natural Family of Plants called Composite. 
91 
the single ovulum is inserted at the base of the cavity. Proteacene, 
however, exhibit a series of obliterations in the parts of a single 
pistillum only. An illustration more in point, though somewhat 
less perfect as a series, may be taken from Goodenovia , an order 
of plants very nearly related to the class of which we are treat¬ 
ing. In the greater part of Goodenovia, the ovarium is bilocular, 
each cell having an indefinite number of seeds; in the greater 
number of Sccevola , each cell is reduced to a single ovulum ; 
while in some species of the same genus, and in all the species of 
Dampicra , the ovarium, though retaining its external characters, 
is reduced to a single monospermous cell, with an erect ovulum, 
as in Composite. The natural order Cmcifcrce exhibits also 
obliterations, more obviously analogous to those assumed as 
taking place in syngenesious plants; namely from a bilocular ova¬ 
rium with two polyspermous parietal placeutae, which is the 
usual structure of the order, to that of Isatis , where a single ovu- 
7 o 
lum is pendulous from the apex of the unilocular ovarium. And 
lastly in the genus Bocconia , in the original species of which 
( B.frutescens ) the insertion of the single erect ovulum has the same 
relation to its parietal placentae, as that of Composite has to its 
filiform cords, a second species ( B . cordata) exists in which these 
placentae are polyspermous. 
My sixth observation on Compositte regards the order in which 
the florets expand. To understand the relation this order has to 
that of other families, it may be necessary first to make a few re¬ 
marks on the more usual modes of inflorescence. 
It is well known that in an absolutely simple spike the expan¬ 
sion of the flowers is ascendent; that is, begins at the base of the 
spike and proceeds regularly upwards. To this order very few 
real exceptions occur, several of the apparent deviations being 
connected with some degree of composition in the spike. 
x 2 
In 
