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ROBINSON. 
the stigma deciduous; (2) is the perianth adnate to the ovary either in flower 
or in fruit; (3) is the perianth succulent either in flower or in fruit; (4) what 
is the nature of the receptacle? On all of these points, there is more or less 
contradiction in the statements cited. 
It must be prefaced that the following observations are based upon Philippine 
material only, and may not hold for species other than those here discussed, 
but this is improbable. The first significant point is in Weddell’s remark upon 
travellers’ field-notes. In gathering fruiting branchlets of Pipturus arborescens, 
the mature receptacles are almost certain to fall unless extreme precautions be 
taken. It may well happen that even in large herbaria, not a single one of these 
may be retained. Further, at this stage the achenes are very loosely held in 
the very fleshy receptacle, in drying they are almost certain to fall apart. Those 
who have not supplemented their studies by field observation, may have been 
compelled to draw their conclusions from quite immature fruiting receptacles. 
Abundant material of P. arborescens was obtained near Manila, from a clump 
of bushes already represented by Bur. Sci. 9568, and showed all stages. The 
receptacles are developed in acropetal succession along the branchlets, and the 
flowers are often evident in the axils of the very youngest leaves. At this stage 
a receptacle can hardly be said to exist, the flowers being almost sessile on the 
branchlet, the stigmas are quite evident. As the development proceeds, the 
receptacle becomes more and more evident, at first as a flattened nearly circular 
plate, with pubescence more conspicuous than itself, but it grows rapidly, be- 
coming roughly spherical, and at this stage ordinarily loses the stigmas, and 
soon thereafter becomes white, and its ultimate condition is almost exactly that 
described by Mr. Smith for P. incanus. The base may be flat or cuneate, with 
a more or less angular cross-section, the achenes after the receptacle has become 
very succulent and waxen-white may be so far immersed that their apex is a 
millimeter from the outer surface of the receptacle or even more, or they may 
be still exserted; they are by now practically unattached to the receptacle and 
may fall separately or the receptacle may fall as a whole. At what stage the 
term succulent may first be applied to the receptacle, is a matter of choice. At 
its first appearance, it has the consistence of the herbaceous branchlet to which 
it is attached; ordinarily, it is distinctly white soon after the stigmas have 
fallen. When fully mature, there is no room for discussion as to its succulent 
nature, at least in P. arborescens and P. dentatus, the two species from which 
I have seen fresh receptacles. But I take exception to the comparison of their 
general appearance to those of Morus, suggesting Frag aria as a substitute. 
In other words, the perianth is never more succulent than are the receptacles 
at their very earliest stages. At first, it is green, ultimately it is brownish- 
black or black, the apex changing color before the base. There are few plants 
whose perianth is not equally succulent, Glumaceae and such cases excepted, 
and if there is a difference, the pistillate perianth is further from being succulent 
in fruit than in flower. Yet, as a descriptive term, I would prefer herbaceous 
to membranaceous. At all stages, the perianth closely surrounds the ovary or 
achene, but in no specimen that I have examined in P. dentatus or P. arborescens, 
can they be called adnate. The surface of ovary and achene alike is smooth 
and shining, which in itself nearly answers the question. 
Finally, Hooker’s apparent inconsistency on the subject of the deciduous 
stigma may be mentioned, not only again to call attention to the fact that what 
on a herbarium sheet appear to be mature receptacles may really be earlier 
