THE FRUIT AND ITS ENVELOPES. 



89 



parts. Before commencing our examination of 

 the fruit, we Iiave to describe an accessory organ 

 of the flower, which is sometimes wanting, but 

 which, wlien present, is of the greatest impor- 

 tance for the arrangement of plants in natural 

 families. ^ This organ is the disk. 



It is distinguished into hypoffynotis, porigt/nom, 

 and qoiffynous. 



1 . The hypogywms disk bears the name of po- 

 dogynwm when it forms a fleshy body, distinct 

 from the receptacle, and which raises the ovary 

 above the bottom of the flower ; as in the rue, 

 and the other species of the family of RutaceiE. 

 It is named ^feMr-0(7j/BM«i, when it comes off under 

 the ovary and rises upon one of its lateral parts; 

 as, for example, in the periwinkle. It is called 

 epipodium, when it is foi-med of several tubercles 

 which come off^ upon the support of the ovary. 

 This variety of disk is observed especially in the 

 plants of the family of Cruciferae, as the mus- 

 tard, turnip, &c. 



2. The perigi/nous disk is formed by a more 

 or less thick fleshy substance, spread out upon 

 the inner wall of the calyx, as in the cherry, the 

 almond, and certain species of dioama, which, in 

 this respect, diff^er from the other species of the 

 same genus. 



S. The epigynous disk is that which is observed 

 upon the summit of the ovary when the latter 

 is inferior, that is, when it is attached by every 

 part of its outer surface to the tube of the calyx, 

 as in the umbelliferae, (carrot) and rubiacese, 

 (gallium.) 



The insertion of the stamina is distinguished 

 into absolute and relative. The first of these 

 terms appKes to the position of the stamina, 

 without reference to the pistil. Thus we say : 

 stamina inserted into the coroUa, the calyx, &c. 

 The second applies to the position of the stamina 

 or of the staminiferous monopetalous coroUa, 

 with relation to the pistil. Thus we say : stamina 

 inserted beneath the ovary, around the ovary, or 

 upon the ovary. 



There are thus distinguished three kinds of 

 insertion, which are named hypogynous, perigyn^ 

 ous, and epigynous. The liypogyruyus insertion is 

 that in which the stamina, or the monopetalous 

 corolla bearing the stamina, are inserted under 

 the ovary ; as in the cruciferae, labiatse, &c. The 

 perigynous insertion is that in which the stamina 

 are inserted into the calyx, as in the rosacese, 

 (the wild rose.) Lastly, in the epigynous inser- 

 tion, which takes place whenever the ovary is 

 inferior, the stamina or the staminiferous mon- 

 opetalous corolla are inserted u])on the summit 

 of the ovary. The umbeUifera;, rubiacese, &c., 

 afford examples of this kind of insertion. 



The position of the disk generally determines 

 the insertion. Thus, whenever there is a hypo'- 

 g3mous disk,- the insertion is hypogynous. It 

 is perigynous, when the disk is so. Lastly, it 



is epigynous, whenever there is an epigynous 

 disk upon the summit of the ovary. 



CHAP. XVI. 



THE FRUIT AND ITS ENVELOPES. 



In the progress of fructification, when the 

 several organs of the flower have discharged 

 their respective offices, the petals, the stamens, 

 the style, and often the calyx, wither and fall. 

 The ovary alone remains attached to the plant, 

 and swells and expands tiU it reaches maturity. 

 It is now denominated the fruit. But at the 

 period of its complete development, it also de- 

 taches itself from the plant and drops into the 

 bosom of the earth, containing and protecting 

 the embryo of the future vegetable. The fruit 

 then is the ripened ovary, and the parts which 

 it contains. In popular language the term is 

 confined chiefly to such fruits as are eatable, as 

 the apple, peach, cheiTy, or perhaps to the escu- 

 lent part only; but with the botanist, the matured 

 ovary of every flower, with the parts contained, 

 constitutes and is termed the fruit. 



As the fruit consists of the ripened ovary, it 

 follows that the situation and distribution of the 

 fruit must be the same with that of the flower 

 which has preceded it. If the flower was radical 

 or caulinary, so is the fruit. If it was lateral, 

 axLUary, or terminating, so is the fruit. If it 

 was sessile or pedunculate, spiked or verticellate, 

 so also is the finiit. And for the aame reason, if 

 the ovary was detached, the fruit must also 

 be detached. Or to express these modifica- 

 tions in language perhaps more correct, if 

 the flower was inferior, the fruit will be in- 

 ferior; if the flower was superior, the fruit -mil 

 be superior ; and if the flower was intermediate, 

 the friiit vrill be intermediate. It does not fol- 

 low, however, that mere modifications of posi- 

 tion shall be the same, because it frequently 

 happens that plants of which the flower has 

 been drooping, the fruit is erect, as in the lily 

 and cowslip ; and, on the contrary, that of plants 

 of which the flower has been erect, the fruit is 

 drooping, as in wheat and barley. The figure 

 of the fruit assumes almost as much variety as 

 that of the flower, but the following are its most 

 frequent modifications. It is either spherical, 

 as in the cherry; or elliptical, as in the almond ; 

 or oblong, as in the cofifee-berry ; or cylindrical, 

 as in epilohiwrn; or inversely conical, as in the 

 pear; or inversely heart-shaped, as in veronica; 

 or kidney-shaped, as in cmacardium; or three- 

 cornered, as in the tulip ; or tvidsted, as in me- 

 cago satira; or jointed, as in liedysarum ; or in- 

 flated, as in staphylea; or winged, as in crown 

 imperial ; or stellate, as in the poppy. The apex 



M 



