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FIRST

LESSONS IN BOTANY

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY,

ILLUSTRATED BY OVER 360 WOOD ENGRAVINGS, FROM ORIGINAL
DRAWINGS, BY ISAAC SPRAGUE.

TO WHICH IS ADDED A COPIOUS

GLOSSARY,

DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

By ASA GRAY,

FISHES PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

NEW YORK:

IVISON, PHLNNEY, & CO., 48 & 50 WALKER STREET.

CHICAGO: S. C. GRIGGS & CO., 39 & 41 LAKE STREET.

PHILADELPHIA : SOWER, BARNES, & CO., AND J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.

BOSTON : BROWN, TAGGARD, & CHASE. CINCINNATI : MOORE, WILSTACH, KEYS, & CO.

SAVANNAH : J. M. COOPER & CO. NEW ORLEANS : BLOOMFIELD, STEEL, & CO.

ST. LOUIS : KEITH & WOODS. DETROIT : F. RAYMOND & CO.

1860.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by

GEORGE P. PUTNAM & CO.,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.

University Press, Cambridge :
Electrotyped and Printed by 'Welch, Bigelow, & Co.

PREFACE.

This book is intended for the use of beginners, and for classes in the
common and higher schools, — in which the elements of Botany, one of
the most generally interesting of the Natural Sciences, surely ought to be
taught, and to be taught correctly, as far as the instruction proceeds.
While these Lessons are made as plain and simple as they well can be,
all the subjects treated of have been carried far enough to make the book
a genuine Grammar of Botany and Vegetable Physiology, and a sufficient
introduction to those works in which the plants of a country — especially
of our own — are described.

Accordingly, as respects the principles of Botany (including Vege-
table Physiology), this work is complete in itself, as a school-book
for younger classes, and even for the students of our higher seminaries.
For it comprises a pretty full account of the structure, organs, growth,
aad reproduction of plants, and of their important uses in the scheme of
creation, — subjects which certainly ought to be as generally understood
by all educated people as the elements of Natural Philosophy or Astron-
omy are ; and which are quite as easy to be learned.

The book is also intended to serve as an introduction to the author's
Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States (or to any similar
work describing the plants of other districts), and to be to it what a
grammar and a dictionary are to a classical author. It consequently con-
tains many terms and details which there is no necessity for young stu-
dents perfectly to understand in the first instance, and still less to commit
to memory, but which they will need to refer to as occasions arise, when
they come to analyze flowers, and ascertain the names of our wild plants.

To make the book complete in this respect, a full Glossary, or Diction-
ary of Terms used in describing Plants, is added to the volume. This con-
tains very many words which are not used in the Manual of Botany ;
but as they occur in common botanical works, it was thought best to in-
troduce and explain them. All the words in the Glossary which seemed
to require it are accented.

iv PREFACE.

It is by no means indispensable for students to go through the volume
before commencing with the analysis of plants. When the proper season
for botanizing arrives, and -when the first twelve Lessons have been gone
over, they may take up Lesson XXVIII. and the following ones, and pro-
ceed to study the various wild plants they find in blossom, in the manner
illustrated in Lesson XXX., &c, — referring to the Glossary, and thence
to the pages of the Lessons, as directed, for explanations of the various
distinctions and terms they meet with. Their first essays will necessarily
be rather tedious, if not difficult ; but each successful attempt smooths
the way for the next, and soon these technical terms and distinctions
will become nearly as familiar as those of ordinary language.

Students who, having mastered this elementary work, wish to extend
their acquaintance with Vegetable Anatomy and Physiology, and to con-
sider higher questions about the structure and classification of plants, will
be prepared to take up the author's Botanical Text-Book, or other more
detailed treatises.

No care and expense have been spared upon the illustrations of this
volume; which, with one or two exceptions, are all original. They
were drawn from nature by Mr. Sprague, the most accurate of living
botanical artists, and have been as freely introduced as the size to which
it was needful to restrict the volume would warrant.

To append a set of questions to the foot of each page, although not un-
usual in school-books, seems like a reflection upon the competency or the
faithfulness of teachers, who surely ought to have mastered the lesson be-
fore they undertake to teach it; nor ought facilities to be afforded for
teaching, any more than learning, lessons by rote. A full analysis of the
contents of the Lessons, however, is very convenient and advantageous.
Such an Analysis is here given, in place of the ordinary table of con-
tents. This will direct the teacher and the learner at once to the leading
ideas and important points of each Lesson, and serve as a basis to ground
proper questions on, if such should be needed.

ASA GRAY.

Harvard University, Cambridge,
January 1, 1857.

ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS.*

LESSON I. — Botany as a Branch op Natural History. . . p. 1.

1. Natural History, its subjects. 2. The Inorganic or Mineral Kingdom,
what it is : why called Inorganic. 3. The Organic world, or the world of Or-
ganized beings, why so called, and what its peculiarities. 4. What kingdoms
it comprises. 5, 6. Differences between plants and animals. 7. The use of
plants : how vegetables are nourished ; and how animals.

8. Botany, how defined. 9. Physiology, and Physiological Botany, what
they relate to. 10. Systematic Botany, what it relates to : a Flora, what it is.
11. Geographical Botany, Fossil Botany, &c, what they relate to.

LESSON II. — The Growth of the Plant from the Seed. . p. 4.

12. The Course of Vegetation: general questions proposed. 13. Plants
formed on one general plan. 14. The Germinating Plantlct : 15. exists in
miniature in the seed: 16. The Embryo; its parts: 17, 18. how it develops.
19. Opposite growth of Root and Stem : 20. its object or results : 21, 22. the
different way each grows.

LESSON III. Growth of the Plant from the Seed; continued, p. 9.

23. Recapitulation : Ascending and Descending Axis. 24, 25. The Germi-
nating Plantlet, how nourished. 26. Deposit of food in the embryo, illustrated
in the Squash, &c. : 27. in the Almond, Apple-seed, Beech, &c. : 28. in the
Bean: 29. in the Pea, Oak, and Buckeye : peculiarity of these last. 30, 31.
Deposit of food outside of the embryo : Albumen of the seed : various shapes
of embryo. 32, 33. Kinds of embryo as to the number of Cotyledons : di-
cotyledonous : mouocotyledonous : polycotyledonous. 34, 35. Plan of vegeta-
tion. 36. Simple-stemmed vegetation illustrated.

LESSON IV. The Growth of Plants from Buds and Branches, p. 20.

37, 38. Branching : difference in this respect between roots and stems. 39.
Buds, what they are, and where situated : 40. how they grow, and what they
become. 41. Plants as to size and duration : herb, annual, biennial, perennial :
shrub : tree. 42. Terminal Bud. 43. Axillary Buds. 44. Scaly Buds. 45.
Naked Buds. 46. Vigor of vegetation from buds illustrated. 47-49. Plan
and arrangement of Branches : opposite : alternate. 50. Symmetry of Branches,

* The numbers in the analysis refer to the paragraphs.

vi ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS.

what it depends on: 51. how it becomes incomplete: 51-59. how varied.
53. Definite growth. 54. Indefinite growth. 55. Deliquescent or dissolving
stems, how formed. 5G. Excurrent stems of spire-shaped trees, how produced.
57. Latent Buds. 58. Adventitious Buds. 59. Accessory or supernumerary
Buds. 60. Sorts of Buds recapitulated and defined.

LESSON V. Morphology of Roots p. 28.

61 - 64. Morphology; what the term means, and how applied in Botany. 65.
Primary Root, simple ; and, 66. multiple. 67. Rootlets ; how roots absorb ;
time for transplantation, &c. 68. Great amount of surface which a plant
spreads out, in the air and in the soil ; reduced in winter, increased in spring.
69. Absorbing surface of roots increased by the root-hairs. 70. Fibrous roots
for absorption. 71. Thickened or fleshy roots as storehouse of food. 72, 73.
Their principal forms. 74. Biennial roots ; their economy. 75. Perennial
thickened roots. 76. Potatoes, &c. are not roots. 77. Secondary Roots, their
economy. 78. Sometimes striking in open air, when they are, 79. Aerial Roots ;
illustrated in Indian Corn, Mangrove, Screw Pine, Banyan, &c. 80. Aerial
Rootlets of Ivy. 81. Epiphytes or Air-Plants, illustrated. 82. Parasitic Plants,
illustrated by the Mistletoe, Dodder, &c.

LESSON VI. Morphology of Stems and Branches. ... p. 36.

83 - 85. Forms of stems and branches above ground. 86. Their direction or
habit of growth. 87. Culm, Caudex, &c. 88. Suckers : propagation of plants
by division. 89. Stolons : propagation by layering or laying. 90. Offsets.
91. Runners. 92. Tendrils; how plants climb by them : their disk-like tips in
the Virginia Creeper. 93. Tendrils are sometimes forms of leaves. 94. Spines
or Thorns ; their nature : Prickles. 95. Strange forms of stems. 96. Subter-
ranean stems and branches. 97. The Rootstock or Rhizoma, why stem and
not root. 98. Why running rootstocks are so troublesome, and so hard to de-
stroy. 99-101. Thickened rootstocks, as depositories of food. 102. Their
life and growth. 103. The Tuber. 104. Economy of the Potato-plant. 105.
Gradations of tubers into, 106. Corms or solid bulbs : the nature and economy
of these, as in Crocus. 107. Gradation of these into, 108. the Bulb : nature of
bulbs. 109, 110. Their economy. 111. Their two principal sorts. 112. Bulb-
lets. 113. How the foregoing sorts of stems illustrate what is meant by mor-
phology. 114. They are imitated in some plants above ground. 115. Consoli-
dated forms of vegetation, illustrated by Cactuses, &c. 116. Their economy
and adaptation to dry regions.

LESSON VII. Morphology of Leaves p. 49.

117. Remarkable states of leaves already noticed. 118, 119. Foliage the
natural form of leaves : others are special forms, or transformations ; why so
called. 120. Leaves as depositories of food, especially the seed-leaves; and, 121.
As Bulb-scales. 122. Leaves as Bud-scales. 123. As Spines. 124. As Ten-
drils. 125. As Pitchers. 126. As Fly-traps. 127 - 129. The same leaf serving
various purposes.

ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. Vll

LESSON VIII. Morphology op Leaves as Foliage. ... p. 54.

130. Foliage the natural state of leaves. 131. Leaves a contrivance for in-
creasing surface : the vast surface of a tree in leaf. 132, 133. The parts of a
leaf. 134. The blade. 135. Its pulp or soft part and its framework. 136.
The latter is wood, and forms the ribs or veins and veinlets. 137. Division and
use of these. 138. Venation, or mode of veining. 139. Its two kinds. 140.
Netted-veined or reticulated. 141. Parallel-veined or nerved. 142. The so-
called veins and nerves essentially the same thing; the latter not like the
nerves of animals. 143. How the sort of veining of leaves answers to the num-
ber of cotyledons and the kind of plant. 144. Two kinds of parallel-veined leaves.
145, 146. Two kinds of netted-veined leaves. 147. Kelation of the veining to
the shape of the leaf. 148-151. Forms of leaves illustrated, as to general out-
line. 152. As to the base. 153. As to the apex.

LESSON IX. MoRpnoLOGY of Leaves as Foliage; continued, p. 61.

154, 155. Leaves either simple or compound. 156-162. Simple leaves il-
lustrated as to particular outline, or kind and degree of division. 163. Com-
pound leaves. 164. Leaflets. 165. Kinds of compound leaves. 166, 167.
The pinnate, and, 168. the palmate or digitate. 169. As to number of leaflets,
&c. 170. Leaflets, as to lobing, &c. 171, 172. Doubly or trebly compound
leaves of both sorts. 173. Peculiar forms of leaves explained, such as : 174.
Perfoliate: 175. Equitant: 176. Those without blade. 177. Phyllodia, or
flattened petioles. 178. Stipules. 179. Sheaths of Grasses ; Ligule.

LESSON X. The Arrangement of Leaves p. 71.

181. Phyllotaxy, or arrangement of leaves on the stem : general sorts of ar-
rangement. 182. Leaves arise only one from the same place. 1S3. Clustered
or fascicled leaves explained. 184. Spiral arrangement of alternate leaves. 185.
The two-ranked arrangement. 186. The three-ranked arrangement. 187. The
five-ranked arrangement. 188. The fractions by which these arc expressed.
189. The eight-ranked and the thirtecn-ranked arrangements. 190. The series
of these fractions, and their relations. 191. Opposite and whorled leaves.
192. Symmetry of leaves, &c. fixed by mathematical rule. 193. Vernation, or
arrangement of leaves in the bud. 194. The principal modes.

LESSON XL The Arrangement of Flowers on the Stem,

or Inflorescence p. 76.

195. Passage from the Organs of Vegetation to those of Fructification or Re-
production. 196. Inflorescence : the arrangement of flowers depends on that
of the leaves. 197. They are from either terminal or axillary buds. 198. In-
determinate Inflorescence. 199. Its sorts of flower-clusters. 200. Flower-
stalks, viz. peduncles and pedicels, bracts and bractlets, &c. 201. Raceme.
202. Its gradation into (203) a Corymb, and that (204) into (205) an Umbel.
206. Centripetal order of development. 207. The Spike. 208. The Head.

viii ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS.

209. Spadix. 210. Catkin or Ament. 211, 212. Compound inflorescence of
the preceding kinds. 213. Panicle. 214. Thyrsus. 215. Determinate In-
florescence explained. 216, 217. Cyme: centrifugal order of development.
218. Fascicle. 219. Glomerule. 221. Analysis of flower-clusters. 222. Com-
bination of the two kinds of inflorescence in the same plant.

LESSON XII. The Flower : its Parts or Organs p. 84.

223. The Flower. 224. Its nature and use. 225. Its organs. 226. The
Floral Envelopes or leaves of the flower. Calyx and Corolla, together called
(227) Perianth. 228. Petals, Sepals. 229. Neutral and "double" flowers,
those destitute of, 230. The Essential Organs : Stamens and Pistils. 231,232.
The parts of the flower in their succession. 233. The Stamen : its parts. 234.
The Pistil : its parts.

LESSON XIII. The Plan of the Flower p. 88.

235. Flowers all constructed upon the same plan. 236. Plan in vegetation
referred to. 237 - 239. Typical or pattern flowers illustrated, those at once
perfect, complete, regular, and symmetrical. 241. Imperfect or separated flowers.
242. Incomplete flowers. 243. Symmetry and regularity. 244. Irregular flow-
ers. 245. Unsymmctrical flowers. 246. Numerical plan of the flower. 247.
Alternation of the successive parts. 248. Occasional obliteration of certain parts.
249. Abortive organs. 250. Multiplication of parts.

LESSON XIV. Morphology op the Flowter p. 96.

251. Recapitulation of the varied forms under which stems and leaves appear.
252. These may be called metamorphoses. 253. Flowers are altered branches,;
how shown. 254. Their position the same as that occupied by buds. 255,
256. Leaves of the blossom are really leaves. 257. Stamens a different modifi-
cation of the same. 258. Pistils another modification ; the botanist's idea of
a pistil. 259. The arrangement of the parts of a flower answers to that of the
leaves on a branch.

LESSON XV. Morphology of the Calyx and Corolla. . . p. 99.

260. The leaves of the blossom viewed as to the various shapes they assume ;
as, 261. by growing together. 262. Union or cohesion of parts of the same sort,
rendering the flower, 263. Monopetalous or monosepalous ; various shapes de-
fined and named. 265. The tube, and the border or limb. 266. The claw
and the blade, or lamina of a separate petal, &c. 267. When the parts are
distinct, polysepalous, and polypetalous. 268. Consolidation, or the growing
together of the parts of different sets. 269. Insertion, what it means, and what
is meant by the terms Free and Hypogynous. 270. Perigynous insertion. 271,
272. Coherent or adherent calyx, &c. 273. Epigynous. 274. Irregularity of
parts. 275. Papilionaceous flower, and its parts. 276. Labiate or bilabiate
flowers. 277, 278. Ligulate flowers : the so-called compound flowers.

ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. ix

LESSON XVI. iEsTivATiox, or the Arrangement of the

Calyx and Corolla in the Bud. ... p. 108.

279. ^Estivation or Pncfioration defined. 280. Its principal modes illustrated,
viz. the valvate, induplicate, reduplicate, convolute or twisted, and imbricated.
282, 283. Also the open, and the plaited or plicate, and its modification, the
supervolute.

LESSON XVII. Morphology of the Stamens p. ill.

284. Stamens considered as to, 285. Their insertion. 286. Their union with
each other. 287, 288. Their number. 289. Their parts. 290. The Filament.
291. The Anther. 292, 293. Its attachment to the filament. 294. Its structure.
295. Its mode of opening, &c. 296. Its morphology, or the way in which it is
supposed to be constructed out of a leaf; its use, viz. to produce, 297. Pollen.
298. Structure of pollen-grains. 299. Some of their forms.

LESSON XVIII. Morphology of Pistils p. 116.

300. Pistils as to position. 301. As to number. 302. Their parts ; Ovary,
style, and stigma. 303, 304. Plan of a pistil, whether simple or compound.
305, 306. The simple pistil, or Carpel, and how it answers to a leaf. 307. Its
sutures. 308. The Placenta. 309. The Simple Pistil, one-celled, 310. and with
one style. 311,312. The Compound Pistil, how composed. 313. "With two or
more cells : 314. their placentas in the axis : 315. their dissepiments or parti-
tions. 316, 317. One-celled compound pistils. 318. "With a free central pla-
centa. 319, 320. With parietal placentas. 321. Ovary superior or inferior.
322. Open or Gymnospermous pistil : Naked-seeded plants. 323. Ovules. 324.
Their structure. 325, 326. Their kinds illustrated.

LESSON XIX. Morphology of the Receptacle p. 124.

327. The Receptacle or Torus. 328-330. Some of its forms illustrated.
331 . The Disk. 332. Curious form of the receptacle in Nelumbium.

LESSON XX. The Fruit p. 126.

333. What the Fruit consists of. 334. Fruits which are not such in a strict
botanical sense. 335. Simple Fruits. 336, 337. The Pericarp, and the changes
it may undergo. 338. Kinds of simple fruits. 339. Fleshy fruits. 340. The
Berry. 341 . The Pepo or Ground-fruit. 342. The Pome or Apple-fruit. 343-
345. The Drupe or Stone-fruit. 346. Dry fruits. 347. The Achenium : nature
of the Strawberry. 348. Raspberry and Blackberry. 349. Fruit in the Com-
posite Family : Pappus. 350. The Utricle. 351. The Caryopsis or Grain. 352.
The Nut : Cupule. 353. The Samara or Key-fruit. 354. The Capsule or Pod.
355. The Follicle. 356. The Legume and Loment. 357. The true Capsule.
358, 359. Dehiscence, its kinds. 361. The Silique. 362. The Silicic. 363. The
Pyxis. 364. Multiple or Collective Fruits. 365. The Strobile or Cone.

X ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS.

LESSON XXI. The Seed p. 134.

366. The Seed; its origin. 367. Its parts. 360,369. Its coats. 370. The
Aril or Arillus. 371. Names applied to the parts of the seed. 372. The Ker-
nel or Nucleus. 373. The Albumen. 374, 375. The Embryo. 376. The
Kadicle. 377. The Cotyledons or Seed-leaves : the monocotyledonous, dicoty-
ledonous, and polycotyledonous embryo. 378. The Plumule. 379. The circle
of vegetable life completed.

LESSON XXII. How Plants grow p. 138.

380, 381. Growth, what it is. 382. For the first formation or beginning of
a plant dates farther back than to, 383. the embryo in the ripe seed, which is
already a plantlet. 384. The formation and the growth of the embryo itself.
385. Action of the pollen on the stigma, and the result. 386. The Embryonal
Vesicle, or first cell of the embryo. 387. Its growth and development into the
embryo. 388. Growth of the plantlet from the seed. 389. The plant built up
of a vast number of cells. 390. Growth consists of the increase in size of cells,
and their multiplication in number.

LESSON XXIII. Vegetable Fabric : Cellular Tissue. . . p. 142.

391, 392. Organic Structure illustrated : Cells the units or elements of plants.
393. Cellular Tissue. 394,395,397. How the cells are put together. 396. Inter-
cellular spaces, air-passages. 398. Size of cells. 399. Rapidity of their produc-
tion. 400. Their walls colorless ; the colors owing to their contents. 401. The
walls sometimes thickened. 402. Cells are closed and whole ; yet sap flows from
one cell to another. 403. Their varied shapes.

LESSON XXIV. Vegetable Fabric : Wood p. 145.

404. All plants at the beginning formed of cellular tissue only ; and some
never have anything else in their composition. 405. Wood soon appears in
most plants. 406. Its nature. 408. Wood-cells or Woody Fibre. 409. Hard
wood and soft wood. 410. Wood-cells closed and whole ; yet they convey sap.
411. They communicate through thin places : Pine-wood, &c. 412. Bast-cells
or fibres of the bark. 413. Ducts or Vessels. 414. The principal kinds. 415.
Milk-vessels, Oil-receptacles, &c.

LESSON XXV. Anatomy of the Eoot, Stem, and Leaves, p. 149.

416. The materials of the vegetable fabric, how put together. 417-419.
Structure and action of the rootlets. 420. Root-hairs. 421. Structure of the
stem. 422. The two sorts of stem. 423. The Endogenous. 423. The Exo-
genous : 425. more particularly explained. 426. Parts of the wood or stem
itself. 427. Parts of the bark. 428. Growth of the exogenous stem year after
year. 429. Growth of the bark, and what becomes of the older parts. 431.
Changes in the wood ; Sap-wood. 432. Heart-wood. 433. This no longer liv-

ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. Xi

ing. 434. "What the living parts of a tree are ; their annual renewal. 435.
Cambium-layer or zone of growth in the stem ; connected with, 436. new root-
lets below, and new shoots, buds, and leaves above. 437. Structure of a leaf:
its two parts, the woody and the cellular, or, 438. the pulp ; this contains the green
matter, or Chlorophyll. 439, 440. Arrangement of the cells of green pulp in the
leaf, and structure of its epidermis or skin. 441. Upper side only endures the
sunshine. 442. Evaporation or exhalation of moisture from the leaves. 443.
Stomatcs or Breathing-pores, their structure and use. 444. Their numbers.

LESSON XXVI. The Plant in Action, doing the Work

of Vegetation p. 157.

446. The office of plants to produce food for animals. 447. Plants feed
upon earth and air. 449. Their chemical composition. 450. Two sorts of
material. 451, 452. The earthy or inorganic constituents. 453. The organic
constituents. 454. These form the Cellulose, or substance of vegetable tissue ;
composition of cellulose. 455. The plant's food, from which this is made.

456. Water, furnishing hydrogen and oxygen. 458. Carbonic acid, furnishing,

457. Carbon. 459. The air, containing oxygen and nitrogen ; and also, 460.
Carbonic acid; 461. which is absorbed by the leaves, 462. and by the roots.
463. Water and carbonic acid the general food of plants. 464. Assimilation
the proper work of plants. 465. Takes place in green parts alone, under the
light of the sun. 466-468. Liberates oxygen gas and produces Cellulose or
plant-fabric. 469. Or else Starch ; its nature and use. 470. Or Sugar ; its na-
ture, &c. The transformations starch, sugar, &c. undergo. 471. Oils, acids, &c.
The formation of all these products restores oxygen gas to the air. 472. There-
fore plants purify the air for animals. 473. While at the same time they pro-
duce all the food and fabric of animals. The latter take all their food ready made
from plants. 474. And decompose starch, sugar, oil, &c, giving back their ma-
terials to the air again as the food of the plant ; at the same time producing ani-
mal heat. 475. But the fabric or flesh of animals (fibrine, gelatine, &c.) contains
nitrogen. 476. This is derived from plants in the form of Proteine. Its nature
and how the plant forms it. 477. Earthy matters in the plant form the earthy
part of bones, &c. 478. Dependence of animals upon plants ; showing the great
object for which plants were created.

LESSON XXVn. Plant-Life p. 166.

479. Life ; manifested by its effects ; viz. its power of transforming matter :
480. And by motion. 481, 482. Plants execute movements as well as animals.
483. Circulation in cells. 484. Free movements of the simplest plants in their
forming state. 485. Absorption and conveyance of the sap. 486. Its rise into
the leaves. 487. Explained by a mechanical law; Endosmose. 488. Set in ac-
tion by evaporation from the leaves. 489. These movements controlled by the
plant, which directs growth and shapes the fabric by an inherent power. 490.
Special movements of a more conspicuous sort. 491. Such as seen in the so-
called sleeping and waking states of plants. 492. Movements from irritation,
and striking spontaneous motions.

Xll ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS.

493. Cryptogaraous or Flowerless Plants. 494. What they comprise ; why
so called. 495. To be studied in other works.

LESSON XXVIII. Species and Kinds p. 173.

496. Plants viewed as to their relationships. 497. Two characteristics of
plants and animals : they form themselves, and, 498. They exist as Individu-
als. The chain of individuals gives rise to the idea of, 499, 500. Species : as-
semblages of individuals, so like that they are inferred to have a common an-
cestry. 501. Varieties and Races. 502. Tendency of the progeny to inherit
all the peculiarities of the parent ; how taken advantage of in developing and
fixing races. 503. Diversity and gradation of species ; these so connected as to
show all to be formed on one plan, all works of one hand, or realizations of the
conceptions of one mind. 504. Kinds, what they depend upon. 505. Genera.
506. Orders or Families. 507. Suborders and Tribes. 508. Classes. 509. The
two great Series or grades of plants. 510. The way the various divisions in
classification are ranked.

LESSON XXIX. Botanical Names and Characters. ... p. 178.

511, 512. Classification ; the two purposes it subserves. 513. Names : plan of
nomenclature. 514, 515. Generic names, how formed. 516. Specific names,
how formed. 517. Names of Varieties. 518, 519. Names of Orders, Sub-
orders, Tribes, &c. 520,521. Characters.

LESSONS XXX. -XXXII. How to study Plants, pp. 181, 187, 191.

522 - 567. Illustrated by several examples, showing the mode of analyzing and
ascertaining the name of an unknown plant, and its place in the system, &c.

LESSON XXXIII. Botanical Systems p. 195.

568-571. Natural System. 572, 573. Artificial Classification. 574. Arti-
ficial System of Linnaeus. 575. Its twenty-four Classes, enumerated and de-
fined. 576. Derivation of then- names. 577, 578. Its Orders.

LESSON XXXIV. How to collect Specimens and make

an Herbarium p- 199.

579 - 582. Directions for collecting specimens. 583, 584. For drying and
preserving specimens. 585, 586. For forming an Herbarium.

GLOSSARY, or Dictionary of Botanical Terms p. 203

FIKST LESSONS

IN

BOTANY AND VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY.

LESSON I.

BOTANY AS A BRANCH OF NATURAL HISTORY.

1. The subjects of Natural History are, the earth itself and the
beings that live upon it.

2. The Inorganic World, or Mineral Kingdom. The earth itself, witb

the air that surrounds it, and all things naturally belonging to them
which are destitute of life, make up the mineral kingdom, or in-
organic world. These are called inorganic, or unorganized, because
they are not composed of organs, that is, of parts which answer to
one another, and make up a whole, such as is a horse, a bird, or a
plant. They were formed, but they did not grow, nor proceed from
previous bodies like themselves, nor have they the power of pro-
ducing other similar bodies, that is, of reproducing their kind. On
the other hand, the various living things, or those which have pos-
sessed life, compose

3. The Organic World, — the world of organized beings. These
consist of organs ; of parts which go to make up an individual, a
being. And each individual owes its existence to a preceding one
like itself, that is, to a parent. It was not merely formed, but
produced. At first small and imperfect, it grows and develops by
powers of its own ; it attains maturity, becomes old, and finally dies.
It was formed of inorganic or mineral matter, that is, of earth and
air, indeed ; but only of this matter under the influence of life :
and after life departs, sooner or later, it is decomposed into earth
and air again.

1

2 BOTANY, WHAT IT RELATES TO. [LESSON 1.

4. The organic world consists of two kinds of beings ; namely,
1. Plants or Vegetables, which make up what is called the Vegetable
Kingdom ; and, 2. Animals, which compose the Animal Kingdom.

5. The Differences between Plants and Animals seem at first sight so

obvious and so great, that it would appear more natural to inquire
how they resemble rather than how they differ from each other.
"What likeness does the cow bear to the grass it feeds upon ? The
one moves freely from place to place, in obedience to its own will,
as its wants or convenience require : the other is fixed to the spot
of earth where it grew, manifests no will, and makes no movements'
that are apparent to ordinary observation. The one takes its food
into an internal cavity (the stomach), from which it is absorbed
into the system : the other absorbs its food directly by its surface,
by its roots, leaves, &c. Both possess organs; but the limbs or
members of the animal do not at all resemble the roots, leaves,
blossoms, &c. of the plant. All these distinctions, however, gradu-
ally disappear, as we come to the lower kinds of plants and the lower
animals. Many animals (such as barnacles, coral-animals, and
polyps) are fixed to some support as completely as the plant is to
the soil ; while many plants are not fixed, and some move from
place to place by powers of their own. All animals move some of
their parts freely ; yet in the extent and rapidity of the motion
many of them are surpassed by the common Sensitive Plant, by
the Venus's Fly-trap, and by some other vegetables ; while whole
tribes of aquatic plants are so freely and briskly locomotive, that
they have until lately been taken for animals. It is among these
microscopic tribes that the animal and vegetable kingdoms most
nearly approach each other, — so nearly, that it is still uncertain
where to draw the line between them.

<5. Since the difficulty of distinguishing between animals and
plants occurs only, or mainly, in those forms which from their
minuteness are beyond ordinary observation, we need not further
concern ourselves with the question here. One, and probably the
most absolute, difference, however, ought to be mentioned at the
outset, because it enables us to see what plants are made for. It
is this : —

7. Vegetables are nourished by the mineral kingdom, that is, by
the ground and the air, which supply all they need, and which they
are adapted to live upon ; while animals are entirely nourished by
vegetables. The great use of plants therefore is, to take portions of

LESSON 1.] BOTANY, WHAT IT RELATES TO. 3

earth and air, upon which animals cannot subsist at all, and to con-
vert these into something upon which animals can subsist, that is,
into food. All food is produced by plants. How this is done, it is
the province of Vegetable Physiology to explain.

8. Botany is the name of the science of the vegetable kingdom in
general.

9. Physiology is the study of the way a living being lives, and
grows, and performs its various operations. The study of plants in
this view is the province of Vegetable Physiology. The study of the
form and structure of the organs or parts of the vegetable, by which
its operations are performed, is the province of Structural Botany.
The two together constitute Physiological Botany. With this de-
partment the study of Botany should begin; both because it lies
at the foundation of all the rest, and because it gives that kind of
knowledge of plants wThich it is desirable every one should possess ;
that is, some knowledge of the way in which plants live, grow, and
fulfil the purposes of their existence. To this subject, accordingly,
a large portion of the following Lessons is devoted.

10. The study of plants as to their kinds is the province of Sys-
tematic Botany. An enumeration of the kinds of vegetables, as far
as known, classified according to their various degrees of resemblance
or difference, constitutes a general System of plants. A similar ac-
count of the vegetables of any particular country or district is called
a Flora of that country or district.

11. Other departments of Botany come to view when — instead
of regarding plants as to what they are in themselves, or as to their
relationship with each other — we consider them in their relations
to other things. Their relation to the earth, for instance, as respects
their distribution over its surface, gives rise to Geographiccd Botany,
or Botanical Geography. The study of the vegetation of former
times, in their fossil remains entombed in the crust of the earth,
gives rise to Fossil Botany. The study of plants in respect to their
uses to man is the province of Agricultural Botany, Medical Botany,
and the like.

4 GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 2.

LESSON II.

THE GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROxM THE SEED.

12. The Course Of Vegetation. We see plants growing from the
seed in spring-time, and gradually developing their parts : at length
they blossom, bear fruit, and produce seeds like those from which
they grew. Shall we commence the study of the plant with the
full-grown herb or tree, adorned with flowers or laden with fruit ?
Or shall we commence with the seedling just rising from the
ground ? On the whole, we may get a clearer idea of the whole
life and structure of plants if we begin at the beginning, that is, with
the plantlet springing from the seed, and follow it throughout its
course of growth. This also agrees best with the season in which
the study of Botany is generally commenced, namely, in the spring
of the year, when the growth of plants from the seed can hardly
fail to attract attention. Indeed, it is this springing forth of vegeta-
tion from seeds and buds, after the rigors of our long winter, —
clothing the earth's surface almost at once with a mantle of freshest
verdure, — Avhich gives to spring its greatest charm. Even the
dullest beholder, the least observant of Nature at other seasons,
can then hardly fail to ask : What are plants ? How do they live
and grow ? What do they live upon ? What is the object and use
of vegetation in general, and of its particular and wonderfully various
forms ? These questions it is the object of the present Lessons to
answer, as far as possible, in a simple way.

13. A reflecting as well as observing person, noticing the re-
semblances between one plant and another, might go on to inquire
whether plants, with all their manifold diversities of form and
appearance, are not all constructed on one and the same general
plan. It will become apparent, as we proceed, that this is the
case ; — that one common plan may be discerned, which each par-
ticular plant, whether herb, shrub, or tree, has followed much more
closely than would at first view be supposed. The differences, wide
as they are, are merely incidental. What is true in a general way
of any ordinary vegetable, will be found to be true of all, only with
great variation in the details. In the same language, though in
varied phrase, the hundred thousand kinds of plants repeat the same

LESSON 2.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED.

story, — are the living witnesses and illustrations of one and the
same plan of Creative Wisdom in the vegetable world. So that the
study of any one plant, traced from the seed it springs from round
to the seeds it produces, would illustrate the whole subject of vege-
table life and growth. It matters little, therefore, what particular
plant we begin with.

14. The Germinating Plantlct. Take for example a seedling Maple.
Sugar Maples may be found in abundance in many places, starting
from the seed (i. e. germinating) in early spring, and Red Maples
at the beginning of summer, shortly after the fruits of the season
have ripened and fallen to the ground. A p*air of narrow green
leaves raised on a tiny stem make up the whole plant at its first
appearance (Fig. 4). Soon a root appears at the lower end of this
stemlet ; then a little bud at its upper end, between the pair of
leaves, which soon grows into a second joint or
stem bearing another pair of leaves, resembling
the ordinary leaves of the Red Maple, which
the first did not. Figures 5 and 6 represent
these steps in the growth.

15. Was this plantlet formed in the seed at
the time of germination, something as the chick
is formed in the egg during the process of incu-
bation ? Or did it exist before in the seed,
ready formed ? To decide this question, we
have only to inspect a sound seed, which in this
instance requires no microscope, nor any other
instrument than a sharp knife, by which the
coats of the seed (previously soaked in water, if
dry) may be laid open. We find within the
seed, in this case, the little plantlet ready formed,
and nothing else (Fig. 2) ; — namely, a pair
of leaves like those of the earliest seedling
(Fig. 4), only smaller, borne on a stemlet just
like that of the seedling, only much shorter,
and all snugly coiled up within the protecting
seed-coat. The plant then exists beforehand
in the seed, in miniature. It was not formed, but only devel-

FIG. 1. A winged fruit of Red Maple, with the seed-bearing portion cut open, to show the
seed. 2. This seed cut open to show the embryo plantlet within, enlarged. 3. The embryo
taken out whole, and partly unfolded. 4. The same after it has begun to grow ; of the
natural size.

1*

GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 2.

oped, in germination ; when it had merely to unfold and grow, —
to elongate its rudimentary stem, which takes
at the same time an upright position, so as to
bring the leaf-bearing end into the light and air,
where the two leaves expand ; while from the
opposite end, now pushed farther downwards
into the soil, the root begins to grow. All this
is true in the main of all plants that spring from
real seeds, although with great diversity in the
particulars. At least, there is hardly an excep-
tion to the fact, that the plantlet exists ready
formed in the seed, in some shape or other.

16. The rudimentary plantlet contained in
the seed is called an Embryo. Its little stem
is named the Radicle, because it was supposed
to be the root, when the difference between the
root and stem was not so well known as now.
It were better to name it the Caulicle (i. e.
little stem) ; but it is not expedient to change
old names. The seed-leaves it bears on its sum-
mit (here two in number) are technically called
Cotyledons. The little bud of undeveloped
leaves which is to be found between the co-
tyledons before germination in many cases (as in the Pea, Bean,
Fig. 17, &c), has been named the Plumule.

17. In the Maple (Fig. 4), as also in the Morning-Glory (Fig.
28), and the like, this bud, or plumule, is not seen for some days
after the seed-leaves are expanded. But soon it appears, in the
Maple as a pair of minute leaves (Fig. 5), erelong raised on a stalk
which carries them up to some distance above the cotyledons. The
plantlet (Fig. 6) now consists, above ground, of two pairs of leaves,
viz. : 1. the cotyledons or seed-leaves, borne on the summit of the
original stemlet (the radicle) ; and 2. a pair of ordinary leaves,
raised on a second joint of stem which has grown from the top
of the first. Later, a third pair of leaves is formed, and raised
on a third joint of stem, proceeding from the summit of the second
(Fig. 7), just as that did from the first; and so on, until the germi-
nating plantlet becomes a tree.

FIG. 5. Germinating Red Maple, which has produced its root beneath, and is developing
A second pair of leaves above. 6. Same, further advanced.

LESSON 2.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED.

