. The natural history of plants. Botany. ULMAOE^. 146 Mir us niira. sepals, in prefloration alternately imbricate in the bud, and four superposed stamens, inserted under a sligbtly developed rudiment of the gynsecium. Each of these is formed of a jfilament inflexed and incurved in prefloration, afterwards elastically straightened at the time of anthesis, and of a bilobular introrse anther dehiscing by t"wo longitudinal clefts. The calyx of the female is similar to that of the male flower and surrounds ^ a free gynsecium, formed of a unilocular ovary" surmounted by a style, soon divid
. The natural history of plants. Botany. ULMAOE^. 146 Mir us niira. sepals, in prefloration alternately imbricate in the bud, and four superposed stamens, inserted under a sligbtly developed rudiment of the gynsecium. Each of these is formed of a jfilament inflexed and incurved in prefloration, afterwards elastically straightened at the time of anthesis, and of a bilobular introrse anther dehiscing by t"wo longitudinal clefts. The calyx of the female is similar to that of the male flower and surrounds ^ a free gynsecium, formed of a unilocular ovary" surmounted by a style, soon divided into two divergent, subulate branches, covered internally with stigmatic papillse. Under the summit of the cell is inserted a descending ovule, with micropyle directed upwards and outwards.* The fruit becomes a drupe with sarcocarp of little thickness, especially along the faces of the depressed putamen. It is surrounded by per- sistent sepals, become fleshy and succulent, packed closely together. The descending seed encloses under its integuments a fleshy albumen which surrounds a recurved embryo, with oblong and fleshy cotyledons and incum- bent radicle, at the summit directed upwards. The Mulberries are trees and shrubs, with milky or opal juice, inhabiting all the warm regions of the globe. They have alternate, distichous, entire, dentate or lobed leaves, with, the petiole accom- panied by two lateral caducous stipules. The flowers are axillary. The male inflorescence resembles a cylindrical or slightly com- pressed catkin. But following their development, as we have done,* the axis of these apparent spikes is found to be a blade more or less elongate and flattened, bearing upon one part of its surface only, a very large number of small cymes or glomerules, whilst the remainder is bare. It is, therefore, a mixed inflores- cence, and it is the same as what has been described as the female spike or catkin. Of Mulberries a score of species ^ have been described ; the number
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbotany, bookyear1871
