CONTRIBUTIONS TO BOTANY. 
61 
the fruit in Parmentiera, Spathodea, and Stereospermum. Dr. 
Seemann considers that the growth of the flowers upon its trunk 
indicates its affinity with Crescentia’, hut we find the same mode 
of floral development in Colea, and I have occasionally witnessed 
the same in some species of Tecoma, where racemes grow out of 
the old leafless axils of the stems. 
If these exclusions be adopted, the Crescentiacea would be 
reduced to three genera, having for their characters an indehis- 
cent fruit and apterous seeds imbedded in pulp, this last being 
the chief distinguishing feature. These genera are Crescentia, 
Kigelia, and Schlegelia-, for Dr. Seemann affirms that Tripinnaria 
belongs to Kigelia. The structure of the ovary in these genera 
appears in no way different from that of the Eccremocarpece ; that 
is to say, it is unilocular, with two opposite longitudinal pai’ietal 
placentae ; but a distinction is manifested in the subsequent de- 
velopment ; so that, in examining the fruit, we must bear in mind 
the previous structure of the ovary. The want of materials has 
prevented me from investigating this subject. I have been able 
to examine only a single ovary of Crescentia, which was partly 
injured by caries ; but this satisfied me that it had only two 
parietal placentae. Kigelia I found similarly constructed, and not 
bilocular, with ovules borne on the centre of the dissepiment, as 
is represented in Delessert’s ‘ leones,^ v. tab. 93 b. fig. 3 : the 
appearance there shown is the result of the touching of the op- 
posite projecting placentae, which, in the younger state of the 
ovary, and even after the fall of the corolla, I have found sepa- 
rated by a long interval. In Schlegelia I have also verified the 
same structure. In regard to the fruit of Crescentia, the details 
of Gaertner are precise, are illustrated by good figures *, and 
appear worthy of full confidence : it is circular in its transverse 
section ; its indehiscent shell, though thin in substance, is hard 
and somewhat ligneous, marked externally and internally by 
four equidistant longitudinal ridges, the cavity being filled with 
a soft pulp, in which the seeds are imbedded. The description 
of Gardner t, in regard to the fruit, is similar ; but he gives a 
very different account of the ovary, which he says is “ 1 -celled, 
with four fleshy parietal polyspermous placentae placed one on 
each half of the pericarpial leaves, and at equal distances from 
each other.'” There appears some error in this statement j for it 
is contradicted in his account of the fruit, which states, “ peri- 
carp woody, consisting of two indehiscent carpels placed anterior 
and po.sterior to the axis of inflorescence.” Of the existence of 
two opposite placentae there can be no doubt ; the two inter- 
*■ De Fruct. iii. 230. tab. 223. 
t Hook. Journ. Bot. ii. 423. 
