364 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



with two collateral ovules in each cell. The branches are in part 

 transformed into spines, and the leaves are simple, linear, alternate, 

 or fasciculate. Diplopeltis has also a very different aspect. It consists 

 of Australian herbs, suflfrutescent at the base, whose flowers are also 

 very nearly those of Koelreuteria ; but the glandular ovary is didy- 

 mous or trilobate, and the fruit is a coriaceous, depressed capsule, 

 hi- or tri-lobate, septioidal, divided at maturity into berries dehis- 

 cent by their internal angle. The Erithrophysas are also closely 

 allied to the preceding genera. They also have irregular flowers. 



lErlthrojjhysa undiilata. 



Fig-. 391. Hennaphrodite flower (^). 



Fig. 392. Longitudinal section of flower. 



with four petals and a more or less excentric ovary with bi-ovulate 

 cells. The petals are provided with a long claw lined iu the upper 

 part by a petaloid appendage, more or less lobate and cut in fim- 

 briate tufts (fig. 391, 392). The receptacle has the shape of a cup 

 on whose edges the very pronounced waved disk is projected from one 

 side, so that the stipitate gynseceum is more or less excentric. The 

 fruit is vesiculate, almost like that of Koelreuteria, and the cells of 

 the ovary are also biovnlate. The two species of Erithrophysa known 

 are, one from the Cape, the other from Madagascar, and they have 

 large flowers appearing before the imparipinnate leaves. Cossignia 

 (fig. 393-398), consisting of shrubs from Zanzibar, Madagascar, and 

 the Mascarine islands, has nearly all the characters oi Erithrophysa ; 



