460 BOTANY 



is distinguished as a CARYOPSis (Grasses) if the pericarp is adherent to 

 the seed, if not it is termed an ACHENE (Compositae). 



III. The Sehizoearp is a dry, many-chambered fruit, in which the 

 carpels separate from one another at maturity without dehiscing (Vm- 

 belliferae, Malva). 



IV. The Berry has both a juicy endocarp and mesocarp (Grape, 

 Apple). In a few cases fruits of this type dehisce at maturity by slits 

 (Myristica), or become irregularly ruptured (Ecballium). 



V. The Stone-fruit or Drupe. — The pericarp is differentiated into 

 a soft, generally juicy, exocarp and a hard endocarp (Cherry, Walnut). 

 A single stone-fruit may contain several stones (Rhamnus cathartica). 

 The exocarp is sometimes dry and spongy (Coco-nut). 



Just as the great variety of form displayed in flowers has been a 

 result of their adaptation to a particular mode of pollination, so in fruit 

 it has been intimately connected with the manner of seed dissemination 

 (see Dissemination of Seeds, p. 291). 



The Inflorescence 



The flowering shoot frequently bears only a single flower, which 

 may then be either axillary or terminal. In many cases, however, the 

 metamorphosis of the generative region, which results in the production 

 of flowers, has led to the formation of a special system of fertile shoots 

 termed an inflorescence or, after the fruit is formed, an infructes- 



CENCE. 



The modifications exhibited by the fertile shoots of such an 

 inflorescence are due, partly to a difference in their mode of branching, 

 partly to the reduction or the metamorphosis of their leaves. These 

 changes are the result of an adaptation to pollination, in the endeavour 

 to aggregate the flowers and at the same time render them more con- 

 spicuous by the reduction of the foliage-leaves. Sometimes the whole 

 system of fertile shoots is converted into an attractive apparatus, as in 

 the Araceae, where the axil and the subtending leaf of the inflorescence 

 have assumed the function, usually exercised by the perianth, of 

 enticing insects. 



Viewed from a purely morphological standpoint, two types of 

 inflorescences may be distinguished, the botryose (racemose, mono- 

 podial) and the cymose (sympodial). 



I. Botryose Inflorescences. — The main axis branches more 

 vigorously than the lateral axis. 



A. LATERAL AXES TJNBRANCHED 



(a) The Raceme. — The main axis is elongated and bears stalked 

 flowers (Fig. 395, B). 



(h) The Spike. — The main axis is elongated and bears sessile 

 flowers (Fig. 395, C). 



