat longer than the 

 radicle. The position is best seen in transverse section. 

 A vertical section shows four pieces as if there were four coty- 

 ledons. 



The fruit of Petiveria octandra (fig. 616) is an achene sur- 

 mounted by two to six sharply reflexed hooks of unequal size. 

 The embryo is sharply doubled upon itself and nearly peri- 



