| 32 | Mr. Brown, on the Proteaceae of Jussieu. |
cautiously used in the generic characters of this family; even its being sessile or pedicellated is not always of sufficient importance, though I think Mr. Salisbury has done well in introducing it into his characters of Serruria and Spatalla, in both which genera I had overlooked it before the publication of his Essay.
Its internal structure, which ought always to be ascertained, will be found of the greatest importance in most cases, but fails in Persoonia, the species of which differ in having one or two seeds: it would seem however, in this case, that an irregularity in a point of such importance could not take place unaccompanied with other anomalies in the same organ, and accordingly such are found to exist in this genus, and will be mentioned when treating of the fruit.
Besides number, the insertion of the ovula is also to be attended to; for though this may generally be presumed from the situation of the radicula in the ripe seed, yet to this criterion there are several exceptions, even in the present order: thus, while the radicula constantly points downward in the whole of the order, the insertion of the ovulum is in many cases at the top or side of the cell of the ovarium. My observations on this subject are as yet incomplete; but, from those that I have made, I am inclined to think such differences will be connected with genera, or rather perhaps with particular kinds of fruit. Thus I conjecture, in Leucospermum, Mimetes, Nivenia, and Spatalla, the insertion to be uniformly lateral.
The style, though not subject to much variety in this family, will be found in a few cases to furnish generic characters. Thus in Protea, strictly so called, the persistent subulate style forms an important part of its character: and the persistency of the whole of the style in the greater number of species of Grevillea will probably be used by future botanists in distinguishing
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