Flowers and fruits in Flacourtiaceae. IV. Hydnocarpus spp., Kiggelaria africana L., Casearia spp., Berberidopsis corallina Hook. F

In Hydnocarpus the hard layers of the seed coat develop from the epidermides of both integuments where they are contiguous. This does not conform with the division of the Angiosperm seeds into testal or tegmic. Corner’s suggestion of two unallied groups in the Flacourtiaceae, namely an integumental and a pachychalazal one, cannot be corroborated. The seeds of Kiggelaria closely resemble those of Hydnocarpus. In Casearia the development of the fruit wall and its vascular bundles is different for the Asian and the American species studied. The three parietal placentae are confluent over the base of the ovary. The seeds are exotegmic, as described by Corner; the ovules are atropous. The berries and seeds of Berberidopsis are described for the first time. The seeds have a softly parenchymatic raphe. The embryo is small. The inner integument is absorbed during development. The inner epidermis of the outer integument forms a lignified crystalliferous layer. The affinity of Berberidopsis is discussed.