THE POISONOUS PLANTS OF BOMBAY, 263 



GYNCECIUM :— 



Ovary. — Inferior, globose, 1-celled, adherent to the calyx-tube 

 firmly, surmounted by a disk. Wight and Arnott say that 

 *' the ovary is 1 — 2 celled." But this is not accurate. For, 

 observe the following remark, quoted from Lindley, in Wight's 

 Illustrations of Indian Botany (vol. i, p. 211, Madras, 1840)j 

 with reference to the " A'^nities " of the Natural Order Com- 

 hretacece : — '^ The solitary carpel of which the fruit consists is 

 peculiar to these *' — meaning the Combretacece (K.R.K.) — > 

 *' and to the Alangiece^ and neatly distinguishes these two 

 " orders from all others of the myrtal alliance." 



Ovule. — Solitary, pendulous (Wight and Arnott). 



Style. — One ; very long or " elongate " as Brandis terms it. 

 Glabrous; uniformly cylindric; subulate, — that is to say, ex- 

 panded at the base into a thick coloured disk which is fleshy 

 and covers the top of the ovary. 



Stigma. — Large, capitate or subglobose. Wight and Arnott 

 simply say it is " dilated^'' but this does not convey an accurate 

 idea. I think the stigma may be termed " many-headed," as 

 will be amply seen from the flowering branch in my illustration,, 



JFRUIT. — Some call it a berry ; others call it a drupe, varying 

 from ^ to 1 inch in vertical diameter ; ellipsoid i tomentose says 

 Brandis ; crowned by the somewhat enlarged calyx-limb ; quite smooth, 

 with slight vertical ribs when dry (Thwaites). Clarke says it is closely 

 pubescent or finally glabrous. The colour of the fruit is black says 

 Clarke; but, as will be observed from my illustration, it is rich 

 crimson in its entire '^epicarp." The "epicarp" is tough. The 

 " mesocarp " or " sarcocarp " is pulpy and mucilaginous. The 

 *' endocarp " is bony, and separated from the sarcocarp like a putamen 

 (Wight and Arnott). 



SEED. — Oblong, solitary, pendulous. 



Albumen.— Ruminated ; " fleshy " say Wight and Arnott. 



Embryo. — Straight, inverse (Roxburgh). 



Radicle. — Superior, elongated. 



Cotyledons. — Leafy ; crumpled ; note that Wight and Arnott say 

 that they are *' flat," and not crumpled. Note also that it is the 



