394 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



always solitary. The ovule is always orthotropous in these genera, 

 of which the first and the two last are Oceanian, and the two others 

 natives of South Africa. 



IV. FBANKLANDIA SERIES. 



Franklandia fucifolia. 



This series only contains the 

 genus FranMandia 1 (fig. 233), the 

 only known species 2 of which has 

 regular hermaphrodite flowers. 

 The long perianth is hypocrateri- 

 form or with a tubular base. The 

 limb expands into four acute lobes 

 induplicate in the bud ; and these 

 four leaves are free for about half- 

 way down the tube. There lie the 

 stamens, which adhere to the peri- 

 anth not only by their filaments 

 but also by nearly the whole length 

 of their introrse two-celled anthers; 

 these early dehisce by two lon- 

 gitudinal clefts. 3 The gynseceum 

 consists of an ovary with a very 

 taper base. Not far from the sum- 

 mit of the ovary-cell is a single 

 descending orthotropous ovule ; 

 the slender style ends in a little 

 dilated stigmatiferous head, dilated, truncate, or even subconcave. 

 Around the ovary is a disk of four triangular tongues, alternate with 

 the perianth-leaves, and rising up around the gynseceum to form a sort 

 of 4-sided pyramidal roof, whose apex, traversed by the style, is divided 

 into its four pieces. The fruit is dry, dilated at the apex into a cupule 

 surrounded by hairs. It is protected by the persistent inferior part of 

 the perianth, and contains a seed whose fleshy embryo has very short 



Fig. 233. 



Longitudinal section of flower. 



1 R. Be., in Tram. Linn. Soc, x. 48, 157 ; 

 Prodr., 370; Gen. Bern, on Pot. of Terr. 

 Austral., 604, t. 6 ; Suppl., 11. — Endl., Gen., n. 

 2134, ; Iconogr., t. 52. — Meissn., Prodr., 327. 



2 F. fucifolia R. Be., loc. cit. — Meissn., in 



Plant. Preiss., i. 530. — F. Muell., Fragm., vi. 

 223.— Benth. & F. Muell., Fl. Austr., v. 376. 

 [These authors add another species, F. triuris- 

 tata Bentii., I. c] 



3 The pollen is elliptical according to R.Brown. 