18. So the youngest seedling, and even the embryo in the seed,
is already an epitome of the herb or tree. It has a stem, from the
lower end of which it strikes root ; and it
has leaves. The tree itself in its whole
vegetation has nothing more in kind.
To become a tree, the plantlet has only
to repeat itself upwardly by producing
more similar parts, — that is, new por-
tions of stem, with new and larger leaves,
in succession, — while beneath, it pushes
its root deeper and deeper into the soil.

19. The Opposite Growth of Root and

Stem began at the beginning of germi-
nation, and it continues through the
whole life of the plant. While yet
buried in the soil, and perhaps in total
darkness, as soon as it begins to grow,
the stem end of the embryo points
towards the light, — curving or turning
quite round if it happens to lie in
some other direction, — and stretches
upwards into the free air and sunshine ;
while the root end as uniformly avoids
the light, bends in the opposite direction
to do so if necessary, and ever seeks to bury itself more and more
in the earth's bosom. How the plantlet makes these movements, we
cannot explain. But the object of this instinct is obvious. It
places the plant from the first in the proper position, with its roots
in the moist soil, from which they are to absorb nourishment, and its
leaves in the light and air, where alone they can fulfil their office of
digesting what the roots absorb.

20. So the seedling plantlet finds itself provided with all the
organs of vegetation that even the oldest plant possesses, — namely,
root, stem, and leaves ; and has these placed in the situation where
each is to act, — the root in the soil, the foliage in the light and air.
Thus established, the plantlet has only to set about its proper work.

21. The different Mode of Growth of Root and Stem may also be here

mentioned. Each grows, not only in a different direction, but in a
different way. The stem grows by producing a set of joints, each from

FIG. 7. Germinating Red Maple, further developed.

8 GROWTH OF THE PLANT FR03I TnE SEED. [LESSON 2.

the summit of its predecessor ; and each joint elongates throughout
every part, until it reaches its full length. The root is not composed
of joints, and it lengthens only at the end. The stem in the embryo
(viz. the radicle) has a certain length to begin with. In the pump-
kin-seed, for instance (Fig. 9), it is less than an eighth of an inch
long : but it grows in a few days to the length of one or two inches
(Fig. 10), or still more, if the seed were deeper covered by the soil.
It is by this elongation that the seed-leaves are raised out of the
soil, so as to expand in the light and air. The length they acquire
varies with the depth of the covering. When large and strong seeds
are too deeply buried, the stemlet sometimes grows to the length of
several inches in the endeavor to bring the seed-leaves to the sur-
face. The lengthening of the succeeding joints of the stem serves to
separate the leaves, or pairs of leaves, from one another, and to ex-
pose them more fully to the light.

22. The root, on the other hand, begins by a new formation at
the base of the embryo stem ; and it continues to increase in length
solely by additions to the extremity, the parts once formed scarcely
elongating at all afterwards. This mode of growth is well adapted
to the circumstances in which roots are placed, leaving every part
undisturbed in the soil where it was formed, while the ever-advan-
cing points readily insinuate themselves into the crevices or looser
portions of the soil, or pass around the surface of solid obstacles.

LESSON 3.] GROWTH OP THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. 9

LESSON III.

GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. Continued.

23. So a plant consists of two parts, growing in a different manner,
as well as in opposite directions. One part, the root, grows down-
wards into the soil : it may, therefore, be called the descending axis.
The other grows upwards into the light and air : it may be called
the ascending axis. The root grows on continuously from the ex-
tremity, and so does not consist of joints, nor does it bear leaves,
or anything of the kind. The stem gi-ows by a succession of
joints, each bearing one or more leaves on its summit. Root on
the one hand, and stem with its foliage on the other, make up the
whole plantlet as it springs from the seed ; and the full-grown herb,
shrub, or tree has nothing more in kind, — only more in size and
number. Before we trace the plantlet into the herb or tree, some
other cases of the growth of the plantlet from the seed should be
studied, that we may observe how the same plan is worked out under
a variety of forms, with certain differences in the details. The mate-
rials for this study are always at hand. "We have only to notice what
takes place all around us in spring, or to plant some common seeds
in pots, keep them warm and moist, and watch their germination.

24. The Germinating Plantlet feeds on Nourishment provided beforehand.
The embryo so snugly ensconced in the seed of the Maple (Fig. 2,
3, 4) has from the first a miniature stem, and a pair of leaves already
green, or which become green as soon as brought to the light. It
has only to form a root by which to fix itself to the ground, when it
becomes a perfect though diminutive vegetable, capable of providing
for itself. This root can be formed only out of proper material :
neither water nor anything else which the plantlet is imbibing from
the earth will answer the purpose. The proper material is nourish-
ing matter, or prepared food, more or less of which is always pro-
vided by the parent plant, and stored up in the seed, either in the
embryo itself, or around it. In the Maple, this nourishment is stored
up in the thickish cotyledons, or seed-leaves. And there is barely
enough of it to make the beginning of a root, and to provide for the
lengthening of the stemlet so as to bring up the unfolding seed-leaves
where they may expand to the light of day. But when this is done,

10

GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 3.

the tiny plant is already able to shift for itself; — that is, to live and
continue its growth on what it now takes from the soil and from the
air, and elaborates into nourishment in its two green leaves, under
the influence of the light of the sun.

25. In most ordinary plants, a larger portion of noui'ishment is
provided beforehand in the seed ; and the plantlet consequently is
not so early or so entirely left to its own resources. Let us examine
a number of cases, selected from very common plants. Sometimes,
as has just been stated, we find this

26. Deposit Of Food in tlie Embryo itself. And we may observe it
in every gradation as to quantity, from the Maple of our first illus-
tration, where there is veiy little, up to
the Pea and the Horsechestnut, where
there is as much as there possibly can
be. If we strip off the coats from the
large and flat seed of a Squash or
Pumpkin, we find nothing but the em-
bryo within (Fig. 9) ; and almost the
whole bulk of this consists of the two
seed-leaves. That these contain a good
supply of nourishing matter, is evident
from their sweet taste and from their
thickness, although there is not enough
to obscure their leaf-like appearance.
It is by feeding on this supply of nour-
ishment that the germinating Squash or
Pumpkin (Fig. 10) grows so rapidly
and so vigorously from the seed, —
lengthening its stemlet to more than
twenty times the length it had in the
seed, and thickening it in proportion, —
sending out at once a number of roots
from its lower end, and soon developing

the plumule (16) from its upper end into a third leaf: meanwhile
the two cotyledons, relieved from the nourishment with which their
tissue was gorged, have expanded into useful green leaves.

27. For a stronger instance, take next the seed of a Plum or
Peach, or an Almond, or an Apple-seed (Fig. 11, 12), which shows

FIG. 9. Embryo of a Pumpkin, of the natural size ; the cotyledons a little opened.
10. The same, when it has germinated.

LESSON 3.] GROWTH OP THE PLANT FROM THE SEED.

11

the same thing on a smaller scale. The embryo, which here also
makes up the whole bulk of the kernel of the
seed, differs from that of the Pumpkin only
in having the seed-leaves more thickened, by
the much larger quantity of nourishment stored
up in their tissue, — so large and so pure in-
deed, that the almond becomes an article of
food. Fed by this abundant supply, the second,
and even the third joints of the stem, with
their leaves, shoot forth as soon as the stemlet comes to the surface of
the soil. The Beech-nut (Fig. 13), with
its sweet and eatable kernel, consisting
mainly of a pair of seed-leaves folded
together, and gorged with nourishing
matter, offers another instance of the
same sort : this ample store to feed
upon enables the germinating plantlet
to grow with remarkable vigor, and to
develop a second joint of stem, with its
pair of leaves (Fig. 14), before the first
pair has expanded or the root has ob-
tained much foothold in the soil.

28. A Bean affords a similar and
more familiar illustration. Here the co-
tyledons in the seed (Fig. 16) are so
thick, that, although they are raised out
of ground in the ordinary way in ger-
mination (Fig. 17), and turn greenish,
yet they never succeed in becoming leaf-
like, — never display their real nature of
leaves, as they do so plainly in the Ma-
ple (Fig. 5), the Pumpkin (Fig. 10), the
Morning-Glory (Fig. 8, 26-28), &c.
Turned to great account as magazines
of food for the germinating plantlet, they
fulfil this special office admirably, but

FIG. 11. An Apple-seed cut through lengthwise, showing the embryo with its thickened
cotyledons. 12. The embryo of the Apple, taken out whole, its cotyledons partly separated.

FIG. 13. A Beech-nut, cut across. 14. Beginning germination of the Beech, showing the
plumule growing before the cotyledons have opened or the root has scarcely formed. 15. The
same, a little later, with the second joint lengthened.

12

GROWTH OP THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 3.

they were so gorged and, as it were, misshapen, that they became

quite unfitted to perform the office of
foliage. This office is accordingly first
performed by the succeeding pair of
leaves, those of the plumule (Fig. 17,
18), which is put into rapid growth by
the abundant nourishment contained in
the large and thick seed-leaves. The
latter, having fulfilled this office, soon
wither and fall away.

29. This is carried a step farther in
the Pea (Fig. 19, 20), a near relative
of the Bean,
and in the
Oak (Fig.
21, 22), a
near relative
of the Beech.
The differ-
ence in these
and many
other similar
cases is this.

The cotyledons, which make up nearly

the whole bulk of the seed are exces-
sively thickened, so as to become nearly

hemispherical in shape. They have lost

all likeness to leaves, and all power of

ever fulfilling the office of leaves. Ac-
cordingly in germination they remain

unchanged within the husk or coats of

the seed, never growing themselves, but

supplying abundant nourishment to the

plumule (the bud for the forming stem)

between them. This pushes forth from

the seed, shoots upward, and gives rise

FIG. 16. A Bean : the embryo, from which seed-coats have been removed : the small
Btem is seen above, bent down upon the edge of the thick cotyledons. 17. The same in early
germination ; the plumule growing from between the two seed-leaves. 18. The germination
more advanced, the two leaves of the plumule unfolded, and raised on a short joint of stem.

FIG. 19. A Pea : the embryo, with the seed-coats taken off. 20. A Pea in germination.

LESSON 3.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED.

13

to the first leaves that appear. In most cases of the sort, the radicle,
or short original stemlet of the embryo be-
low the cotyledons (which is plainly shown
in the Pea, Fig. 19), lengthens very little,
or not at all ; and so the cotyledons remain
under ground, if the seed was covered by
the soil, as every one knows to be the case
with Peas. In these (Fig. 20), as also in
the Oak (Fig. 22), the leaves of the first
one or two joints are imperfect, and mere
small scales ; but genuine leaves immedi-
ately follow. The Horsechestnut and Buck-
eye (Fig. 23, 21) furnish another instance
of the same sort. These trees are nearly
related to the Maple ; but while the seed-
leaves of the Maple show themselves to
be leaves, even in the seed (as we have
already seen), and when they germinate
fulfil the office of ordinary leaves, those
of the Buckeye and of the Horsechestnut
(Fig. 23), would never be suspected to be
the same organs. Yet they are so, only
in another shape, — exceedingly thickened
by the accumulation of a great quantity
of starch and other nourishing matter in
their substance ; and besides, their contigu-
ous faces stick together more or less firmly,
so that they never open. But the stalks
of these seed-leaves grow, and, as they
lengthen, push the radicle and the plumule
out of the seed, when the one grows downward to make the root, the
other upward to form the leafy stem (Fig. 24).

30. Deposit Of Food outside of the Embryo. Very often the nourish-
ment provided for the seedling plantlet is laid up, not in the embryo
itself, but around it. A good instance to begin with is furnished by
the common Morning-Glory, or Convolvulus. The embryo, taken
out of the seed and straightened, is shown in Fig. 26. It consists
of a short stemlet and of a pair of very thin and delicate green
leaves, having no stock of nourishment in them for sustaining the

FIG. 21. An acorn divided lengthwise. 22. The germinating Oak.

2

14

GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 3.

earliest growth. On cutting open the seed, however, we find this

embryo (considerably crumpled or folded together, so as to occupy

less space, Fig. 25) to be surround-
ed by a mass of rich, mucilaginous
matter (becoming rather hard and
solid when dry), which forms the
principal bulk of the seed. Upon
this stock the embryo feeds in ger-
mination ; the seed-leaves absorbing
it into their tissue as it is rendered
soluble (through certain chemical
changes) and dissolved by the wa-
ter which the germinating seed im-
bibes from the moist soil. Having
by this aid 25 26

lengthened
its radicle
into a stem
of consider-
able length,

and formed the beginning of a root at its

lower end, already imbedded in the soil

(Fig. 27), the cotyledons now disengage

themselves from the seed-coats, and ex-
pand in the light as the first pair of leaves

(Fig. 28). These immediately begin to

elaborate, under the sun's influence, what

the root imbibes from the soil, and the new

nourishment so produced is used, partly to

increase the size of the little stem, root,

and leaves already existing, and partly to

produce a second joint of stem with its

leaf (Fig. 29), then a third with its leaf

(Fig. 8) ; and so on. 27 28

31. This maternal store of food, deposited in the seed along with

the embryo (but not in its substance), the old botanists likened to

FIG. 23. Buckeye : a seed divided. 24. A similar seed in gemination.

FIG. 25. Seed and embryo of Mornmg-Glory, cut across. 26. Embryo of the same, de»
tached and straightened. 27. Germinating Morning-Glory. 28. The same further advanced ;
its two thin seed-leaves expanded.

LESSON 3.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED.

15

the albumen, or white of the egg, which encloses the yolk, and
therefore gave it the same name, — the albumen of the seed, — a
name which it still retains. Food of this sort for the plant is also
food for animals, or for man ; and it is
this albumen, the floury part of the seed,
which forms the principal bulk of such
important grains as those of Indian Corn
(Fig. 38 - 40), Wheat, Rice, Buck-
wheat, and of the seed of Four-o'clock,
(Fig. 36, 37), and the like. In all
these last-named cases, it may be ob-
served that the embryo is not enclosed
in the albumen, but placed on one side
of it, yet in close contact with it, so
that the embryo may absorb readily
from it the nourishment it requires
when it begins to grow. Sometimes
the embryo is coiled around the outside, in the form of a ring, as
in the Purslane and the Four-o'clock (Fig. 36, 37) ; sometimes it is
coiled within the albumen, as in the Potato (Fig. 34, 35) ; some-
times it is straight in the centre of the albumen, occupying nearly its
30 32 34 36 whole length, as in

the Barberry (Fig.
32, 33), or much
smaller and near one
end, as in the Iris
(Fig. 43) ; or some-
times so minute, in
the midst of the al-
bumen, that it needs
a magnifying-glass to
find it, as in the But-

FIG. 29. Germination of the Morning Glory more advanced : the upper part only ; showing
the leafy cotyledons, the second joint of stem with its leaf, and the third with its leaf just
developing.

FIG. 30. Section of a seed of a Peony, showing a very small emhryo in the albumen,
near one end. 31. This embryo detached, and more magnified.

FIG. 32. Section of a seed of Barberry, showing the straight embryo in the middle of
the albumen. 33. Its embryo detached.

FIG. 34. Section of a Potato-seed, showing the embryo coiled in the albumen. 35. Its
embryo detached.

FIG. 36. Section of the seed of Four-o'clock, showing the embryo coiled round the
outside of the albumen. 37. Its embryo detached.

16 GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 3.

tercup or the Columbine, and in the Peony (Fig. 30, 31), where,
however, it is large enough to be distinguished by the naked eye.
Nothing is more curious than the various shapes and positions of
the embryo in the seed, nor more interesting than to watch its de-
velopment in germination. One point is still to be noticed, since
the botanist considers it of much importance, namely : —

32. The Kinds of Embryo as to the Number of Cotyledons. In all the
figures, it is easy to see that the embryo, however various in shape,
is constructed on one and the same plan ; — it consists of a radicle or
stemlet, with a pair of cotyledons on its summit. Botanists there-
fore call it dicotyledonous, — an inconveniently long word to express
the fact that the embryo has two cotyledons or seed-leaves. In
many cases (as in the Buttercup), the cotyledons are indeed so
minute, that they are discerned only by the nick in the upper end
of the little embryo ; yet in germination they grow into a pair of
seed-leaves, just as in other cases where they are plain to be seen,
as leaves, in the seed. But in Indian Corn (Fig. 40), in Wheat,
the Onion, the Iris (Fig. 43), &c, it is well known that only one

tleaf appears at first from the
/~\ sprouting seed : in these the
|\|V embryo has only one cotyle-
| / |l don, and it is therefore termed
VoM» by the botanists monocotyledo-
39 40 nous ; — an extremely long

word, like the other, of Greek derivation, which means one-cotyle-
doned. The rudiments of one or more other leaves are, indeed,
commonly present in this sort of embryo, as is plain to see in Indian
Corn (Fig. 38 - 40), but they form a bud situated above or within
the cotyledon, and enclosed by it more or less completely ; so that
they evidently belong to the plumule (1 6) ; and these leaves appear
in the seedling plantlet, each from within its predecessor, and there-
fore originating higher up on the forming stem (Fig. 42, 44). This
will readily be understood from the accompanying figures, with their
explanation, which the student may without difficulty verify for him-

FIG. 38. A grain of Indian Corn, flatwise, cut away a little, so as to show the embryo,
lying on the albumen, which makes the principal bulk of the seed.

FIG. 30. Another grain of Corn, cut through the middle in the opposite direction, divid-
ing the embryo through its thick cotyledon and its plumule, the latter consisting of two
leaves, one enclosing the other.

FIG. 40. Tho embryo of Corn, taken out whole : the thick mass is the cotyledon ; the
narrow body partly enclosed by it is the plumule ; the little projection at its base is the very
short radicle enclosed in the sheathing base of the first leaf of the plumule.

LESSON 3.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED.

17

self, and should do so, by examining grains of Indian Corn, soaked
in water, before and also during germination. In the Onion, Lily,
and the Iris (Fig. 43), the monocotyledonous embryo is simpler,
consisting apparently of a simple oblong or cylindrical
body, in which no distinction of parts is visible : the lower
end is radicle, and from it grows the root ; the rest is a
cotyledon, which has wrapped up in it a minute plumule,
or bud, that shows itself when the seeds sprout in germi-
nation. The first leaf which appears above ground in all
these cases is not the cotyledon. In all seeds with one coty-
ledon to the embryo, this remains in the seed, or at least
its upper part, while its lengthening base comes out, so as
to extricate the plumule, which shoots upward, and de-
velops the first leaves of the plantlet. These appear one
above or within the other in succes-
sion, — as is shown in Fig. 42 and
Fig. 44, — the first commonly in the
form of a little scale or imperfect
leaf; the second or third and the il

following ones as the real, ordinary leaves of
the plant. Meanwhile, from the root end of
the embryo, a root (Fig. 41, 44), or soon a
whole cluster of roots (Fig. 42), makes its
appearance.

33. In Pines, and the like, the embryo con-
sists of a radicle or stemlet, bearing on its
summit three or four, or often from five to
ten slender cotyledons, arranged in a
circle (Fig. 45), and expanding at
once into a circle of as many green
leaves in germination (Fig. 46). Such
embryos are said to be polycotyledonous,
that is, as the word denotes, many-
cotyledoned.

34. Plan of Vegetation. The student

who has understanding^ followed the
growth of the embryo in the seed into the seedling plantlet, — com-
posed of a root, and a stem of two or three joints, each bearing a

FIG. 41. Grain of Indian Com in germination.
FIG. 42. The same, further advanced.

2*

18

GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 3.

leaf, or a pair (rarely a circle) of leaves, — will have gained a cor-
rect idea of the plan of vegetation in general, and have laid a good
foundation for a knowledge of the whole structure and physiology
of plants. For the plant goes on to grow in the same
way throughout, by mere repetitions of what the early
germinating plantlet displays to view; — of what was
contained, in miniature or in rudiment, in the seed itself.
So far as vegetation is concerned (leaving out of view
for the present the flower and fruit), the full-grown leafy
herb or tree, of whatever size, has nothing, and does
nothing, which the seedling plantlet does not have and
do. The whole mass of stem or trunk and foliage of
the complete plant, even of the largest forest-tree, is
composed of a succession or multiplication of similar
parts, — one arising from the summit of another, —
each, so to say, the offspring of the preceding and
the parent of the next.

35. In the same way that the earliest portions of
the seedling stem, with the leaves
they bear, are successively produced,
so, joint by joint in direct succes-
sion, a single, simple, leafy stem is
developed and carried up. Of such a
simple leafy stem many a plant consists
(before flowering, at least), — many
herbs, such as Sugar-Cane, Indian
Corn, the Lily, the tall Banana, the
Yucca, &c. ; and among trees the
Palms and the Cycas (wrongly called
Sago Palm) exhibit the same simplicity, their
stems, of whatever age, being unbranched columns
(Fig. 47). (Growth in diameter is of course to be considered,
as well as growth in length. That, and the question how growth
of any kind takes place, we will consider hereafter.) But more
commonly, as soon as the plant has produced a main stem of a cer-
tain length, and displayed a certain amount of foliage, it begins to

FIG. 43. Section of a seed of the Iris, or Flower-de-Luce, showing its small embryo in
the albumen, near the bottom.

FIG. 44. Germinating plantlet of the Iris.

FIG. 45. Section of a seed of a Pine, with its embryo of several cotyledons. 46. Early
seedling Pine, with its stemlet, displaying its six seed-leaves.

LESSON 3.] GROAVTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED.

19

produce additional stems, that is, branches. The branching plant
Ave will consider in the next Lesson.

36. The subjoined figures (Fig. 47) give a view of some forms
of simple-stemmed vegetation. The figure in the foreground on
the left represents a Cycas (wrongly called in the conservatories
Sago Palm). Behind it is a Yucca (called Spanish Bayonet at the
South) and two Cocoanut Palm-trees. On the right is some Indian
Corn, and behind it a Banana.

20 GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. [LESSON 4.

LESSON IV.

THE GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS AND BRANCHES.

37. We have seen how the plant grows so as to produce a root,
and a simple stem with its foliage. Both the root and stem, how-
ever, generally branch.

38. The branches of the root arise without any particular order.
There is no telling beforehand from what part of a main root they
will spring. But the branches of the stem, except in some extra-
ordinary cases, regularly arise from a particular place. Branches
or shoots in their undeveloped state are

39. Buds. These regularly appear in the axils of the leaves, —
that is, in the angle formed by the leaf with the stem on the upper
side ; and as leaves are symmetrically arranged on the stem, the
buds, and the branches into which the buds grow, necessarily par-
take of this symmetry.

40. We do not confine the name of bud to the scaly winter-buds
which are so conspicuous on most of our shrubs and trees in winter
and spring. It belongs as well to the forming branch of any herb, at
its first appearance in the axil of a leaf. In growing, buds lengthen
into branches, just as the original stem did from the plumule of the
embryo (16) when the seed germinated. Only, while the original
stem is implanted in the ground by its root, the branch is implanted
on the stem. Branches, therefore, are repetitions of the main stem.
They consist of the same parts, — namely, joints of stem and leaves,
— growing in the same way. And in the axils of their leaves
another crop of buds is naturally produced, giving rise to another
generation of branches, which may in turn produce still another
generation ; and so on, — until the tiny and simple seedling develops
into a tall and spreading herb or shrub ; or into a massive tree,
with its hundreds of annually increasing branches, and its thousands,
perhaps millions, of leaves.

41. The herb and the tree grow in the same way. The difference
is only in size and duration.

An Herb dies altogether, or dies down to the ground, after it has
ripened its fruit, or at the approach of winter.

LESSON 4.] GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS.

21

An annual herb flowers in the first year, and dies, root and all,
after ripening its seed : Mustard, Peppergrass, Buckwheat, &c, are
examples.

A biennial herb — such as the Turnip, Carrot, Beet, and Cahbage
— grows the first season without blossoming, survives the winter,
flowers after that, and dies, root and all, when it has ripened its seed.

A perennial herb lives and blossoms year after year, but dies
down to the ground, or near it, annually, — not, however, quite down
to the root : for a portion of the stem, with its buds, still survives ;
and from these buds the shoots of the following year arise.

A Shrub is a perennial plant, with woody stems which continue
alive and grow year after year.

A Tree differs from a shrub only in its greater size.

42. The Terminal Bud. There are herbs, shrubs, and trees which
do not branch, as we have already seen (35) ; but whose stems,
even when they live for many years, rise as a simple shaft
(Fig. 47). These plants grow by the continued evolution of a bud
which crowns the summit of the stem, and which is therefore called
the terminal bud. This bud is very conspicuous in
many branching plants also ; as on all the stems or
shoots of Maples (Fig. 53), Horsechestnuts (Fig. 48),
or Hickories (Fig. 49), of a year old. "When they
grow, they merely prolong the shoot or stem on which
they rest. On these same shoots, however, other buds
are to be seen, regularly arranged down their sides.
We find them situated just over broad, flattened places,
which are the scars left by the fall of the leaf-stalk the
autumn previous. Before the fall of the leaf, they
would have been seen to occupy their axils (39) : so
they are named

43. Axillary Buds. They were formed in these trees
early in the summer. Occasionally they grow at the
time into branches : at least, some of them are pretty
sure to do so, in case the growing terminal bud at the
end of the shoot is injured or destroyed. Otherwise
they lie dormant until the spring. In many trees
or shrubs (such for example as the Sumach and Honey-Locust)
these axillary buds do not show themselves until spring ; but if

FIG. 48. Shoot of Horsechestnut, of one year's growth, taken in autumn after the leaves
have fallen.

22

GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. [LESSON 4.

searched for, they may be detected, though of small size, hidden
under the bark. Sometimes, although early formed, they are con-
cealed all summer long under the base of the leaf-
stalk, hollowed out into a sort of inverted cup, like a
candle-extinguisher, to cover them ; as in the Locust,
the Yellow-wood, or more strikingly . in the Button-
wood or Plane-tree (Fig. 50).

44. Such large and conspicuous buds as those of
the Horsechestnut, Hickory, and the like, are scaly ;
the scales being a kind of imperfect leaves. The
use of the bud-scales is obvious ; namely, to protect
the tender young parts beneath. To do this more
effectually, they are often coated on the outside with
a varnish which is impervious to wet, while within
they, or the parts they enclose, are thickly clothed
with down or wool ; not really to keep out the cold
of winter, which will of course penetrate the bud in
time, but to shield the interior against sudden changes
« from warm to cold, or from cold to warm, which are

equally injurious. Scaly buds commonly belong, as would be expect-
ed, to trees and shrubs of northern climates ; while naked buds are
usual in tropical regions, as well as in herbs everywhere which
branch during the summer's growth and do not endure the winter.

45. But naked buds, or nearly naked, also occur in several of our
own trees and shrubs ; sometimes pretty large ones, as those of Hob-

FIG. 49. Annual shoot of the Shagbark Hickory.

FIG. 50. Bud and leaf of the Buttonwood, or American Plane-tree.

LESSON 4.] GROWTH OP PLANTS FROM BUDS. 23

blebush (while those of the nearly-related Snowball or High Bush-
Cranberry are scaly) ; but more commonly, when naked buds occur
in trees and shrubs of our climate, they are small, and sunk in the
bark, as in the Sumac ; or even partly buried in the wood until they
begin to grow, as in the Honey-Locust.

46. Vigor of Vegetation from Buds. Large and strong buds, like those
of the Horsechestnut, Hickory, and the like, on inspection will be
found to contain several leaves, or pairs of leaves, ready formed,
folded and packed away in small compass, just as the seed-leaves
are packed away in the seed : they even contain all the blossoms of
the ensuing season, plainly visible as small buds. And the stems
upon which these buds rest are filled with abundant nourishment,
which was deposited the summer before in the wood or in the bark.
Under the surface of the soil, or on it, covered with the fallen leaves
of autumn, we may find similar strong buds of our perennial herbs,
in great variety ; while beneath are thick roots, rootstocks, or tubers,
charged with a great store of nourishment for their use. As we
regard these, we shall readily perceive how it is that vegetation
shoots forth so vigorously in the spring of the year, and clothes the
bare and lately frozen surface of the soil, as well as the naked
boughs of trees, almost at once with a covering of the freshest
green, and often with brilliant blossoms. Everything was prepared,
and even formed, beforehand : the short joints of stem in the bud
have only to lengthen, and to separate the leaves from each other
so that they may unfold and grow. Only a small part of the vege-
tation of the season comes directly from the seed, and none of the
earliest vernal vegetation. This is all from buds which have lived
through the winter.

47. This growth from buds, in manifold variety, is as interesting
a subject of study as the growth of the plantlet from the seed, and
is still easier to observe. We have only room here to sketch the
general plan ; earnestly recommending the student to examine at-
tentively their mode of growth in all the common trees and shrubs,
when they shoot forth in spring. The growth of the terminal bud
prolongs the stem or branch: the growth of axillary buds pro-
duces branches.

48. The Arrangement of Branches is accordingly the same as of
axillary buds ; and the arrangement of these buds is the same as
that of the leaves. Now leaves are arranged in two principal ways :
they are either opposite or alternate. Leaves are opposite when

24 GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. [LESSON 4.

there are two borne on the same joint of stem, as in the Horse-
chestnut, Maple (Fig. 7), Honeysuckle (Fig. 132), Lilac, &c; the
two leaves in such cases being always opposite each other, that is,
on exactly opposite sides of the stem. Here of course the buds
in their axils are opposite, as we observe in Fig. 48, where the
leaves have fallen, but their place is shown by the scars. And the
branches into which the buds grow are likewise ojjposite each other
in pairs.

49. Leaves are alternate when there is only one from each joint of
stem, as in the Oak (Fig. 22), Lime-tree, Poplar, Buttonwood (Fig.
50), Morning-Glory (Fig. 8), — not counting the seed-leaves, which of
course are opposite, there being a pair of them ; also in Indian Corn
(Fig. 42), and Iris (Fig. 44). Consequently the axillary buds are
also alternate, as in Hickory (Fig. 49) ; and tlfe branches they
form alternate, — making a different kind of spray from the other
mode, — one branch shooting on the one side of the stem and the
next on some other. For in the alternate arrangement no leaf is
on the same side of the stem as the one next above or next
below it.

50. Branches, therefore, are arranged with symmetry ; and the
mode of branching of the whole tree may be foretold by a glance at
the arrangement of the leaves on the seedling or stem of the first
year. This arrangement of the branches according to that of the
leaves is always plainly to be recognized ; but the symmetry of
branches is rarely complete. This is owing to several causes ;
mainly to one, viz. : —

51. It never happens that all the buds grow. If they did, there
would be as many branches in any year as there were leaves the
year before. And of those which do begin to grow, a large portion
perish, sooner or later, for want of nourishment or for want of light.
Those which first begin to grow have an advantage, which they are
apt to keep, taking to themselves the nourishment of the stem, and
starving the weaker buds.

52. In the Horsechestnut (Fig. 48), Hickory (Fig. 49), Mag-
nolia, and most other trees with large scaly buds, the terminal bud
is the strongest, and has the advantage in growth, and next in
strength are the upper axillary buds: while the former continues
the shoot of the last year, some of the latter give rise to branches,
while the rest fail to grow. In the Lilac also, the upper axillary
buds are stronger than the lower ; but the terminal bud rarely

LESSON 4.] GROWTH OP PLANTS FROM BUDS. 25

appears at all ; in its place the uppermost pair of axillary buds grow,
and so each stem branches every year into two ; making a re-
peatedly two-forked ramification.

53. In these and many similar trees and shrubs, most of the shoots
make a definite annual growth. That is, each shoot of the season
develops rapidly from a strong bud in spring, — a bud which gen-
erally contains, already formed in miniature, all or a great part of the
leaves and joints of stem it is to produce, — makes its whole growth
in length in the course of a few weeks, or sometimes even in a few
days, and then forms and ripens its buds for the next year's similar
rapid growth.

54. On the other hand, the Locust, Honey-Locust, Sumac, and,
among smaller plants, the Rose and Raspberry, make an indefinite
annual growth. That is, their stems grow on all summer long,
until stopped by the frosts of autumn or some other cause ; con-
sequently they form and ripen no terminal bud protected by scales,
and the upper axillary buds are produced so late in the season
that they have no time to mature, nor has the wood time to solidify
and ripen. Such stems therefore commonly die at the top in winter,
or at least all their upper buds are small and feeble ; and the growth
of the succeeding year takes place mainly from the lower axillary
buds, which are more mature. Most of our perennial herbs grow
in this way, their stems dying down to the ground every year: the
part beneath, however, is charged with vigorous buds, well pro-
tected by the kindly covering of earth, ready for the next year's
vegetation.

55. In these last-mentioned cases there is, of course, no single
main stem, continued year after year in a direct line, but the trunk
is soon lost in the branches ; and when they grow into trees, these
commonly have rounded or spreading tops. Of such trees with
deliquescent stems, — that is, with the trunk dissolved, as it were,
into the successively divided branches, the common American Elm
(Fig. 54) furnishes a good illustration.

56. On the other hand, the main stem of Pines and Spruces, as
it begins in the seedling, unless destroyed by some injury, is carried
on in a direct line throughout the whole growth of the tree, by the
development year after year of a terminal bud : this forms a single,
uninterrupted shaft, — an excurrent trunk, which can never be con-
founded with the branches that proceed from it. Of such spiry or
spire-shaped trees, the Firs or Spruces are the most perfect and

3

26 GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. [LESSON 4.

familiar illustrations (Fig. 54) ; but some other trees with strong
terminal buds exhibit the same character for a certain time, and
in a less marked degree.

57. Latent Buds. Some of the axillary buds grow the following
year into branches ; but a larger number do not (51). These do not
necessarily die. Often they survive in a latent state for some years,
visible on the surface of the branch, or are smaller and concealed
under the bark, resting on the surface of the wood : and when at
any time the other buds or branches happen to be killed, these older
latent buds grow to supply their place ; — as is often seen when the
foliage and young shoots of a tree are destroyed by insects. The
new shoots seen springing directly out of large stems may sometimes
originate from such latent buds, which have preserved their life for
years. But commonly these arise from

58. Adventitious Buds. These are buds which certain shrubs and
trees produce anywhere on the surface of the wood, especially where
it has been injui'ed. They give rise to the slender twigs which often
feather so beautifully the sides of great branches or trunks of our
American Elms. They sometimes form on the root, which naturally
is destitute of buds ; and they are sure to appear on the trunks and
roots of Willows, Poplars, and Chestnuts, when these are wounded
or mutilated. Indeed Osier- Willows are pollarded, or cut off, from
time to time, by the cultivator, for the purpose of producing a crop of
slender adventitious twigs, suitable for basket-work. Such branches,
being altogether irregular, of course interfere with the natural sym-
metry of the tree (50). Another cause of irregularity, in certain
trees and shrubs, is the formation of what are called

59. Accessory or Supernumerary Buds. There are cases where two,

three, or more buds spring from the

axil of a leaf, instead of the single

one which is ordinarily found there.

Sometimes they are placed one over

the other, as in the Aristolochia or

Pipe- Vine, and in the Tartarian

Honeysuckle (Fig. 51) ; also in the

5i Honey-Locust, and in the Walnut and

Butternut (Fig. 52), where the upper supernumerary bud is a good

way out of the axil and above the others. And this is here stronger

FIG. 51. Tartarian Honeysuckle, with three accessory buds in one axil.

LESSON 4.] GROWTH OP PLANTS FROM BUDS.

27

than the others, and grows into a branch which is considerably out of
the axil, while the lower and smaller ones commonly do not grow at
all. In other cases the three buds stand side by side
in the axil, as in the Hawthorn, and the Red Maple
(Fig. 53). If these were all to grow into branches,
they would stifle or jostle each other. But some
of them are commonly flower-buds : in
the Red Maple, only the middle one is
a leaf-bud, and it does not grow until
after those on each side of it have ex-
panded the blossoms they contain.

60. Sorts Of Buds. It may be useful
to enumerate the kinds of buds which
have now been mentioned, referring
back to the paragraphs in which the pe-
culiarities of each are explained. Buds,
then, are either terminal or lateral.
They are

Terminal when they rest on the apex
of a stem (42). The earliest terminal
bud is the plumule of the embryo (10).

Lateral, when they appear on the
side of a stem : — of which the only
regular kind is the
Axillary (43), namely, those which are situated in
the axils of leaves.

Accessory or Supernumerary (59), when two or more
occur in addition to the ordinary axillary bud. 33

Adventitious (58), when they occur out of the axils and without
order, on stems or roots, or even on leaves. Any of these kinds
may be, either

Naked, when without coverings ; or scaly, when protected by
scales (44, 45).

Latent, when they survive long without growing, and commonly
without being visible externally (57).

Leaf-buds, Avhen they contain leaves, and develop into a leafy
shoot.

Flower-buds, when they contain blossoms, and no leaves, as the

FIG. 52. Butternut branch, with accessory buds, the uppermost above the axil.
FIG. 53. Red-Maple branch, with accessory buds placed side by side.

•28

MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS.

[LESSON 5.

side-buds of the Red-Maple, or when they are undeveloped blossoms.
These we shall have to consider hereafter.

Figure 54 represents a spreading-topped tree (American Elm),
the stem dividing off into branches ; and some spiry trees (Spruces
on the right hand, and two of the Arbor- Vitie on the left) with ex-
current stems.

LESSON V.

MORPHOLOGY (i.e. VARIOUS SORTS AND FORMS) OF ROOTS.

61. Morphology, as the name (derived from two Greek words)
denotes, is the doctrine of forms. In treating of forms in plants, the
botanist is not confined to an enumeration or description of the
shapes or sorts that occur, — which would be a dull and tedious
business, — but he endeavors to bring to view the relations between
one form and another ; and this is an interesting study.

