126 



SATURAL HISTOET OF PLANTS. 



Meteromorpha arborescfns. 



Rhyticarpm has many of its characters. The fruit is obovoid or 



pear-shaped, sHghtly compressed per- 

 pendicular to the partition, with meri- 

 carps more or less decurrent at the 

 base on the pedicel, having five nearly 

 equal little-prominent ridges, and alter- 

 nate solitary vittse, deeply situated; 

 often rugose on the surface, and sur- 

 mounted by conical stylopods. continuous 

 with the recurved styles. The sepals 

 are less developed than those of the 

 preceding genus. They are glabrous 

 herbs or shrubby plants, with trisected 

 leaves, the segments of which are pin- 

 nate, or even reduced to the rigid and 

 linear petiole. Rhyticarpus is from 

 the same region as Lichtensteinia, from 



which it differs chiefly in the position of the interjugal vittse. Near it 



is likewise placed Heteromorpha, a shrub 

 with entire, trilobed, or trifoUolate leaves, 

 inhabiting eastern and southern tropical 

 Africa. Its flowers are nearly those of 

 Lichtensteinia; but the obovoid, almost 

 obpyramidal fruit (fig. 129), is formed 

 of two more or less dissimilar carpels, 

 surmounted by pointed sepals. Either 

 all or only three of the vertical ridges 

 corresponding to the sepals are dilated 

 to rather wide rigid triangular wings; 

 in the latter case the two mericarps 

 have not the same number, and appear 

 dissimilar.' 



Bupleurum (fig. 131-133) comprises 

 Umhelliferce exceptional in their habit 



and in their leaves, always entire, often grasslike, frequently attenuate 



at the base, and sometimes cordate or perfoliate. The compound 



Fig. 129. Fruit {\). 



Pyramidoptera cabulica. 



Fig. 130. Fruit (j). 



' PyramidnpUra caiuliea, whose place in this midal fruit (fig. 130) like that of Heteromorpha, 

 family is still very uncertain, has an obpyra- hut much more regular, finally separating into 



