CRUCIFERjE 



325 



are in two distinct whorls. The four petals are so arranged 

 that when one looks at the face of the flower, it has the 

 appearance of a Greek cross, hence the name Cruciferae 

 (Latin, crux, cross, + fera, to bear). The petals, as a rule, 

 are clawed, that is, have a narrow or stalk- 

 like base at the tip of which is a broader 

 blade; they are similar as to size and shape. 

 Nectar glands are frequently found at the 

 base of petals. The six stamens are in two 

 whorls, the outer two opposite each other 

 and opposite the two sepals of the inner 

 whorl, and with short filaments, the inner 

 four stamens opposite the petals and with 

 long filaments; the anthers are two-loculed 

 (rarely one), and longitudinally dehiscent. 

 The single pistil is superior, usually sessile, 

 compound, and has a single style with a 

 more or less two-lobed or disk-shaped stigma ; 

 the ovules are attached to two parietal 

 placentas, which are connected by a "false" 

 partition, an outgrowth of the placentas 

 themselves. 



Fruit. — The ovary develops into a pod-Uke 

 fruit (Fig. 133), which is termed a silique 

 (Brassica) when long and slender, and a 

 silicle (Bursa) when short and broad. The 

 sides (valves) of the fruit separate at dehis- 

 cence, leaving the two placentas and false 

 partition. In a few genera (Raphanus, radish), the fruit is 

 indehiscent. 



Seeds. — The seeds are usually many, attached to both 

 sides of the partition, and have a mucilaginous testa; the 

 endosperm is lacking; cotyledons are incumbent (with their 



a 



Fig. 133. — Fruit 

 of cabbage (Bras- 

 sica oleracea capi- 

 tata). A, exter- 

 nal; B, cross-sec- 

 tion. 