62. Botanists give particular names to all the parts of plants, and
also particular terms to express their principal varieties in form.
They use these terms with great precision and advantage in describ-
ing the species or kinds of plants. They must therefore be defined
and explained in our books. But it would be a great waste of time

LESSON 5.] MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS. 29

for the young student to learn them by rote. The student should
rather consider the connection between one form and another; and
notice how the one simple plan of the plant, as it has already been
illustrated, is worked out in the greatest variety of ways, through the
manifold diversity of forms which each of its three organs of vege-
tation — root, stem, and leaf — is made to assume.

63. This wc are now ready to do. That is, having obtained a
g neral idea of vegetation, by tracing the plant from the seed and
the bud into the herb, shrub, or tree, we proceed to contemplate the
principal forms under which these three organs occur in different
plants, or in different parts of the same plant ; or, in other words, to
study the morphology of the root, stem, and leaves.

64. Of these three organs, the root is the simplest and the least
varied in its modifications. Still it exhibits some widely different
kinds. Going back to the beginning, we commence with

Go. The simple Primary Root, which most plants send down from
the root-end of the embryo as it grows from the seed ; as we have
seen in the Maple (Fig. 5-7), Morning-Glory (Fig. 8 and 28),
Beech (Fig. 14, 15), Oak and Buckeye (Fig. 22-24), &c. This,
if it goes on to grow, makes a main or tap root, from which side-
branches here and there proceed. Some plants keep this main root
throughout their whole life, and send off only small side branches ;
as in the Carrot (Fig. 58) and Radish (Fig. 59) : and in some trees,
like the Oak, it takes the lead of the side-branches for many years,
unless accidentally injured, as a strong tap-root. But commonly
the main root divides off very soon, and is lost in the branches.
We have already seen, also, that there may be at the beginning

66. Multiple Primary Roots. We have noticed them in the Pump-
kin (Fig. 10), in the Pea (Fig. 20), and in Indian Corn (Fig. 42).
That is, several roots have started all at once, or nearly so, from the
seedling stem, and formed a bundle or cluster (a fascicled root, as
it is called), in place of one main root. The Bean, as we observe
in Fig. 18, begins with a main root ; but some of its branches soon
overtake it, and a cluster of roots is formed.

67. Absorption of Moisture by Roots. The branches of roots as they
grow commonly branch again and again, into smaller roots or rootlets ;
in this way very much increasing the surface by which the plant
connects itself with the earth, and absorbs moisture from it. The
whole surface of the root absorbs, so long as it is fresh and new ;
and the newer the roots and rootlets are, the more freely do they

3*

30

MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS.

[LESSON 5.

imbibe. Accordingly, as long as the plant grows above ground, and
expands fresh foliage, from which moisture much of the time largely
escapes into the air, so long it continues to extend and multiply its
roots in the soil beneath, renewing and increasing the fresh surface
for absorbing moisture, in proportion to the demand from above.
And when growth ceases above ground, and the leaves die and fall,
or no longer act, then the roots generally stop growing, and their
soft and tender tips harden. From this period, therefore, until
growth begins anew the next spring, is the best time for transplant-
ing ; especially for trees and shrubs, and herbs so large that they
cannot well be removed without injuring the roots very much.

68. We see, on considering a moment, that an herb or a tree
consists of two great surfaces, with a narrow part or trunk between
them, — one surface spread out in the air, and the other in the soil.
These two surfaces bear a certain proportion to each other ; and the

upper draws largely on the lower for
moisture. Now, when the leaves fall
from the tree in autumn, the vast sur-
face exposed to the air is reduced to a
very small part of what it was before ;
and the remainder, being covered with
a firm bark, cannot lose much by evap-
oration. In common herbs the whole
surface above ground perishes in au-
tumn ; and many of the rootlets die at
the same time, or soon afterwards.
So that the living vegetable is reduced
for the time to the smallest compass,
— to the thousandth or hundred-thou-
sandth part of what it was shortly
before, — and what remains alive rests
in a dormant state, and may now be
transplanted without much danger of
harm. If any should doubt whether
there is so great a difference between
the summer and the winter size of
56 plants, let them compare a lily-bulb

with the full-grown Lily, or calculate the surface of foliage which

FIG. 55. Seedling Maple, of the natural size, showing the root-hairs. 50. A bit of the
end of the root magnified.

LESSON 5.]

MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS.

31

a tree exposes to the air, as compared with the surface of its
twigs.

69. The absorbing surface of roots is very much greater than
it appears to be, on account of the root-hairs,
or slender fibrils, which abound on the fresh and
new parts of roots. These may be seen with
an ordinary magnifying-glass, or even by the
naked eye in many cases ; as in the root of a
seedling Maple (Fig. 55), where the surface is
thickly clothed with them. They are not root-
lets of a smaller sort ; but, when more magnified,
are seen to be mere elongations of the surface
of the root into slender tubes, which through
their very delicate walls imbibe moisture from
the soil with great avidity. They are com-
monly much longer than those shown in Fig.
56, which represents only the very tip of a root
moderately magnified. Small as they are indi-
vidually, yet the whole amount of absorbing
surface added to the rootlets by the countless
numbers of these tiny tubes is very great.

70. Roots intend-
ed mainly for ab-
sorbing branch free-
ly, and are slender
or thread-like. When the root is prin-
cipally of this character it is said to be
fibrous; as in Indian Corn (Fig. 42),
and other grain, and to some extent in
all annual plants (41).

71. The Root as a Storehouse of Food.

In biennial and many perennial herbs
(41), the root answers an additional
purpose. In the course of the season it
becomes a storehouse of nourishment,
and enlarges or thickens as it receives
the accumulation. Such roots are said
to be fleshy ; and different names are applied to them "according to

FIG. 57, 58, 59. Forms of fleshy or thickened roots.

32

MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS.

[LESSON 5.

their shapes. We may divide them all into two kinds ; 1st, those
consisting of one main root, and 2d, those without any main root.

72. The first are merely different shapes of the tap-root ; which is

Conical, when it thickens most at the crown, or where it joins
the stem, and tapers regularly downwards to a point, as in the
Common Beet, the Parsnip, and Carrot (Fig. 58) :

Turnip-shaped or napiform, when greatly thickened above ; but
abruptly becoming slender below ; as the Turnip (Fig. 57) : and,

Spindle-shaped, or fusiform, when thickest in the middle and
tapering to both ends ; as the common Radish (Fig. 59).

73. In the second kind, where there
is no main root, the store of nourishing
matter may be distributed throughout
the branches or cluster of roots gener-
ally, or it may be accumulated in some
of them, as we see in the tuberous roots
of the Sweet Potato, the common Peony,
and the Dahlia (Fig. GO).

74. All but the last of these illustra-
t rations are taken from biennial plants.
These grow with a large tuft of leaves
next the ground, and accumulate nour-
ishment all the first summer, and store
up all they produce beyond what is
wanted at the time in their great root,
which lives over the winter. We know

very well what use man and other animals make of this store of food,
in the form of starch, sugar, jelly, and the like. From the second
year's growth we may learn what use the plant itself makes of it.
The new shoots then feed upon it, and use it to form with great
rapidity branches, flower-stalks, blossoms, fruit, and seed ; and, having
used it up, the whole plant dies when the seeds have ripened.

75. In the same way the nourishment contained in the separate
tuberous roots of the Sweet Potato and the Dahlia (Fig, CO) is fed
upon in the spring by the buds of the stem they belong to ; and
as they are emptied of their contents, they likewise die and decay.
But meanwhile similar stores of nourishment, produced by the second
year's vegetation, are deposited in new roots, which live through the

FIG. 60. Clustered tuberous roots of the Dahlia, with the bottom of the stem they
belong ta

LESSON 5.] MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS. 33

next winter, and sustain the third spring's growth, and so on ; —
these plants being perennial (41), or lasting year after year, though
each particular root lives little more than one year.

76. Many things which commonly pass for roots are not really
roots at all. Common potatoes are tuberous parts of stems, while
sweet potatoes are roots, like those of the Dahlia (Fig. GO). The dif-
ference between them will more plainly appear in the next Lesson.

77. Secondary Roots. So far we have considered only the original
or primary root, — that which proceeded from the lower end of the
first joint of stem in the plantlet springing from the seed, — and its
subdivisions. We may now remark, that any other part of the stem
will produce roots just as well, whenever favorably situated for it ;
that is, when covered by the soil, which provides the darkness and
the moisture which is congenial to them. For these secondary roots,
as they may be called, partake of the ordinary disposition of the
organ : they avoid the light, and seek to bury themselves in the
ground. In Indian Corn we see roots early striking from the second
and the succeeding joints of stem under ground, more abundantly
than from the first joint (Fig. 42). And all stems that keep up a
connection with the soil — such as those which creep along on or
beneath its surface — are sure to strike root from almost every joint.
So will most branches when bent to the ground, and covered with
the soil : and even cuttings from the branches of most plants can be
made to do so, if properly managed. Propagation by buds depends
upon this. That is, a piece of a plant which has stem and leaves,
either developed or in the bud, may be made to produce roots, and
so become an independent plant.

78. In many plants the disposition to strike root is so strong, that
they even will spring from the stem above ground. In Indian Corn,
for example, it is well known that roots grow, not only from all those
joints round which the earth is heaped in hoeing, but also from those
several inches above the soil : and other plants produce them from
stems or branches high in the air. Such roots are called

79. Aerial Roots. All the most striking examples of these are met
with, as we might expect, in warmer and damper climates than ours,
and especially in deep forests which shut out much of the light ; this
being unfavorable to roots. The Mangrove of tropical shores, which
occurs on our own southern borders ; the Sugar Cane, from which
roots strike just as in Indian Corn, only from higher up the stem ;
the Pandanus, called Screw Pine (not from its resemblance to a

34 MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS. [LESSON 5.

Pine-tree, but because it is like a Pine-apple plant) ; and the famous
Banyan of India, and some other Fig-trees, furnish the most remark-
able examples of roots, which strike from the stem or the branches
in the open air, and at length reach the ground, and bury them-
selves, when they act in the same manner as ordinary roots.

80. Some of our own common plants, however, produce small
aerial rootlets ; not for absorbing nourishment, but for climbing. By
these rootlets, that shoot out abundantly from the side of the stems
and branches, the Trumpet Creeper, the Ivy of Europe, and our
Poison Rhus, — here called Poison Ivy, — fasten themselves firmly
to walls, or the trunks of trees, often ascending to a great height.
Here roots serve the same purpose that tendrils do in the Grape-
Vine and Virginia Creeper. Another form, and the most aerial of
all roots, since they never reach the ground, are those of

81. Epiphytes, Of Air-PlantS. These are called by the first name
(which means growing on plants), because they are generally found
upon the trunks and branches of trees ; — not that they draw any
nourishment from them, for their roots merely adhere to the bark,
and they flourish just as well upon dead wood or any other con-
venient support. They are called air-plants because they really
live altogether upon what they get from the air, as they have no
connection with the soil. Hundreds of air-plants grow all around
us without attracting any attention, because they are small or hum-
ble. Such are the Lichens and Mosses that abound on the trunks
or boughs of trees, especially on the shaded side, and on old walls,
fences, or rocks, from which they obtain no nourishment. But this
name is commonly applied only to the larger, flower-bearing plants
which live in this way. These belong to warm and damp parts of
the world, where there is always plenty of moisture in the air. The
greater part belong to the Orchis family and to the Pine-Apple
family ; and among them are some of the handsomest flowers known.
We have two or three flowering air-plants in the Southern States,
though they are not showy ones. One of them is an Epidendrum
growing on the boughs of the Great-flowered Magnolia : another is
the Long-Moss, or Black Moss, so called, — although it is no Moss
at all, — which hangs from the branches of Oaks and Pines in all
the warm parts of the Southern States. (Fig Gl represents both
of these. The upper is the Epidendrum conopseum ; the lower, the
Black Moss, Tillandsia usneoides.)

82. Parasitic Plants exhibit roots under yet another remarkable

LESSON 5.]

MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS.

35

aspect. For these are not merely fixed upon other plants, as air-
plants are, but strike their roots, or what answer to roots, into them,
and feed on their juices. Not only Moulds and Blights (which are
plants of very low organization) live in this predacious way, but
many flowering herbs, and even shrubs. One of the latter is the
Mistletoe, the seed of which germinates on the bough of the tree
where it falls or is left by birds ; and the forming root penetrates the
bark and engrafts itself into the wood, to which it becomes united as
firmly as a natural branch to its parent stem ; and indeed the parasite
lives just as if it were a branch of the tree it grows and feeds on.
A most common parasitic herb is the Dodder; which abounds in
low grounds everywhere in summer, and coils its long and slender
leafless, yellowish stems — resembling tangled threads of yarn —
round and round the stalks of other plants ; wherever they touch
piercing the bark with minute and very short rootlets in the form of
suckers, which draw out the nourishing juices of the plants laid hold
of. Other parasitic plants, like the Beech-drops and Pine-sap, fasten
their roots under ground upon the roots of neighboring plants, and
rob them of their rich juices.

36 MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6.

LESSON VI.

MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES.

&3. The growth of the stem in length, and the formation of
branches, have been considered already. Their growth in thick-
ness we may study to more advantage in a later Lesson. The very
various forms which they assume will now occupy our attention, —
beginning with

84. The Forms of Stems and Branches above ground. The principal

differences as regards size and duration have been mentioned before
(41); namely, the obvious distinction of plants into herbs, shrubs,
and trees, which depends upon the duration and size of the stem.
The stem is accordingly

Herbaceous, when it dies down to the ground every year, or after
blossoming.

Suffrutescent, when the bottom of the stem above the soil is a
little woody, and inclined to live from year to year.

Suffruticose, when low stems are decidedly woody below, but
herbaceous above.

Fruticose, or shrubby, when woody, living from year to year, and
of considerable size, — not, however, more than three or four times
the height of a man.

Arborescent, when tree-like in appearance, or approaching a tree
in size.

Arboreous, when forming a proper tree trunk.

85. When the stem or branches rise above ground and are ap-
parent to view, the plant is said to be caulescent (that is, to have a
caulis or true stem). When there is no evident stem above ground,
but only leaves or leaf-stalks and flower-stalks, the plant is said to
be acaulescent, i. e. stemless, as in the Crocus, Bloodroot, common
Violets, &c, and in the Beet, Carrot, and Radish (Fig. 59), for the
first season. There is a stem, however, in all such cases, only it
remains on or beneath the ground, and is sometimes very short.
Of course leaves and flowers do not arise from the root. These
concealed sorts of stem we will presently study.

86. The direction taken by stems, &c, or their mode of growth,

LESSON 6.] SUCKERS, STOLONS, AND OFFSETS.

37

gives rise to several terms, which may be briefly mentioned: —
such as

Diffuse, when loosely spreading in all directions.

Declined, when turned or bending over to one side.

Decumbent, reclining on the ground, as if too weak to stand.

Assurgent or ascending, when rising obliquely upwards.

Procumbent or prostrate, lying flat on the ground from the first.

Creeping, or repent, when prostrate stems on or just beneath the
ground strike root as they grow ; as does the White Clover, the
little Partridge-berry, &c.

Climbing, or scandent, when stems rise by clinging to other ob-
jects for support, — whether by tendrils, as do the Pea, Grape-
Vine, and Virginia Creeper (Fig. 62) ; by their twisting leaf-stalks,
as the Virgin's Bower ; or by rootlets, like the Ivy, Poison Ivy, and
Trumpet Creeper (80).

Twining, or voluble, when stems rise by coiling themselves spirally
around other stems or supports ; like the Morning-Glory and the Bean.

87. Certain forms of stems have received distinct names. The
jointed stem of Grasses and Sedges is called by botanists a culm ;
and the peculiar scaly trunk of Palms and the like (Fig. 47) is
sometimes called a caudex. A few forms of branches the gardener
distinguishes by particular names ; and they are interesting from
their serving for the natural propagation of plants from buds, and
for suggesting ways by which we artificially multiply plants that
would not propagate themselves without the gardener's aid. These
are suckers, offsets, stolons, and runners.

88. Slickers are ascending branches rising from stems under ground,
such as are produced so abundantly by the Rose, Raspberry, and
other plants said to multiply " by the root." If we uncover them,
we see at once the great difference between these subterranean
branches and real roots. They are only creeping branches under
ground. Remarking how the upright shoots from these branches
become separate plants, simply by the dying off of the connecting
under-ground stems, the gardener expedites the result by cutting
them through with his spade. That is, he propagates the plant " by
division."

89. Stolons are trailing or reclining branches above ground, which
strike root where they touch the soil, and then send up a vigorous
shoot, which has roots of its own, and becomes an independent plant
when the connecting part dies, as it does after a while. The Currant

4

38

MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6.

and the Gooseberry naturally multiply in this way, as well as by
suckers (which we see are just the same thing, only the connecting
part is concealed under ground). They must have suggested the
operation of layering, or bending down and covering with earth
branches which do not naturally make stolons ; and after they have
taken root, as they almost always will, the gardener cuts through
the connecting stem, and so converts a rooting branch into a sepa-
rate plant.

90. Offsets, like those of the Houseleek, are only short stolons,
with a crown of leaves at the end.

91. Runners, of which the Strawberry presents the most familiar
example, are a long and slender, tendril-like, leafless form of creep-
ing branches. Each runner, after having grown to its full length,
strikes root from the tip, and fixes it to the ground, then forms a bud
there, which develops into a tuft of leaves, and so gives rise to a new
plant, which sends out new runners to act in the same way. In this
manner a single Strawberry plant will spread over a large space, or
produce a great number of plants, in the course of the summer ; — all
connected at first by the slender runners ; but these die in the
following winter, if not before, and leave the plants as so many
separate individuals.

92. Tendrils are branches of a very slender sort, like runners, not
destined like them for propagation, and therefore always destitute

r

of buds or leaves, but intended for climbing. Those of the Grape-
vine, of the Virginia Creeper (Fig. 62), and of the Cucumber and

FIG. G2. Piece of the stem of Virginia Creeper, bearing a leaf and a tendril. C3. Tips
of a tendril, about the natural size, showing the disks by which they hold fast to walls, &x.

LESSON 6.] RUNNERS, TENDRILS, SPINES. 39

Squash tribe are familiar illustrations. The tendril commonly grows
straight and outstretched until it reaches some neighboring support,
such as a stem, when its apex hooks around it to secure a hold ;
then the whole tendril shortens itself by coiling up spirally, and so
draws the shoot of the growing plant nearer to the supporting object.
When the Virginia Creeper climbs the side of a building or the
smooth bark of a tree, which the tendrils cannot lay hold of in the
usual way, their tips expand into a flat disk or sucker (Fig. 62, 03),
which adheres very firmly to the wall or bark, enabling the plant to
climb over and cover such a surface, as readily as the Ivy does by
means of its sucker-like little rootlets. The same result is effected
by different organs, in the one case by branches in the form of ten-
drils ; in the other, by roots.

93. Tendrils, however, are not always branches ; some are leaves,
or parts of leaves, as those of the Pea (Fig. 20). Their nature in
each case is to be learned from their position, whether it be that of
a leaf or of a branch. In the same way

94. Spines Or TllOrilS sometimes represent leaves, as in the Bar-
berry, where their nature is shown by their situation outside of an
axillary bud or branch. In other words, here they have a bud in
their axil, and are therefore leaves ; so we shall have to mention
them in another place. Most commonly spines are stunted and
hardened branches, arising from the axils of leaves, as in the Haw-
thorn and Pear. A neglected Pear-tree or Plum-tree shows every
gradation between ordinary branches and thorns. Thorns sometimes
branch, their branches partaking of the same spiny character : in
this way those on the trunks of Honey-Locust trees (produced from
adventitious buds, 58) become exceedingly complicated and horrid.
The thorns on young shoots of the Honey-Locust may appear some-
what puzzling at first view ; for they are situated some distance
above the axil of the leaf. Here the thorn comes from the upper-
most of several supernumerary buds (59). Prickles, such as those
of the Rose and Blackberry, must not be confounded with thorns :
these have not the nature of branches, and have no connection with
the wood ; but are only growths of the bark. When we strip off
the bark, the prickles go with it.

95. Still stranger forms of stems and branches than any of these
are met with in some tribes of plants, such as Cactuses (Fig. 76).
These will be more readily understood after we have considered
some of the commoner forms of

40 MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6.

96. Subterranean Stems and Branches. These are very numerous

and various ; but they are commonly overlooked, or else confounded
with roots. From their situation they are out of the sight of the
superficial observer : but if sought for and examined, they will well
repay the student's attention. For the vegetation that is carried on
under ground is hardly less varied, and no less interesting and im-
portant, than that which meets our view above ground. All their
forms may be referred to four principal kinds ; namely, the Rhizo-
ma or Eootstock, the Tuber, the Corm, and the Bulb.

97. TllC RootStOCk, or RhiZOina, in its simplest form, is merely a
creeping stem or branch (86) growing beneath the surface of the
soil, or partly covered by it. Of this kind are the so-called creeping,
running, or scaly roots, such as those by which the Mint (Fig. 64),
the Scotch Rose, the Couch-grass or Quick-grass, and many other
plants, spread so rapidly and widely, " by the root," as it is said.

That these are really stems, and not roots, is evident from the way
in which they grow ; from their consisting of a succession of joints ;
and from the leaves which they bear on each joint (or node, as
the botanist calls the place from which leaves arise), in the form of
small scales, just like the lowest ones on the upright stem next the
ground. Like other stems, they also produce buds in the axils of
these scales, showing the scales to be leaves ; whereas real roots
bear neither leaves nor axillary buds. Placed, as they are, in the
damp and dark soil, such stems naturally produce roots, just as the
creeping stem does where it lies on the surface of the ground ; but
the whole appearance of these roots, their downward growth, and
their mode of branching, are very different from that of the subter-
ranean stem they spring from.

98. It is easy to see why plants with these running rootstocks take
such rapid and wide possession of the soil, — often becoming great
pests to farmers, — and why they are so hard to get rid of. They are

FIG. C4. Rootstocks, or creeping subterranean branches, of the Peppermint.

LESSON 6.] SUBTERRANEAN FORMS : ROOTSTOCKS. 41

always perennials (41) ; the subterranean shoots live over the first
winter, if not longer, and are provided with vigorous buds at every
joint. Some of these buds grow in spring into upright stems, bearing
foliage, to elaborate the plant's crude food into nourishment, and at
length produce blossoms for reproduction by seed ; while many oth-
ers, fed by nourishment supplied from above, form a new generation
of subterranean shoots ; and this is repeated over and over in the
course of the season or in succeeding years. Meanwhile as the sub-
terranean shoots increase in number, the older ones, connecting the
series of generations into one body, die off year by year, liberating
the already rooted side-branches as so many separate plants ; and
so on indefinitely. Cutting these running rootstocks into pieces,
therefore, by the hoe or the plough, far from destroying the plant,
only accelerates the propagation ; it converts one many-branched
plant into a great number of separate individuals. Even if you
divide the shoots into as many pieces as there are joints of stem,
each piece (Fig. 65) is already a plantlet, with its roots and with a
bud in the axil of its scale-like leaf (either latent or apparent), and
having prepared nourishment enough in the bit of
stem to develop this bud into a leafy stem ; and so
a single plant is all the more speedily converted
into a multitude. Such plants as the Quick-
grass accordingly realize the fable of the Hy-
dra ; as fast as one of its many branches is cut 65
off, twice as many, or more, spring up in its stead. Whereas, when
the subterranean parts are only roots, cutting away the stem com-
pletely destroys the plant, except in the rather rare cases where the
root produces adventitious buds (58).

99. The more nourishment rootstocks contain, the more readily do
sepax*ate portions, furnished with buds, become independent plants.
It is to such underground stems, thickened with a large amount of
starch, or some similar nourishing matter stored up in their tissue,
that the name of rhizoma or rootstock is commonly applied ; — such,
for example, as those of the Sweet Flag or Calamus, of Ginger, of Iris
or Flower-de-luce (Fig. 133), and of the Solomon's Seal (Fig. GG).

100. The rootstocks of the common sorts of Iris of the gardens
usually lie on the surface of the ground, partly uncovered ; and
they bear real leaves (Fig. 133), which closely overlap each other ;

FIG. Co. A piece of the running rootstock of the Peppermint, with its node or joint, and
an axillary bud ready to grow.

4 *

42

MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6.

the joints (i. e. the internodes, or spaces between each leaf) being
very short. As the leaves die, year by year, and decay, a scar
left in the form of a ring marks the place where each leaf was
attached. Instead of leaves, rootstocks buried under ground com-
monly bear scales, like those of the Mint (Fig. 64), which are im-
perfect leaves.

101. Some rootstocks are marked with large round scars of a
different sort, like those of the Solomon's Seal (Fig. 66), which gave
this name to the plant, from their looking something like the impres-
sion of a seal upon wax. Here the rootstock sends up every spring
an herbaceous stalk or stem, which bears the foliage and flowers,
and dies in autumn ; and the seal is the circular scar left by the
death and separation of the dead stalk from the living rootstock.
As but one of these is formed each year, they mark the limits of a
year's growth. The bud at the end of the rootstock in the figure,
which was taken in summer, will grow the next spring into the stalk
of the season, which, dying in autumn, will leave a similar scar, while
another bud will be formed farther on, crowning the ever-advancing
summit or growing end of the stem.

102. As each year's growth of stem, in all
these cases, makes its own roots, it soon becomes
independent of the older parts. And after a
certain age, a portion dies off behind, every
year, about as fast as it increases at the gi'ow-
ing end ; — death following life with equal and
certain step, with only a narrow interval be-
tween. In vigorous plants of Solomon's Seal
or Iris, the living rootstock is several inches or
a foot in length ; while in the short rootstock of

FIG. 06. Rootstock of Solomon's Seal, with the bottom of the stalk of tho season, and the
bud for the next year's growth.

FIG. 67. The very short rootstock and bud of a Trillium or Birthroot.

LESSON 6.] SUBTERRANEAN FORMS t TUBERS.

43

Trillium or Birthroot (Fig. 67) life is reduced to a very narrow
span, only an inch or less intervening between death beneath and
young life in the strong bud annually renewed at the summit.

103. A Tilber is a thickened portion of a rootstock. When slender
subterranean branches, like those of the Quick-grass or Mint (Fig.
64), become enlarged at the growing end by the accumulation there
of an abundance of solid nourishing matter, tubers are produced, like
those of the Nut-grass of the Southern States (which accordingly be-
comes a greater pest even than the Quick-grass), and of the Jerusalem
Artichoke, and the Potato. The whole formation may be seen at a
glance in Figure 68, which represents the subterranean growth of a
Potato-plant, and shows the tubers in all their stages, from shoots
just beginning to enlarge at the tip, up to fully-formed potatoes.
And Fig. 69, — one of the forming tubers moderately magnified, —
plainly shows the leaves of this thickening shoot, in the form of little
scales. It is under these scales that the eyes appear (Fig. 70) :
and these are evidently axillary buds (43).

104. Let us glance for a moment at the economy or mode of life
of the Potato-plant, and similar vegetables, as shown in the mor-

FIG, C8. Forming tubers of the Potato. C9. One of the very young potatoes, moderately
magnified. 70. Slice of a portion through an eye, more magnified.

44 MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6.

phology of the branches, — that is, in the different forms they appear
under, and the purposes they serve. The Potato-plant has three
principal forms of branches : — 1. Those that bear ordinary leaves,
expanded in the air, to digest what they gather from it and what
the roots gather from the soil, and convert it into nourishment.
2. After a while a second set of branches at the summit of the
plant bear flowers, which form fruit and seed out of a portion of the
nourishment which the leaves have prepared. 3. But a larger part
of this nourishment, while in a liquid state, is carried down the stem,
into a third sort of branches under ground, and accumulated in the
form of starch at their extremities, which become tubers, or deposi-
tories of prepared solid food; — just as in the Turnip, Carrot,
Dahlia, &c. (Fig. 57 -GO), it is deposited in the root. The use
of the store of food is obvious enough. In the autumn the whole
plant dies, except the seeds (if it formed them) and the tubers ; and
the latter are left disconnected in the ground. Just as that small
portion of nourishing matter which is deposited in the seed (3, and
Fig. 34) feeds the embryo when it germinates, so the much larger
portion deposited in the tuber nourishes its buds, or eye^, when they
likewise grow, the next spring, into new plants. And the great
supply enables them to shoot with a greater vigor at the beginning,
and to produce a greater amount of vegetation than the seedling
plant could do in the same space of time ; which vegetation in turn
may prepare and store up, in the course of a few weeks or months,
the largest quantity of solid nourishing material, in a form most
available for food. Taking advantage of this, man has transported
the Potato from the cool Andes of South America to other cool cli-
mates, and makes it yield him a copious supply of food, especially in
countries where the season is too short, or the summer's heat too
little, for profitably cultivating the principal grain-plants.

105. All the sorts of subterranean stems or branches distinguished
by botanists pass into one another by gradations. We have seen
how nearly related the tuber is to the rootstock, and there are many
cases in which it is difficult to say which is the proper name to use.
So likewise,

106. Th3 Corm, Or Solid Bulb, like that of the Indian Turnip and
the Crocus (Fig. 71), is just a very short and thick rootstock; as
will be seen by comparing Fig. 71 with Fig. 67. Indeed, it grows
eo very little in length, that it is often much broader than long, as
in the Indian Turnip, and the Cyclamen of our greenhouses. Corms

LESSON 6.]

SUBTERRANEAN FORMS : BULBS.

45

are "usually upright, producing buds on their upper surface and

roots from the lower. But (as we see in the Crocus here figured)

buds may shoot from just above any of the faint cross lines or

rings, which are the scars left by the death

and decay of the sheathing bases of former

leaves. That is, these are axillary buds. In

these extraordinary (just as in ordinary) stems,

the buds are either axillary or terminal. The

whole mode of growth is just the same, only

the corm does not increase in length faster

than it does in thickness. After a few years

some of the buds grow into new corms at the

expense of the old one ; the young ones taking

the nourishment from the parent, and storing

up a large part of it in their own tissue.

When exhausted in this way, as well as by

flowering, the old corm dies, and its shrivelled

and decaying remains may be found at the side of or beneath the

present generation, as we see in the Crocus (Fig. 71).

107. The corm of a Crocus is commonly covered with a thin and
dry, scaly or fibrous husk, consisting of the dead remains of the bases
of former leaves. When this husk consists of many scales, there is
scarcely any distinction left between the corm and

108. Tile Bulb. This is an extremely short subterranean stem,
usually much broader than high, producing roots from underneath,
and covered with leaves or the bases of leaves, in the form of thick-
ened scales. It is, therefore, the same as a corm, or solid bulb, only
it bears an abundance of leaves or scales, which make up the greater
part of its bulk. Or we may regard it as a bud, with thick and
fleshy scales. Compare a Lily-bulb (Fig. 73) with the strong scaly
buds of the Hickory and Horsechestnut (Fig. 48 and 49), and the
resemblance will be apparent enough.

109. Bulbs serve the same purpose as tubers, rootstocks, or corms.
The main difference is, that in these the store of food for future
growth is deposited in the stem ; while in the bulb, the greater part
is deposited in the bases of the leaves, changing them into thick
scales, which closely overlap or enclose one another, because the
stem does not elongate enough to separate them. That the scales

FIG. 71. Corm or solid bulb of a Crocus. 72. The same, cut through lengthwise.

46

MORPHOLOGY OP STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6.

of the bulb are the bases of leaves may be seen at once by follow-
ing any of the ground-leaves (root-leaves as they are incorrectly

called) down to their
origin in the bulb.
Fig. 75 represents
one of them from
the White Lily ; the
thickened base, which
makes a scale, being
cut off below, to show
its thickness. After
having lasted its time
and served its pm-pose as foliage, the green leaf dies, clown to the
thickened base, which remains as a scale of the bulb. And year
after year, as the bulb grows from the centre, to produce the vege-
tation and the flowers of the season, the outer scales yield up their
store of nourishment for the purpose, and perish.

110. Each scale, being a leaf, may have a bud in its axil. Some
of these buds grow into leafy and flowering stems
above ground : others grow into new bulbs, feeding
on the parent, and at length destroying it, in the same
way that corms do, as just described (10G).

111. When the scales are broad and enwrap all
that is within so as to form a succession of coats, one
over another, the bulb is said to be tunicated or coated.
The Tulip, Hyacinth, Leek, and Onion afford such
familiar examples of coated bulbs that no figure is
needed. When the scales are narrow and separate,
as in the Lily (Fig. 73), the bulb is said to be scaly.

112. BlllbletS are small bulbs formed above ground
on some plants ; as in the axils of the leaves of the
common bulbiferous Lily of the gardens, and often in
the flower-clusters of the Leek and Onion. They are
plainly nothing but bulbs with thickened scales. They
never grow into branches, but detach themselves when 75

full grown, and fall to the ground, to take root there and form
new plants.

113. From the few illustrations already given, attentive students

FIG. 73. Bulb of the Meadow or Canada Lily. 74. The same, cut through lengthwise.
FIG. 75. A lower leaf of White Lily, with its base under ground thickened into a bulb-
ecale.

LESSON 6.] CONSOLIDATED FORMS OF VEGETATION. 47

can hardly fail to obtain a good idea of what is meant by morphology
in Botany ; and they will be able to apply its simple principles for
themselves to all forms of vegetation. They will find it very inter-
esting to identify all these various subterranean forms with the com-
mon plan of vegetation above ground. There is the same structure,
and the same mode of growth in reality, however different in ap-
pearance, and however changed the form, to suit particular conditions,
or to accomplish particular ends. It is plain to see, already, that
the plant is constructed according to a plan, — a very simple one, —
which is exhibited by all vegetables, by the extraordinary no less
than by the ordinary kinds ; and that the same organ may appear
under a great many different shapes, and fulfil very different offices.

114. These extraordinary shapes are not confined to subterra-
nean vegetation. They are all repeated in various sorts of fleshy
plants ; in the Houseleek, Aloe, Agave (Fig. 82), and in the many
and strange shapes which the Cactus family exhibit (Fig. 76) ;
shapes which imitate rootstocks, tubers, corms, &c. above ground.
All these we may regard as

115. Consolidated Forms of Vegetation. While ordinary plants are
constructed on the plan of great spread of surface (131), these
are formed on the plan of the least possible amount of surface in
proportion to their bulk. The Cereus genus of Cactuses, for ex-
ample, consisting of solid columnar trunks (Fig. 76, b), may be
likened to rootstocks. A green rind serves the purpose of foliage ;
but the surface is as nothing compared with an ordinary leafy plant
of the same bulk. Compare, for instance, the largest Cactus known,
the Giant Cereus of the Gila River (Fig. 76, in the background),
which rises to the height of fifty or sixty feet, with a common leafy
tree of the same height, such as that in Fig. 54, and estimate how
vastly greater, even without the foliage, the surface of the latter
is than that of the former. Compare, in the same view, an Opuntia
or Prickly-Pear Cactus, its stem and branches formed of a succes-
sion of thick and flattened joints (Fig. 76, «), which may be likened
to tubers, or an Epiphyllum (d), with shorter and flatter joints, with
an ordinary leafy shrub or herb of equal size. And finally, in
Melon-Cactuses or Echinocactus (c), with their globular or bulb-like
shapes, we have plants in the compactest shape ; their spherical fig-
ure being such as to expose the least possible amount of its bulk
to the air.

116. These consolidated plants are evidently adapted and designed

48

MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6.

for very dry regions ; and in such only are they found. Similarly,
bulbous and corm-bearing plants, and the like, are examples of a
form of vegetation which in the growing season may expand a large
surface to the air and light, while during the period of rest the
living vegetable is reduced to a globe, or solid form of the least
possible surface ; and this is protected by its outer coats of dead
and dry scales, as well as by its situation under ground. Such
plants exhibit another and very similar adaptation to a season of
drought. And they mainly belong to countries (such as Southern
Africa, and parts of the interior of Oregon and California) which
have a long hot season during which little or no rain falls, when,
their stalks and foliage above and their roots beneath being early cut
off by drought, the plants rest securely in their compact bulbs, filled
with nourishment, and retaining their moisture with great tenacity,
until the rainy season comes round. Then they shoot forth leaves
and flowers with wonderful rapidity, and what was perhaps a desert
of arid sand becomes green with foliage and gay with blossoms,
almost in a day. This will be more perfectly understood when the
nature and use of foliage have been more fully considered. (Fig. 76
represents several forms of Cactus vegetation.)

LESSON 7.] MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES. 49

LESSON VII.

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES.

117. In describing the subterranean forms of the stem, we have
been led to notice already some of the remarkable forms under
which leaves occur ; namely, as scales, sometimes small and thin, as
those of the rootstocks of the Quick-grass, or the Mint (Fig. 64),
sometimes large and thick, as those of bulbs (Fig. 73-75), where
they are commonly larger than the stem they belong to. We have
seen, too, in the second Lesson, the seed-leaves (or cotyledons) in
forms as unlike foliage as possible ; and in the third Lesson we have
spoken of bud-scales as a sort of leaves. So that the botanist recog-
nizes the leaf under other forms than that of foliage.

