182 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



of ovules each placenta advances to meet its fellow, and form an 

 antero-posterior false septum, which divides the ovary into two false- 



Cardam'uie pratensis (Cuckoo-flower). 



Fig. 204. 

 Flower, perianth removed. 



Fig. 205. 

 Long. sect, of flower. 



cells. 1 The fruit is a siliqua, that is a narrow elongated polysper- 

 mous fruit, opening when ripe by four longitudinal clefts into three 

 pieces. Two of them are the lateral valves. The third (median) piece, 

 from which they separate, is composed of the hardened placentas, 

 forming a narrow vertical antero-posterior frame of about the same 

 breadth as the valves ; on them is strained the membranous false- 

 septum, on either side of which are borne, before and behind, a row 

 of seeds on free slender funicles. Each campylotropous descending 

 seed contains within its coats 2 a bowed fleshy embryo, whose radicle 



1 Frequent anomalies occur in this genus and 



Fig. 201. 



many others, the carpels becoming free, separat- 

 ing from the placenta, having their number 

 increased, &c. The last is often due to the trans- 

 formation of several stamens into supernumerary 

 carpels, as shown in figs. 201-203, which are 

 external to the normal carpels, and unite with 

 them or remain free. (See Lindl., in Bot. Reg. 

 t. 1168.— Ad. Br., in Bull. Soc. Bot. de Fr., 

 viii. 454. — H. Bn., in Adansonia, iii. 351, t. 12, 

 &c.) 



2 Edged by a membrane in Dichroanthus 

 (Webb, Phyt. Canar., i. 65, t. 5, 6), that is, in 

 the section Cheiroides (DC), where the fruit is 

 tetragonal, with a slender style; not marginate in 

 the other section (Cheiri DC.), with a compressed 

 fruit, and scarcely any style. 



Fig. 202. 



