E UPHORBIA OEM. 



131 



with the petals, and five a little shorter superposed to them. Each is 

 formed of a free filament inciu-ved in the bud, and a biloeular anther, 

 dehiscing by two longitudinal clefts, introrse, but with the face 



Croton TiffHiini 



Fig. 197. Diaqrram of mile Fig. 198. Long. sect, of female flower (f). Fig. 199. Diagram of 

 flower. female flower. 



Fig. 201. Fruit. 



Fig. 200. Long. sect, of flower (\). 



Fig. 202. Seed. 



looking outwards before anthesis, on account of the incui'vation of 

 the filament. In the female flower, the calyx, oftener valvate than 

 imbricated, has sepals which may be fi-om four or five to ten or u 

 dozen. The petals, rarely as much developed as in the male fiowcr 

 and having the same form, are generally narrow, short, glanduliform 

 and may even disappear altogether. They generally alternate with 

 five independent or more or less united glands of an hypogynous 

 disk surrounding the base of a sessile ovary, generally trilocular. 

 In each cell is found a dcsccndent ovule, with exterior and superior 

 mieropyle, capped by an obturator of varied size. The style is 

 early divided, often even from the base, into three bifid ot several 

 times dichotomous branches, sometimes even much ramified. The 

 capsular, tri-coccate fruit is provided with a central columella. The 

 bivalve shells each contain a descendeut seed, analogous to that of 

 the Euphorhea; and Ricinus (fig. 202), whose mieropyle is accom- 