118. We may call foliage the natural form of leaves, and look
upon the other sorts as special forms, — as transformed leaves : by
this term meaning only that what would have been ordinary leaves
under other circumstances (as, for instance, those on shoots of Mint,
Fig. 64, had these grown upright in the air, instead of creeping under-
ground) are developed in special forms to serve some particular
purpose. For the Great Author of Nature, having designed plants
upon one simple plan, just adapts this plan to all cases. So, when-
ever any special purpose is to be accomplished, no new instruments
or organs are created for it, but one of the three general organs of
the vegetable, root, stem, or leaf, is made to serve the purpose, and
is adapted to it by taking some peculiar form.

119. It is the study of the varied forms under this view that con-
stitutes Morphology (61), and gives to this part of Botany such great
interest. We have already seen stems and roots under a great
variety of forms. But leaves appear under more various and widely
different forms, and answer a greater variety of purposes, than do
both the other organs of the plant put together. We have to con-
sider, then, leaves as foliage, and leaves as something else than foliage.
As we have just been noticing cases of leaves that are not foliage,
we may consider these first, and enumerate the principal kinds.

120. Leaves as Depositories of Food. Of these we have had plenty
of instances in the seed-leaves, such as those of the Almond, Apple-

50

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES.

[LESSON 7.

seed (Fig. 11), Beech (Fig. 13-15), the Bean and Pea (Fig. 16-
20), the Oak (Fig. 21, 22), and Horsechestnut (Fig. 23, 24) ; where
the food upon which the plantlet feeds when it springs horn the
seed is stored up in its cotyledons or first leaves. And we have
noticed how very unlike foliage such leaves are. Yet in some cases,

as in the Pumpkin (Fig. 10), they
actually grow into green leaves as
they get rid of their burden.

121. Bulb-Scales (Fig. 73-75) of-
fer another instance, which we were
considering at the close of the last
Lesson. Here a part of the nourish-
ment prepared in the foliage of one
year is stored up in the scales, or
subterranean thickened leaves, for the
early growth and flowering of the next
year ; and this enables the flowers to
appear before the leaves, or as soon
as they do ; as in Hyacinths, Snow-
drops, and many bulbous plants.

122. Leaves as Bud-scales, &c. True

to its nature, the stem produces
leaves even under ground, where
they cannot serve as foliage, and
where often, as on rootstocks and
tubers (97-103), they are not of
any use that we know of. In such
cases they usually appear as thin
scales. So the first leaves of the
stems of herbs, as they sprout from
the ground, are gener-ally mere scales,
such as those of an Asparagus shoot ;
and such are the first leaves on the
stem of the seedling Oak (Fig. 22)
and the Pea (Fig. 20). Similar
scales, however, often serve an im-
portant purpose ; as when they form the covering of buds, where
they protect the tender parts within (44). That bud-scales are

FIG. 77. Leaves of a developing bud of the Low Sweet Buckeye (jEsculus parviflnra),
showing a nearly complete set of gradations from a scale to a compound leaf of five leaflets.

LESSON 7.] SPINES, TENDRILS, AND PITCHERS.

51

leaves is plainly shown, in many cases, by the gradual transition
between them and the first foliage of the shoot. The Common Lilac
and the Shell-bark Hickory are good instances
of the sort. But the best illustration is fur-
nished by the Low Sweet Buckeye of the
Southern States, which is often cultivated as
an ornamental shrub. From one and the same
growing bud we may often find all the grada-
tions which are shown in Fig. 77.

123. Leaves as Spines occur in several plants.
The most familiar instance is that of the Com-
mon Barberry. In almost any summer shoot,
most of the gradations may be seen between the
ordinary leaves, with sharp bristly teeth, and
leaves which are reduced to a branching spine
or thorn, as shown in Fig. 78. The fact that
the spines of the Barberry produce a leaf-bud
in their axil also proves them to be leaves.

124. Leaves as Tendrils are to be seen in the
Pea and the Vetch (Fig. 20, 127), where the
upper part of each leaf becomes a tendril, which

the plant uses to

climb by ; and in

one kind of Vetch the whole leaf is

such a tendril.

125. Leaves as Pitchers, or hollow tubes,

are familiar to us in the common Pitcher-
plant or Side-saddle Flower (Sarracenia,
Fig. 79) of our bogs. These pitchers
are generally half-full of water, in which
flies and other insects are drowned, often
in such numbers as to make a rich
manure for the plant, no doubt ; though
we can hardly imagine this to be the
design of the pitcher. Nor do we per-
ceive here any need of a contrivance
to hold water, since the roots of these
plants are always well supplied by the wet bogs where they grow.

FIG. 78. Summer shoot of Barberry, showing the transition of leaves into spines.
FIG. 79. Leaf of Sarracenia purpurea, entire, and anotiier with the upper part cut off.

52

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES.

[LESSON 7.

126. Leaves as Fly-traps. Insects are caught in another way, and
more expertly, by the most extraordinary of all the plants of this

country, the Dionaea or Venus's Fly-
trap, which grows in the sandy bogs
around Wilmington, North Carolina.
Here (Fig. 81) each leaf bears at its
summit an appendage which opens and
shuts, in shape something like a steel-
trap, and operating much like one. For
when open, as it commonly is when the
sun shines, no sooner does a fly alight
on its surface, and brush against any
one of the several long bristles that grow
there, than the trap suddenly closes,
often capturing the intruder, pressing it
all the harder for its struggles, and com-
monly depriving it of life. After all
movement has ceased within, the trap
slowly opens, and is ready for another capture. "Why this plant
catches flies, we cannot pretend to say. How the thing is done,
and how various other movements are
made by plants, — some as quick as in
this case, others very slow, but all equally
wonderful, — must be considered in a fu-
ture Lesson.

127. Leaves serving both Ordinary and
Special Purposes. Let us now remark, that
the same leaf frequently answers its gen-
eral purpose, as foliage, and some special
purpose besides. For example, in the Dio-
na?a, the lower part of the leaf, and prob-
ably the whole of it, acts as foliage, while the
appendage serves its mysterious purpose
as a fly-catcher. In the Pea and Vetch
(Fig. 20, 127), the lower part of the leaf
is foliage, the upper a tendril. In the Pitcher-plants of the Indian
Archipelago (Nepenthes, Fig. 80) which are not rare in conserva-
tories, the lower part of the leaf is expanded and acts as foliage ;

FIG. 80. Leaf of Nepenthes : leaf, tendril, and pitcher combined.

FIG. 81. Leaves of Diontea ; the trap in one of them open, in the others closed.

LESSON 7.] THICKENED AND FLESHY LEAVES.

53

farther on, it is contracted into a tendril, enabling the plant to climb ;
the end of this tendril is then expanded into a pitcher, of five or
six inches in length, and on the end of this is a lid, which exactly
closes the mouth of the pitcher until after it is full grown, when the
lid opens by a hinge ! But the whole is only one leaf.

128. So in the root-leaves of the Tulip or the Lily (Fig. 75),
while the green leaf is preparing nourishment throughout the grow-
ing season, its base under ground is thickened into a reservoir for
storing up a good part of the nourishment for next year's use.

129. Finally, the whole leaf often serves both as foliage, to pre-
pare nourishment, and as a depository to store it up. This takes
place in all fleshy-leaved plants, such as the Houseleek, the Ice-
plant, and various sorts of Mesembryanthemum, in the Live-for-ever
of the gardens to some extent, and very strikingly in the Aloe, and
in the Century-plant. In the latter it is only the green surface of
these large and thick leaves (of three to five feet in length on a
strong plant, and often three to six inches thick near the base) which
acts as foliage ; the whole interior is white, like the interior of a
potato, and almost as heavily loaded with starch and other nourish-
ing matter. (Fig. 82 represents a young Century-plant, Agave
Americana.)

54 MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 8.

LESSON VIII.

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE.

130. Having in the last Lesson glanced at some of the special
or extraordinary forms and uses of leaves, we now return to leaves
in their ordinary condition, namely, as foliage. We regard this as
the natural state of leaves. For although they may be turned to
account in other and very various ways, as we have just seen,
still their proper office in vegetation is to serve as foliage. In this
view we may regard

131. Leaves as a Contrivance for Increasing the Surface of that large

part of the plant which is exposed to the light and the air. This is
shown by their expanded form, and ordinarily slight thickness in
comparison with their length and breath. While a Melon-Cactus
(115, Fig. 76) is a striking example of a plant with the least pos-
sible amount of surface for its bulk, a repeatedly branching leafy
herb or tree presents the largest possible extent of surface to the
air. The actual amount of surface presented by a tree in full leaf
is much larger than one would be apt to suppose. Thus, the Wash-
ington Elm at Cambridge — a tree of no extraordinary size — was
some years ago estimated to produce a crop of seven millions of
leaves, exposing a surface of 200,000 square feet, or about five
acres, of foliage.

132. What is done by the foliage we shall have to explain in
another place. Under the present head we are to consider ordinary
leaves as to their parts and their shapes.

133. The Parts Of the Leaf. The principal part of a leaf is the
blade, or expanded portion, one face of which naturally looks toward
the sky, the other towards the earth. The blade is often raised on
a stalk of its own, and on each side of the stalk at its base there is
sometimes an appendage called a stipule. A complete leaf, there-
fore consists of a blade (Fig. 83, b), a foot-stalk or leaf-stalk, called
the petiole (p), and a pair of stipules (st). See also Fig. 136.

134. It is the blade which we are now to describe. This, as
being the essential and conspicuous part, we generally regard as the
leaf: and it is only when we have to particularize, that we speak of
the blade, or lamina, of the leaf.

LESSON 8.]

THEIE VENATION.

55

135. Without here entering upon the subject of the anatomy of
the leaf, we may remark, that leaves consist of two sorts of mate-
rial, viz.: 1. the green pulp, or parenchyma; and 2. the fibrous
framework, or skeleton, which extends throughout the soft green
pulp and supports it, giving the leaf a strength and firmness which
it would not otherwise possess. Besides, the whole surface is cov-
ered with a transparent skin, called the
epidermis, like that which covers the
surface of the shoots, &c.

136. The framework consists of
toood, — a fibrous and tough material
which runs from the stem through the
leaf-stalk, when there is one, in the
form of parallel threads or bundles of 6 J
fibres ; and in the blade these spread
out in a horizontal direction, to form
the ribs and veins of the leaf. The
stout main branches of the framework
(like those in Fig. 50) are called the
ribs. When there is only one, as in
Fig. 83, &c, or a middle one decid-
edly larger than the rest, it is called
the midrib. The smaller divisions are termed veins ; and their
still smaller subdivisions, veinlets.

137. The latter subdivide again and again, until they become so
fine that they are invisible to the naked eye. The fibres of which
they are composed are hollow ; forming tubes by which the sap is
brought into the leaves and carried to every part. The arrangement
of the framework in the blade is termed the

138. Venation, or mode of veining. This corresponds so complete-
ly with the general shape of the leaf, and with the kind of division
when the blade is divided or lobed, that the readiest way to study
and arrange the forms of leaves is first to consider their veining.

139. Various as it appears in different leaves, the veining is all
reducible to two principal kinds ; namely, the parallel-veined and the
netted-veined.

140. In netted-veined (also called reticulated) leaves, the veins
branch off from the main rib or ribs, divide into finer and finer

FIG. S3. Leaf of the Quince: b, blade ; p, petiole ; it, stipules.

56

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 8.

veinlets, and the branches unite with each other to form meshes of
network. That is, they anastomose, as anatomists say of the veins
and arteries of the body. The Quince-leaf, in Fig. 83, shows this
kind of reining in a leaf with a single rib. The Maple, Basswood,
and Buttonwood (Fig. 50) show it in leaves of several ribs.

141. In parallel-veined leaves, the whole framework consists of
slender ribs or veins, which run parallel with each other, or nearly
so, from the base to the point of the leaf, not dividing and sub-
dividing, nor forming meshes, except by very minute cross-veinlets.
The leaf of any grass, or that of the Lily of the Valley (Fig. 84)
will furnish a good illustration.

142. Such simple, parallel veins Linnasus, to distinguish them,
called nerves, and parallel-veined leaves
are still commonly called nerved leaves ;
while those of the other kind are said to
be veined ; — terms which it is conven-
ient to use, although these " nerves " and
" veins " are all the same thing, and have
no likeness to the nerves of animals.

143. Netted-veined leaves belong to
plants which have a pair of seed-leaves
or cotyledons, such as the Maple (Fig. 1
-7), Beech (Fig. 15), Pea and Bean
(Fig. 18, 20), and most of the illustra-
tions in the first and second Lessons.
While parallel-veined or nerved, leaves
belong to plants with one cotyledon or
81 true seed-leaf; such as the Iris (Fig. 134)

and Indian Corn (Fig. 42). So that a mere glance at the leaves
of the tree or herb enables one to tell what the structure of the
embryo is, and to refer the plant to one or the other of these tAvo
grand classes, — which is a great convenience. For generally when
plants differ from each other in some one important respect, they
differ correspondingly in other respects as well.

144. Parallel-veined leaves are of two sorts ; one kind, and the
commonest, having the ribs or nerves all running from the base to
the point of the leaf, as in the examples already given ; while in
another kind they run from a midrib to the margin ; as in the com-

FIG. 84. A (parallel-veined) leaf of the Lily of the Valley.

LESSON 8.] THEIR FORMS AS TO GENERAL OUTLINE. 57

mon Pickerel-weed of our ponds, in the Banana (Fig. 47), and many
similar plants of warm climates.

145. Netted-veined leaves are also of two sorts, as is shown in
the examples already referred to. In one case the veins all rise
from a single rib (the midrib), as in Fig. 83. Such leaves are called
feather-veined or pinnately-veined ; both terms meaning the same
thing, namely, that the veins are arranged on the sides of the rib
like the plume of a feather on each side of the shaft.

14G. In the other case (as in the Buttonwood, Fig. 50, Maple,
&c), the veins branch off from three, five, seven, or nine ribs, which
spread from the top of the leaf-stalk, and run through the blade like
the toes of a web-footed bird. Hence these are said to be pahnately
or digitately veined, or (since the ribs diverge like rays from a
centre) radiate-veined.

147. Since the general outline of leaves accords with the fnfcie-
work or skeleton, it is plain that feather-veined leaves will incline to
elongated shapes, or at least will be longer than broad ; while in
radiate-veined leaves more rounded forms are to be expected. A
glance at the following figures shows this. Whether we consider
the veins of the leaf to be adapted to the shape of the blade, or the
green pulp to be moulded to the framework, is not very material.
Either way, the outline of each leaf corresponds with the mode of
spreading, the extent, and the relative length of the veins. Thus, in
oblong or elliptical leaves of the feather-veined sort (Fig. 87, 88),
the principal veins are nearly equal in length ; while in ovate and
heart-shaped leaves (Fig. 89, 90), those below the middle are
longest; and in leaves which widen upwards (Fig. 91 — 94), the
veins above the middle are longer than the others.

148. Let us pass on, without particular reference to the kind of
veining, to enumerate the principal

149. Forms of Leaves as to General Outline. It is necessary to give

names to the principal shapes, and to define them rather precisely,
since they afford the easiest marks for distinguishing species. The
same terms are used for all other flattened parts as well, such as the
petals of the flowers ; so that they make up a great part of the
descriptive language of Botany. We do not mention the names of
common plants which exhibit these various shapes. It will be a good
exercise for young students to look them up and apply them.

150. Beginning with the narrower and proceeding to the broadest
forms, a leaf is said to be

58

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 8.

Linear (Fig. 85), when narrow, several times longer than wide,
and of the same breadth throughout.

Lanceolate, or lance-shaped, when several times longer than wide,
and tapering upwards (Fig. 86), or both upwards and downwards.

Oblong (Fig. 87), when nearly twice or thrice as long as broad.

Elliptical (Fig. 88) is oblong with a flowing outline, the two ends
alike in width.

Oval is the same as broadly elliptical, or elliptical with the breadth
considerably more than half the length.

Ovate (Fig. 89), when the outline is like a section of a hen's-egg
lengthwise, the broader end downward.

Orbicular, or rotund (Fig. 102), circular in outline, or nearly so.

r\

UJ

151. When the leaf tapers towards the base, instead of upwards,
it may be

Oblanceolate (Fig. 91), which is lance-shaped, with the more

tapering end downwards ;

Spatulate (Fig. 92), round-
ed above and long and narrow
below, like a spatula ;

Obovate (Fig. 93), or in-
versely ovate, that is, ovate with
the narrower end down ; or
Cuneate, or cuneiform, that is, wedge-shaped (Fig. 94), broad
above and tapering by straight lines to an acute angle at the base.

152. As to lllC Base, its shape characterizes several forms, such as
Cordate, or heart-shaped (Fig. 90, 99, 8), when a leaf of an ovate

form, or something like it, has the outline of its rounded base turned
in (forming a notch or sinus) where the stalk is attached.

Reniform, or kidney-shaped (Fig. 100), like the last, only rounder
and broader than long.

FIG. 85-90. Various forms of feather-veined leaves .

FIG. 91. Oblanceolate, 92. spatulate, 93. obovate, 94. wedge-shaped, feather-veined leaves.

LESSON 8.1

THEIR PARTICULAR FORMS.

59

Auriculate, or eared, having a pair of small and blunt projections,
or ears, at the base, as in one species of Magnolia (Fig. 96).

Sagittate, or arrow-shaped, where such ears are pointed and turned
downwards, while the A \ \ v v ! S j

main body of the blade
tapers upwards to a
point, as in the com-
mon Sagittaria or Ar-
row-head, and in the
Arrow-leaved Polygo-
num (Fig. 95).

Hastate, or halberd-
shaped, when such
lobes at the base point outwards, giving the leaf the shape of the
halberd of the olden time, as in another Polygonum (Fig. 97).

Peltate, or shield-shaped, (Fig. 102,) is the name applied to a
curious modification of the leaf, commonly of a rounded form, where
the footstalk is attached to the lower surface, instead of the base, and

therefore is naturally likened to a shield borne by the outstretched
arm. The common Watershield, the Nelumbium, and the White
Water-lily, and also the Mandrake, exhibit this sort of leaf. On
comparing the shield-shaped leaf of the common Marsh Pennywort
(Fig. 102) with that of another common species (Fig. 101), we see
at once what this peculiarity means. A shield-shaped leaf is like a

FIG. 95. Sagittate, 9fi. auriculate, 97. halberd-shaped, leaves.
FIG. 98 - 102. Various forms of radiate-veined leaves.

60

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 8. L

kidney-shaped (Fig. 100) or other rounded leaf, with the margins at
the base brought together and united.

153. As to tlie Apex, the following terms express the principal
variations.

Acuminate, pointed, or taper-pointed, when the summit is more or
less prolonged into a narrowed or tapering point, as in Fig. 97.

Acute, when ending in an acute angle or not prolonged point, as
in Fig. 104, 98, 95, &c.

Obtuse, when with a blunt or rounded point, as in Fig. 105, 89, &c.

Truncate, with the end as if cut off square, as in Fig. 106, 94.

Retuse, with the rounded summit slightly indented, forming a
very shallow notch, as in Fig. 107.

Emarginate, or notched, indented at the end more decidedly, as
in Fig. 108.

Obcordate, that is, inversely heart-shaped, where an obovate leaf
is more deeply notched at the end (Fig. 109), as in White Clover and
Wood-sorrel ; so as to resemble a cordate leaf (Fig. 99) inverted.

Cuspidate, tipped with a sharp and rigid point; as in Fig. 110.

Mucronate, abruptly tipped with a small and short point, like a
projection of the midrib ; as in Fig. 111.

Aristate,aio?i-pointed, and bristle-pointed, are terms used when this
mucronate point is extended into a longer bristle-form or other
slender appendage.

The first six of these terms can be applied to the lower as well as
to the upper end of a leaf or other organ. The others belong to
the apex only.

FIG. 103 - 111. Forms of the apex of leaves.

LESSON 9.] SIMPLE AND COMPOUND LEAVES.

61

LESSON IX.

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. SIMPLE AND COM-
POUND LEAVES, STIPULES, ETC.

154 In the foregoing Lesson leaves have been treated of in their
simplest form, namely, as consisting of a single blade. But in many
cases the leaf is divided into a number of separate blades. That is,

155. Leaves are either Simple or Compound. They are said to be

simple, when the blade is all of one piece : they are compound, when
the blade consists of two or more separate pieces, borne upon a
common leaf-stalk. And between these two kinds every interme-
diate gradation is to be met with. This will appear as we proceed
to notice the principal

156. Forms of Leaves as to particular Outline or degree of division.
In this respect, leaves are said to be

Entire, when their general outline is completely filled out, so that
the margin is an even line, without any teeth or notches ; as in
Fig. 83, 84, 100, &c.

Serrate, or saw-toothed, when the margin only is cut into sharp
teeth, like those of a saw, and pointing forwards; as in Fig. 112;
also 90, &c.

113 114 115 IIS 117

Dentate, or toothed, when such teeth point outwards, instead
of forwards ; as in Fi". 113.

FIG. 110-117. Kinds of margin of leaves.

6

62 MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 9.

Crenate, or scalloped, when the teeth are broad and rounded ; as
in Fig. 114, 101.

Repand, undulate, or wavy, when the margin of the leaf forms a
wavy line, bending slightly inwards and outwards in succession ; as
in Fig. 115.

Sinuate, when the margin is more strongly sinuous, or turned
inwards and outwards, as in Fig. 116.

Incised, cut, or jagged, when the margin is cut into sharp, deep,
and irregular teeth or incisions, as in Fig. 117.

157. When leaves are more deeply cut, and with a definite number
of incisions, they are said, as a general term, to be lobed ; the parts
being called lobes. Their number is expressed by the phrase two-
lobed, three-lobed, Jive-lobed, many-lobed, &c., as the case may be.
When the depth and character of the lobing needs to be more par-
ticularly specified, — as is often the case, — the following terms are
employed, viz. :

Lobed, when the incisions do not extend deeper than about half-
way between the margin and the centre of the blade, if so far, and
are more or less rounded ; as in the leaves of the Post-Oak, Fig.
118, and the Hepatica, Fig. 122.

Cleft, when the incisions extend half-way down or more, and
especially when they are sharp, as in Fig. 119, 123. And the
phrases two-cleft, ov, in the Latin form, bifid ; three-cleft, or trifd;
four-cleft, or quadrifid ; five-cleft, or quinquefid, &c. ; or many-cleft,
in the Latin form midtifid, — express the number of the segments,
or portions.

Parted, when the incisions are still deeper, but yet do not quite
reach to the midrib or the base of the blade ; as in Fig. 120, 124.
And the terms two-parted, three-parted, &c. express the number of
such divisions.

Divided, when the incisions extend quite to the midrib, as in the
lower part of Fig. 121 ; or to the leaf-stalk, as in Fig. 125 ; which
makes the leaf compound. Here, using the Latin form, the leaf is
said to be bisected, trisected (Fig. 125), &c, to express the number
of the divisions.

158. In this way the degree of division is described. We may
likewise express the mode of division. The notches or incisions,
being places where the green pulp of the blade has not wholly filled
up the framework, correspond with the veining ; as we perceive
on comparing the figures 118 to 121 with figures 122 to 125. The

LESSON 9.] LOBED OR DIVIDED LEAVES.

63

upper row of figures consists of feather-veined, or, in Latin form,
pinnaiely-veiaed leaves (145) ; the lower row, of radiate-veined or
palmately-veined leaves (14G).

159. In the upper row the incisions all point towards the midrib,
from which the main veins arise, the incisions (or sinuses) being
between the main veins. That is, being pinnately veined, such
leaves are pinnately lobed (Fig. 118), pinnately cleft, or pinnatifid
(Fig. 119), pinnately parted (Fig. 120), or pinnately divided (Fig.
121), according to the depth of the incisions, as just defined.

1G0. In the lower row of figures, as the main veins or ribs all
proceed from the base of the blade or the summit of the leaf-stalk, so
the incisions all point in that direction. That is, palmately- veined
leaves are palmately lobed (Fig. 122), palmately cleft (Fig. 123),
palmately parted (Fig. 124), or palmately divided (Fig. 125). Some-
times, instead of palmately, we say digitally cleft, &c, which means
just the same.

1G1. To be still more particular, the number of the lobes, &c.
may come into the phrase. Thus, Fig. 122 is a palmately three-
lobed; Fig. 123, a, palmately three-cleft; Fig. 124, a palmately three-
parted; Fig. 125, a palmately three-divided, or trisected, leaf. The

FIG. 113-121. Pinnately lobed, cleft, parted, and divided leaves.

FIG. 122 - 125. Talmately or digitately lobed, cleft, parted, and divided leaves.

64

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 9.

Sugar-Maple and the Buttonwood (Fig. 50) have palmately jive-
lobed leaves ; the Soft White-Maple palmately Jive-parted leaves; and
so on. And in the other sort, the Post-Oak has pinnately seven-
to nine-lobed leaves ; the Red-Oak commonly has pinnately seven- to
nine-cleft leaves, &c, &c.

162. The divisions, lobes, &c. may themselves be entire (without
teeth or notches, 156), as in Fig. 118, 122, &c. ; or set-rate (Fig.
124), or otherwise toothed or incised (Fig. 121) ; or else lobed, cleft,
parted, &c. : in the latter cases making twice pinnatifid, twice pal-
mately or pinnately lobed, parted, or divided leaves, &c. From these
illustrations, the student will perceive the plan by which the bota-
nist, in two or three words, may describe any one of the almost
endlessly diversified shapes of leaves, so as to convey a perfectly
clear and definite idea of it.

163. Compound LcaTes. These, as already stated (155), do not
differ in any absolute way from the divided form of simple leaves.
A compound leaf is one which has its blade in two or more entirely
separate parts, each usually with a stalklet of its own : and the stalk-
let is often jointed (or articulated) with the main leaf-stalk, just as
this is jointed with the stem. When this is the case, there is no

doubt that the leaf is compound. But when the pieces have no
stalklets, and are not jointed with the main leaf-stalk, the leaf may
be considered either as simple and divided, or compound, according
to the circumstances.

FIG. 126. Tinnate with an odd leaflet, or odd-pinnate. 127. Pinnate with a tendril.
128. Abruptly pinnate leaf.

LESSON 9.]

COMPOUND LEAVES.

65

164. The separate pieces or little blades of a compound leaf are
called leaflets.

165. Compound leaves are of two principal kinds, namely, the
pinnate and the palmate ; answering to the two modes of veining in
reticulated leaves (145-147), and to the two sorts of lobed or di-
vided leaves (158, 159).

166. Pinnate leaves are those in which the leaflets are arranged
on the sides of a main leaf-stalk ; as in Fig. 126-128. They answer
to the feather-veined (i.e. p innately-veined) simple leaf; as will be
seen at once, on comparing Fig. 126 with the figures 118 to 121.
The leaflets of the former answer to the lobes or divisions of the
latter ; and the continuation of the petiole, along which the leaflets
are arranged, answers to the midrib of the simple leaf.

167. Three sorts of pinnate leaves are here given. Fig. 126 is
pinnate with an odd or end leaflet, as in the Common Locust and
the Ash. Fig. 127 is pinnate with a tendril at the end, in place of
the odd leaflet, as in the Vetches and the Pea. Fig. 128 is abruptly
pinnate, having a pair of leaflets at the end, like the rest of the leaf-
lets ; as in the Honey-Locust.

168. Palmate (also named digitate) leaves are those in which the
leaflets are all borne on the very tip of the leaf-stalk, as in the
Lupine, the Common Clover (Fig. 136), the Virginia Creeper (Fig.
62), and the Ilorsechestnut and Buckeye (Fig. 129). They answer
to the radiate-veined or palmately-

veined simple leaf; as is seen by
comparing Fig. 136 with the figures
122 to 125. That is, the Clover-
leaf of three leaflets is the same as
a palmately three-ribbed leaf cut'
into three separate leaflets. And
such a simple five-lobed leaf as that
of the Sugar-Maple, if more cut, so
as to separate the parts, would pro-
duce a palmate leaf of five leaflets,
like that of the Ilorsechestnut or Buckeye (Fig. 129).

169. Either sort of compound leaf may have any number of leaf-
lets ; though palmate leaves cannot well have a great many, since
they are all crowded together on the end of the main leaf-stalk.

FIG. 120. Palmate leaf of five leaflets, of the Sweet Buckeye.
6*

66

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 9.

Some Lupines have nine or eleven ; the Horsechestnut has seven,
the Sweet Buckeye more commonly five, the Clover three. A pin-
nate leaf often has only seven or five leaflets, as in the Wild Bean
or Groundnut; and in the Common Bean it has only three; in

some rarer cases only two ; in
the Orange and Lemon only
one! The joint at the place
where the leaflet is united with
the petiole alone distinguishes
this last case from a simple
leaf.*

170. The leaflets of a com-
pound leaf may be either entire
(as in Fig. 126 - 128), or ser-
rate, or lobed, cleft, parted,
&c. : in fact, they may pre-
sent all the variations of simple
leaves, and the same terms
equally apply to them.

171. When this division is
carried so far as to separate
what would be one leaflet into
two, three, or several, the leaf
becomes doubly or twice com-
pound, either pinnatehj or pal-

130 mutely, as the case may be.

For example, while some of the leaves of the Honey-Locust are
simply pinnate, that is, once pinnate, as in Fig. 128, the greater part

* When the botanist, in describing leaves, wishes to express the number of
leaflets, he may use terms like these : —

Unifoliolatc, for a compound leaf of a single leaflet ; from the Latin unum, one,
andfoliol-um, leaflet.

BifoIioJate, of two leaflets, from the Latin bis, twice, andfoliolum, leaflet.

Trifuliolate (or ternate), of three leaflets, as the Clover; and so on.

When he would express in one phrase both the number of leaflets and the way
the leaf is compound, he writes : —

Pahnatdj bifuliulate, trifuliulate, plurifoliolate (of several leaflets), &c., or else

Pinnately hi-, tri-, quadri-, or pluri-fuliolate (that is, of two, three, four, five, or
8everal leaflets), as the case may be.

FIG. 130. A twice-pinnate (abruptly) leaf of tho Honey-Locust.

LESSON 9.]

PERFOLIATE LEAVES, ETC

67

are bipinnate, i. e. twice pinnate, as in Fig. 130. If these leaflets
were again divided in the same way, the leaf would become thrice
pinnate, or tripinnate, as in many Acacias. The first divisions are
called pinnce ; the others, pinnules ; and the last, or little blades,
leaflets.

172. So the palmate leaf, if again compounded in the same way,
becomes twice palmate, or, as we say when the divisions are in
threes, twice temate (in Latin form biternate) ; if a third time com-
pounded, thrice temate or tritemate. But if the division goes still
further, or if the degree is variable, we simply say that the leaf is
decompound ; either palmately or pinnately so, as the case may be.
Thus, Fig. 138 represents a four times ternately compound, in other
words a ternately decompound, leaf of our common Meadow Hue.

173. So exceedingly various are the kinds and shapes of leaves,
that we have not yet exhausted the subject. "We have, however,
mentioned the principal terms used in describing them. Many
others will be found in the glossary at the end of the volume. Some
peculiar sorts of leaves remain to be noticed, which the student might
not well understand without some explanation ; such as

174. Perfoliate Leaves. A common and simple case of this sort is
found in two species of Uvularia or Bellwort, where the stem appears
to run through the blade of the leaf,
near one end. If we look at this plant
in summer, after all the leaves are
formed, we may see the meaning of this
at a glance. For then we often find
upon the same stem such a series of
leaves as is given in Fig. 131 : the low-
er leaves are perfoliate, those next above
less so ; then some (the fourth and fifth)
with merely a heart-shaped clasping
base, and finally one that is merely
sessile. The leaf, we perceive, becomes
perfoliate by the union of the edges of
the base with each other around the
stem ; just as the shield-shaped leaf, Fig.
102, comes from the union of the edges of the base of such a leaf
as Fig. 101. Of the same sort are the upper leaves of most of

FIG. 131. Leaves of Uvularia (Bellwort) ; the lower ones perfoliate, the others merely
clasping, or the uppermost only sessile.

68

MOKPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 9.

the true Honeysuckles (Fig. 132): but here it is a pair of oppo-
site leaves, with their contiguous broad bases grown together, which
makes what seems to be one round leaf, with the stem running
through its centre. This is seen to be the case, by comparing
together the upper and the lowest leaves of the same branch.
Leaves of this sort are said to be connate-perfoliate.

175. Equitailt Leaves. While ordinary
leaves spread horizontally, and present
one face to the sky and the other to the
earth, there are some that present their
tip to the sky, and their faces right
and left to the horizon. Among these
are the equitant leaves of the Iris or
Flower-de-Luce. On careful inspection
we shall find that each leaf was formed
folded together length-
ivise, so that what
would be the upper
surface is within, and
all grown together, ex-
cept next the bottom,
where each leaf covers
the next younger one. It was
dling over each other, like a man
is seen in the cross-section, Fig. 1
with his lively fancy, called these

176. Leaves with no distinction of
The leaves of Iris just mentioned
of this. The flat but narrow
leaves of Jonquils, Daffodils,
and the like, are other in-
stances. Needle-shaped leaves,
like those of the Pine (Fig.
140), Larch (Fig. 139), and
Spruce, and the awl-shaped
as well as the scale-shaped
leaves of Junipers, Red Ce-

FIG. 139. Branch of a Yellow Honeysuckle, with connate-perfoliate leaves.
FIG. 133. Rootstock and equitant leaves of Iris. 134. A section across the cluster of
leaves at the bottom.

LESSON 9.]

PIIILLODIA, STIFULES, ETC.

G9

ldar, and Arbor- Vita? (Fig. 135), are different examples. These
last are leaves serving for foliage, but having as

a.

little spread of surface as possible. They make
up for this, however, by their immense numbers.

177. Sometimes the petiole expands and flattens,
and takes the place of the blade ; as in numerous
New Holland Acacias, some of which are now
common in greenhouses. Such counterfeit blades
are called phyllodia, — meaning leaf-like bodies.
They may be known from true blades by their
standing edgewise, their margins being directed
upwards and downwards ; while in true blades the
faces look upwards and downwards ; excepting in
equitant leaves, as al-
ready explained, and
in those which are
135 turned edgewise by

a twist, such as those of the Callis-

temon or Bottle-brush Flower of our

greenhouses, and other Dry Myrtles

of New Holland, &c.

178. Stipules, the pair of appendages

which is found at the base of the peti-
ole in many leaves (133), should also

be considered in respect to their very

varied forms and appearances. More

commonly they appear like little blades,

on each side of the leaf-stalk, as in the

Quince (Fig. 83), and more strikingly

in the Hawthorn and in the Pea. Here

they remain as long as the rest of the

leaf, and serve for the same purpose

as the blade. Very commonly they

serve for bud-scales, and fall off m hen

the leaves expand, as in the Fig-tree,

and the Magnolia (where they are large and conspicuous), or soon

FIG. 135. Twig of Arbor- Vit!E, with its two sorts of leaves: viz. some awl-shaped, the
others scale-like ; the latter on the branchlets, a.

FIG. 136. Leaf of Red Clover : st, stipules, adhering to the base ofp, the petiole : b. blade
of three leaflets.

FIG. 137. Part of stem and leaf of Prince's-Feather (Polygonum orientale) with the united
sheathing stipules forming a sheath.

70

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 9.

afterwards, as in the Tulip-tree. In the Pea the stipules make a
very conspicuous part of the leaf; while in the Bean they are quite
small ; and in the Locust they are reduced to bristles or prickles.
Sometimes the stipules are separate and distinct (Fig. 83) : often
they are united with the base of the leaf-stalk, as in the Rose and
the Clover (Fig. 136) : and sometimes they grow together by both
margins, so as to form a sheath around the stem, above the leaf, as
in the Buttonwood, the Dock, and almost all the plants of the
Polygonum Family (Fig. 137).

179. The sheaths of Grasses bear the blade on their summit, and
therefore represent a form of the petiole. The small and thin ap-
pendage which is commonly found at the top of the sheath (called a
ligule) here answers to the stipule.

FIG. 138. Ternately-dcconipound leaf of Meadow Rue (Thalictnira Cornuti).

LESSON 10.]

ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES.

71

LESSON X.

THE ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES.

180. Under this head we may consider, — 1. the arrangement of
leaves on the stem, or what is sometimes called thyllotaxy (from
two Greek words meaning leaf-order) ; and 2. the ways in which
they are packed together in the bud, or their vernation (the word
meaning their spring state).

181. Pliyllotaxy. As already explained (48, 49), leaves are ar-
ranged on the stem in two principal ways. They are either

Alternate (Fig. 131, 143), that is, one after another, only a single
leaf arising from each node or joint of the stem ; or

Opposite (Fig. 147), when there is a pair of leaves on each joint
of the stem ; one of the two leaves being in this case always situ-
ated exactly on the opposite side of the stem from the other. A
third, but uncommon arrangement, may be added ; namely, the

Whorled, or verticillate (Fig. 148), when there are three or more
leaves in a circle (ivhorl or verticil) on one joint of stem. But this
is only a variation of the opposite mode ; or rather the latter ar-
rangement is the same as the whorled, with the number of the
leaves reduced to two in each whorl.

