STRUCTURE AND PARTS OF THE OVULE 



79 



the real base becomes, by extreme obliquity, apparently lateral and 

 causes an erect ovule to be apparently ascending. That of Anemone 

 is suspended, but owing to the same condition apparently only pendu- 

 lous. The terms erect and suspended are after all only relative, as we 

 can never be sure that an ovule which appears in such position is really 

 the uppermost or lowermost of its series. Very often others which 

 would have been in reality the basal or apical have become aborted, 

 as in the last case illustrated. 



A merely recurved ovule is not to be mistaken for an anatropous 

 ovule. The latter, as will now be explained, has the contiguous portion 

 of the funicle adherent as a raphe, which comes away with the seed 

 at maturitv. 



<i:J^ 



Fig. 233. Erect ovule of Symmeria. 234. Horizontal ovule of Paulliiiia. 235. Pendulous ovule of 

 Guaiacum. 236. Resupinate ovule of Euouymus. 237. Suspended ovule of Drymicarpus, 238. As- 

 cending ovule of Euonymus. 239. Pendulous ovules. 240. Recurved pendulous ovule of Brunnichia. 



Structure and Parts of the Ovule. — The recognized varieties of ovules 

 are based upon external structure, which will here be briefly considered. 

 The details of their inner structure will be considered in our chapter on 

 Fertilization. 



Body and Funiculus. — The ovule consists of a Body (Fig. 240, o) 

 and a Funiculus or Stem {h) . Named in the order of time in which they 

 are developed, the parts of the body are as follows : 



Nucellus and Coats. — The Nucellus, or central portion (Figs. 241 to 

 244, n), containing the parts essential to reproduction, and two coats, 

 the Primine or inner (k) and Secundine or outer (s). Certain parts of 

 these, or points upon them, also have distinctive names. 



The Micropyle. — The more or less circular opening (ni) left at the 

 apex by the failure of the coats to completely inclose the nucellus is 

 the Foramen. 



