Page:Natural History Review (1861).djvu/107

Rh trag zu der Abhandlg. üb. Parthenogenesis bei Pflanzen. 6 plates. 4to. Berlin, 1860. (Berl. Abh., 1859).

, F.—Observations sur la nature et l'origine de la pulpe qui entoure les graines dans certains Fruits.—Ann. Sc. Nat. (Bot.), Ser. iv., tom. xii., p. 72–7.

The author traces the development of pulp in the fruit of various species belonging to the following orders, viz. Cucurbitaceæ, Solanaceæ, Ericaceæ (Arbutus unedo), Capparidaceæ, Aurantiaceæ, Cactaceæ, Aroideæ. In most Cucurbitaceæ the tissue of the recurved parietal placentas interposes itself between the ovules, which it encloses in distinct cavities. With maturation of the fruit, this placentary cellular tissue becomes the pulp of varying consistence, in which the seeds are usually found to be embedded. In Momordica the placental tissue becomes spongy and orange-coloured; the layer surrounding each seed ultimately separates from the rest of the tissue, and forms around it a distinct closed envelope. Similar arilloid sacs envelope the seeds in Trichosanthes anguina, Bryonia verrucosa, and, perhaps, Joliffia Africana (Telfairia pedata, Hk.). In Solanaceæ, after flowering, the folds of the endocarp advance towards the interior of the young fruit, eventually uniting with the placentas; at the same time, being interposed between the seeds, they form for each of them a separate niche. In the Tomato (as also in Arbutus unedo), the expansions of tissue surrounding the seeds are due to prolongations from the placentas. In