182. Only one leaf is ever produced from the same point. "When
two are borne on the same joint, they are always on opposite sides
of the stem, that is, are separated by half the circumference ; when
in whorls of three, four, five, or any other number, they are equally
distributed around the joint of stem, at a distance of one third, one
fourth, or one fifth of the circumfer-
ence from each other, according to
their number. So they always have
the greatest possible divergence from
each other. Two or more leaves be-
longing to the same joint of stem
never stand side by side, or one
above the other, in a cluster. I39

183. What are called clustered or fascicled leaves, and which

FIG. 139. Clustered or fascicled leaves of the Larch

72

ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES ON THE STEM [LESSON 10.

appear to be so, are always the leaves of a whole branch which
remains so very short that they are all crowded together in a
bundle or rosette ; as in the spring leaves of the Barberry and of
the Larch (Fig. 139). In these cases an examination shows them
to be nothing else than alternate leaves, very much crowded on a
short spur ; and some of these spurs are seen in the course of the
season to lengthen into ordinary shoots with scattered alternate
leaves. So, likewise, each cluster of two or three needle-shaped
leaves in Pitch Pines (as in Fig. 140), or of five leaves
in White Pine, answers to a similar, extremely short
branch, springing from the axil of a thin and slender
scale, which represents a leaf of the main shoot. For
Pines produce two kinds of leaves; — 1. primary, the
proper leaves of the shoots, not as foliage, but in the
shape of delicate scales in spring, which soon fall away ;
and 2. secondary, the fascicled leaves, from buds in the
axils of the former, and these form the actual foliage.

184. Spiral Arrangement of Leaves. If Ave examine any
alternate-leaved stem, we shall find that the leaves are
placed upon it in symmetrical order, and in a way per-
fectly uniform for each species, but different in different
plants. If we draw a line from the insertion (i. e. the
point of attachment) of one leaf to that of the next, and
so on, this line will wind spirally around the stem as it
rises, and in the same species will always have just the
same number of leaves upon it for each turn round the
stem. That is, any two successive leaves will always \v\C
be separated from each other by just an equal portion ho

of the circumference of the stem. The distance in height between
any two leaves may vary greatly, even on the same shoot, for that
depends upon the length of the internodes or spaces between each
leaf; but the distance as measured around the circumference (in
other words, the angular divergence, or angle formed by any two
successive leaves) is uniformly the same.

185. The greatest possible divergence is, of course, where the
second leaf stands on exactly the opposite side of the stem from the
first, the third on the side opposite the second, and therefore over the

FIG. 140. Piece of a branchlet of Pitcli Pine, with three leaves in a fascicle or bundle, in
the axil of a thin scale which answers to a primary leaf. The bundle is surrounded at the
base by a short sheath, formed of the delicate scales of the axillary bud.

LESSON 10.]

IN A SPIRAL ORDER.

73

first, and the fourth over the second. This brings all the leaves into
two ranks, one on one side of the stem and one on the other ; and
is therefore called the two-ranked arrangement. It occurs in all
Grasses, — in Indian Corn, for instance; also in the Spiderwort, the
Bellwort (Fig. 131) and Iris (Fig. 132), in the Basswood or Lime-
tree, &c. This is the simplest of all arrangements.

186. Next to this is the three-ranked arrangement, such as we
see in Sedges, and in the Veratrum or White Hellebore. The plan
of it is shown on a Sedge in Fig. 141, and in a diagram or cross-
section underneath, in Fig. 142. Here the
second leaf is placed one third of the way
round the stem, the third leaf two thirds of
the way round, the fourth leaf accordingly
directly over the first, the fifth over the
second, and so on. That is, three leaves
occur in each turn round the stem, and they
are separated from each other by one third
of the circumference.

187. The next and one of the most com-
mon is the Jive-ranked arrangement; which
is seen in the Apple (Fig. 143), Cherry,
Poplar, and the greater part of our trees
and shrubs. In this case the line traced
from leaf to leaf will pass twice round the
stem before it reaches a leaf situated di-
rectly over any below (Fig. 144). Here
the sixth leaf is over the first ; the leaves
stand in five perpendicular ranks, equally
distant from each other ; and the distance
between any two successive leaves is just
two fifths of the circumference of the stem. 142

188. The five-ranked arrangement is expressed by the fraction f.
This fraction denotes the divergence of the successive leaves, i. e. the
angle they form with each other : the numerator also expresses the
number of turns made round the stem by the spiral line in complet-
ing one cycle or set of leaves, namely 2 ; and the denominator gives
the number of leaves in each cycle, or the number of perpendicular

FIG. 141. Piece of the stalk of a Sedge, with the leaves cut away, leaving their bases ;
the leaves are numbered in order, from 1 to 6. 142. Diagram or cross-section of the same,
all in one plane ; the leaves similarly numbered.

74

ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES ON THE STEM. [LESSON 10.

ranks, namely 5. In the same way the fraction £ stands for the

two-ranked mode, and ^ for the three-ranked : and so these different

U3 sorts are expressed by the series of fractions i,

•A, f . And the other cases known follow in the

same numerical progression.

189. The next is the eight-ranked arrange-
ment, where the ninth leaf stands over the first,
and three turns are made around the stem to
reach it ; so it is expressed by the fraction |.
This is seen in the Holly, and in the common
Plantain. Then comes the thirteen-ranlced ar-
rangement, in which the fourteenth leaf is over
the first, after five turns around the stem. Of
this we have a good example in the common
Ilouseleek (Fig. 14C).

190. The series so far,
then, is £, £, f , f , T5-j ; the
numerator and the denomi-
nator of each fraction being
those of the two next pre-
ceding ones added together.
At this rate the next higher
should be ^8T, then ^f , and
so on ; and in fact just such
cases are met with, and (commonly) no others.
These higher sorts are found in the Pine Fam-
ily, both in the leaves and the cones (Fig. 324),
and in many other plants with small and crowd-
ed leaves. But the number of the ranks, or of
leaves in each cycle, can here rarely be made
out by direct inspection : they may be ascer-
tained, however, by certain simple mathematical
computations, which are rather too technical for
these Lessons.

Ik

FIG. 143. Shoot with its leaves 5-ranked. the sixth leaf over the first ; a? in the Apple-tree.

FIG. 141. Diagram of this arrangement, with a spiral line drawn from the attachment of
one leaf to the next, and so on ; the parts on the side turned from the eye are fainter.

FIG. 145. A ground-plan of the same ; the section of the leaves similarly numbered ; a
dotted line drawn from the edge of one leaf to that of the next completes the spiral.

FIG. 146. A young plant of the Ilouseleek, with the leaves (not yet expanded) numbered,
and exhibiting the 13 ranked arrangement.

LESSON 10.] ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES IN THE BUD.

75

191. The arrangement of opposite leaves (181) is usually very
simple. The second pair is placed over the intervals of the first ;
the third over the intervals of the second, and so on (Fig. 147) ; the
successive pairs thus crossing each other, —
commonly at right angles, so as to make four
upright rows. And whorled leaves (Fig. 148)
follow a similar plan.

192. So the place of every leaf on every plant
is fixed beforehand by unerring mathematical
rule. As the stem grows on, leaf after leaf ap-
pears exactly in its predes-
tined place, producing a per-
fect symmetry ; — a symme-
try which manifests itself not
in one single monotonous
pattern for all plants, but in
a definite number of forms
exhibited by different spe-
cies, and arithmetically ex-
pressed by the series of frac-
tions, £, ^, f , f , fV> v8T> &c, according as the formative energy in
its spiral course up the developing stem lays down at corresponding
intervals 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, or 21 ranks of alternate leaves.

193. Vernation, sometimes called Prcefoliation, relates to the way
in which leaves are disposed in the bud (180). It comprises two
things ; — 1st, the way in which each separate leaf is folded, coiled, or
packed up in the bud ; and 2d, the arrangement of the leaves in the
bud with respect to one another. The latter of course depends very
much upon the phyllotaxy, i. e. the position and order of the leaves
upon the stem. The same terms are used for it as for the arrange-
ment of the leaves of the flower in the flower-bud : so we may pass
them by until Ave come to treat of the flower in this respect.

194. As to each leaf separately, it is sometimes straight and
open in vernation, but more commonly it is either bent, folded, or
rolled vp. When the upper part is bent down upon the lower,
as the young blade in the Tulip-tree is bent upon the leafstalk,
it is said to be infiexed or reclined in vernation. When folded

FIG. 147. Opposite leaves of the Spindle-tree or Burning-bush.
FIG. 148. Whorled or verticillate leaves of Galium or Bedstraw.

76 ARRANGEMENT OP FLOWERS ON THE STEM. [LESSON 11.

by the midrib so that the two halves are placed face to face, it is
conduplicate (Fig. 149), as in the Magnolia, the Cherry, and the
Oak : when folded back and forth like the plaits of a fan, it is plicate
or plaited (Fig. 150), as in the Maple and Currant. If rolled,
it may be so either from the tip downwards, as in Ferns and the
Sundew (Fig. 154), when in unrolling it resembles the head of a
crosier, and is said to be circinate ; or it may be rolled up parallel
with the axis, either from one edge into a coil, when it is convolute
(Fig. 151), as in the Apricot and Plum, or rolled from both edges
towards the midrib; — sometimes inwards, when it is involute (Fig.
152), as in the Violet and Water-Lily ; sometimes outwards, when
it is revolute (Fig. 153), in the Rosemary and Azalea. The figures
are diagrams, representing sections through the leaf, in the way
they were represented by Linnasus.

LESSON XL

THE ARRANGEMENT OF FLOWERS ON THE STEM, OR INFLO-
RESCENCE.

195. Thus far we have been considering the vegetation of the
plant, and studying those parts, viz. root, stem, and leaves, by which
it increases in size and extent, and serves the purpose of its indi-
vidual life. But after a time each plant produces a different set of
organs, — viz. flowers, fruit, and seed, — subservient to a different
purpose, that is, the increase in numbers, or the continuance of the

LESSON 11.] INDETERMINATE INFLORESCENCE.

77

species. The plant reproduces itself in new individuals by seed.
Therefore the seed, and the fruit in which the seed is formed, and
the flower, from which the fruit results, are named the Organs of
Reproduction or Fructification. These we may examine in succes-
sion. We begin, of course, with the flower. And the first thing to
consider is the

196. Inflorescence, or the mode of flowering, that is, the situation
and arrangement of blossoms on the plant. Various as this arrange-
ment may seem to be, all is governed by a simple law, which is
easily understood. As the position of every leaf is fixed beforehand
by a mathematical law which prescribes where it shall stand (192),
so is that of every blossom ; — and by the same law in both cases.
For flowers are buds, developed in a particular way ; and flower-
buds occupy the position of leaf-buds, and no other As leaf-buds
are either terminal (at the summit of a stem or branch, 42), or
axillary (in the axil of a leaf, 43), so likewise

197. Flowers are either terminal or axillary. In blossoming as
in vegetation we have only buds terminating (i. e. on the summit of)
stems or branches, and buds from the axils of leaves. But while
the same plant commonly produces both kinds of leaf-buds, it rarely
bears flowers in both situations. These are usually either all axil-
lary or all terminal ; — giving rise to two classes of inflorescence,
viz. the determinate and the indeterminate.

198. Indeterminate Inflorescence is that where the flowers all arise

from axillary buds ; as in Fig. 155, 156, 157, &c. ; and the reason

why it is called indetermi- VSr^?

nate (or indefinite) is, that

while the axillary buds

give rise to flowers, the

terminal bud goes on to

grow, and continues the

stem indefinitely.

199. Where the flowers arise, as in Fig. 155, singly from the
axils of the ordinary leaves of the plant, they do not form flower-
clusters, but are axillary and solitary. But when several or many
flowers are produced near each other, the accompanying leaves are
usually of smaller size, and often of a different shape or character :
then they are called bracts ; and the flowers thus brought together

FIG. 155 Moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia) of tlio gardens, with axillary flowers.

7*

78 ARRANGEMENT OP FLOWERS ON THE STEM. [LESSON 11.

form one cluster or inflorescence. The sorts of inflorescence of the
indeterminate class which have received separate names are chiefly
the following : viz. the Raceme, the Corymb, the Umbel, the Spike,
the Head, the Spadix, the Catkin, and the Panicle.

200. Before illustrating these, one or two terms, of common oc-
currence, may be defined. A flower (or other body) which has no
stalk to support it, but which sits directly on the stem or axis it pro-
ceeds from, is said to be sessile. If it has a stalk, this is called its
peduncle. If the whole flower-cluster is raised on a stalk, this is
called the peduncle, or the common peduncle (Fig. 156, p) ; and the
stalk of each particular flower, if it have any, is called
the pedicel or partial peduncle (p1). The portion
of the general stalk along which flowers are dis-
posed is called the axis of inflorescence, or, when cov-
ered with sessile flowers, the rhachis (back-bone), and
sometimes the receptacle. The leaves of a flower-
cluster generally are termed bracts. But when we
wish particularly to distinguish them, those on the
peduncle, or main axis, and which have a flower in
their axil, take the name of bracts (Fig. 156, b) ; and
those on the pedicels or partial flower-stalks, if any,
that ofbractlets (Fig. 156, b').

201. A Raceme (Fig. 156, 157) is that form of flower-
cluster in which the flowers, each on their own foot-
stalk or pedicel, are arranged along a common stalk
or axis of inflorescence ; as in the Lily of the Valley,
Currant, Choke-Cherry, Barberry, See. Each flower
comes from the axil of a small leaf, or bract, which,
158 however, is often so small that it might escape notice,

and which sometimes (as in the Mustard Family) disappears alto-
gether. The lowest blossoms of a raceme are of course the oldest,
and therefore open first, and the order of blossoming is ascending,
from the bottom to the top. The summit, never being stopped by
a terminal flower, may go on to grow, and often does so (as in the
common Shepherd's Purse), producing lateral flowers one after an-
other the whole summer long.

202. All the various kinds of flower-clusters pass one into another

FIG. 156. A Raceme, with a general peduncle (p), pedicels (/>')> bracts (6), and bract-
lets (6').

LESSON 11.] RACEME, CORYMB, UMBEL, ETC.

79

by intermediate gradations of every sort. For instance, if we
lengthen the lower pedicels of a raceme, and keep the main axis
rather short, it is converted into

203. A Corymb (Fig. 158). This is the same as a raceme, except
that it is flat and broad, either convex, or level-topped, as in the
Hawthorn, owing to the lengthening of the lower pedicels while the
uppermost remain shorter.

204. The main axis of a corymb is short, at least in comparison
with the lower pedicels. Only suppose it to be so much contracted
that the bracts are all brought into a cluster or circle, and the
corymb becomes

205. An Umbel (Fig. 159), — as in the Milkweed and Primrose,
— a sort of flower-cluster where the pedicels all spring apparently
from the same point, from the top of the peduncle, so as to resemble,
when spreading, the rays of an umbrella, whence the name. Here
the pedicels are sometimes called the rays of the umbel. And the
bracts, when brought in this way into a cluster or circle, form what
is called an involucre.

20G. For the same reason that the order of blossoming in a ra-
ceme is ascending (201), in the corymb and umbel it is centripetal,
that is, it proceeds from the margin or circumference regularly to-
wards the centre ; the lower flowers of the former answering to the
outer ones of the latter. Indeterminate inflorescence, therefore, is
said to be centripetal in evolution. And by having this order of
blossoming, all the sorts may be distinguished from those of the
other, or the determinate class. In all the foregoing cases the
flowers are raised on pedicels. These, however, are very short in
many instances, or are wanting altogether; when the flowers are
sessile (200). They are so in

FIG. 157. A raceme. 158. A corymb. 159. An umbel.

80

ARRANGEMENT OP FLOWERS ON THE STEM. [LESSON 11.

207. The Spike. This is a flower-cluster with a more or less
lengthened axis, along which the flowers are sessile or
nearly so; as in the Mullein and the Plantain (Fig. 160).
It is just the same as a raceme, therefore, without any
pedicels to the flowers.

208. The Head is a round or roundish cluster of flowers
which are sessile on a very short axis or receptacle, as in
t the Button-ball, Button-bush (Fig. 161), and Red Clover.
It is just what a spike would become if its axis were
shortened ; or an umbel, if its pedicels were all shortened
until the flowers became sessile or apparently so. The
head of the Button-bush (Fig. 161) is naked ; but that of
the Thistle, of the Dandelion, the Cichory (Fig. 221),
and the like, is surrounded by empty bracts, which form
an involucre. Two particular forms of the spike and the
head have received particular names, namely, the Spadix

160 and the Catkin.

209. A Spadix is nothing but a fleshy spike or head, with small
and often imperfect flowers, as in the Calla, the Indian Turnip

(Fig. 162), Sweet Flag, Sec. It is commonly covered by a peculiar
enveloping leaf, called a spathe.

FIG. 1C0. Spike of the common Plantain or Ribwort.

FIG. 161. Head of the Button-bush (Cephalanthus).

FIG. 162. Spadix and spathe of the Indian Turnip ; the latter cut through below.

LESSON 11.] DETERMINATE INFLORESCENCE.

81

210. A Catkin or Anient is the name given to the scaly sort of spike
of the Birch and Alder, the Willow and Poplar, and one sort of
flower-clusters of the Oak, Hickory, and the like ; — on which ac-
count these are called Amentaceous trees.

211. Sometimes these forms of flower-clusters become compound.
For example, the stalks which, in the simple umbel such as has
been described (Fig. 159), are the pedicels of single flowers, may
themselves branch in the same way at the top, and so each become
the support of a smaller umbel ; as is the case in the Parsnip, Cara-
way, and almost the whole of the great family of what are called
Umbelliferous (i. e. umbel-bearing) plants. Here the whole is
termed a compound umbel; and the smaller or partial umbels take
the name in English of umbellets. The general involucre, at the
base of the main umbel, keeps that name ; while that at the base
of each umbellet is termed impartial involucre or an involucel.

212. So a corymb (Fig. 158) with its separate stalks branching
again, and bearing smaller clusters of the same
sort, is a compound corymb; of which the Moun-
tain Ash is a good example. A raceme where
what would be the pedicels of single flowers
become stalks, along which flowers are disposed
on their own pedicels, forms a compound raceme,
as in the Goat's-beard and the False Spikenard.
But when what would have been a raceme or a

£j corymb branches irregularly into an open and
more or less compound flower-cluster, we have
what is called

213. A Panicle (Fig. 163) ; as in the Oat and
in most common Grasses. Such a raceme as that
of the diagram, Fig. 156, would be changed into
a panicle like Fig. 163, by the production of a
flower from the axil of each of the bractlets b'.

214. A ThyrSUS is a compact panicle of a pyram-
idal or oblong shape ; such as a bunch of grapes,
or the cluster of the Lilac or Horsechestnut.

215. Determinate Inflorescence is that in which the flowers are from
terminal buds. The simplest case is where a stem bears a soli-
tary, terminal flower, as in Fig. 163a. This stops the growth of

FIG. 163. A Panicle.

82 ARRANGEMENT OF FLOWERS ON THE STEM. [LESSON 11.

the stem ; for its terminal bud, being changed into a blossom, can
no more lengthen in the manner of a leaf-bud. Any further growth

b a b c b c a c b c

must be from axillary buds developing into branches. If such
branches are leafy shoots, at length terminated by single blossoms,
the inflorescence still consists of solitary flowers at the summit of the
stem and branches. But if the flowering branches bear only bracts
in place of ordinary leaves, the result is the kind of flower-cluster
called

216. A Cyme. This is commonly a flat-topped or con-
Jfy vex flower-cluster, like a corymb, only the blossoms are
from terminal buds. Fig. 164 illustrates the simplest
cyme in a plant with opposite leaves, namely, with three
flowers. The middle flower, a, terminates the stem ;
the two others, b b, terminate short branches, one from
the axil of each of the uppermost leaves; and being
later than the middle one, the flowering proceeds from
the centre outwards, or is centrifugal; — just the op-
posite of the indeterminate mode, or that where all
the flower-buds are axillary. If flowering branches
appear from the axils below, the lower ones are the
later, so that the order of blossoming continues centrif-
ugal or descending (which is the same thing), as in Fig. 1C6, mak-
ing a sort of reversed raceme ; — a kind of cluster which is to the
true raceme just what the flat cyme is to the corymb.

217. Wherever there are bracts or leaves, buds may be produced
from their axils and appear as flowers. Fig. 165 represents the
case where the branches, b b, of Fig. 1 64, each with a pair of small

FIG. 1C3 a. Diagram of an opposite-leaved plant, with a single terminal flower. 164.
Same, with acymoofthree flowers ; <z, the first flower, of the main axis; b b, those of branches.
165. Same, with flowers of the third order, c c. 166. Same, with flowers only of the second
order from all the axils ; the central or uppermost opening first, and so on downwards.

LESSON 11.] SORTS OF FLOWER-CLUSTERS. 83

leaves or bracts about tbeir middle, have branched again, and pro-
duced the branchlets and flowers c c, on each side. It is the con-
tinued repetition of this which forms the full or compound cyme,
such as that of the Laurustinus, Hobblebush, Dogwood, and Hy-
drangea (Fig. 167).

218. A Fascicle, like that of the Sweet-William and Lychnis of
the gardens, is only a cyme with the flowers much crowded, as it
were, into a bundle.

219. A Glomemle is a cyme still more compacted, so as to form a
sort of head. It may be known from a true head by the flowers
not expanding centripetally, that is, not from the circumference to-
wards the centre, or from the bottom to the top.

220. The illustrations of determinate or cymose inflorescence have
been taken from plants with opposite leaves, which give rise to the
most regular cymes. But the Rose, Cinquefoil, Buttercup, and the
like, with alternate leaves, furnish equally good examples of this
class of flower-clusters.

221. It may be useful to the student to exhibit the principal sorts
of inflorescence in one view, in the manner of the following

Analysis of Flower-Clusters.

I. Indeterminate or Centripetal. (198.)

Simple ; and with the

Fiowers borne on pedicels,

Along the sides of a lengthened axis, Raceme, 201.

Along a short axis ; lower pedicels lengthened, Corymb, 203.

Clustered on an extremely short axis, Umbel, 205.
Flowers sessile, without pedicels (206),

Along an elongated axis, Spike, 207.

On a very short axi>, Head, 208.

with their varieties, the Spadix, 209, and Catkin, 210.

Branching irregularly, Panicle, 213.

with its variety, the Thyrsus, 214.

II. Determinate or Centrifugal. (215.)

Open, mostly flat-topped or convex, Cyme, 216.

Contracted into a bundle, Fascicle, 218.

Contracted into a sort of head, Glomerule, 219.

222. The numbers refer to the paragraphs of this Lesson. The
various sorts run together by endless gradations in different plants.
The botanist merely designates the leading kinds by particular
names. Even the two classes of inflorescence are often found com-
bined in the same plant. For instance, in the whole Mint Family,

84

THE FLOWER.

[lesson 12.

the flower-clusters are centrifugal, that is, are cymes or fascicles ;
but they are themselves commonly disposed in spikes or racemes,
which are centripetal, or develop in succession from below up-
wards.

LESSON XII.

the flower: its parts or organs.

223. Having considered, in the last Lesson, the arrangement of
flowers on the stem, or the places from which they arise, we now
direct our attention to the flower itself.

224. Nature and Use of the Flower. The object of the flower is the
production of seed. The flower consists of all those parts, or organs,
which are subservient to this end. Some of these parts are neces-
sary to the production of seed. Others serve merely to protect or
support the more essential parts.

FIG. 1G7. Cyme of the Wild Hydrangea (with neutral flowers in the border).

LESSON 12.] ITS PARTS OR ORGANS. 85

225. The Organs Of tllC Flower are therefore of two kinds ; namely,
first, the protecting organs, or leaves of the flower, — also called the
floral envelopes, — and, second, the essential organs. The latter are
situated within or a little above the former, and are enclosed by them
in the bud.

22 G. The Floral Envelopes in a complete flower are double ; that is,
they consist of two whorls (181), or circles of leaves, one above or
within the other. The outer set forms the Calyx ; this more com-
monly consists of green or greenish leaves, but not always. The
inner set, usually of a delicate texture, and of some other color than
green, and in most cases forming the most showy part of the blos-
som, is the Corolla.

227. The floral envelopes, taken together, are sometimes called the
Perianth. This name is not much used, however, except in cases
where they form only one set, at least in appearance, as in the Lily,
or where, for some other reason, the limits between the calyx and
the corolla are not easily made out.

228. Each leaf or separate piece of the corolla is called a Petal ;
each leaf of the calyx is called a Sepal. The sepals and the petals
— or, in other words, the leaves of the blossom — serve to protect,
support, or nourish the parts within. They do not themselves make
a perfect flower.

229. Some plants, however, naturally produce, besides their per-
fect flowers, others which consist only of calyx and corolla (one or
both), that is, of leaves. These, destitute as they are of the essential
organs, and incapable of producing seed, are called neutral flowers.
We have an example in the flowers round the margin of the cyme of
the Hydrangea (Fig. 167), and of the Cranbei'ry-Tree, or Snowball,
in their wild state. By long cultivation in gardens the whole cluster
has been changed into showy, but useless, neutral flowers, in these
and some other cases. "What are called double flowers, such as full
Roses (Fig. 173), Buttercups, and Camellias, are blossoms which,
under the gardener's care, have developed with all their essential
organs changed into petals. But such flowers are always in an
unnatural or monstrous condition, and are incapable of maturing
seed, for want of

230. The Essential Organs. These are likewise of two kinds, placed
one above or within the other; namely, first, the Stamens or fertil-
izing organs, and, second, the Pistils, which are to be fertilized and
bear the seeds.

8

86

THE FLOWER.

[lesson 12.

231. Taking them in succession, therefore, beginning from below,
or at the outside, we have (Fig. 168, 169), first, the calyx or outer

circle of leaves, which are individually
termed sepals (a) ; secondly, the corolla
or inner circle of delicate leaves, called
petals (b) ; then a set of stamens (c) ;
and in the centre one or more pistils (d).
The end of the flower-stalk, or the short
axis, upon which all these parts stand, is
called the Torus or Receptacle.

232. We use here for illus- 1
tration the flower of a spe-
cies of Stonecrop (Sedum ter-
natum), — which is a com-
mon plant wild in the Middle
States, and in gardens almost
everywhere, — because, al-
though small, it exhibits all
the parts in a perfectly simple and separate state, and so answers for
a sort of pattern flower, better than any larger one that is common

and well known.

233. A Stamen consists of two parts,
namely, the Filament or stalk (Fig. 170,
a), and the Anther (b). The latter is
the only essential part. It is a case,
commonly with two lobes or cells, each
opening lengthwise by a slit, at the
170 m proper time, and discharging a pow-

der or dust-like substance, usually of a yellow color. This powder
is the Pollen, or fertilizing matter, to produce which is the sole office
of the stamen.

234. A Pistil is distinguished into three parts ; namely, — beginning
from below, — the Ovary, the Style, and the Stigma. The Ovary is
the hollow case or young pod (Fig. 171, a), containing rudimentary
seeds, called Ovules (d). Fig. 172, representing a pistil like that of

FIG. 1G8. Flower of a Stonecrop : Sedum ternatum.

FIG. 1C9. Two parts of eacli kind of the same flower, displayed and enlarged.

FIG. 170. A stamen : a, the filament ; b, the anther, discharging pollen.

FIG. 171. A pistil divided lengthwise, showing the interior of tho ovary, a, and its

ovules, d ; b, the style ; e, stigma.

FIG. 172. A pistil, enlarged ; the ovary cut across to show the ovules within.

FIG. 173. " Double " Rose ; the essential organs all replaced by petals.

LESSON 12.]

ITS PARTS OR ORGANS.

87

Fig. 169, d, but on a lai-ger scale, and with the ovary cut across,
shows the ovules as they appear in a transverse
section. The style (Fig. 171, b) is the tapering
part above, sometimes long and slender, sometimes
short, and not rarely altogether wanting, for it is
not an essential part, like the two others. The
stigma (r) is the tip or some other portion of the
style (or of the top of the ovary when there is no
distinct style), consisting of loose tissue, not cov-
ered, like the rest of the plant, by a skin or epi-
dermis. It is upon the stigma that the pollen
falls ; and the result is, that the ovules contained
in the ovary are fertilized and become seeds, by
having an embryo (1G) formed in them. To the
pistil, therefore, all the other organs of the blos-
som are in some way or other subservient : the
stamens furnish pollen to fertilize its ovules ; the
corolla and the calyx form coverings which pro-
tect the whole.

234\ These are all the parts which belong to any flower. But
these parts appear under a variety of forms and combinations, some
of them greatly disguising their natural appearance. To understand
the flower, therefore, under whatever guise it may assume, we must
study its plan.

88 PLAN OF THE FLOWER. [LESSON 13.

LESSON XIII.

THE PLAN OF THE FLOWER.

235. The Flower, like every other part of the plant, is formed
upon a plan, which is essentially the same in all blossoms ; and the
student should early get a clear idea of the plan of the flower. Then
the almost endless varieties which different blossoms present will be
at once understood whenever they occur, and will be regarded with
a higher interest than their most beautiful forms and richest colors
are able to inspire.

236. We have already become familiar with the plan of the vege-
tation ; — with the stem, consisting of joint raised upon joint, each
bearing a leaf or a pair of leaves ; with the leaves arranged in sym-
metrical order, every leaf governed by a simple arithmetical law,
which fixes beforehand the precise place it is to occupy on the stem;
and we have lately learned (in Lesson 11) how the position of each
blossom is determined beforehand by that of the leaves ; so that the
shape of every flower-cluster in a bouquet is given by the same sim-
ple mathematical law which arranges the foliage. Let us now con-
template the flower in a similar way. Having just learned what
parts it consists of, let us consider the plan upon which it is made,
and endeavor to trace this plan through some of the various forms
which blossoms exhibit to our view.

237. In order to give at the outset a correct idea of the blossom,
we took, in the last Lesson, for the purpose of explaining its parts, a
perfect, complete, regular, and symmetrical flower, and one nearly as
simple as such a flower could well be. Such a blossom the botanist
regards as

238. A Typical Flower, that is, a pattern flower, because it well ex-
emplifies the plan upon which all flowers are made, and serves as
what is called a type, or standard of comparison.

239. Another equally good typical flower (except in a single re-
spect, which will hereafter be mentioned), and one readily to be ob-
tained in the summer, is that of the Flax (Fig. 174). The parts
differ in shape from those of the Stonecrop ; but the whole plan is
evidently just the same in both. Only, while the Stonecrop has ten
stamens, or in many flowers eight stamens, — in all cases just twice

LESSON 13.] PERFECT AND IMPERFECT FLOWERS.

89

as many as there are petals, — the Flax has only five stamens, or
just as many as the petals. Such flowers as these are said to be

Perfect, because they are
provided with both kinds of
essential organs (230), namely,
stamens and pistils ;

Complete, because they have
all the sorts of organs which
any flower has, namely, both
calyx and corolla, as well as
stamens and pistils ;

Regular, because all the parts
of each set are alike in shape and size ; and

Symmetrical, because they have an equal number of parts of each
sort, or in each set or circle of
organs. That is, there are five
sepals, five petals, five stamens,
or in the Stonecrop ten stamens
(namely, two sets of five each),
and five pistils.

240. On the other hand,
many flowers do not present
this perfect symmetry and reg-
ularity, or this completeness of parts. Accord-
ingly, we may have
241. Imperfect, or Separated Flowers ; which are

those where the stamens and pistils are in separate
blossoms ; that is, one sort of flowers has stamens
and no pistils, and another has pistils and no sta-
mens, or only imperfect ones. The blossom which
has stamens but no pistils is called a staminate or
sterile flower (Fig. 176) ; and the corresponding
one with pistils but no stamens is called a pistil-
late or fertile flower (Fig. 177). The two sorts
may grow on distinct plants, from different roots,
as they do in the Willow and Poplar, the Hemp, and the Moonseed

FIG. 174. Flowers of the common Flax: a perfect, complete, regular, and symmetrical
blossom, all its parts in fives. 175. Half of a Flax-flower divided lengthwise, and enlarged.

FIG. 176. Staminate flower of Moonseed (Menispermum Canadense). 177. Pistillate
flower of the same.

8*

90

PLAN OF THE FLOWER.

[LESSON 13.

(Fig. 176, 177) ; when the flowers are said to be dioecious (from two
Greek words meaning in two households). Or the two may occur

on the same plant
or the same stem,
as in the Oak,
Walnut, Nettle,
and the Castor-oil
Plant (Fig. 178);
when the flowers
are said to be mo-
noecious (that is, in one household). A flower
may, however, be perfect, that is, have both
stamens and pistils, and yet be incomplete.

242. Incomplete Flowers are those in which
one or both sorts of the floral envelopes, or
leaves of the blossom, are wanting. Some-
times only one sort is wanting, as in the
Castor-oil Plant (Fig. 178) and in the Anem-
one (Fig. 179). In this case the missing
sort is always supposed to be the inner, that is, the corolla ; and
accordingly such flowers are said to be opetcdous (meaning without
petals). Occasionally both the corolla and the calyx are wanting,
when the flower has no proper cover-
ings or floral envelopes at all. It is then
said to be naked, as in the Lizard's-
tail (Fig. 180), and in the Willow.

243. Our two pattern flowers (Fig.
168, 174) are regular and symmetrical
(239). We commonly
expect this to be the
case in living things.
The corresponding

parts of plants, like the limbs or members of ani-
mals, are generally alike, and the whole arrange-
ment is symmetrical. This symmetry pervades
the blossom, especially. But the student may often fail to perceive

FIG. 178. Monoecious flowers, i. e. one staminate (s) and one pistillate (p) flower, of
the Castor-oil Plant, growing on the same stem.
FIG. 179. Apetalous (incomplete) flower of Anemone Pennsylvajiica.
FIG. 180. A naked (but perfect) flower of the Lizard 's-tail.

LESSON 13.] IRREGULAR AND UNSYMMETRICAL FLOWERS

91

it, at first view, at least in cases where the plan is more or less
obscured by the leaving out (obliteration) of one or more of the
members of the same set, or by some in- lgl

equality in their size and shape. The
latter circumstance gives rise to

244. Irregular Flowers. This name is

given to blossoms in which the different
members of the same sort, as, for exam-
ple, the petals or the stamens, are unlike
in size or in form. We have familiar

cases of the
sort in the
Larkspur
(Fig. 183,
184), and
Monkshood
(Fig. 185,
18G) ; also
in the Vio-
let (Fig. 181, 182). In the latter it
is the corolla principally which is ir-
regular, one of the petals being larger
than the rest, and extended at the
base into a hollow protuberance or
spur. In the Larkspur (Fig. 183),
both the calyx and the corolla par-
take of the irregularity. This and
the Monkshood are likewise good ex-
amples of

245. Unsynimetrical Flowers. We

call them unsymmetrical, when the
different sets of organs do not agree
in the number of their parts. The
irregular calyx of Larkspur (Fig. 183, 184) consists of five sepals,
one of which, larger than the rest, is prolonged behind into a large
spur; but the corolla is made of only four petals (of two shapes);

FIG. 181. Flower of a Violet. 182. Its calyx and corolla displayed: the five smaller
parts are the sepals ; the five intervening larger ones are the petals.

FIG. 183. Flower of a Larkspur. 184. Its calyx and corolla displayed ; tho five larger
pieces are the sepals ; the four smaller, the petals.

92

PLAN OF THE FLOWER.

[LESSON 13.

the fifth, needed to complete the symmetry, being left out. And
the Monkshood (Fig. 185, 186) has five very dissimilar sepals,
i8s and a corolla of only two, very small,

curiously-shaped petals ; the three need-
ed to make up the symmetry being left
out. For a flower which is unsymmet-
rical but regular, we may take the com-
mon Purslane, which has a calyx of
only two sepals, but a corolla of five
petals, from seven to twelve stamens,
and about six styles. The Mustard,
and all flowers -of that family, are un-
symmetrical as to the stamens, these
being six in number (Fig. 188, while
the leaves of the blossom (sepals and
petals) are each only four
(Fig. 187). Here the
stamens are irregular sl&o,
two of them being shorter
than the other four.

246. Numerical Plan of

thfi Flower. Although not
easy to make out in all
cases, yet generally it is
plain to see that each
blossom is based upon a particular number, which
runs through all or most of its parts. And a prin-
cipal thing which a botanist notices when entamin-
ing a flower is its numerical plan. It is upon this
that the symmetry of the blossom depends. Our two
pattern flowers, the Stonecrop (Fig. 168) and the
Flax (Fig. 174), are based upon the number five, 188

which is exhibited in all their parts. Some flowers of this same
Stonecrop have their parts in fours, and then that number runs
throughout ; namely, there are four sepals, four petals, eight stamens
(two sets), and four pistils. The Mustard (Fig. 187, 188), Radish,

FIG. 185. Flower of a Monkshood. 186. Its parts displayed : the five larger pieces are the
sepals ; the two small ones under the hood are petals ; the stamens and pistils are in the
centre.

FIG. 187. Flower of Mustard. 188. Its stamens and pistil separate and enlarged.

LESSON 13.] THE RELATIVE POSITION OF ITS PARTS.

93

&c, also have their flowers constructed on the plan of four as to the
calyx and corolla, but this number is interfered with in the stamens,
either by the leaving out of two sta-
mens (which would complete two sets),
or in some other way. Next to five,
the most common number in flowers
is three. On this number the flowers
of Lily, Crocus, Iris, Spiderwort, and
Trillium (Fig. 189) are constructed.
In the Lily and Crocus the leaves of
the flower at first view appear to be
six in one set ; but the bud or just-
opening blossom plainly shows these to consist of an outer and an
inner circle, each of three parts, namely, of calyx and corolla, both of
the same bright color and delicate texture. In the Spiderwort and
Trillium (Fig. 189) the three outer
leaves, or sepals, are green, and dif-
ferent in texture from the three inner,
or the petals ; the stamens are six
(namely, two sets of three each), and
the pistils three, though partly grown
together into one mass.

