lEUIT OE MATUEE PISTIL. 301 



of cells, and can be taken off in the form of what is called the skin ; 

 the mesocarp becomes much developed, forming the flesh or pulp, and 

 hence has sometimes been called sa/rcoca/rp (tfajf, 

 flesh), while the endocarp becomes hardened by ,,*"'-^-^'* 



the production of woody cells, and forms the ^--r^^^^w^ 

 stone oiputamen (putamen, a shell), immediately "-"rMj^^ k 

 covering the kernel or the seed. The same ' Ls^^^^M 

 arrangement is seen in the fruit of the Cherry, i&Mfi'*''*'^^ ill 

 Apricot, and Plum. In these cases, the meso- '■''||iff || 

 carp is the part of the fruit which is eaten. In |w| I If 



the Almond, on the other hand, the seed is used ilfll m 



as food, while the shell or endocarp, with its ^ili § 



leathery covering or mesocarp, and its greenish ^wll't'/ 



epicarp, are rejected. The pulpy matter foimd "Mh'// 



in the interior of fruits, such as the Gooseberry, i^g- 536. 



Grape, and Oathartocarpus Fistula (fig. 429, p. 244), is formed from 

 the placentas, and must not be confounded with the sarcocarp. 



In the Date the epicarp is the outer brownish skin, the pulpy 

 matter is the mesocarp or sarcocarp, and the thin papery-like lining is 

 the endocarp covering the hard seed. In the Pear and Apple the 

 outer skin or epicarp is the epidermal covering ; the fleshy portion is 

 the mesocarp, formed by the cellular torus; while the scaly layer, 

 forming the walls of the seed-bearing cavities in the centre, is the 

 endocarp. In the Medlar (fig. 568, p. 314) the endocarp becomes of a 

 stony hardness. In the Melon the epicarp and endocarp are very thin, 

 while the mesocarp forms the bulk of the fruit, varying in its texture 

 and taste in the external and internal part. The rind of the Orange 

 consists of epicarp and mesocarp, while the endocarp forms partitions 

 in the interior, filled with pulpy ceUs. 



While normally the divi-sions of the fruit ought to indicate the 

 number of the carpels composing it, and these carpels should each 

 have three layers forming the walls, it is found that frequently the 

 divisions of a multilocular fruit are atrophied or absorbed, in whole or 

 in part, and the layers become confounded together, so that they 

 appear to be one. Again, in fruits formed of several carpels, the 

 endocarp and mesocarp are occasionally so much developed as to leave 

 the epicarp only on the free dorsal face of the fruit, forming a covering 

 which is wholly external, as in the Castor-oil plant (fig. 543, p. 304), 

 Euphorbia, and Mallow (fig. 548, p. 305). Occasionally, the endo- 

 carp remains attached to the centre, forming cells, in which the 

 seeds are placed, while the outer layer separates from it at certain 



Fig. 636. Lower portion of the carpel or legume of the Bean, Faha sativa, cut trans- 

 versely, to show the structure of the pericarp, e, Epicarp, or external epidermis, m, 

 Mesocarp. n, Endocarp. s d,, Dorsal suture, s v. Ventral suture, g, A seed situated at 

 the upper part of the section, and cut also transversely. 



