GEBANIACE^. 



from below upwards, . supported below' by a long tongue ' which, 

 separates ffom the style above the cell, and curves or coils itself 

 spirally.^ Thus one or two .seeds are set at liberty, each at . first 

 enclosed in a cell, containing under their coats a not very thick and 



Qiranium ZobeHianwn. 



Fig. 13. Seed (-t). 



Fig. 12. Dehiscent fruit. 



■Fig. 14. Embryo. ' 



fleshy albumen, often reduced to a membranous layer, and envelop- 

 ing an embryo whose radicle is incumbent to the folded-induplicate 

 or convoluted cotyledons.^ The Geraniums are herbaceous .plants 

 or more rarely suflfrutescent, with branches knotted or articulated at 

 -the insertion of the leaveg. These are alternate or opposite,^ petio- 

 late, accompanied by two lateral stipules with limb dentate digiti- 

 neryed or more rarely penninerved, lobed or dissected. The flowers* 

 are united in various numbers,^ in uniparous cymes, often taken for 

 s.hort racemes or umbels, on a common peduncle,: axillary or lateral 



five channels furnished inwardly with hairs, the 

 channels terminating below the stigmata. 

 These channels conduct to a cleft opening be- 

 tween the two ovules of the same cell, and show 

 there the presence of a papillose tissue conduct- 

 ing to the mioropyle, and which' is dbubtless an 

 obturator (see Flora, 1864, 401). _ 



' This tong:ue is very hygrometric, and in the 

 fruit at one period the carpels are clearly raised 

 (fig. 11). The inner surface and edges of the 

 tongues are often glabrous. 



' The embryo is often green. There is often 

 only a very small quantity of mucous' aibxunen" 



between the folds. The seed is very often de- 

 formed, and more or less pressed Out of shape by " 

 the neighbouring seed, and the walls Of the peri- 

 carp. 



■" In the latter case they are sometimes even 

 in' false pairs, the youngest being drawn on le'vel 

 or nearly so with the older one; we may also 

 observe in this genus false vorticels of leaves. 



* White, pink, violet, bluish, or of a more or 

 less dark purplei, sometimes coloured purple on 

 a white ground. 



^ Often only one or two, the youngest being 

 lateral. '" 