247. Alternation of Parts. The symmetry of the flower is likewise
shown in the arrangement or relative position of successive parts.
Tbe rule is, that the parts of successive circles alternate with one
another. That is, the petals stand over the intervals between the
sepals ; the stamens, when of the same number,
stand over the intervals between the petals ; or
when twice as many, as in the Trillium, the
outer set alternates with the petals, and the
inner set, alternating with the other, of course
stands before the petals ; and the pistils alter-
nate with these. This is shown in Fig. 189,
and in the diagram, or cross-section of the same in the bud, Fig. 190.
And Fig. 191 is a similar diagram or ground-plan (in the form of a

FIG. 189. Flower of Trillium erectum, or Eirthroot, spread out a little, and viewed from
above.

FIG. 190. Diagram or ground-plan of tlio same, as it would appear in a cross-section of
the bud ; — the parts all in the same relative position.

FIG. 191. Diagram, or ground-plan, of the Flax-flower, Fig. 174

94 PLAN OF THE FLOWER. [LESSON 13.

section made across the bud) of the Flax blossom, the example of a
pattern symmetrical flower taken at the beginning of this Lesson,
with its parts all in fives.

248. Knowing in this way just the position which each organ
should occupy in the flower, it is readily understood that flowers
often become unsymmetrical through the loss of some parts, which

belong to the plan, but are obliterated
or left out in the execution. For ex-
ample, in the Larkspur (Fig. 183,
184), as there are five sepals, there
should be five petals likewise. We
find only four ; but the vacant place
where the fifth belongs is plainly rec-
ognized at the lower side of the flower.
Also the similar plan of the Monkshood (Fig. 18G) equally calls for
five petals ; but three of them are entirely obliterated, and the two
that remain are reduced to slender bodies, which look as unlike or-
dinary petals as can well be imagined. Yet their position, answer-
ing to the intervals between the upper sepals and the side ones,
reveals their true nature. All this may perhaps be more plainly
shown by corresponding diagrams of the calyx and corolla of the
Larkspur and Monkshood (Fig. 192, 193), in which the places of
the missing petals are indicated by faint dotted lines. The oblitera-
tion of stamens is a still more common case. For example, the
Snapdragon, Foxglove, Gerardia, and almost all flowers of the
large Figwort family they belong to, have the parts of the calyx
and corolla five each, but only four stamens (Fig. 194) ; the place
on the upper side of the flower where 'the fifth stamen belongs is
vacant. That there is in such cases a real obliteration of the miss-
ing part is shown by the

249. Abortive Organs, or vestiges which are sometimes met with ;
— bodies which stand in the place of an organ, and represent it,
although wholly incapable of fulfilling its office. Thus, in the Fig-
wort family, the fifth stamen, which is altogether missing in Gerardia
(Fig. 194) and most others, appears in the Figwort as a little scale,
and in Pentstemon (Fig. 195) and Turtlehead as a sort of filament
without any anther ; — a thing of no use whatever to the plant, but

FIG. 199. Diagram of tho calyx and corolla of a Larkspur. 193. Similar diagram ol
Monkshood. The dotted lines show where the petala aro wanting ; one in llio former, three
in tho latter.

LESSON 13.1

ABORTIVE ORGANS.

95

very interesting to the botanist, since it completes the symmetry of
the blossom. And to show that this really is the lost stamen, it
now and then bears an anther, or the rudiment of one. So the
flower of Catalpa should likewise have five stamens ; but we seldom
find more than two good ones. Still we
may generally discern the three others,
as vestiges or half-obliterated stamens
(Fig. 196). In separated flowers the
rudiments of pistils are often found in
the sterile blossom, and rudimentary sta-
mens in the fertile blossom, as in Moon-
seed (Fig. 177).
250. multiplication of Parts. Quite in

the opposite way, the simple plan of the
flower is often more or less obscured by
an increase in the number of parts. In
the White Water-Lily, and in many
Cactus-flowers (Fig. 197), all the parts
are very numerous, so that it is hard
to say upon what number the blos-
som is constructed. But more com-
monly some of the sets are few and
definite in the number of their parts.
The Buttercup, for instance, has five
sepals and five petals, but many sta- (,
mens and pistils ; so it is built upon
the plan of five. Tbe flowers of Mag-
nolia have indefinitely numerous stamens
and pistils, and rather numerous floral
envelopes ; but these latter are plainly distinguishable into sets of
three ; namely, there are three sepals, and six petals in two circles,
or nine in three circles, — showing that these blossoms are con-
structed on the number three.

FIG. 194. Corolla of a purple Gerardia laid open, showing the four stamens ; tho cross
shows where the fifth stamen would be, if present.

FIG. 195. Corolla, laid open, and stamens of Pentstemon grandiflorus of Iowa, &c, with
a sterile filament in the place of the fifth stamen, and representing it.

FIG. 196. Corolla of Catalpa laid open, displaying two good stamens and three abortive
vestiges of stamens.

96 MORPHOLOGY OF THE FLOWER. TlESSON 14.

LESSON XIV.

MORPHOLOGY OF THE FLOWER.

251. In all the plant till we came to the hlossom we found nothing
but root, stem, and leaves (23, 118). However various or strange
their shapes, and whatever their use, everything belongs to one of
these three organs, and everything above ground (excepting the rare
case of aerial roots) is either stem or leaf. We discern the stem
equally in the stalk of an herb, the trunk and branches of a tree, the
trailing or twining Vine, the straw of Wheat or other Grasses, the
columnar trunk of Palms (Fig. 47), in the flattened joints of the
Prickly-Pear Cactus, and the rounded body of the Melon Cactus
(Fig. 76). Also in the slender runners of the Strawberry, the
tendrils of the Grape-vine and Virginia Creeper, the creeping
subterranean shoots of the Mint and Couchgrass, the tubers of the
Potato and Artichoke, the solid bulb of the Crocus, and the solid
part or base of scaly bulbs ; as is fully shown in Lesson 6. And in
Lesson 7 and elsewhere we have learned to recognize the leaf alike
in the thick seed-leaves of the Almond, Bean, Horsechestnut, and the
like (Fig. 9-24), in the scales of buds (Fig. 77), and the thickened

FIG. 197. A Cactus-flower, viz. of Mamillaria caespitosa of the Upper Missouri.

LESSON 14.] ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES IN THE BUD. 97

pcales of bulbs (Fig. 73-75), in tbe spines of the Barberry and the
tendrils of the Pea, in the fleshy rosettes of the Houseleek, the
strange fly-trap of Dionrea (Fig. 81), and the curious pitcher of Sar-
racenia (Fig. 79).

252. Now the student who understands these varied forms or
metamorphoses of the stem and leaf, and knows how to detect the
real nature of any part of the plant under any of its disguises,
may readily trace the leaf into the blossom also, and perceive that,
as to their morphology,

253. Flowers are altered Branches, and their parts, therefore, altered
leaves. That is, certain buds, which might have grown and length-
ened into a leafy branch, do, under other circumstances and to ac-
complish other purposes, develop into blossoms. In these the axis
remains short, nearly as it is in the bud ; the leaves therefore remain
close together in sets or circles ; the outer ones, those of the calyx,
generally partake more or less of the character of foliage ; the next
set are more delicate, and form the corolla, while the rest, the sta-
mens and pistils, appear under forms very different from those of
ordinary leaves, and are concerned in the production of seed. This
is the way the scientific botanist views a flower ; and this view gives
to Botany an interest which one who merely notices the shape and
counts the parts of blossoms, without understanding their plan, has
no conception of.

254. That flowers answer to branches may be shown first from
their position. As explained in the Lesson on Inflorescence, flowers
arise from the same places as branches, and from no other ; flower-
buds, like leaf-buds, appear either on the summit of a stem, that is,
as a terminal bud, or in the axil of a leaf, as an axillary bud (196).
And at an early stage it is often impossible to foretell whether the
bud is to give rise to a blossom or to a branch.

255. That the sepals and petals are of the nature of leaves is
evident from their appearance ; persons who are not botanists com-
monly call them the leaves of the flower. The calyx is most gen-
erally green in color, and foliaceous (leaf-like) in texture. And
though the corolla is rarely green, yet neither are proper leaves
always green. In our wild Painted-Cup, and in some scarlet Sages,
common in gardens, the leaves just under the flowers are of the
brightest red or scarlet, often much brighter-colored than the corolla
itself. And sometimes (as in many Cactuses, and in Carolina All-
spice) there is such a regular gradation from the last leaves of the

9

98 MOEPHOLOGY OF THE FLOWER. [LESSON 14.

plant (bracts or bractlets) into the leaves of the calyx, that it is im-
possible to say where the one ends and the other begins. And if
sepals are leaves, so also are petals ; for there is no clearly fixed
limit between them. Not only in the Carolina Allspice and Cactus
(Fig. 197), but in the Water-Lily (Fig. 198) and a variety of
flowers with more than one row of petals, there is such a complete
transition between calyx and corolla that no one can surely tell how
many of the leaves belong to the one and how many to the other.

25 G. It is very true that the calyx or the corolla often takes the
form of a cup or tube, instead of being in separate pieces, as in Fig.
194-196. It is then composed of two or more leaves grown
together. This is no objection to the petals being leaves; for the
same thing takes place with the ordinary leaves of many plants, as,
for instance, in the upper ones of Honeysuckles (Fig. 132).

257. That stamens are of the same general nature as petals, and
therefore a modification of leaves, is shown by the gradual transitions
that occur between the one and the other in many blossoms ; es-
pecially in cultivated flowers, such as Roses and Camellias, when
they begin to double, that is, to change their stamens into petals.
Some wild and natural flowers show the same interesting transitions.
The Carolina Allspice and the White Water- Lily exhibit complete
gradations not only between sepals and petals, but between petals
and stamens. The sepals of the Water-Lily are green outside, but
white and petal-like on the inside ; the petals, in many rows, grad-
ually grow narrower towards the centre of the flower ; some of these
are tipped with a trace of a yellow anther, but still are petals ; the
next are more contracted and stamen-like, but with a flat petal-like
filament ; and a further narrowing of this completes the genuine sta-
men. A series of these stages is shown in Fig. 198.

258. Pistils and stamens now and then change into each other in
some Willows ; pistils often turn into petals in cultivated flowers ;
and in the Double Cherry they occasionally change directly into
small green leaves. Sometimes a whole blossom changes into a
cluster of green leaves, as in the " green roses " which are occa-
sionally noticed in gardens, and sometimes it degenerates into a
leafy branch. So the botanist regards pistils also as answering to
leaves. And his idea of a pistil is, that it consists of a leaf with its
margins curved inwards till they meet and unite to form a closed
cavity, the ovary, while the tip is prolonged to form the style and
bear the stigma ; as will be illustrated in the Lesson upon the Pistil.

LESSON 15.]

THE CALYX AND COROLLA.

99

259. Moreover, the arrangement of the parts of the flower answers
to that of leaves, as illustrated in Lesson 10, — either to a succes-
sion of whorls alternating with each other in the manner of whorled
leaves, or in some regular form of spiral arrangement.

LESSON XV.

MORPHOLOGY OF THE CALYX AND COROLLA.

260. Having studied the flower as a whole, we proceed to con-
sider more particularly its several parts, especially as to the principal
differences they present in different plants. We naturally begin
with the leaves of the blossom, namely, the calyx and corolla. And
first as to

261. The Growing together of Parts. It is this more than anything
else which prevents one from taking the idea, at first sight, that the
flower is a sort of very short branch clothed with altered leaves.
For most blossoms we meet with have some of their organs grown
together more or less. We have noticed it as to the corolla of Ge-
rardia, Catalpa, &c. (Fig. 194-196), in Lesson 13. This growing

FIG. 198. Succession of sepals, petals, gradations between petals and stamens, and truo
stamens, of the Nymphasa, or White Water-Lily.

100

THE CALYX AND COROLLA.

[LESSON 15.

together takes place in two ways : either parts of the same kind,
or parts of different kinds, may be united. The first we may call
simply the union, the second the consoli-
dation, of parts.

2G2. Union Or Cohesion with one another
of parts of the same sort. We very com-
monly find that the calyx or the corolla
is a cup or tube, instead of a set of leaves.
Take, for example, the flower of the Stra-
monium or Thorn-Apple, where both the
calyx and the corolla are so (Fig. 199);
likewise the common Morning-Glory, and
the figures 201 to 203, where the leaves
of the corolla are united into one piece,
but those of the calyx are separate. Now
there are numerous cases of real leaves
growing together much in the same
way, — those of the common Thorough-
wort, and the upper pairs in Woodbines
or Honeysuckles, for example (Fig. 132) ;
so that we might expect it to occur in
the leaves of the blossom also. And that this is the right view to
take of it plainly appears from the transitions everywhere met with
in different plants, between a calyx or a corolla of separate pieces
and one forming a perfect tube or cup. Figures 200 to 203 show
one complete set of such gradations in the corolla, and Fig. 204 to
20 G another, in short and open corollas. How many leaves or petals
each corolla is formed of may be seen by the number of points or
tips, or of the notches (called sinuses) which answer to the inter-
vals between them.

2G3. When the parts are united in this way, whether much or
little, the corolla is said to be monopetalous, and the calyx mono-
sepalous. These terms mean " of one petal," or " of one sepal " ;
that is, of one piece. Wherefore, taking the corolla or the calyx
as a whole, we say that it is parted when the parts are separate
almost to the base, as in Fig. 204 ; cleft or hied when the notches
do not extend below the middle or thereabouts, as in Fig. 205 ;

FIG. 199. Flower of the common Stramonium ; both Die calyx and the corolla with their
parts united into a tube.

LESSON 15.]

UNION OF PARTS.

101

toothed or dentate, when only the tips are separate as short points ;
entire, when the border is even, without points or notches, as in the

201 202 203

common Morning-Glory, and very nearly so in Fig. 203 ; and so
on ; — the terms being just the same as those applied to leaves and
all other flat bodies, and illustrated in Lessons 8 and 9.

264. There is a set of terms applied particularly to calyxes,
corollas, or other such bodies of one piece, to express their general
shape, which we see is very various. The following are some of
the principal : —

Wheel-shaped, or rotate ; when spreading out at once, without a
tube or with a very short one, something in the shape of a wheel
or of its diverging spokes, as in the corolla of the Potato and Bitter-
sweet (Fig. 204, 205).

Salver-shaped, or salver-form ; when a flat-spreading border is
raised on a narrow tube, from which it diverges at right angles,

201 205 206

like the salver represented in old pictures, with a slender handle
beneath. The corolla of the Phlox (Fig. 208) and of the Cypress-
Vine (Fig. 202) are of this sort.

FIG. 200. Corolla of Soapwort (the same in Pinks, &c), of 5 separate, long-clawed petals.

FIG. 201. Flower of Gilia or Ipomopsis coronopifolia ; the parts answering to the claws
of the petals of the last figure here all united into a tube. '

FIG. 202. Flower of the Cypress-Vine ; the petals a little farther united into a five-lobed
spreading border.

FIG. 203. Flower of the small Scarlet Morning-Glory, the five petals it is composed of
perfectly unite:! into a trumpet-shaped tube, with the spreading border nearly even (or entire).

FIG. 204. Wheel-shaped and five-parted corolla of Bittersweet (Solanum Dulcamara).

FIG. 205. Wheel-shaped and five-cleft corolla of the common Potato.

FIG. 206. Almost entire and very open bell-shaped corolla of a Ground Cherry (Physalis).
9*

102

THE CALYX AND COROLLA.

[LESSON 15.

Bell-shaped, or campamdate ; where a short and broad tube
widens upward, in the shape of a bell, as in Fig. 207.

Funnel-shaped, or funnel-form ; gradually spreading at the sum-
mit of a tube which is narrow below, in the shape of a funnel or
tunnel, as in the corolla of the common Morning-Glory, and of the
Stramonium (Fig. 199).

Tuhdar ; when prolonged into a tube, without much spreading at
the border, as in the corolla of the Trumpet Honeysuckle, the calyx
of Stramonium (Fig. 199), &c.

265. In most of these cases we may distinguish two parts ; namely,
ihe tube, or the portion all in one piece and with its sides upright or
nearly so ; and the border or limb, the spreading portion or summit.
The limb may be entire, as in Fig. 203, but it is more commonly
lobed, that is, partly divided, as in Fig. 202, or parted down nearly
to the top of the tube, as in Fig. 208, &c.

2G6. So, likewise, a separate petal is sometimes distinguishable
into two parts ; namely, into a narrowed base or stalk-like part (as
in Fig. 200, where this part is peculiarly long), called the claic, and
a spreading and enlarged summit, or body of the petal, called the
lamina or blade.

267. When parts of the same set are not united (as in the Flax,
Cherry, &c, Fig. 212 - 215), we call them distinct. Thus the sepals
or the petals are distinct when not at all united with each other. As
a calyx with sepals united into one body is called monosepalous (263,
that is, one-sepalled), or sometimes monophyllous, that is, one-leaved ;
so, on the other hand, when the sepals are distinct, it is said to be

FIG. 207. Flower of the Harebell, with a campanulate or bell-shaped corolla. 208. Of a
Phlox, with salver-shaped corolla. 209. Of Dead-Nettie (Lamium), with labiate ringent (or
gaping) corolla. 210. Of Snapdragon, with labiate personate corolla. 211. Of Toad-Flax,
with a similar corolla spurred at the base.

LESSON 15.]

CONSOLIDATION OF PARTS.

103

polysepalous, that is, composed of several or many sepals. And a
corolla with distinct petals is said to be polypetalous.

268. Consolidation, the growing together of the parts of two or more
different sets. In the most natural or pattern flower (as explained
in Lessons 13 and 14), the
several parts rise from the
receptacle or axis in succes-
sion, like leaves upon a very
short stem ; the petals just
above or within the sepals,
the stamens just above or
within these, and then the
pistils next the summit or
centre. Now when contiguous parts of different sorts, one within
the other, unite at their base or origin, it obscures more or less the
plan of the flower, by consolidating organs which in the pattern
flower are entirely separate.

269. The nature of this con-
solidation will be at once un-
derstood on comparing the fol-
lowing series of illustrations.
Fig. 212 represents a flower of
the common Flax, cut through
lengthwise, so as to show the
attachment (or what the bot-
anist calls the insertion) of all
the parts. Here they are all
inserted on, that is grow out
of, the receptacle or axis of
the blossom. In other words,
there is no union at all of the
parts of contiguous circles. So
the parts are said to be free.
And the sepals, petals, and stamens, all springing of course from
beneath the pistils, which are on the very summit of the axis, are
said to be hypogynous (a term composed of two Greek words, mean-
ing " under the pistil ").

FIG. 212. A Flax-flower, cut through lengthwise.

FIG. 213. Flower of a Cherry, divided in the same way.

FIG. 214. Flower of the common Purslane, divided lengthwise.

104

THE CALYX AND COROLLA.

[LESSON 15.

270. Fig. 213 is a flower of a Cherry, cut through lengthwise in
the same way. Here the petals and the stamens grow out of, that
is, are inserted on, the calyx ; in other words they cohere or are
consolidated with the base of the calyx up to a certain height. In
such cases they are said to be perigynous (from two Greek words,
meaning around the pistil). The consolidation in the Cherry is con-
fined to the calyx, corolla, and stamens : the calyx is still free from
the pistil. One step more we have in

271. Fig. 214, which is a similar section of a flower of a Purslane.

Here the lower part of the
calyx (carrying with it of
course the petals and stamens)
is coherent with the surface of
the whole lower half of the
ovary. Therefore the calyx,
seeming to rise from the mid-
dle of the ovary, is said to be

215 half superior, instead of being

inferior, as it is when entirely free. It is better to say, however,
calyx half-adherent to the ovary. Every gradation occurs between

such a case and that of a calyx
altogether free or inferior, as
we see in different Purslanes
and Saxifrages. The consol-
idation goes farther,

272. In the Apple, Quince,
Hawthorn (Fig. 215), &c.
Here the tube of the calyx
is consolidated with the whole
surface of the ovary ; and its
limb, or free part, therefore appears to spring from its top, instead of
underneath it, as it naturally should. So the calyx is said to be
superior, or (more properly) adherent to, or coherent with, the ovary.
In most cases (and very strikingly in the Evening Primrose), the
tube of the calyx is continued on more or less beyond the ovary,
and has the petals and stamens consolidated with it for some dis-
tance ; these last, therefore, being borne on the calyx, are said to
be perigynous, as before (270).

FIG. 215. Flower of a Hawthorn, divided lengthwise.
FIG. 216. Flower of the Cranberry, divided lengthwise.

LESSON 15.]

IRREGULARITY OF PARTS.

105

273. But if the tube of the calyx ends immediately at the summit
of the ovary, and its lobes as well as the corolla and stamens are as
it were inserted directly on the ovary, they are said to be epigynous
(meaning on the pistil), as in Cornel, the Huckleberry, and the Cran-
berry (Fig. 216).

274. Irregularity of Parts in the calyx and corolla has already been
noticed (244) as sometimes obstructing one's view of the real plan of
a flower. There is infinite variety in this respect ; but what has
already been said will enable the student to understand these irreg-
ularities when they occur. "We have only room to mention one or
two cases which have given rise to
particular names. A very common
kind, among polypetalous (267)
flowers, is

275. The Papilionaceous flower
of the Pea, Bean, and nearly all
that family. In this we have an
irregular corolla of a peculiar shape, which Linnaeus likened to a
butterfly (whence the term, papilio being the Latin name for a but-
terfly) ; but the resemblance is
not very obvious. The five pet-
als of a papilionaceous corolla
(Fig. 217) have received different
names taken from widely different
objects. The upper and larger
petal (Fig. 218, s), which is gen-
erally wrapped round all the rest
in the bud, is called the standard
or banner. The two side petals
(w) are called the icings. And
the two anterior ones (k), the
blades of which commonly stick
together a little, and which en- 21S

close the stamens and pistil in the flower, from their forming a
body shaped somewhat like the keel, or rather the prow, of an
ancient boat, are together named the keel

276. The Labiate or bilabiate (that is, two-lipped) flower is a very
common form of the monopetalous corolla, as in the Snapdragon

FIG. 217. Front view of the papilionaceous corolla of the Locust-tree. 218. The parts of
the same, displayed.

106

THE CALYX AND COROLLA.

[lesson 15.

(Fig. 210), Toad-Flax (Fig. 211), Dead-Nettie (Fig. 209), Catnip,
Horsemint, &c. ; and in the Sage, the Catalpa, &c, the calyx also is
two-lipped. This is owing to unequal union of the different parts of
the same sort, as well as to diversity of shape. In the corolla two
of the petals grow together higher than the rest, sometimes to the
very top, and form the tipper lip, and the three remaining ones join
on the other side of the flower to form the lower lip, which therefore
is more or less three-lobed, while the upper lip is at most only two-
lobed. And if the calyx is also two-lipped, as in the Sage, — since
the parts of the calyx always alternate with those of the corolla
(247), — then the upper lip has three lobes or teeth, namely, is com-
posed of three sepals united, while the lower has only two ; which is
the reverse of the arrangement in the corolla. So that all these
flowers are really constructed on the plan of five, and not on that of
two, as one would at first be apt to suppose. In Gerardia, &c. (Fig.
194, 195), the number five is evident in the calyx and corolla, but is
more or less obscured in the stamens (249). In Catalpa this num-
ber is masked in the calyx by irregular union, and in the stamens by
abortion. A different kind of irregular flower is seen in

277. The Ligulate or strap
shaped corolla of most com
pound Jlowers. What was
called the compound flower
of a Dandelion, Succory (Fig.
221), Thistle, Sunflower, As-
ter, Whiteweed, &c, consists
of many distinct blossoms,
closely crowded together into
a head, and surrounded by an involucre (208). People who are not
botanists commonly take the whole for one flower, the involucre for
a calyx, and corollas of the outer or of all the flowers as petals.
And this is a very natural mistake when the flowers around the
edge have flat and open or strap-shaped corollas, while the rest
are regular and tubular, but small, as in the "Whiteweed, Sunflower,
&c. Fig. 219 represents such a case in a Coreopsis, with the
head, or so-called compound flower, cut through ; and in Fig. 220
we see one of the perfect flowers of the centre or disk, with a reg-
ular tubular corolla (a), and with the slender bract (b) from whose

FIG. 219. Head of flowers (the so-called "compound flower") of Coreopsis, divided
lengthwise.

LESSON 15.] SO-CALLED COMPOUND FLOWERS.

107

axil it grew ; and also one belonging to the margin, or ray, with
a strap-shaped corolla (c), borne in the axil of a leaf or bract of

the involucre (d). Here the ray-flower consists merely of a strap-
shaped corolla, raised on the small rudiment of an ovary ; it is
therefore a neutral flower, like those of the ray or margin of the
cluster in Hydrangea (229, Fig. 167), only of a different shape.
More commonly the flowers with a strap-shaped corolla are pis-
tillate, that is, have a pistil only, and produce seed like the others,
as in Whiteweed. But in the Dandelion, Succory (Fig. 221, 222),

and all of that tribe, these flowers are perfect, that is, bear both
stamens and pistils. And moreover all the flowers of the head are
strap-shaped and alike.

278. Puzzling as these strap-shaped corollas appear at first view,
an attentive inspection will generally reveal the plan upon which
they are constructed. "We can make out pretty plainly, that each
one consists of five petals (the tips of which commonly appear as five
teeth at the extremity), united by their contiguous edges, except on

FIG. 220. A slice of Fig. 219, more enlarged, with one tubular perfect flower (a) left
standing on the receptacle, with its bractlet or chaff (i), one ligulate, neutral ray-flower (c),
and part of another: d, section of bracts or leaves of the involucre.

FIG. 222. Head of flowers of Succory, cut through lengthwise and enlarged.

108

THE CALYX AND COROLLA.

[lesson 16.

one side, and spread out flat. To prove that this is the case, we have
only to compare such a corolla (that of Coreopsis, Fig. 220, c, or
one from the Succory, for instance) with that of the Cardinal-flower,
or of any other Lobelia, which is equally split down along one side ;
and this again with the less irregular corolla of the Woodbine, par-
tially split down on one side.

LESSON XVL

-ESTIVATION, OR THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE CALYX AND CO-
ROLLA IN THE BUD.

279. ^Estivation or Prcefloration relates to the way in which
the leaves of the flower, or the lobes of the calyx or corolla, are
placed with respect to each other in the bud. This is of some
importance in distinguishing different families or tribes of plants,
being generally very uniform in each. The aestivation is best seen

FIG. 221. Compound flowers, i. e. heads of flowers, of Succory.

LESSON 16.] THEIR ARRANGEMENT IN THE BUD.

109

^>

by making a horizontal slice of the flower-bud when just ready to
open ; and it may be expressed in diagrams, as in Fig. 223, 224.

280. The pieces of the calyx or the corolla either overlap each
other in the bud, or they do not. When they do not, the aestivation
is commonly

Valvate, as it is called when the pieces meet each other by their
abrupt edges without any infolding or overlapping ; as the calyx of
the Linden or Basswood (Fig. 223) and the Mallow, and the corolla
of the Grape, Virginia Creeper, &c. Or it may be

Induplicate, which is valvate with the margins of each piece pro-
jecting inwards, or involute (like the leaf in Fig. 152), as in the
calyx of Yirgin's-Bower and the corolla of the Potato, or else

Reduplicate, like the last, but the margins projecting outwards
instead of inwards ; these last being mere vari-
ations of the valvate form.

281. When the pieces overlap in the bud, it
is in one of two ways : either every piece has
one edge in and one edge out ; or some pieces
are wholly outside and others wholly inside.
In the first case the aestivation is
Convolute or twisted, as in the corolla of Geranium (most com-
monly, Fig. 224), Flax (Fig. 191), and of the Mallow Family.
Here one edge of every petal covers the next
before it, while its other edge is covered by
the next behind it. In the second case it is

Imbricated or imbricate, or breaking joints,
like shingles on a roof, as in the calyx of Ge-
ranium (Fig. 224) and of Flax (Fig. 191),
and the corolla of the Linden (Fig. 223). In
these cases the parts are five in number ; and the regular way then
is (as in the calyx of the figures above cited) to have two pieces en-
tirely extei'nal (1 and 2), one (3) with one edge covered by the first,
while the other edge covers that of the adjacent one on the other
side, and two (4 and 5) wholly within, their margins at least being
covered by the rest. That is, they just represent a circle of five
leaves spirally arranged on the five-ranked or f plan (187, 188,
and Fig. 143- 145), only with the stem shortened so as to bring
the parts close together. The spiral arrangement of the parts of

FIG. 223. Section across the flower-bud of Linden.

FIG. 224. Section across the flower-bud of Geranium : the sepals numbered in their order.

10

110

ARRANGEMENT OF PARTS IN THE BUD. [LESSON 16.

the blossom is the same as that of the foliage, — an additional evi-
dence that the flower is a sort of branch. The petals of the Linden,
with only one outside and one inside, as shown in Fig. 223, exhibit
a gradation between the imbricated and the convolute modes. When
the parts are four in number, generally two opposite ones overlap the
other two by both edges. When three in number, then one is outer-
most, the next has one edge out and the other covered, and the third
is within, being covered by the other two; as in Fig. 190. This is
just the three-ranked (^) spiral arrangement of leaves (1SG, and
Fig. 171).

282. In the Mignonette, and some other flowers, the aestivation is
open ; that is, the calyx and corolla are not closed at all over the
other parts of the flower, even in the young bud.

283. When the calyx or the corolla is tubular, the shape of the
tube in the bud has sometimes to be considered, as well as the way
the lobes are arranged. For example, it may be

Plaited or plicate, that is, folded lengthwise ; and the plaits may
either be turned outwards, forming projecting ridges, as in the
corolla of Campanula ; or turned inwards, as in the corolla of the
Gentian, &c. When the plaits are wrapped round all in one direc-
tion, so as to cover one another in a convolute manner, the aestivation
is said to be

Supervolute, as in the corolla of Stramonium (Fig. 225) and the
Morning-Glory ; and in the Morning-Glory it is twisted besides.

FIG. 225. Upper part of the corolla of Stramonium (Datura meteloides), in the bud.
Underneath is a cross-section of the same.

LESSOR 17.]

THE STAMENS.

Ill

LESSON XVII.

MORPHOLOGY OF THE STAMENS.

284. The Stamens exhibit nearly the same kinds of variation in
different species that the calyx and corolla do. They may be dis-
tinct (that is, separate from each other, 267) or united. They may
be free (269), or else coherent with other parts : this concerns

285. Their Insertion, or place of attachment, which is most com-
monly the same as that of the corolla. So, stamens are

Hypogynous (269), when they are borne on the receptacle, or axis
of the flowei', under the pistils, as they naturally should be, and as is
shown in Fig. 212.

Pcrigynous, when borne on (that is coherent below with) the
calyx ; as in the Cherry, Fig. 213.

Epigynous, when borne on the ovary, appar-
ently, as in Fig. 216. To these we may add

Gynanclrous (from two Greek words, answer-
ing to " stamens and pistil united "), when the
stamens are consolidated with the style, so as
to be borne by it, as in the Lady's Slipper
(Fig. 226) and all the Orchis Family. Also

Epipetalous (meaning on the petals), when
they are borne by the corolla; as in Fig. 194,
and in most monopetalous blossoms. As to

286. Their Union With CuCll Other, the stamens may be united by
their filaments or by their anthers. In the former case they are

Monadelphous (from two Greek words, meaning " in one brother-
hood "), when united by their filaments into one set, usually into a
ring or cup below, or into a tube, as in the Mallow Family, the
Passion-flower, and the Lupine (Fig. 228).

Diadelphous (in two brotherhoods), when so united in two sets,
as in the Pea and almost all papilionaceous flowers (27o) : here
the stamens are nine in one set, and one in the other (Fig. 227).

FIG. 223. Style of a Lady's Slipper (Cypripediurn), and stamens united with it : a, a, the
anthers of the two good stamens ; st., an abortive stamen, what should be its anther changed
into a petal- like body j stig., the stigma.

112

THE STAMENS.

[LESSON 17.

Triadelphous, in three sets or parcels, as in the common St. Johns-
wort ; or

Polyadelphous, when in more numerous sets, as in the Loblolly
Bay, where they are in five clusters. On
the other hand, stamens are said to be

Syngenesious, when united by their an-
thers (Fig. 229, 230), as they are in Lobelia,
in the Violet (slightly), and in what are
called compound flowers, such as the Thistle,
Sunflower, Coreopsis (Fig. 220), and Suc-
cory (Fig. 222). In Lobelia, and in the
Squash and Pumpkin, the stamens are

united both by their anthers and their filaments.

287. Their Number in the flower is sometimes expressed by terms

compounded of the Greek numerals and the word used to signify

stamen ; as, monandrous, for a flower having

only one stamen ; diandrous, one with two

stamens ; triandrous, with three stamens ; te-

trandrous, with four stamens ; pentandrous,

with five stamens ; and so on, up to polyan-

drous (meaning with many stamens), when iinni
there are twenty or a larger number, as in a A\ Ik
Cactus (Fig. 197). All such terms may be

229 230

found in the Glossary at the end of the book.

288. Two terms are used to express particular numbers with un-
equal length. Namely, the stamens are didynamous when only four
in number, two longer than the other two, as in the Mint, Catnip,
Gerardia (Fig. 194), Trumpet-Creeper, &c. ; and tetradynamous,
when they are six, with four of them regularly longer than the
other two, as in Mustard (Fig. 188), and all that family.

289. Their Parts. As already shown (233), a stamen consists of
two parts, the Filament and the Anther (Fig. 231).

290. The Filament is a kind of stalk to the anther : it is to the
anther nearly what the petiole is to the blade of a leaf. Therefore
it is not an essential part. As a leaf may be without a stalk, so
the anther may be sessile, or without a filament. "When present,

flG. 227. Diadelphous stamens of the Pea, &c. 228. Monadelphous stamens of the
Lupine.

FIG. 229. Syngenesious stamens of Coreopsis (Fig. 220, o), &c. 230. Same, with th»
tube of anthers split down on one side and spread open.

LESSON 17-3 THEIR STRUCTURE AND PARTS.

113

the filament may be of any shape ; but it is commonly thread-like,
as in Fig. 231, 234, &c.

291. The Allthcr is the essential part of the stamen. '
It is a sort of case, filled with a fine powder, called
Pollen, which serves to fertilize the pistil, so that it °
may perfect seeds. The anther may be considered,
first, as to

292. Its Attachment to the filament. Of this there are
three ways ; namely, the anther is

Innate (as in Fig. 232), when it is attached by its base to the
very apex of the filament, turning neither inwards nor outwards ; or

Adnate (as in Fig. 233), when at-
tached by one face, usually for its
whole length, to the side of the fila-
ment ; and

Versatile (as in Fig. 234), when fixed
by its middle only to the very point of
the filament, so as to swing loosely, as
we see it in the Lily, in Grasses, &c.

293. In both the last-named cases,
the anther either looks inwards or out-
wards. "VYhen it is turned inwards, or is fixed to that side of the
filament which looks towards the pistil or centre of the flower, the
anther is incumbent or introrse, £S» in Magnolia and the Water-Lily.
When turned outwards, or fixed to the outer side of the filament, it is
extrorse, as in the Tulip-tree.

294. Us Structure, &c. There are few cases in which the stamen
bears any resemblance to a leaf. Nevertheless, the botanist's idea of
a stamen is, that it answers to a leaf developed in a peculiar form
and for a special purpose. In the filament he sees the stalk of the
leaf ; in the anther, the blade. The blade of a leaf consists of two
similar sides ; so the anther consists of two lobes or cells, one answer-
ing to the left, the other to the right, side of the blade. The two lobes
are often connected by a prolongation of the filament, which answers
to the midrib of a leaf: this is called the connective. It is very con-
spicuous in Fig. 232, where the connective is so broad that it separates
the two cells of the anther to some distance from each other.

FIG. 231. A stamen : a, filament ; b, anther discharging pollen.

FIG. 232. Stamen of Isopyrum, with innato anther. 233. Of Tulip-tree, with adnato (and
extrorse) anther. 234. Of Evening Primrose, with versatile anther.

10*

114

THE STAMENS.

[LESSON 17.

295. To discharge the pollen, the anther opens (or is dehiscent)
at maturity, commonly by a line along the whole
length of each cell, and which answers to the
margin of the leaf (as in Fig. 231) ; but when
the anthers are extrorse, this line is often on the
outer face, and when introrse, on the inner face
of each cell. Sometimes the anther opens only
by a chink, hole, or pore at the top, as in the
Azalea, Pyrola or False Wintergreen (Fig. 235),
&c. ; and sometimes a part of the face separates as a sort of trap-door
(or valve), hinged at the top, and opening to allow the escape of the
pollen, as in the Sassafras, Spice-bush, and Barberry (Fig. 236).
Most anthers are really four-celled when young;
a slender partition running lengthwise through
each cell and dividing it into two compartments,
one answering to the upper, and the other to the
lower, layer of the green pulp of the leaf. Oc-
casionally the anther becomes one-celled. This
takes place mostly by confluence, that is, the two
cells running together into one, as they do
slightly in Pentstemon (Fig. 237)
and thoroughly in the Mallow Family (Fig. 238).
sometimes it occurs by the obliteration or disappear-
ance of one half of the anther, as in the Globe Ama-
ranth of the gardens (Fig. 239).

296. The way in which a stamen is supposed to be
constructed out of a leaf, or rather on the plan of a
leaf, is shown in Fig. 240, an ideal figure, the lower
part representing a stamen with the top of its anther
cut away ; the upper, the corresponding upper part of
a leaf. — The use of the anther is to produce
297. Pollen. This is the powder, or fine dust, commonly of a yel-
low color, which fills the cells of the anther, and is discharged during
blossoming, after which the stamens generally fall off or wither away.

