442 Solms-Lauhach . — On the Friutification 
to the bounding-line of the nucellus, and therefore represents 
Williamson’s f nucular membrane.’ There is some appearance 
at its upper extremity of a conical process, which extends be- 
yond the radicular end of the embryo and enters the lower 
portion of the tubular prolongation of the testa ; this is best 
seen in the preparation on which Fig. 8 of PL XXVI is founded. 
Unfortunately after repeated examination I can still only speak 
thus conjecturally respecting the presence of the nucellar apex 
which contains the pollen-chamber. 
Turning now to the testa, we find three distinct regions in it 
which require separate consideration: (i) the middle portion 
inclosing the seed-cavity and the embryo in it ; (2) the basal 
region ; and (3) the apical portion which extends as a tubular 
canal beyond the seed proper, and pushes through the narrow 
orifice of the seed-pit till it reaches the surface of the 
fructification (PI. XXVI, Fig. 10). 
In the middle portion the testa is pretty closely applied to 
the ‘nucular membrane’ ; three distinct strata may be seen in 
it in all cases of good preservation ; the middle is a simple 
layer of short prismatic very thick-walled dark-brown cells, 
standing side by side as in palisade-tissue, while the inner 
and outer are formed of rather small-celled thin-walled tissue 
in several layers. In the inner stratum this tissue is often 
compressed and indistinct ; in the outer it forms a lighter area 
round the hard palisade-tissue, and seems to be continuous to 
a greater or less extent on the outer side with the surrounding 
wall of the seed-pit. At least I often found, when examining 
a single seed, that it was only in places here and there that I 
could perceive a sharp line of demarcation between the two 
parts (see PI. XXV, Fig. 5). Carruthers has figured this 
structure admirably 1 ; the middle hard layer of the testa 
stands out sharply in all his drawings. 
The basal region is figured by Carruthers 2 in a slightly 
oblique longitudinal section which deviates from the median 
line towards the upper part. I have before me several similar 
preparations (see PI. XXV, Fig. 1). In these may be seen in 
1 Carruthers, loc. cit., pi. 59, f. 8. 2 Carruthers, pi. 59, f. 7. 
