The following have Follicles: Pæonieæ, Helleboreæ (except Actæa) and Delphinieæ; Achenes: Ranunculeæ, Anemoneæ and Clematideæ.
A. Follicles (Figs. [375], [379]), with many ovules, situated in two rows along the ventral suture. Actæa has berries, Nigella has capsules of several loculi.
1. Pæonieæ, Peony Group. This has regular, acyclic flowers with a normal, most frequently 5-leaved, imbricate calyx; large, coloured petals, and introrse anthers. Slightly perigynous. Surrounding the base of the carpels a ring-like swelling of the receptacle (“disc”) is present, which is largest in P. moutan. The follicles are more or less fleshy or leathery. Mostly herbs, with pinnatisect or decompound leaves and large, solitary flowers; a gradual transition may be traced from the foliage-leaves to the petals. Pæonia; Hydrastis.
Fig. 376.—Aquilegia vulgaris.
Fig. 377.—Caltha palustris (nat. size).
Fig. 378.—Nigella: A, B fruit of N. damascena, entire, and cut transversely. C Petal (honey-leaf) of N. arvensis. D Petal of N. damascena.
2. Helleboreæ, Hellebore Group. This has regular flowers with most frequently a coloured calyx. The petals (honey-leaves) are modified into nectaries; they may be horn-like, provided with a spur, or of a similarly unusual form, or they may be entirely absent. Anthers often extrorse.—Trollius (Globe-flower[36]). The flower is acyclic: many petaloid sepals, succeeding these, most frequently, several linear, dark yellow petals, which bear a naked nectary at the base; finally, many stamens and carpels arranged in a spiral (3/8, 8/21).—Caltha (Marsh-marigold, Figs. [375], [377]); 5 (-7) yellow sepals, no petals. The foliage-leaves have a large amplexicaul sheath.—Helleborous (Hellebore) has pedate leaves. The flower is acyclic, with 5 large, regular, persistent, often petaloid sepals (2/5); small, horn-like petals (honey-leaves; most frequently 13, divergence 8/13) and generally few carpels (Fig. [374]).—Coptis.—Isopyrum.—Eranthis (Winter Aconite), like Anemone, has a 3-leaved involucre and most frequently trimerous flowers, 6 large petaloid sepals, 6 petals (tubular honey-leaves), 6 oblique rows of stamens, 3–6 carpels. Aquilegia (Columbine, Fig. [376]); the flower is entirely cyclic and has large spurs on all the 5 petals (funnel-shaped honey-leaves); S5 coloured, P5, A5 × (8–12), G5 in regular alternation (Figs. [376], [370]); the innermost stamens are often staminodes (Fig. [370]).—Nigella (Love-in-the-mist, Fig. [378]) has 5 sepals and 8 small, two-lipped petals cleft at the apex (the nectary is covered by the under-lip; Fig. [378] C, D). The 5 carpels are more or less completely united; and a many-carpellate ovary with free styles is formed in some. Large air-chambers in the external wall of the ovary are formed in N. damascena (Fig. [378]).—Actæa (Baneberry) has coloured sepals, either no petals or an indefinite number, and only 1 carpel. The fruit is a berry (or follicle).—Cimicifuga, Garidella, Xanthorhiza (S5, P5, A5 + 5, G5).