But

FIG. 233. Stamen of Pyrola ; the anther opening by holes at the top.

FIG. 23(3. Stamen of Barberry ; the anther opening by uplifted valves.

FIG. 237. Stamen of Pentstemon ptibcsccns ; anther-cells slightly confluent.

FIG. 238. Stamen of Mallow ; the two cells confluent into one, opening round the margin.

FIG. 239. Anther of Globe Amaranth, of only one cell ; the other cell wanting.

FIG. 240 Diagram of the lower part of an anther, cut across above, and the upper part of
a leaf, to show how the one answers to the other.

LESSON 17.]

POLLEN.

115

Under the microscope it is found to consist of grains, usually round or
oval, and all alike in the same species, but very different in different
plants. So that the plant may sometimes be recognized from the
pollen alone.

298. A grain of pollen is made up of two coats ; the outer coat
thickish, but weak, and frequently adorned with lines or bands, or
studded with points ; the inner coat is extremely thin and delicate,
but extensible, and its cavity is filled with a thickish fluid, often
rendered turbid by an immense number of minute grains that float
in it. When wet, the grains absorb the water and swell so much
that many kinds soon burst and dischai'ge their contents.

299. Figures 241 - 250 represent some common sorts of pollen,
magnified one or two hundred diameters, viz.: — A pollen-grain of
the Musk Plant, spirally grooved. One of Sicyos, or One-seeded
Cucumber, beset with bristly points and marked by smooth bands.
One of the Wild Balsam-Apple (Echinocystis), grooved lengthwise.
One of Hibiscus or Rose-Mallow, studded with prickly points. One
of Succory, many-sided, and dotted with fine points. A grain of the
curious compound pollen of Pine. One from the Lily, smooth and
oval. One from Enchanter's Nightshade, with three small lobes on
the angles. Pollen of Kalmia, composed of four grains united, as in
all the Heath family. A grain from an Evening Primrose, with a
central body and three large lobes. The figures number from left
to right, beginning at the top.

116 THE PISTILS. [LESSON 18.

LESSON XVIII.

MORPHOLOGY OF PISTILS.

300. The Pistil, when only one, occupies the centre of the
flower ; when there are two pistils, they stand facing each other in
the centre of the flower ; when several, they commonly form a ring
or circle ; and when very numerous, they are generally crowded in
rows or spiral lines on the surface of a more or less enlarged or
elongated receptacle.

301. Their number in a blossom is sometimes expressed, in Sys-
tematic Botany, by terms compounded of the Greek numerals and
the Greek word used to signify pistil, in the following way. A flower
with one pistil is said to be monogynous ; with two, cligynoiis ; with
three, trigynous ; with four, tetragynous ; with five, pentagynous, and
so on ; with many pistils, polygynous, — terms which are explained
in the Glossary, but which there is no need to commit to memory.

302. The Paris of a Pistil, as already explained (234), are the
Ovary, the Style, and the Stigma. The ovary is one essential part :
it contains the rudiments of seeds, called Ovules. The stigma at
the summit is also essential : it receives the pollen, which fertilizes
the ovules in order that they may become seeds. But the style, the
tapering or slender column commonly borne on the summit of the
ovary, and bearing the stigma on its apex or its side, is no more neces-
sary to a pistil than the filament is to the stamen. Accordingly, there
is no style in many pistils : in these the stigma is sessile, (hat is, rests
directly on the ovary. The stigma is very various in shape and
appearance, being sometimes a little knob (as in the Cherry, Fig.
213), sometimes a small point, or small surface of bare, moist tissue
(as in Fig. 254-256), and sometimes a longitudinal crest or line
(as in Fig. 252, 258, 267, 269), and also exhibiting many other
shapes.

303. The pistil exhibits an almost infinite variety of forms, and
many complications. To understand these, it is needful to begin
with the simple kinds, and to proceed gradually to the complex.
And, first of all, the student should get a clear notion of

304. The Plan or Ideal Structure of the Pistil, or, in other words, of
the way in which a simple pistil answers to a leaf. Pistils are either

LESSON 18.]

SIMPLE PISTILS.

117

simple or compound. A simple pistil answers to a single leaf. A
compound pistil answers to two or more leaves combined, just as a
monopetalous corolla (2 Go) answers to two or more petals, or leaves
of the flower, united into one body. In theory, accordingly,

305. The Simple Pislil, or Carpel (as it is sometimes called), consists
of the blade of a leaf, curved until the margins meet and unite, form-
ing in this way a closed case or pod, which is the ovary. So that
the upper face of the altered leaf answers to the inner surface of the
ovary, and the lower, to its outer surface. And the ovules are borne
on what answers to the united edges of the leaf. The tapering sum-
mit, rolled together and prolonged, forms the style, when there is
any ; and the edges of the altered leaf turned outwards, either at
the tip or along the inner side of the style, form the stigma. To
make this perfectly clear, compare a leaf folded together in this way
(as in Fig. 251) with a pistil of a
Garden Paeony, or Larkspur, or with
that in Fig. 252 ; or, later in the
season, notice how these, as ripe pods,
split down along the line formed by
the united edges, and open out again
into a sort of leaf, as in the Marsh-
Marigold (Fig. 253). In the Double-
flowering Cherry the pistil occasion
ally is found changed back again into
a small green leaf, partly folded, much as in Fig.

306. Fig. 172 represents a simple pistil on a larger scale, the
ovary cut through to show how the ovules (when numerous) are
attached to what answers to the two margins of the leaf. The
Stonecrop (Fig. 1G8) has five such pistils in a circle, each with the
side where the ovules are attached turned to the centre of the flower.

307. The line or seam down the inner side, which answers to the
united edges of the leaf, and bears the ovules, is called the ventral or
inner Suture. A corresponding line down the back of the ovary,
and which answers to the middle of the leaf, is named the dorsal or
outer Suture.

308. The ventral suture inside, where it projects a little into the

251.

FIG. 251. A leaf rolled up inwards, to show how the pistil is supposed to be formed.

FIG. 252. Pistil of Isopyrum biternatum cut across, with the inner suture turned towards
the eye.

FIG. 253. Pod or ripe pistil of the Caltha, or Marsh-Marigold, after opening.

118

THE PISTILS.

[lesson 18.

cavity of the ovary, and bears the ovules, is called the Placenta.
Obviously a simple pistil can have but one placenta ; but this is in
its nature double, one half answering to each margin of the leaf.
And if the ovules or seeds are at all numerous, they will be found
to occupy two rows, one for each margin, as we see in Fig. 252, 172,
in the Marsh-Marigold, in a Pea-pod, and the like.

309. A simple pistil obviously can have but one cavity or cell ;
except from some condition out of the natural order of things. But
the converse does not hold true : all pistils of a single cell are not
6imple. Many compound pistils are one-celled.

310. A simple pistil necessarily has but one style. Its stigma,
however, may be double, like the placenta, and for the same reason
(305) ; and it often exhibits two lines or crests, as in Fig. 252, or it
may even be split into two lobes.

311. The Compound Pistil consists of two, three, or any greater

number of pistil-leaves,
or carpels (305), in a
circle, united into one
body, at least by their
ovaries. The Culti-
vated Flax, for exam-
ple (Fig. 212), has a
compound pistil com-
posed of five simple
ones with their ovaries
united, while the five
styles are separate.
But in one of our

wild species of Flax, the styles are united into one also, for about
half their length. So the Common St. John's-wort of the fields has
a compound ovary, of three united carpels, but the three styles are
separate (Fig. 255), while some of our wild, shrubby species have the
styles also combined into one (Fig. 256), although in the fruit they
often split into three again. Even the ovaries may only partially
combine with each other, as we see in different species of Saxifrage,
some having their two pistils nearly separate, while in others they

FIG. 254. Pistil of a Saxifrage, of two simple carpels or pistil-leaves, united at the base
only, cut across both above and below.

FIG. 255. Compound pistil of common St. John's-wort, cut across: styles separate.
FIG. 256. The same of shrubby St. John's-wort ; the three styles united into one.

LESSON 18.] COMPOUND PISTILS. 119

are joined at the base only, or else below the middle (as in Fig.
254), and in some they are united quite to the top.

312. Even when the styles are all consolidated into one, the stig-
mas are often separate, or enough so to show by the number of their
lobes how many simple pistils are combined to make the compound
one. In the common Lily, for instance, the three lobes of the stigma,
as well as the tbree grooves down the ovary, plainly tell us that the
pistil is made of three combined. But in the Day-Lily the three
lobes of the stigma are barely discernible by the naked eye, and in
the Spiderwort (Fig. 257) they are as perfectly united into
one as the ovaries and styles are. Here the number of
cells in the ovary alone shows that the pistil is compound.
These are all cases of

313. Compound Pistils with two or more Cells, namely, with

as many cells as there are simple pistils, or carpels, that
have united to compose the organ. They are just what
would be formed if the simple pistils (two, three, or five
in a circle, as the case may be), like those of a Pasony or
Stonecrop, all pressed together in the centre of the flower,
were to cohere by their contiguous parts.

314. As each simple ovary has its placenta, or seed-
bearing line (308), at the inner angle, so the resulting
compound ovary has as many axile placentce (that is, as 257
many placenta? in the axis or centre) as there are pistil-leaves in
its composition, but all more or less consolidated into one. This is
shown in the cross-sections, Fig. 254- 256, &c.

315. The partitions (or Dissepiments, as they arc technically
named) of a compound ovary are accordingly part of the walls or
the sides of the carpels which compose it. Of course they are double,
one layer belonging to each carpel ; and in ripe pods they often split
into the two layers.

31G. We have described only one, though the commonest, kind of
compound pistil. There are besides

317. One-celled Compound Pistils. These are of two sorts, those -with
axile, and those with parietal placentce. That is, first, where the
ovules or seeds are borne in the axis or centre of the ovary, and,
secondly, where they are borr.e oi» its walls. The first of these
cases, or that

FIG. 257. Pistil of Spiderwort (Tradescantla) : the three-celled ovary cut across.

120

THE PISTILS.

[lesson 18.

318. With a Free Central Placenta, is what we find in Purslane
(Fig. 214), and in most Chickweeds (Fig. 258, 259) and Pinks.
The difference between this and the foregoing case is only that the
delicate partitions have very early vanished ; and traces of them
may often be detected. Or sometimes this is a variation
of the mode

319. With Parietal Placenta, namely, with the ovules
and seeds borne on the sides or wall {parietes) of the
ovary. The pistil of the Prickly Poppy, Bloodroot,
Violet, Frost-weed (Fig. 261), Gooseberry, and of
many Hypericums, are of this sort. To understand it
perfectly, Ave have only to imagine two, three, or any
number of carpel-leaves (like that of Fig.
251), arranged in a circle, to unite by their
contiguous edges, and so form one ovary
or pod (as we have endeavored to show in Fig. 2 GO) ;
— very much as in the Stramonium (Fig. 199) the
five petals unite by their edges to compose a mono-
petalous corolla, and the five sepals to form a tubular
calyx. Here each carpel is an open leaf, or partly
open, bearing ovules along its margins ; and each
placenta consists of the contiguous margins of two
pistil-leaves grown together.

320. All degrees occur between this and the sev-
eral-celled ovary with the placenta? in the axis. Com-
pare, for illustration, the common St. John's-worts, Fig. 255 and 256,
with Fig. 262, a cross-section of the ovary of a different species, in
which the three large placenta? meet in the axis, but
scarcely unite, and with Fig. 263, a similar section of
the ripe pod of the same plant, showing three parietal
placenta? borne on imperfect partitions projecting a
little way into the general cell. Fig. 261 is the same
in plan, but with hardly any trace of partitions ; that
is, the united edges of the leaves only slightly project into the cell.

FIG. 258. Pistil of a Sandwort, with the ovary divided lengthwise j and 259, the same
divided transversely, to show the free central placenta.

FIG. 2G0. Plan of a one-celled ovary of three carpel-leaves, with parietal placenta;, cut
across below, where it is completo ; the upper part showing the top of the three leaves it is
composed of, approaching, but not united.

FIG. 201. Cross-section of the ovary of Frost-weed (Heliantheinuin), with three parietal
placenta?, bearing ovules.

LESSON 18.]

OPEN PISTILS.

121

321. The ovary, especially when compound, is often covered by
and united with the tube of the calyx, as has already been explained
(272). We describe this by saying either " ovary adherent," or
" calyx adherent," &c. Or we say " ovary inferior" when the tube
of the calyx is adherent throughout to
the surface of the ovary, so that its
lobes, and all the rest of the flower,
appear to be borne on its summit, as
in Fig. 215 and Fig. 21G; or "half-
inferior" as in the Purslane (Fig. 214),
where the calyx is adherent part way up ; or "superior" where the
calyx and the ovary are not combined, as in the Cherry (Fig. 213)
and the like, that is, where these parts are free. The term " ovary
superior," therefore, means just the same as "calyx inferior"; and
" ovary inferior," the same as " calyx superior."

322. Open or Gynmospermous Pistil. This is what we have in the

whole Pine family, the most peculiar, and yet the simplest,
of all pistils. While the ordinary simple pistil in the eye
of the botanist represents a leaf rolled together into a
closed pod (305), those of the Pine, Larch (Fig. 264),
264 Cedar, and Arbor- Vitoe (Fig. 265,
266) are plainly open leaves, in the form of V%, '/Ifi
scales, each bearing two or more ovules on the
inner face, next the base. At the time of
blossoming, these pistil-leaves of the young
cone diverge, and the pollen, so abundantly
shed from the staminate blossoms, falls di-
rectly upon the exposed ovules. Afterwards
the scales close over each other until the
seeds are ripe. Then they separate again,
that the seeds may be shed. As their ovules and seed-
enclosed in a pod, all such plants, are said to be Gynmospermous,
that is, naked-seeded.

FIG. 2G2. Cross-section of the ovary of Hypericum graveolens. 2u3. Similar section of
the ripe pod of the same.

FIG. 2C4. A pistil, that is, a scale of the cone, of a Larch, at the time of flowering;
inside view, showing its pair of naked ovules.

FIG. 2C5. Branchlet of the American Arbor- Vitae, considerably larger than in nature,
terminated by its pistillate flowers, each consisting of a single scale (an open pistil), together
forming a small cone.

FIG. 2G6. One of the scales or pistils of the last, removed and more enlarged, the inside
exposed to view, showing a pair of ovules on its base.
11

are not

122

THE PISTILS.

[LESSON 18.

323. Ovules (234). These are the bodies which are to become
seeds. They are either sessile, that is, stalkless, or else borne on a
stalk, called the Funiculus. They may be produced along the whole
length of the cell, or only at some part of it, generally either at the
top or the bottom. In the former case they are apt to be numerous;
in the latter, they may be few or single {solitary, Fig. 267-2G9).
As to their direction, ovules are said to be

Horizontal, when they are neither turned upwards nor down-
wards, as in Fig. 252, 261 ;

Ascending, when rising obliquely upwards, usually from the side
of the cell, not from its very base, as in the Buttercup (Fig. 2G7),

and the Purslane (Fig. 214) ;

Erect, when rising upright from
the base of the cell, as in the Buck-
wheat (Fig. 2G8) ;

Pendulous, when hanging from
towards the top, as in the Flax
(Fig. 212); and
Suspended, when hanging perpendicularly from the very sum-
mit of the cell, as in the Anemone (Fig. 2G9), Dogwood, &c. All
these terms equally apply to seeds.

324. An ovule consists of a pulpy mass of tissue, the Nucleus or
kernel, and usually of one or two coats. In the nucleus the embryo
is formed, and the coats become the skin or coverings of the seed.
There is a hole ( Orifice or Foramen) through the coats, at the place
which answers to the apex of the ovule. The part by which the
ovule is attached is its base ; the point of attachment, where the ripe
seed breaks away and leaves a scar, is named the Hilum. The
place where the coats blend, and cohere with each other and with the
nucleus, is named the Chalaza. We will point out these parts in
illustrating the four principal kinds of ovule. These are not difficult
to understand, although ovules are usually so small that a good mag-
nifying-glass is needed for their examination. Moreover, their names,
all taken from the Greek, are unfortunately rather formidable.

325. The simplest sort, although the least common, is what is
called the

Orthotropous, or straight ovule. The Buckwheat affords a good

FIG. 207. Section of the ovary of a Buttercup, lengthwise, showing its ascending ovule.
FIG. 2C8. Section of the ovary of Buckwheat, showing the erect ovule.
FIG. 2G9. Section of the ovary of Anemone, showing its suspended ovule.

LESSON 18.]

OVULES.

123

instance of it : it is shown in its place in the ovary in Fig. 268,
also detached in Fig. 270, and a much more magnified diagram of it
in Fig. 274. In this kind, the orifice (/) is at the top, the chalaza
and the hilum (c) are blended at the base or point of attachment,
which is at the opposite end ; and the axis of the ovule is straight.

'7

w

If such an ovule were to grow on one side more than on the other,
and double up, or have its top pushed round as it enlarges, it would
become a

Gampyhtropous or curved ovule, as in Cress and Chickweed (Fig.
271). Here the base remains as in the straight kind, but its apex
with the orifice is brought round close to it. — Much the most com-
mon form of all is the

Anatropous or inverted ovule. This is shown in Fig. 267, and
273 ; also a much enlarged section lengthwise, or diacram, in Fio\
275. To understand it, we have only to suppose the first sort (Fig.
270) to be inverted on its stalk, or rather to have its stalk bent
round, applied to one side of the ovule lengthwise, and to grow fast
to the coat down to near the orifice (/) ; the hilum, therefore, where
the seed-stalk is to break away (h), is close to the orifice ; but the
chalaza (c) is here at the top of the ovule ; between it and the hilum
runs a ridge or cord, called the Rhaphe (?•), which is simply that part
of the stalk which, as the ovule grew and turned over, adhered to its
surface. — Lastly, the

Amphitropous or half -anatropous ovule (Fig. 272) differs from
the last only in having a shorter rhaphe, ending about half-way
between the chalaza and the orifice. So the hilum or attachment is
not far from the middle of one side, while the chalaza is at one end
and the orifice at the other.

326. The internal structure of the ovule is sufficiently displayed
in the subjoined diagrams, representing a longitudinal slice of two

FIG. 270. Orthotropous ovule of Buckwheat : c, hilum and chalaza ; /, orifice.

FIG. 271. Campylotropous ovule of a Chickweed : c, hilum and chalaza ; /, orifice.

FIG. 272. Amphitropous ovule of Mallow : /, orifice ; h, hilum ; r, rhaphe ; c, chalaza.

FIG. 273. Anatropous ovule of a Violet ; the parts lettered as in the last.

124

THE RECEPTACLE.

[LESSON 19.

ovules ; Fig. 274, an ortbotropous, Fig. 275, an anatropous ovule.
The letters correspond in the two ; c, the chalaza ; /, the orifice ;
r, rhaphe (of which there is of course none in Fig. 274) ; p, the
outer coat, called primine ; s, inner coat, called secundine ; n, nu-
cleus or kernel.

LESSON XIX.

MORPHOLOGY OF THE RECEPTACLE.

327. The Receptacle (also called the Torus) is the axis, or
stem, which the leaves and other parts of the blossom are attached
to (231). It is commonly small and short (as in Fig. 169) ; but it
sometimes occurs in more conspicuous and remarkable forms.

328. Occasionally it is elongated, as in some plants of the Caper
family (Fig. 27G), making the flower really look like a branch, hav-
ing its circles of leaves, stamens, &c, separated by long spaces or
internodes.

329. The "Wild Geranium or Cranesbill has the receptacle pro-
longed above and between the insertion of the pistils, in the form
of a slender beak. In the blossom, and until the fruit is ripe, it
is concealed by the five pistils united around it, and their flat styles
covering its whole surface (Fig. 277). But at maturity, the five
small and one-seeded fruits separate, and so do their styles, from the
beak, and hang suspended from the summit. They split off elasti-

LESSON 19.]

THE RECEPTACLE.

125

cally from the receptacle, curving upwards with a sudden jerk, which
scatters the seed, often throwing it to a considerable distance.

330. When a flower
bears a great many pis-
tils, its receptacle is gen-
erally enlarged so as to
give them room ; some-
times becoming broad
and flat, as in the Flow-
ering Raspberry, some-
times elongated, as in
the Blackberry, the Mag-
nolia, &c. It is the re-
ceptacle in the Straw-
berry (Fig. 279), much

enlarged and pulpy when ripe, which forms the eatable part of the
fruit, and bears the small, seed-like pistils on its
surface. In the Rose (Fig. 280), instead of being
convex or conical, the receptacle is deeply con-
cave, or urn-shaped. Indeed, a Rose-hip may be
likened to a strawberry turned inside out, like
the finger of a glove reversed, and the whole
covered by the adherent tube of the calyx, which
remains beneath in the strawberry.

331. A Disk is a part of the re-
ceptacle, or a growth from it, en-
larged under or around the pistil.
It is hypogynous (269), when free
from all union either with the pistil
or the calyx, as in the Rue and the
Orange (Fig. 281). It is perigy-
nous (270), when it adheres to the
base of the calyx, as in the Bladder-nut and Buckthorn (Fig. 282,

FIG. 270. Flower of Gynandropsis , the receptacle enlarged and flattened where it bears
the sepals and petals, then elongated into a slender stalk, bearing the stamens (in appearance,
but they are monadelphous) above its middle, and a compound ovary on its summit.

FIG. 277. Young fruit of the common Wild Cranesbill.

FIG. 278. The same, ripe, with the five pistils splitting away from the long beak or recep-
tacle, and hanging from its top by their styles.

FIG. 279. Longitudinal section of a young strawberry, enlarged.

FIG. 280. Similar section of a young Rose-hip.

FIG. 281. Pistil of the Orange, with a large hypogynous disk at its base.-
11*

126

THE FRUIT.

[LESSON 20.

283). Often it adheres both to the calyx and to the ovary, as in
New Jersey Tea, the Apple, &c, consolidating the whole together.
In such cases it is sometimes carried up and expanded on the top of

the ovary, as in the Parsley and
the Ginseng families, when it is
said to be epigynous (273).

332. In Nelumbium, — a large
Water-Lily, abounding in the wa-
ters of our Western States, — the
singular and greatly enlarged receptacle is shaped like a top, and
bears the small pistils immersed in separate cavities of its flat upper
surface (Fig. 284).

LESSON XX.

THE FRUIT.

333. The ripened ovary, with its contents, becomes the Fruit.
When the tube of the calyx adheres to the ovary, it also becomes
a part of the fruit : sometimes it even forms the principal bulk of it,
as in the apple and pear.

334. Some fruits, as they are commonly called, are not fruits at
all in the strict botanical sense. A strawberry, for example (as
we have just seen, 330, Fig. 282), although one of the choicest fruits
in the common acceptation, is only an enlarged and pulpy receptacle,
bearing the real fruits (that is, the ripened pistils) scattered over its

FIG. 282. Flower of a Buckthorn, with a large perigynous disk. 283. The same, divided.
FIG. 284. Receptacle of Nelumbium, in fruit.

LESSON 20.] ITS KINDS. 127

surface, and too small to be much noticed. And mulberries, figs,
and pine-apples are masses of many fruits with a pulpy flower-stalk,
&c. Passing these by for the present, let us now consider only

335. Simple Fruits. These are such as are formed by the ripening
of a single pistil, whether simple (305) or compound (311).

336. A simple fruit consists, then, of the Seed-vessel (technically
called the Pericarp), or the walls of the ovary matured, and the seeds,
contained in it. Its structure is generally the same as that of the
ovary, but not always ; because certain changes may take place after
flowering. The commonest change is the obliteration in the growing
fruit of some parts which existed in the pistil at the time of flowering.
The ovary of a Horsechestnut, for instance, has three cells and two
ovules in each cell ; but the fruit never has more than three seeds,
and rarely more than one or two, and only as many cells. Yet the
vestiges of the seeds that have not matured, and of the wanting cells
of the pod, may always be detected in the ripe fruit. This oblitera-
tion is more complete in the Oak and Chestnut. The ovary of the
first likewise has three cells, that of the second six or seven cells,
each with two ovules hanging from the summit. We might there-
fore expect the acorn and the chestnut to have as many cells, and
two seeds in each cell. "Whereas, in fact, all the cells and all the
ovules but one are uniformly obliterated in the forming fruit, which
thus becomes one-celled and one-seeded, and rarely can any vestige
be found of the missing parts.

337. On the other hand, a one-celled ovary sometimes becomes
several-celled in the fruit by the formation of false partitions, com-
monly by cross-partitions, as in the jointed pod of the Sea-Rocket
and the Tick-Trefoil (Fig. 304).

338. Their Kitlds. In defining the principal kinds of simple fruits
which have particular names, we may classify them, in the first place,
into, — 1. Fleshy Fruits-, 2. Stone Fruits; and 3. Dry Fruits.
The first and second are of course indehiscent ; that is, they do not
split open when ripe to discharge the seeds.

339. In fleshy fruits the whole pericarp, or wall of the ovary,
thickens and becomes soft (fleshy, juicy, or pulpy) as it ripens. Of
this the leading kind is

340. The Berry, such as the gooseberry and currant, the blueberry
and cranberry, the tomato, and the grape. Here the whole flesh is
equally soft throughout. The orange is merely a berry with a
leathery rind.

128 THE FRUIT. [LESSON 20.

341. The PepO, or Gourd-fruit, is the sort of berry which belongs
to the Gourd family, mostly with a hard rind and the inner portion
softer. The pumpkin, squash, cucumber, and melon are the prin-
cipal examples.

342. TllC Pome is a name applied to the apple, pear, and quince ;
fleshy fruits like a berry, but the principal thickness is calyx, only
the papery pods arranged like a star in the core really belonging to
the pistil itself (333).

343. Secondly, as to fruits which are partly fleshy and partly hard,
one of the most familiar kinds is

344. Tlie Dl'UpC, or Stone-fruit ; of which the cherry, plum, and
peach (Fig. 285) are familiar examples. In
this the outer part of the thickness of the
pericarp becomes fleshy, or softens, like a
berry, while the inner hardens, like a nut.
From the way in which the pistil is con-
structed (305), it is evident that the fleshy
part here answers to the lower, and the stone
to the upper, side of the leaf; — a leaf always

consisting of two layers of green pulp, an upper and an under layer,
which are considerably different (439).

345. Whenever the walls of a fruit are separable into two layers,
the outer layer is called the Exocarp, the innei', the Endocarp (from
Greek words meaning "outside fruit" and " inside fruit"). But in
a drupe the outer portion, being fleshy, is likewise called Sarcocarp
(which means "fleshy fruit"), and the inner, the Putamen or stone.
The stone of a peach, and the like, it will be perceived, belongs to
the fruit, not to the seed. When the walls are separable into three
layers, the outer layer is named either exocarp or Epicarp ; the
middle one is called the Mesocarp (i. e. middle fruit) ; and the inner-
most, as before, the Endocarp.

346. Thirdly, in dry fruits the seed-vessel remains herbaceous in
texture, or becomes thin and membranaceous, or else it hardens
throughout. Some forms remain closed, that is, are indehiscent
(338) ; others are dehiscent, that is, split open at maturity in some
regular way. Of indehiscent or closed dry fruits the principal kinds
are the following.

347. TllC AcheMUm, or Akene, is a small, one-seeded, dry, indehis-

FIG. 285. Longitudinal section of a peach, showing the flesh, the stone, and the seed.

LESSON 20.]

ITS KINDS.

129

but it is

cent fruit, such as is popularly taken for a naked seed
plainly a ripened ovary, and shows the re-
mains of its style or stigma, or the place
^ from which it has

fallen. Of this sort
are the fruits of the
Buttercup (Fig. 286,

287), the Cinque-foil, and the Strawberry (Fig.

279, 288) ; that is, the real fruits, botanically

speaking, of the latter, which are taken for seeds,

not the large juicy receptacle on the surface of

which they rest (330). Here the akenes are

/p-^— ^-- . i simple pistils (305), very numerous in the same

I } r flower, and forming a head of such fruits. In

the Nettle, Hemp, &c, there is only one pistil to

each blossom.

348. In the raspberry and blackberry, each grain
is a similar pistil, like that of the strawberry in the
flower, but ripening into a miniature stone-fruit, or
drupe. So that in the strawberry we eat the
receptacle, or end of the flower-stalk ; in the rasp-
berry, a cluster of stone-fruits, like cherries on a
very small scale ; and in the blackberry, both a juicy
receptacle and a cluster of stone-fruits covering it
(Fig. 289, 290).

349. The fruit of the Composite family is also
an achenium. Here the surface of the ovary is
covered by an adherent calyx-tube, as is evident
from the position of the corolla, apparently standing
on its summit (321, and Fig. 220, a). Sometimes the
limb or divisions of the calyx are entirely wanting,
as in Mayweed (Fig. 291) and Whiteweed. Sometimes the limb
of the calyx forms a crown or cup on the top of the achenium, as in
Succory (Fig. 292); in Coreopsis, it often takes the form of two
blunt teeth or scales ; in the Sunflower (Fig. 293), it consists of two

l\r 9««' ^Chen'Um °f Bu»e™P. 287. Same, cut through, to show the seed within,
through a Part °f * rlPe strawberry> enIar?ed : som<> °f the achenia shown cut

J!rG'T\ S'ice0Kfaf,artofabla^err}.. 290. One of the grains or drupes divided, more
enlarged ; showing the flesh, the stone, and the seed, as in Fig. 283.

130

THE FRUIT.

[lesson 20.

thin scales which fall off at the touch ; in the Sneezeweed, of about
five very thin scales, which look more like a calyx (Fig. 294) ; and
in the Thistle, Aster, Sow-Thistle (Fig. 295), and hundreds of others,
it is cut up into a tuft of fine bristles or hairs. This is called the
Pappus ; — a name which properly means the down like that of the
Thistle ; but it is applied to all these forms,
and to every other under which the limb of the
calyx of the " compound flowers " appears. In
Lettuce, Dandelion (Fig. 29 G), and the like,
the achenium as it matures tapers upwards
into a slender beak, like a stalk to the pappus.

350. A Utricle is the same as an achenium, but with a thin and
bladdery loose pericarp ; like that of the Goosefoot or Pigweed
(Fig. 297). When ripe it bursts open irregularly to
discharge the seed ; or sometimes it opens by a circular
line all round, the upper part falling off like a lid ; as in
the Amaranth (Fig. 298).

351. A Caryopsis, or Grain, differs from the last only
in the seed adhering to the thin pericarp
throughout, so that fruit and seed are in-
corporated into one body ; as in wheat, In-
dian corn, and other kinds of grain.

352. A Nut is a dry and indehiscent fruit,
commonly one-celled and one-seeded, with a hard, crus-
taceous, or bony wall, such as the cocoanut, hazelnut,
chestnut, and the acorn (Fig. 21, 299). Here the
involucre, in the form of a cup at the base, is called the Cvpnh. In
the Chestnut it forms the bur ; in the Hazel, a leafy husk.

FIG. 291. Achenium of Mayweed (no pappus). 292. That of Succory (its pappus a shal-
low cup). 293. Of Sunflower (pappus of two deciduous scales). 291. Of Sneezeweed (Ilele-
nium), with its pappus of five scales. 295. Of Sow-Thistle, with its pappus of delicate duwny
hairs. 29G. Of the Dandelion, its pappus raised on a long beak.

IG. 297. Utricle of the common Pigweed (Chenopodium album).

FIG. 298. Utricle (pyxis) of Amaranth, opening all round (circumcissile).

FIG. 299. Nut (acorn) of the Oak, with its cup (or cupule).

LESSON 20.]

ITS KINDS.

131

353. A Samara, or Kcy-frilit, is either a nut or an achenium, or any-
other indehiscent fruit, furnished with a wing, like that of the Maple
(Fig. 1), Ash (Fig. 300), and Elm (Fig. 301).

354. The Capsule, or Pod, is the general name for dry seed-vessels
which split or burst open at maturity.
But several sorts of pod are distin-
guished by particular names. Two of
them belong to simple pistils, namely,
the Follicle and the Legume.

355. The Follicle is a fruit of a simple
pistil opening along the inner suture
(307). The pods of the Prcony, Col-
umbine, Larkspur, Marsh-Marigold
(Fig. 302), and Milkweed are of this
kind. The seam along which
the follicle opens answers to
the edges of the pistil-leaf
(Fig. 251, 253).

356. The Legume or true
Pod, like the Pea-pod (Fig.
303), is similar to the follicle, only it opens by the outer as well as
the inner or ventral suture (307), that is, by what answers to the
midrib as well as by what answers to the united margins of the leaf.
It splits therefore into two pieces, which are called valves. The le-
gume belongs to plants of the Pulse family, which are accordingly
termed Leguminosce, that is, leguminous plants. So the fruits of this
family keep the name of legume, whatever their form, and whether
they open or not. A legume divided across into one-seeded joints,
which separate when ripe, as in Tick -Trefoil (Fig. 304), is named a
Loment.

357. The true Capsule is the pod of a compound pistil. Like the
ovary it resulted from, it may be one-celled, or it may have as many
cells as there are carpels in its composition. It may discharge its
seeds through chinks or pores, as in the Poppy, or burst irregularly
in some part, as in Lobelia and the Snapdragon ; but commonly it
splits open (or is dehiscent) lengthwise into regular pieces, called
valves.

FIG. 300. Samara or key of the White Ash. 301. Samara of the American Elm.

FIG. 302. Follicle of Marsh-Marigold (Caltha palustris).

FIG. 303. Legume of a Sweet Pea, opened.

FIG. 304. Loment or jointed legume of Tick-Trefoil (Uesiuvih'imi).

132

THE FRUIT.

[lesson 20.

358. Dehiscence of a pod resulting from a compound pistil, when
regular, takes place in one of two principal ways, which are best

shown in pods of two or three cells. Either the pod
splits open down the middle of the back of each cell,
when the dehiscence is loculicidal, as in Fig. 305 ; or
it splits through the partitions, after which each cell
generally opens at its inner angle, when it
is septicidal, as in Fig. 306. These names
are of Latin derivation, the first meaning
"cutting into the cells"; the second, "cut-
ting through the partitions." Of the first
sort, the Lily and Iris (Fig. 305) are good
examples ; of the second, the Rhododen-
dron, Azalea, and St. John's-wort. From
the structure of the pistil (305-311) the
student will readily see, that the line down
the back of each cell answers to the dorsal suture of the carpel ; so
that the pod opens by this when loculicidal, while it separates into
its component carpels, which open as follicles, when septicidal.
Some pods open both ways, and so split into twice as many valves
as the carpels of which they are formed.

359. In loculicidal dehiscence the valves naturally bear the par-
titions on their middle ; in the septicidal, half the thickness of a
partition is borne on the margin of each valve. See the diagrams,
Fig. 307-309. A variation of either mode sometimes occurs, as

shown in the diagram, Fig. 309, where the valves break away from
the partitions. This is called septifragal dehiscence ; and may be
seen in the Morning-Glory.

3 GO. Three remaining sorts of pods are distinguished by proper
names, viz. : —

FIG. 305. Capsule of Iris (with loculicidal dehiscence), below cut across.

FIG. 30(5. Pod of a Marsh St. John's-wort, witli septicidal dehiscence.

FIG. 307. Diagram of septicidal ; 308, of loculicidal ; and 309, of septifragal dehiscence.

LESSON 20.]

MULTIPLE FRUITS.

133

361. The Silique (Fig. 310), the peculiar pod of the Mustard fam-
ily ; which is two-celled by a false partition stretched across between
two parietal placentae. It generally opens by two valves
from below upwards, and the placenta? with the partition
are left behind when the valves fall off.

362. A Silicle or Pouch is only a short and broad silique,
like that of the Shepherd's Purse, of the Candy-tuft, &c.

363. The Pyxis is a pod which opens by a circular hori-
zontal line, the upper part forming a lid, as
in Purslane (Fig. 311), the Plantain, Hen-
bane, Sec. In these the dehiscence extends
all round, or is circumcissile. So it does
in Fig. 298, which represents a sort of one- 31°
seeded pyxis. In Jeffersonia or Twin-leaf, the line
does not separate quite round, but leaves a portion
to form a hinge to the lid.

364. Multiple or Collective Fruits (334) are, properly speaking,
masses of fruits, resulting from several or many blossoms, aggre-
gated into one body. The pine-apple,, mulberry, Osage-orange, and
the fig, are fruits of this kind. This latter is a peculiar form, how-
ever, being to a mulberry nearly what a Rose-hip is to a strawberry
(Fig. 279, 280), namely, with a hollow receptacle bearing the flowers
concealed inside ; and the whole eatable part is this pulpy common
receptacle, or hollow thickened flower-stalk.

365. A Strobile, or Cone (Fig. 314), is the pe-
culiar multiple fruit of Pines, Cypresses, and
the like ; hence named Coniferce, viz. cone-
bearing plants. As already shown (322), these
cones are made of open pistils, mostly in the
form of flat scales, regularly overlying each
other, and pressed together in a spike or head.
Each scale bears one or two naked seeds on its inner face. When
the cone is ripe and dry, the scales turn back or diverge, and the
seed peels off and falls, generally carrying with it a wing, which was
a part of the lining of the scale, and which facilitates the dispersion
of the seeds by the wind (Fig. 312, 313). In Arbor- Vita?, the scales

FIG. 310. Silique of Spring Cress (Cardamine rhomboidea), opening.
FIG. 311. The pyxis, or pod, of the common Purslane.

