730 



CCXVII. PIPEEACE^. 



Serronia Jaborandi, 

 g flower (mag.). 



Serronia. 

 Young fruit (mag.). 



Pipet* Cubeha. 



Vertical section of fruit 



(mag.). 



Serronia, 



Vertical section of 



frnit (mag.). 



branched, cylindric, jointed at tlie nodes, with axillary branches solitary or leaf- 

 opposed, never whorled, furnished with fibro-vascular bundles scattered through 

 their pith, which gives them the appearance of Monocotyledonous plants. Leaves 

 often succulent, opposite or whorled, sometimes alternate by arrest, simple, entire, 

 nerves scarcely visible, or prominent, reticulate ; petiole very short, sheathing at the 

 base ; stipules 0. Spadices solitary or fascicled, terminal or leaf-opposed, naked or 

 with a short foliaceous spathe. Flowees 5 , or dioecious by arrest of the stamens, 

 aehlamydeous, furnished with a peltate or decurrent bract sessile on an often fleshy 

 and sub-cylindrical spadix, or half-buried in its pits, rarely pedicelled. Stamens 

 sometimes 2, occupying the right and left sides of the ovary, sometimes 3, of which 

 one is posterior; often more numerous {6-co), of which several are arrested; fila- 

 ments very short, linear, adnate at the base to the ovary ; anthers extrorse, ovoid 

 adnate, 2- rarely 1-celled (by confluence of the cells), and reniform, dehiscence longi- 

 tudinal; pollen-grains smooth, sub-globose, pellucid. Ovary sessile, sub-globose, 

 1-celled, 1-ovuled; stigma usually sessile, terminal or sub-oblique, short or elongate- 

 subulate or orbicular, undivided or 3-4-lobed, glabrous or hispid; ovule basilar, 

 sessile, orthotropous. Beket dry or fleshy. Seed erect, basilar, sub-globose ; testa 

 cartilaginous, thin ; albumen fleshy-farinaceous, or sub-cartUaginous, usually hollow 

 in the middle. Embeto antitropous, at the top of the seed, occupying a superficial 

 cavity in the albumen, and included in the persistent embryonic sac, small, turbinate 

 or lenticular ; cotyledons very short, thick ; radicle superior. 



PEINCIPAL GENERA. 

 Piper. Chavica. Peperoniia. Verhuelia. 



Cubeba. Artautlie. Serronia. Zippelia. 



Macropiper. 



