140 
CONTRIBUTIONS TO BOTANY. 
that the ovule is quite naked, that the inner integument with 
its tub ill us is the true pistillum with its exserted style, and that 
the outer seminal integument and the pericarp are its persistent 
floral envelopes, inferred that its naked ovule is a mere em- 
bryo-sac, analogous to that of the Santalacece, and that the 
GnetacecE are closely allied to the Viscacece and the Loranthacea, 
although analogous to the Coniferce, to which Ephedra more 
especially osculates. 
We may perceive, from this history, how confused are the 
opinions of botanists in regard to the structure and to the posi- 
tion and affinities of this small order. This confusion has arisen 
from the assumption that the ovule in the Gnetacece is naked ; 
but I can perceive nothing in the structure of Ephedra to sup- 
port this assumption, as the oi-ganization of its carpel seems to 
me quite in accordance with the usual structure of perfect dico- 
tyledonous plants, under some peculiar modifications which are 
likewise found in families of a very high degree of development. 
Blume correctly considered the pistillum as an “ ovarium,'^ con- 
taining a nucleus surrounded by the two usual integuments 
(“ spermoderms'^), and the fruit as a “ baccate drupe,^’ consisting 
of a coriaceous “ pericarp,” containing an albuminous seed in- 
vested by two regular integuments. This same female organ 
was, however, regarded by Richard as an entire flower, the 
ovarium and pericarp of Blume being, in his estimation, an 
“ involucellum,” the outer integument its " calyx,” and the inner 
integument its “ pistil ” with an " exserted style,'’^ the enclosed 
nucleus and subsequent albuminous mass being considered to 
be naked, and deficient of any proper integument. Meyer like- 
wise denominated the ovary and pericarp an “ involucellum,” 
forgetting that this supposed involucel is at first contained within 
a petaloid perigonium in Gnetum as well as in Ephedra-, and 
though he admitted the existence of the two integuments within 
his “ involucellum,^^ he still considered the nucleus and its sub- 
sequent albuminous mass as being “ naked.” Griffiths, on the 
other hand, regarded the pistillum as a naked ovule, covered 
by three integuments, thus considering the real carpel as the 
primine and testa, the outer proper integument of the seed as 
the secundine, and the inner coating with its tubillus as an 
accessory integument of adventitious growth. Such are the 
various self-evident contradictions to which botanists have been 
obliged to have recourse in order to support their favourite 
doctrine of the existence of a naked ovule in Gnetacece. 
Ephedra is distinguished from Gnetum by the absence of 
properly developed leaves and by a difierent form of inflorescence. 
They are both sparsely spread over both hemispheres, the former 
generally in temperate latitudes, or within the tropics only at 
