iii4 Tho day .—The Female Inflorescence and Ovules of 
the inner integument only by two or three layers of thin-walled cells, is very 
easily lifted off, when the seed is dissected, like a tent from its supporting 
pole (see Text-fig. 8). At the apex of the nucellar cap some signs of dis¬ 
integration are generally visible, and represent the remains of the pollen 
chamber; in the tissues both of the cap itself and in the apical region of 
the endosperm it is generally possible still to distinguish traces of the paths 
made by the pollen tubes. 
The seed has three coverings. 
The outermost covering arises from the base of the seed and is free to 
Text-fig. io. Transverse section through upper half of ovule. Part of same series as 
Text-fig. 7 A-E, and Text-fig. 11. For lettering see Text-fig. 7. 
its apex ; it is green, fleshy, and succulent, and is chiefly composed of 
homogeneous parenchymatous tissue among which are scattered numerous 
branched fibres with lignified walls (Fig. 11, PL LXXXVI). Numerous 
repeatedly branched vascular strands run up to its tip, and stomata are 
occasionally found in its outer epidermis ; altogether it resembles the bracts 
forming the cupular ring in the axil of which the ovule is borne. 
The middle covering or outer integument is complex in structure, and 
contains the hard protective layer of the seed. It arises just above the 
outermost covering and continues upwards, uniform in thickness till it 
expands at the apex and surrounds the micropylar tube. It is traversed 
throughout its length by numerous vascular bundles which branch at 
intervals and run almost up into the tip. Text-fig. 10 represents a transverse 
section through the upper half of the ovule. The structure of the outer 
integument at this level is very similar to that already described, at the base 
of the ovule, before it was free from the nucellus (p. 1113, Text-fig. 7 E); 
