mirbel's classification of feuits. 
86 
plants; it is turbinate (Fig. 99, a). Its surface is pubescent 
and furrowed ; indehiscent, 7nonospermous ; the egret (c) is ses- 
sile and plumose, and the embryo is dicotyledonous and fleshy. It 
is attaclied to the pericarp by th-e podosperm. At b is repre- 
sented this pericarp cut longitudinally, and exposing an inner 
half of one of the cotyledons. In this genus are the pericarps of 
the dandelion, tlie salsify or oyster-plant, lettuce, <fec. 2d. Cerion 
{CaryopsiSy kernel); in this genus the embryo is situated upon the 
side of the perisperm, or albumen ; cotyledon one, large and fleshy. The ovary is 
clothed with a pileole ;* the radicles are contained in coleorhizes. It is subrotund, as 
Indian corn ; oblong, as wheat ; rostrate, as in some of the grasses. 3d, CarctmLx (in- 
cluding what some call the utricle, others the samara); the chaiacteis of this 
genus are variable ; it includes all fruits of the order Carcerulares, which do not 
come within the two preceding genera ; the buckwheat, elm, and rhubarb are ex- 
amples. 
91. Order 2d. Capsulares, simple fruits, having capsules which open when in a 
mature state ; they have their origin from a single ovai-y, free, or adhering to the 
calyx ; they have valves, and consequently sutures, and open by the separation of 
the valves. 1st. Capsule signifies a little chest or casket ; it is a hollow pericarp, whicli 
opens spontaneously by pores, as the poppy, or by valves, as tlie pink. The inter- 
nal divisions of the capsule are called cells ; these are the chambers appropriated 
for the reception of the seeds ; according to the number of these cells, the capsule 
is one-celled, two-celled, &c. The membranes by which the capsule is divided into 
cells, are called dissepiments, or partitions ; these partitions are either parallel to 
the valves, or contrary. The columella is the central pillar in a capsule, and is the 
part which connects the several internal partitions with the seed ; it takes its rise 
irom the receptacle, and has the seed fixed to it on all its sides. In one-celled 
capsules the columella is wanting. Fig. 100 represents a cap- 
sular fruit ; it is the seed of the martagon-lily {Lilium marta- 
gon) ; a represents the capsule open, as it appears in a m.ature 
state ; b, the same cut transversely, showing the seeds. All 
capsular fruits which do not belong to the other genera in 
this order, are here included. They are monocephalous, as 
in the lily ; or polycephalous, as in Nigella. 2d. The Legume 
is an irregular, bivalve, elongated pericarp ; it is monocepha- 
lous and free ; the two valves joined by two sutures, an up- 
per and lower ; the seeds are attached only to one suture or 
seam, as in the pea. In this circumstance it differs from the 
silique, which has its seeds attached to both sutures ; it con- 
tains seeds in one cell, a placenta along the lower suture. 
The embryo has two cotyledons ; the radicle is attached to 
the hilum. The legume is saber-form in the bean, cylindric in the Cassia, com- 
pound in the pea, and articulated in Hedysarum, where it is called a lament. The 
word jooflf is used in common language for both these species of pericarp. Plants 
which produce the legume, are called leguminous. The greater number of these 
plants are in the class Biadelphia. The tamarind is a legume filled with pulp, in 
which the seeds are lodged. Fig. 101, a, represents the 
fruit of the Astragalus ; cell inflated, longitudinal; at b is 
the same legume cut transversely, to show the two cells. 
3d. The Silique is a bivalved pericarp, peculiar to the Crur 
ciferm; it is divided by a longitudinal partition, formed 
by the dilated placenta, and bearing the seeds, which are 
attached alternately to its opposite edge, as in the mustard 
and radish. The p'-opor silique is two-celled, being furnish- 
ed with a partition which runs the whole length of this kind 
of pericarp ; there are some exceptions to this, as in the cel- 
andine. The Silicle {Silicula, a little pod) is distinguished 
by oeing shorter than the silique, as in tlie pepper-grass. 
* For an illustration of these terms see plate 121, with its explanation. 
Fif?. 101. 
91. Order Capsulares, with its genera. 
