PEEISPEEM OE ALBUMEN OF THE SEED. 



333 



minute, and occupies only a small part of the apex of the albumen; ia 

 fig. 589 it is larger, and has encroached on the perisperm ; while in 

 fig. 590 it is still more developed, much of the albumen having been 

 absorbed. 



The albumen varies much in its nature and consistence, and fur- 

 nishes important characters. It may be farinaceous or mealy, consisting 

 chiefly of cells filled with starch (fig. 591), as in Cereal grains, where 

 it is abundant ; flesh%j or cartilaginous, consisting of thicker cells which 

 are still soft, as in the Coco-nut, and which sometimes contain oil, as 

 ia the oily albumen of Croton (fig. 592), Ricinus, and Poppy; horny, 

 when the matter in the cells is of a hard consistence, and often 

 arranged in a concentric manner, so as nearly to fill the entire cavity, 

 as in Date, Ivory-Palm, and Coffee. The albumen may be uniform 

 throughout, or it may present a mottled appearance, as in the Nutmeg, 

 the seeds of Anonacese, and some Palms (fig. 593), where it is called 

 ruminated. This mottled appearance depends often on the endopleura 



Kg. 591. 



Fig. 592. 



Fig. 693. 



or iuner integument forming folds on which the albumen is deposited, 

 and when the seed is ripe these foldings of the membrane divide the 

 albumen in a sinuous or convoluted manner. 



The albumen is a store of matter laid up for the nourishment of 

 the embryo. In the Coco-nut and double Coco-nut it forms the great 

 hulk of the seed, weighing many ounces, while the embryo is minute, 

 weighing a few grains, and lies in a cavity at one extremity. In OoSee 

 the albumen is the horny portion, the infusion of which is used for a 

 beverage. In Phytelephas it is called vegetable ivory from its hardness, 

 and is used for the same purposes as ivory. In the homy albumen of 

 this Palm, as weU as in that of the Attalea funifera, the Date, and the 

 Doom Palm, the concentric deposition of secondary layers, leaving a 



Kg. 591. Section of a smaU portion of the farinaceous perisperm or albumen of Zea 

 Mais, Indian com. otc. Cells. ///, Grains of starch in the cells. Kg. 592. Section 

 of a small portion of the oily perisperm or albumen of Croton Tiglium. c c c c, Cells. AAA, 

 Drops of oil contained in the cells. Fig. 593. Vertical section of the fruit of Areca 

 Catechu, c, Perianth. /, Pericarp, p, Ruminated perisperm or albumen, e. Embryo. 



