CLASSIFICATION 183 
flowers. They have no epicalyx. Althea (Hollyhock), 
found in many gardens, has large showy flowers which 
tend to become “double” by the stamens turning to 
petals. Malva, the mallow, is occasionally cultivated in 
this country. All the above have a schizocarp for fruit. 
Gossypium (the Cotton Plant) has an epica'yx of 3 
parts only ; the fruit isa capsule, the seeds being covered 
with hairs for wind dispersal; these hairs form the 
material known as cotton. 
Fic. 103.—Mesembryanthemum. 
I. Single flower. II. Vertical section. III. A stamen, 
154. N.O. Ficoideae or Aizoaceae.—General Characters. 
—Plants are xerophytic herbs with opposite (occasionally 
alternate) fleshy, exstipulate leaves. Typical floral for- 
mula is P 5 or (5) ; A5; G (8) ; ovary 3-celled with numer- 
ous ovules in each cell. Dedoublement is very common 
in the androecium, and in Mesembryanthemum, the outer 
stamens are represented by petaloid staminodes. The 
ovary is usually superior with axile placentation, but in 
Mesembryanthemum it is inferior, and multilocular, 
with parietal placentation. The fruit is a capsule. 
Mesembryanthemum is the most important genus 
