THALAMUS

(Gr. SaXapoc, a bed.) In Anatomy, the part of the brain from which the optic nerves have part of tli'ir origin. Thalamus, in Botany, is the part on which the ovary is seated. The succulent red centre of a strawberry, the core in the fruit of a raspberry, are the thalami ol these plants. Some botanists call it the receptacle of the fruit [s. 1249]