MIRBEL'S CLASSIFICATION OF FRUITS. 



m 



Fig. 106, is a 

 presentation of 



^^^J#^ 



y 



Fio-. 106. presentation of an 

 acorn, tlie fruit of the 

 oak, (auERCus robur ;) 

 it stands in a hemis- 

 pherical ciipule, form- 

 /' ed of imbricated 



a scales. The gland is 

 ellipsoid, coriaceous^ 

 \ one-celled, and one- 

 ' seeded. The seed is 

 tunicated ; embryo is 

 dicotyledonous ; the 

 cotyledons are large 

 and fleshy ; a, is an 

 entire calyhion ; b, the cupule, d, two abortive glands ; c, the gland 

 cut vertically, showing the embryo near its apex. 



Fi". 107. Sycone, (from sucon, 



/<r77''^W, ^ ^S'-) This is a genus 



i X ''' ''' '' '' 'V'^^^X of fruits formed by the 



i ' '' enlargement of the 



L clinanthe or recepta- 



\ cle, into a hollow 

 '^ fleshy substance, co- 

 vered within by nu- 

 merous florets, each 



''-— = — ^^-^ . " ^ '^ of which contains a 



drupeole ; these florets ni the matuie ^tate of the fruit disappear, 

 leaving only seeds imbedded in the cellular substance of the pericarp. 

 The cavity within becomes gradually filled by the increase of cellular 

 tissue, until, as in the tig, it entirely disappears. Fig. 107, a, repi'e- 

 sents a sycone, the fruit of the Ambora, which betongs to the fig 

 tribe of plants ; this remains open at its summit, and is more woody 

 in its texture than the common fig, {Ficus carica.) b, represents 

 the fruit, cut transversely, vv'ith the seeds circularly arranged within 

 the sarcocarp. 



4th. /S'orose, (from soi^os, a 

 pier. 108. collection ;) this genus con- 

 "° ' tains many fruits united in a 

 spike, or catkin, and cover- 

 ed with succulent floral en- 

 \ elopes, as the mulberry. 

 F]g 108, a, represents the 

 fiuit of the MORUS rubra, (red 

 1 uilberry,) which is an ex- 

 imple of the genus sorose ; it 

 ^ of an oblong form; each 

 httlc drupe is surrounded by 

 I succulent pericarp ; the nut 

 js one-seeded; 6, represents 

 a dt tached perianth, contain- 

 ing a driipeole ; c, drupeole ; d, a nut; e, the same cut transversely ; 

 J] the embryo. 



Describe aa acorn— What is a Sycone ?- 



present 1 



-Describe the Sorose— What does Fig. 108 



