64 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



pletely or nearly so at the adult age, and the two lateral are usually 

 only represented by two staminodes, very short in comparison with 

 the fertile stamens. All are inserted slightly perigynously upon the 

 edge of the receptacle, and the fertile stamen is formed of a free 



Vuehysia guianensis. 



Pig. 128, 129. Entire 

 stamen. Transverse sect. 



Fig. 127. Portion of 

 the inflorescence (\). 



Fig. 130. Dehiscent fruit. 



Fig. 131. Open 

 seed. 



filament and a bilocular introrse anther with two distinct cells 

 corresponding to the edges of the connective, and each dehiscing by 

 a longitudinal cleft.^ The gynseceum occupies the centre of the 

 receptacle ; it is formed of a three-celled ovary, surmounted by a 

 style swollen into a club and presenting towards the obtuse summit 

 an oblique stigmatiferous surface. In the inner angle of each cell, 

 two of them being posterior and one anterior, are two collateral, 

 descendent, incompletely anatropous ovules with linear hilum and 

 superior exterior micropyle. The fruit is a triquetrous loculicidal 

 capsule, the valves bearing upon the middle of their interior face a 

 partition, on each side of which is a descendent seed. This is 



' The pollen of several Vochysiacem of the 

 series SalvatertictiB has been examined hy H. 

 MoHL. (in Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 2, iii. 332), and 

 descrihed in different categories, "a flattened 

 sphere with three angles, small papilleas on the 

 angles [Vochysia fernigmea). — b. Spherical, tri- 



angular at the equator, on the angles very short 

 folds, on these the papillae [Qualea ecalcarata). — 

 e. Ovoid ; three folds ; in water a sphere with the 

 bands bearing papillie [Vochysia pyramidalis, 

 Amphilcchia qtmleoides, Callisthene minor)." 



