UMBEL LIFERM. 



131 



Physoxpermum aquilegifolimn. 



Fig. 140. Long. sect, of 

 fruit (^). 



aud solitary vittae in the interposed furrows. They are glabrous 

 perennial herbs, European and oriental, with decompound ternati- 

 pinnate leaves and compound umbels, 

 furnished with involucres and involucels 

 formed of numerous bracts. The seeds 

 are concave on the face, in which the 

 raphe is sunk. Moloposperiimm (fig. 

 141) has nearly all the characters of 

 Phijsospermnm, especially in the organs 

 of vegetation ; but in the fruit, more 

 elongate, constricted also at the com- 

 missure, the primary ridges are very 

 unequally developed. The two mar- 

 ginal are reduced to very small dimen- 

 sions, whilst the dorsal and the two 

 latero-dorsal alone project in the form 

 of prisms with a blunt independent 



angle ; which gives the transverse section of each mericarp a trapi- 

 zoidal form. The vittae are solitary and well developed, and the 

 seed there has deep canals. The 

 only Molopospermum known (M. Moioposp.-mum dcutarium. 



cicutarium) inhabits Central and 

 Southern Europe. Smyrnium 

 holds an intermediate position 

 between Molopospermum and 

 Physospermum by the promi- 

 nence of its primary ridges. The 

 two marginal are often little 

 developed at the commissure, 

 which is more or less hollowed. 

 The fruit (fig. 142-144) is gene- 

 rally short, or even wider than 

 long, with numerous vittae. The 

 face of the seeds is concave 

 and the margin generally invo- 

 lute. They are biennial plants 

 of Europe, the Levant and 

 Northern Africa, glabrous, having compound umbels with involucres 

 and involucels nil or reduced to a few bracts 



K 2 



Fig. 141. Trans, sect, of fruit (|). 



We can distinguish 