FIG. 313. Inside view of a scale from the cone of Pitch-Pine ; with one of the seeds
(Fi(;. 313) detached ; the other in its place on the scale.

12

134

THE SEED.

[LESSON 21.

of the small cone are few, and not very unlike the leaves (Fig. 2G5).
In Cypress they are very thick at the top and narrow at the base, so
as to make a peculiar sort of closed cone. In Juniper and Red Ce-
dar, the few scales of the very small cone become fleshy, and ripen
into a fruit which might be taken for a berry.

LESSON XXL

THE SEED.

366. The ovules (323), when they have an embr)-o (or unde-
veloped plantlet, 16) formed in them, become seeds.

367. The Seed, like the ovule from which it originates, consists
of its coats, or integuments, and a kernel.

368. The Sced-COatS are commonly two (324), the outer and the
inner. Fig. 315 shows the two, in a seed cut through
lengthwise. The outer coat is often hard or crustaceous,
whence it is called the Testa, or shell of the seed ; the
inner is thin and delicate.

369. The shape and the markings, so various in dif-
ferent seeds, depend mostly on the outer coat. Sometimes it fits

FIC 314. Cone of Pitcli-Pine (Pinus rigida).

FIG. 315. Seed of Bassvvood cut through lengthwise: a, the hilum or scar j b, the outer
eoat ; c, the inner ; d, the albumen ; e, the embryo.

LESSON 21.]

ITS COATS OK COVERINGS.

135

the kernel closely ; sometimes it is expanded into a icing, as in the
Trumpet-Creeper (Fig. 316), and occasionally this wing is cut up
into shreds or tufts, as in the Catalpa ; or instead of a
wing it may bear a coma, or tuft of long and soft hairs,
such as we find in the Milkweed or Silkweed (Fig. 317).
The object of wings or downy tufts is to render the seeds
buoyant, so that they may be widely dispersed by the
winds. This is clear, not only from their evident adap-
tation to this purpose, but also from the interesting fact
that winged and tufted seeds are found only in fruits that split open
at maturity, never in those that remain closed. The coat of some
seeds is beset with long hairs or wool. Cotton, one of
the most important vegetable products, — since it forms
the principal clothing of the larger part of the human
race, — consists of the long and woolly hairs which
thickly cover the whole surface of the seed. ' Certain
seeds have an additional, but more or less incomplete
covering, outside of the real seed-coats, called an

370. Aril, Or ArillllS. The loose and transparent bag
which encloses the seed of the White Water-Lily (Fig.
318) is of this kind. So is the mace of the nutmeg; and also the
scarlet pulp around the seeds of the Waxwork (Celastrus)
and Strawberry-bush (Euonymus), so ornamental in autumn,
after the pods burst. The aril is a growth from the ex-
tremity of the seed-stalk, or the placenta.

371. The names of the parts of the seed and of its kinds
are the same as in the ovule. The scar left where the seed-
stalk separates is called
the Whim. The orifice
of the ovule, now closed
up, and showing only a
small point or mark, is
named the Micropyle. The terms orthotropous, anatropous, &c.

FIG. 3in. A winged seed of the Trumpet-Creeper.

FIG. 317. Seed of Milkweed, with a coma or tuft of long silky hairs at one end.

FIG. 318. Seed of White Water-Lily, enclosed in its aril.

FIG. 319. Seed of a Violet (anatropous): a, hilum ; b, rhaphe ; c, chalaza.

FIG. 300. Seed of a Larkspur (also anatropous) ; the parts lettered as in the last.

FIG. 321. The same, cut through lengthwise: a, the hilum; c, chalaza; d, outer seed-
coat ; r, inner seed-coat ; /, the albumen ; g, the minute embryo.

FIG. 3->2. Seed of a St. JohnVwort, divided lengthwise ; here the whole kernel U
embryo.

136 THE SEED. [LESSON 21.

apply to seeds just as they do to ovules (325) ; and so do those
terms which express the direction of the ovule or the seed in the
cell ; such as erect, ascending, horizontal, pendulous, or suspended
(323) : therefore it is not necessary to explain them anew. The
accompanying figures (Fig. 319-322) show all the parts of the
most common kind of seed, namely, the anatropous.

372. The Kernel, Or Nucleus, is the whole body of the seed within the
coats. In many seeds the kernel is all Embryo ; in others a large
part of it is the Albumen.

373. The Albumen of the seed is an accumulation of nourishing
matter (starch, &c), commonly surrounding the embryo, and des-
tined to nourish it when it begins to grow, as was explained in the
earlier Lessons (30-32). It is the floury part of wheat, corn (Fig.
38, 39), buckwheat, and the like. But it is not always mealy in
texture. In Poppy-seeds it is oily. In the seeds of Pseony and
Barberry, and in the cocoanut, it is fleshy ; in coffee it is corneous
(that is, hard and tough, like horn) ; in the Ivory Palm it has the
hardness as well as the general appearance of ivory, and is now
largely used as a substitute for it in the fabrication of small objects.
However solid its texture, the albumen always softens and partly
liquefies during germination ; when a considerable portion of it is
transformed into sugar, or into other forms of fluid nourishment, on
which the growing embryo may feed.

374. The Embryo, or Germ, is the part to which all the rest of the
seed, and also the fruit and the flower, are subservient. When the
embryo is small and its parts little developed, the albumen is the
more abundant, and makes up the principal bulk of the seed, as in
Fig. 30, 321, 325. On the other hand, in many seeds there is no
albumen at all ; but the strong embryo forms the whole kernel ; as
in the Maple (Fig. 2, 3), Pumpkin (Fig. 9), Almond, Plum, and
Apple (Fig. 11, 12), Beech (Fig. 13), and the like. Then, what-
ever nourishment is needed to establish the plantlet in the soil is
stored up in the body of the embryo itself, mostly in its seed-leaves.
And these accordingly often become very large and thick, as in the
almond, bean, and pea (Fig. 16, 19), acorn (Fig. 21), chestnut, and
horsechestnut (Fig. 23, 24). Besides these, Fig. 25, 26, 30 to 37,
43, and 45 exhibit various common forms of the embryo ; and also
some of the ways in which it is placed in the albumen ; being
sometimes straight, and sometimes variously coiled up or packed
away.

LESSON 21.]

THE EMBRYO.

137

375. The embryo, being a rudimentary planflet, ready formed in
the seed, has only to grow and develop its parts to become a young
plant (15). Even in the seed these parts are generally distinguish-
able, and are sometimes very conspicuous ; as in a Pumpkin-seed, for
example (Fig. 323, 324). They are, first,

376. TllC Radicle, or rudimentary stemlet, which is sometimes long
and slender, and sometimes very short, as we may see in the numer-
ous figures already referred to. In the seed it always
points to the micropyle (371), or what answers to the
foramen of the ovule (Fig. 325, 32G). As to its po-
sition in the fruit, it is said to be inferior when it points
to the base of the pericarp, superior when it points to
its summit, &c. The base or free end of the radicle
gives rise to the root ; the other extremity bears

377. The Cotyledons or Sced-Leaves. With these in various forms we
have already become familiar. The number of
cotyledons has also been explained to be impor- / / iv
tant (32, 33). In Corn (Fig. 40), and in all A
Grasses, Lilies, and the like, we have a

Munocotyledonous embryo, namely, one fur-
nished with only a single cotyledon or seed-leaf. — Nearly all the
rest of our illustrations exhibit various forms of the

Dicotyledonous embryo ; namely, with a pair of cotyledons or seed-
leaves, always opposite each other. In the Pine family we find a

Polycotyledonous embryo (Fig. 45, 46) ; that is, one with several,
or more than two, seed-leaves, arranged in a circle or whorl.

378. TllC Plumule is the little bud, or rudiment of the next leaf or
pair of leaves after the seed-leaves. It appears at the summit of
the radicle, between the cotyledons when there is a pair of them,
as in Fig. 324, 14, 24, Sec. ; or the cotyledon when only one is
wrapped round it, as in Indian Corn, Fig. 40. In germination the
plumule develops upward, to form the ascending trunk or stem of
the plant, while the other end of the radicle grows downward,
and becomes the root.

FIG. 323. Embryo of tho Pumpkin, seen flatwise. 324. Same cut through and viewed
edgewise, enlarged : the small plumule seen between the cotyledons at their base.

FIG. 325. Seed of a Violet (Fig. 319) cut through, showing the embryo in the section,
edgewise ; being an anatropous seed, the radicle of tho straight embryo points down to the
base near the hiluni.

FIG. 326. Similar section of the orthotropous seed of Buckwheat. Here the radicle points
directly away from tho hilum, and to the apex of the seed; also the thin cotyledons happen
in this plant to be bent round into the same direction.
12*

138 HOW PLANTS GROW. [LESSON 22.

379. This completes the circle, and brings our vegetable history
round to its starting-point in the Second Lesson ; namely, The
Growth of the Plant from the Seed.

LESSON XXII.

HOW PLANTS GROW.

380. A plant grows from the seed, and from a tiny embryo, like
that of the Maple (Fig. 327), becomes perhaps a large tree, pro-
ducing every year a crop of seeds, to grow in their turn in the same
way. But how does the plant grow ? A little seedling, weighing
only two or three grains, often doubles its weight every week of its
early growth, and in time may develop into a huge bulk, of many
tons' weight of vegetable matter. How is this done ? What is vege-
table matter ? Where did it all come from ? And by what means
is it increased and accumulated in plants ? Such questions as these
will now naturally arise in any inquiring mind ; and we must try to
answer them.

381. Gl'OWtll is the increase of a living thing in size and substance.
It appears so natural to us that plants and animals should grow, that
people rarely think of it as requiring any explanation. They say
that a thing is so because it grew so. Still we wish to know how
the growth takes place.

382. Now, in the foregoing Lessons we explained the whole struc-
ture of the plant, with all its organs, by beginning with the seedling
plantlet, and following it onward in its development through the

FIG. 327. Germinating embryo of a Maple.

LESSON 22.] FORMATION OF THE EMBRYO.

139

f~?'.

whole course of vegetation (12, Sec). So, in attempting to learn
how this growth took place, it will be best to adopt the same plan,
and to commence with the commencement, that is, with the first
formation of a plant. This may seem not so easy, because we have
to begin with parts too small to be seen without a good microscope,
and requiring much skill to dissect and exhibit. But it is by no
means difficult to describe them ; and with the aid of a few figures
we may hope to make the whole mat-
ter clear.

383. The embryo in the ripe seed
is already a plant in miniature, as we
have learned in the Second, Third,
and Twenty-first Lessons. It is al-
ready provided with stem and leaves.
To learn how the plant began, there-
fore, we must go back to an earlier
period still ; namely, to the forma-
tion and

384. Growth of the Embryo itself.
For this purpose we return to the
ovule in the pistil of the flower (323).
During or soon after blossoming, a
cavity appears in the kernel or nu-
cleus of the ovule (Fig. 274, o), lined
with a delicate membrane, and so
forming a closed sac, named the
embryo-sac (s). In this sac or cav-
ity, at its upper end (viz. at the
end next the orifice of the ovule),
appears a roundish little vesicle or
bladder-like body (v), perhaps less
than one thousandth of an inch in

diameter. This is the embryo, or rudimentary new plant, at its
very beginning. But this vesicle never becomes anything more
than a grain of soft pulp, unless the ovule has been acted upon by
the pollen.

FIG. 358. Magnified pistil of Buckwheat ; the ovary and ovule divided lengthwise : some
pollen on the stigmas, one grain distinctly showing its tube, which penetrates the style, re-
appears in the cavity of the ovary, enters the mouth of the ovule (o), and reaches the sur-
face of the embryo-sac («>, near the embryonal vesicle («).

140

HOW PLANTS GROW.

[lesson 22.

385. The pollen (297) which falls upon the stigma grows there
in a peculiar way : its delicate inner coat extends into a tube (the
pollen-tube), which sinks into the loose tissue of the stigma and
the interior of the style, something as the root of a seedling
sinks into the loose soil, reaches the cavity of the ovary, and at
length penetrates the orifice of an ovule. The point of the pollen-
329 tube reaches the surface of the embryo-sac, and in

some unexplained way causes a particle of soft pulpy
or mucilaginous matter (Fig. 328) to form a mem-
branous coat and to expand into a vesicle, which is
the germ of the embryo.

386. This vesicle (shown detached and more mag-
nified in Fig. 329) is a specimen of what botanists call
a Cell. Its wall of very delicate membrane encloses a
mucilaginous liquid, in which there are often some
minute grains, and commonly a larger soft mass
(called its nucleus).

387. Growth takes place by this vesicle or cell,
after enlarging to a certain size, dividing by the for-
mation of a cross partition into two such cells, co-
hering together (Fig. 330) ; one of these into two
more (Fig. 331) ; and these repeating the process
by partitions formed in both directions (Fig. 332) ;
forming a cluster or mass of cells, essentially like the

first, and all proceeding from it. After increasing in number for

some time in this way, 233

and by a continuation of A

the same process, the em- M

bryo begins to shape it- (J ' f

self; the upper end forms / ^

the radicle or root-end,

while the other end shows a notch between two lobes (Fig. 333),

these lobes become the cotyledons or seed-leaves, and the embryo

as it exists in the seed is at length completed (Fig. 336)

FIG. 329. Vesicle or first cell of the embryo, with a portion of the summit of the embryo-
sac, detached. 33(1. Same, more advanced, divided into two cells. 331. Same, a little far-
ther advanced, consisting of three cells. 332. Same, still more advanced, consisting of a
little mass of young cells.

FIG. 333. Forming embryo of Buckwheat, moderately magnified, showing a nick at tho
end where the cotyledons are to be. 334. Same, more advanced in growth. 335. Same,
still farther advanced. 336. The completed embryo, displayed and straightened out; the
same as shown in a section when folded together in Fig. 326.

LESSON 22.]

GROWTH OF THE PLANTLET.

141

388. The Growth Of the Plailtlet when it springs from the seed is
only a continuation of the same process. The bladder-like cells of
which the embryo consists multiply in number by the repeated
division of each cell into two. And the plantlet is merely the ag-
gregation of a vastly larger number of these cells. This may be
clearly ascertained by magnifying any part of a young plantlet. The
young root, being more transparent
than the rest, answers the purpose
best. Fig. 5G, on page 30, repre-
sents the end of the rootlet of Fig.
55, magnified enough to show the
cells that form the surface. Fig.
337 and 338 are two small bits of
the surface more highly magnified,
showing the cells still larger. And
if we make a thin slice through the
young root both lengthwise and
crosswise, and view it under a good
microscope (Fig. 340), we may per-
ceive that the whole interior is made up of just such cells.
the same with the young stem and the leaves (Fig. 355,
It is essentially the same in the full-grown herb and the tree.

389. So the plant is an aggregation of countless millions of little
vesicles, or cells (Fig. 339), as they are called, essentially like the

cell it began with in the formation of the embryo (Fig.
329) ; and this first cell is the foundation of the whole
structure, or the ancestor of all the rest. And a plant
is a kind of structure, built up of these individual cells,
something as a house is built of bricks, — only the
bricks or cells are not brought to the forming plant,
but are made in it and by it; or, to give a better
comparison, the plant is constructed much as a honeycomb is built
up of cells, — only the plant constructs itself, and shapes its own
materials into fitting forms.

390. And vegetable growth consists of two things ; — 1st, the ex-
pansion of each cell until it gets its full size (which is commonly not
more than ^^ of an inch in diameter) ; and 2d, the multiplication

FIG. 337. Tissue from the rootlet of a seedling Maple, magnified, showing root-haira.
338. A small portion, more magnified.
FIG. 339. One cell, like those of Fig. 340, detached.

333

It is
357).

142

VEGETABLE FABRIC.

[lesson 23.

of the cells in number. It is by the latter, of course, that the prin-
cipal increase of plants in bulk takes place.

LESSON XXIII.

VEGETABLE FABRIC : CELLULAR TISSUE.

391. Organic Structure. A mineral — such as a crystal of spar, or
a piece of marble — may be divided into smaller and still smaller
pieces, and yet the minutest portion that can be seen with the mi-
croscope will have all the characters of the larger body, and be
capable of still further subdivision, if we had the means of doing it,
into just such particles, only of smaller size. A plant may also be
divided into a number of similar parts : first into branches ; then
each branch or stem, into joints or similar parts (34), each with its
leaf or pair of leaves. But if we divide these into pieces, the pieces
are not all alike, nor have they separately the properties of the
whole ; they are not whole things, but fragments or slices.

392. If now, under the microscope, we subdivide a leaf, or a piece
of stem or root, we come down in the same way to the set of similar
things it is made of, — to cavities with closed walls, — to Cells, as we
call them (386), essentially the same everywhere, however they may
vary in shape. These are the units, or the elements of which every
part consists ; and it is their growth and their multiplication which

FIG. 340. View of a little cellular tissue of a rootlet, cut crosswise and lengthwise.

LESSON 23.] CELLULAR TISSUE. 143

make the growth of the plant, as was shown in the last Lesson.
We cannot divide them into similar smaller parts having the prop-
erties of the whole, as we may any mineral body. We may cut
them in pieces ; but the pieces are only mutilated parts of a cell.
This is a peculiarity of organic things (2, 3) : it is organic structure.
Being composed of cells, the main structure of plants is called

393. Cellular Tissue. The cells, as they multiply, build up the
tissues or fabric of the plant, which, as we have said (389), may be
likened to a wall or an editice built of bricks, or still better to a
honeycomb composed of ranges of cells (Fig. 340).

394. The walls of the cells are united where they touch each
other ; and so the partition appears to be a simple membrane,
although it is really double ; as may be shown by boiling the tissue
a few minutes and then pulling the parts asunder. And in soft fruits
the cells separate in ripening, although they were perfectly united
into a tissue, when green, like that of Fig 340.

395 In that figure the cells fit together perfectly, leaving no
interstices, except a very small space at some of the corners.
But in most leaves, the cells are loosely heaped together, leaving
spaces or passages of all sizes (Fig. 356) ; and in the leaves and
stems of aquatic and marsh plants, in particular, the cells are built
up into narrow partitions, which form the sides of large and regular
canals or passages (as shown in Fig. 341). These passages form
the holes or cavities so conspicuous on cutting across any of these
plants, and which are always filled with air. They may be likened
to a stack of chimneys, built up of cells in place of bricks.

396. When small and irregular, the interstices are called inter-
cellular spaces (that is, spaces between the cells). When large and
regular, they are named intercellular passages or air-passages.

397. It will be noticed that in slices of the root, stem, or any tissue
where the cells are not partly separate, the boundaries of the cells
are usually more or less six-sided, like the cells of a honeycomb ;
and this is apt to be the case in whatever direction the slice is made,
whether crosswise, lengthwise, or obliquely. The reason of this is
easy to see. The natural figure of the cell is globular. Cells which
are not pressed upon by others are generally round or roundish
(except when they grow in some particular direction), as we see in
the green pulp of many leaves. When a quantity of spheres (such,
for instance, as a pile of cannon-balls) are heaped up, each one in the
interior of the heap is touched by twelve others. If the spheres be

144 VEGETABLE FABRIC. [LESSON 23.

soft and yielding, as young cells are, when pressed together they will
become twelve-sided, like that in Fig. 339. And a section in any
direction will be six-sided, as are the meshes in Fig. 340.

398. The size of the common cells of plants varies from about
the thirtieth to the thousandth of an inch in diameter. An ordinary
size is from ^fa to ^g of an inch ; so that there may generally be
from 27 to 125 millions of cells in the compass of a cubic inch !

399. Now when it is remembered that many stems shoot up at
the rate of an inch or two a day, and sometimes of three or four
inches, knowing the size of the cells, we may form some conception
of the rapidity of their formation. The giant Puff-ball has been
known to enlarge from an inch or so to nearly a foot in diameter
in a single night ; but much of this is probably owing to expansion.
"We take therefore a more decisive, but equally extraordinary case,
in the huge flowering stem of the Century-Plant. After waiting
many years, or even for a century, to gather strength and materials
for the effort, Century-Plants in our conservatories send up a flow-
ering stalk, which grows day after day at the rate of a foot in twenty-
four hours, and becomes about six inches in diameter. This, sup-
posing the cells to average 3^ of an inch in diameter, requires the
formation of over twenty thousand millions of cells in a day !

400. The walls of the cells are almost always colorless. The
green color of leaves and young bark, and all the brilliant hues of
flowers, are due to the contents of the cells, seen through their more
or less transparent walls.

401. At first the walls are always very thin. In all soft parts
they remain so ; but in other cases they thicken on the inside and
harden, as we see in the stone of stone-fruits, and in all hard wood
(Fig. 345). Sometimes this thickening continues until the cell is
nearly filled up solid.

402. The walls of cells are perfectly closed and whole, at least in
all young and living cells. Those with thickened walls have thin
places, indeed ; but there are no holes opening from one cell into
another. And yet through these closed cells the sap and all the
juices are conveyed from one end of the plant to the other.

403. Vegetable cells may vary widely in shape, particularly when
not combined into a tissue or solid fabric. The hairs of plants, for
example, are cells drawn out into tubes, or are composed of a row
of cells, growing on the surface. Cotton consists of simple long hairs
on the coat of the seed ; and these hairs are single cells. The hair-

LESSON 24.] WOOD. 145

like bodies which abound on young roots are very slender projec-
tions of some of the superficial cells, as is seen in Fig. 337. Even
the fibres of wood, and what are called vessels in plants, are only
peculiar forms or transformations of cells.

LESSON XXIV.

VEGETABLE FABRIC : WOOD.

404. Cellular tissue, such as described in the last Lesson,
makes up the whole structure of all very young plants, and the
whole of Mosses and other vegetables of the lowest grade, even
when full grown. But this fabric is too tender or too brittle to
give needful strength and toughness for plants which are to rise to
any considerable height and support themselves. So all such plants
have also in their composition more or less of

405. Wood. This is found in all common herbs, as well as in
shrubs and trees ; only there is not so much of it in proportion to
the softer cellular tissue. It is formed very early in the growth of
the root, stem, and leaves ; traces of it appearing in large embryos
even while yet in the seed.

406. Wood is likewise formed of cells, — of cells which at first
are just like those that form the soft parts of plants. But early in
their growth, some of these lengthen and at the same time thicken
their walls ; these are what is called Woody Fibi-e or Wood- Cells ;
others grow to a greater size, have thin walls with various markings
upon them, and often run together end to end so as to form pretty

FIG. 341. Part of a slice across the stem of the Calla iEthiopica, magnified .

13

146

VEGETABLE FABRIC.

[LESSON 24.

large tubes, comparatively ; these are called Ducts, or sometimes
Vessels. Wood almost always consists of both woody fibres and ducts,

variously intermingled, and combined
into bundles or threads which run
lengthwise through the root and stem,
and are spread out to form the frame-
work of the leaves (136). In trees
and shrubs they are so numerous and
crowded together, that they make a

k solid mass of wrood. In herbs they
are fewer, and often scattered. That
is all the difference.

407. The porosity of some kinds of
wood, which is to be seen by the naked
eye, as in mahogany and Oak-wood, is
owing to a large sort of ducts. These
generally contain air, except in very

' young parts, and in the spring of the
year, when they are often gorged with
sap, as we see in a wounded Grape-
vine, or in the trunk of a Sugar-Maple
at that time. But in woody plants
through the season, the sap is usually
carried up from the roots to the leaves
by the
408. Wood-Cells, or Woody Fibre. (Fig. 342-345.) These are

small tubes, commonly between one and two thousandths, but in
Pine-wood sometimes two or three hundredths, of an inch in diam-
eter. Those from the tough bark of the Basswood, shown in Fig.
342, are only the fifteen-hundredth of an inch wide. Those of But-
tonwrood (Fig. 345) are larger, and are here highly magnified be-
sides. They also show the way wood-cells are commonly put to-
gether, namely, with their tapering ends overlapping each other, —
spliced together, as it were, — thus giving more strength and tough-
ness to the stem, &c.

FIG. 342. Two wood-cells from the inner or fibrous bark of the Linden or Basswood.
343. Some tissue of the wood of the same, viz. wood-cells, and below (</) a portion of a
spirally marked duct. 344. A separate wood-cell. All equally magnified.

FIG. 345. Some wood-cells of Buttonwood, highly magnified : a, thin spots in the
walls, looking like holes ; on the right-hand side, where the walla are cut through, these
(6) are seen in profile.

LESSON 24.]

WOOD.

147

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409. In hard woods, such as Hickory, Oak, and Buttonwood (Fig.
345), the walls of these tubes are very thick, as well as dense ; while
in soft woods, such as White-Pine and Basswood, they are pretty thin.

410. Wood-cells, like other cells (at least when young and living),
have no openings ; each has its own cavity, closed and independent.
They do not form anything like a set of pipes opening one into an-
other, so as to convey an unbroken stream of sap through the plant,
in the way people generally suppose. The contents can pass from one
cell to another only by getting through the partitions in some way or
other. And so short are the individual wood-
cells generally, that, to rise a foot in such a tree
as the Basswood, the sap has to pass through
about two thousand partitions !

411. But although there are no holes (ex-
cept by breaking away when old), there are
plenty of thin places, which look like perfora-
tions ; and through these the sap is readily trans-
ferred from one cell to another, in a manner to
be explained further on (487). Some of them 346 ' 347
are exhibited in Fig. 345, both as looked directly down upon, when
they appear as dots or holes, and in profile where the cells are cut
through. The latter view shows what they really are, namely, very
thin places in the thickness of the wall ; and also that a thin place in
one cell exactly corresponds to one in the contiguous wall of the next
cell. In the wood of the Pine family, these thin spots are much
larger, and are very conspicuous in a thin slice of wood under the
microscope (Fig. 346, 347) ; — forming stamps impressed as it were
upon each fibre of every tree of this great family, by which it may
be known even in the smallest fragment of its wood.

412. Wood-cells in the bark are generally longer, finer, and
tougher than those of the proper wood, and appear more like fibres.
For example, Fig. 344 represents a cell of the wood of Basswood,
of average length, and Fig. 342 one (and part of another) of the
fibrous bark, both drawn to the same scale. As these long cells
form the principal part of fibrous bark, or bast, they are named Bast-
cells or Bast-Jibres. These give the great toughness to the inner
bark of Basswood (i. e. Bast-wood) and of Leatherwood ; and they

FIG. 346. A bit of Pine-shaving, highly magnified, showing the large circular thin spots
of the wall of the wood-cells. 317. A separate wood-cell, more magnified, the varying thick-
ness of the wall at these spots showing as rings.

148

VEGETABLE FABRIC.

[LESSON 24.

furnish the invaluable fibres of flax and hemp ; the wood of the
stem being tender, brittle, and destroyed by the processes which
separate for use the tough and slender bast-cells.

413. Ducts (Fig. 348-350) are larger than wood-cells, some of
them having a calibre large enough to be seen by the naked eye,

when cut across (407), although
they are usually much too small
for this. They are either long
single cells, or are formed of a row
of cells placed end to end. Fig.
349, a piece of a large dotted duct,
and two of the ducts in Fig. 350,
show this by their joints, which
mark the boundaries of the several
cells they are composed of.
The walls of ducts under the microscope display various
kinds of markings. In what are called

Dotted Ducts (Fig. 348, 349), which are the commonest and the
largest of all, — their cut ends making the visible porosity of Oak-
wood, — the whole wall is apparently riddled with holes ; but until
they become old, these are only thin places.

Spiral Ducts, or Spiral Vessels, also the varieties of these called
Annular or Banded Ducts (Fig. 350), are marked by a delicate fibre
spirally coiled, or by rings or bands, thickening the wall. In the
genuine spiral duct, the thread may be uncoiled, tearing the trans-
parent wall in pieces ; — as may be seen by breaking most young
shoots, or the leaves of Strawberry or Amaryllis, and pulling the
broken ends gently asunder, uncoiling these gossamer threads in
abundance. In Fig. 355, some of these various sorts of ducts or
vessels are shown in their place in the wood.

415. Milk- Vessels, Turpentine- Vessels, Oil-Receptacles, and the
like, are generally canals or cavities formed between or among the
cells, and filled with the particular products of the plant.

FIG. 348. Part of a dotted duct from a Grape-vine. 349. A similar one, evidently com-
posed of a row of cells. 350. Part of a bundle of spiral and annular ducts from the stem
of Polygonum orientale, or Princes' Feather. All highly magnified.

LESSON 25.] ANATOMY OF THE ROOT. 149

LESSON XXV.

ANATOMY OF THE ROOT, STEM, AND LEAVES.

416. Having in the last preceding Lessons learned what the
materials of the vegetable fabric are, we may now briefly consider
how they are put together, and how they act in carrying on the
plant's operations.

417. The root and the stem are so much alike in their internal
structure, that a description of the anatomy of the latter will answer
for the former also.

418. The Structure Of the Rootlets, however, or the tip of the root,
demands a moment's attention. The tip of the root is the newest
part, and is constantly renewing itself so long as the plant is active
(G7). It is shown magnified in Fig. 56, and is the same in all rootlets
as in the first root of the seedling. The new roots, or their new
parts, are mainly concerned in imbibing moisture from the ground ;
and the newer they are, the more actively do they absorb. The ab-
sorbing ends of l'oots are entirely composed of soft, new, and very
thin-walled cellular tissue ; it is only farther back that some wood-
cells and ducts are found. The moisture (and probably also air)
presented to them is absorbed through the delicate walls, which, like
those of the cells in the interior, are destitute of openings or pores
visible even under the highest possible magnifying power.

419. But as the rootlet grows older, the cells of its external layer
harden their walls, and form a sort of skin, or epidermis (like that
which everywhere covers the stem and foliage above ground), which
greatly checks absorption. Roots accordingly cease very actively to
imbibe moisture almost as soon as they stop growing (67).

420. Many of the cells of the surface of young rootlets send out a
prolongation in the form of a slender hair-like tube, closed of course
at the apex, but at the base opening into the cavity of the cell.
These tubes or root-hairs (shown in Fig. 55 and 56, and a few of
them, more magnified, in Fig. 337 and 338), sent out in all direc-
tions into the soil, vastly increase the amount of absorbing surface
which the root presents to it.

421. Structure Of the Stem (also of the body of the root). At the
beginning, when the root and stem spring from the seed, they consist

13*

150

ANATOMY OF ENDOGENOUS

[LESSON 25.

almost entirely of soft and tender cellular tissue. But as they grow,
wood begins at once to be formed in them.

422. This woody material is arranged in the stem in two very
different ways in different plants, making two sorts of wood. One
sort we see in a Palm-stem, a rattan, and a Corn-stalk (Fig. 351) ;
the other we are familiar with in Oak, Maple, and all our common
kinds of wood. In the first, the wood is made up of separate threads,
scattered here and there throughout the whole diameter of the stem.
In the second the wood is all collected to form a layer (in a slice
across appearing as a ring) of wood, between a central cellular part
which has none in it, the Pith, and an outer cellular part, the Bark.
This last is the plan of all our Northern trees and shrubs, and of the
greater part of our herbs. The first kind is

423. The Endogenous Stein ; so named from two Greek words mean-
ing " inside-growing," because, when it lasts from year to year, the

new wood which is added is interspersed among
the older threads of wood, and in old stems the
hardest and oldest wood is near the surface, and
the youngest and softest towards the centre. All
the plants represented in Fig. 47, on p. 19, (ex-
cept the anomalous Cycas,) are examples of En-
dogenous stems. And all such belong to plants
with only one cotyledon or seed-leaf to the em-
bryo (32). Botanists therefore call them Endoge-
nous or MonocotylMonous Plants, using sometimes
one name, and sometimes the other. Endogenous
stems have no separate pith in the centre, no distinct bark, and no
layer or ring of wood between these two ; but the threads of wood
are scattered throughout the whole, without any particular order.
This is very different from

424. The Exogenous Stem, the one we have most to do with, since
all our Northern trees and shrubs are constructed on this plan. It
belongs to all plants which have two cotyledons to the embryo (or
more than two, such as Pines, 33) ; so that we call these either
Exogenous or Dicotyledonous Plants (16), accordingly as we take
the name from the stem or from the embryo.

425. In the Exogenous stem, as already stated, the wood is all
collected into one zone, surrounding a pith of pure cellular tissue in
the centre, and surrounded by a distinct and separable bark, the

FIG. 351. Section of a Corn-stalk (an endogenuis stem), both crosswise and lengthwise.

LESSON 25.]

AND EXOGENOUS STEMS.

151

outer part of which is also cellular. This structure is very familiar
in common wood. It is really just the same in the stem of an herb,
only the wood is much less in quantity. Compare, for
instance, a cross-section of the stem of Flax (Fig. 352)
with that of a shoot of Maple or Horsechestnut of
the same age. In an herb, the wood at the beginning
consists of separate threads or little wedges of wood ;
but these, however few and scattered they may be, are
all so placed in the
stem as to mark out
a zone (or in the
cross-section a ring)
of wood, dividing the
pith within from the
bark without.

426. The accompa-
nying figures (which
are diagrams rather
than exact delinea-
tions) may serve to
illustrate the anat-
omy of a woody
exogenous stem, of
one year old. The
parts are explained
in the references be-
low. In the centre is
the Pith. Surround-
ing this is the layer
of Wood, consisting both of wood-cells and of ducts or vessels. From
the pith to the bark on all sides run a set of narrow plates of cellular
tissue, called Medullary Hays : these make the silver-grain of wood.
On the cross-section they appear merely as narrow lines ; but in
wood cut lengthwise parallel to them, their faces show as glimmer-

FIG. 352. Cross-section of the stem of Flax, showing its bark, wood, and pith.

FIG. 353. Piece of a stem of Soft Maple, of a year old, cut crosswise and lengthwise.

FIG. 354. A portion of the same, magnified.

FIG. 355. A small piece of the same, taken from one side, reaching from the bark to the
pith, and highly magnified : a, a small bit of the pith ; i, spiral ducts of what is called the
medullary sheath ; c, the wood ; d, d, dotted ducts in the wood ; e, e, annular ducts ; /, the liber
or inner bark ; g, the green bark ; h, the corky layer ; i, the skin, or epidermis ; /, one of the
medullary rays, or plates of silver-grain, seen on the cross-section.

152 ANATOMY OP THE [LESSON 25.

ing plates, giving a peculiar appearance to Oak, Maple, and other
wood with large medullary rays.

427. The Bark covers and protects the wood. At first it is all
cellular, like the pith ; but soon some slender woody fibres, called
bast-cells (Fig. 342), generally appear in it, next the wood, forming

The Liber, or Fibrous Bark, the inner bark ; to which belongs the
fine fibrous bast or bass of Basswood, and the tough and slender fibres
of flax and hemp, which are spun and woven, or made into cordage.
In the Birch and Beech the inner bark has few if any bast-cells in
its composition.

The Cellular or Outer Bark consists of cellular tissue only. It is
distinguished into two parts, an inner and an outer, viz. : —

The Green Bark, or Green Layer, which consists of tender cells,
containing the same green matter as the leaves, and serving the
same purpose. In the course of the first season, in woody stems, this
becomes covered with

The Corky Layer, so named because it is the same substance as
cork ; common cork being the thick corky layer of the bark of the
Cork-Oak, of Spain. It is this which gives to the stems or twigs of
shrubs and trees the aspect and the color peculiar to each ; namely,
light gray in the Ash, purple in the Red Maple, red in several Dog-
woods, &c. Lastly,

The Epidermis, or skin of the plant, consisting of a layer of thick-
sided empty cells, covers the whole.

428. Growth of the Stem year after year, So much for an exogenous
stem only one year old. The stems of herbs perish at the end of the
season. But those of shrubs and trees make a new growth every
year. It is from their mode of growth in diameter that they take the
name of exogenous, i. e. outside-growing. The second year, such a
stem forms a second layer of wood outside of the first ; the third year,
another outside of that ; and so on, as long as the tree lives. So that
the trunk of an exogenous tree, when cut off at the base, exhibits as
many concenti*ic rings of wood as it is years old. Over twelve hun-
dred layers have actually been counted on the stump of an aged tree,
such as the Giant Cedar or Redwood of California ; and there are
doubtless some trees now standing in various parts of the world which
were already in existence at the beginning of the Christian era.

429. As to the bark, the green layer seldom' grows much after the
first season. Sometimes the corky layer grows and forms new
layers, inside of the old, for a good many years, as in the Cork-Oak,

LESSON 25.] EXOGENOUS STEJI. 153

the Sweet Gum-tree, and the White and the Paper Birch. But it
all dies after a while ; and the continual enlai'gement of the wood
within finally stretches it more than it can bear, and sooner or later
cracks and rends it, while the weather acts powerfully upon its
surface ; so the older bark perishes and falls away piecemeal year
by year.

430. But the inner bark, or liber, does make a new growth an-
nually, as long as the tree lives, inside of that formed the year before,
and next the surface of the wood. More commonly the liber occurs
in the form of thin layers, which may be distinctly counted, as in
Bass wood : but this is not always the case. After the outer bark
is destroyed, the older and dead layers of the inner bark are also
exposed to the weather, are riven or split into fragments, and fall
away in succession. In many trees the bark acquires a considerable
thickness on old trunks, although all except the innermost portion is
dead ; in others it falls off more rapidly ; in the stems of Honey-
suckles and Grape-vines, the bark all separates and hangs in loose
shreds when only a year or two old.

431. Sap-wood. In the wood, on the contrary, — owing to its
growing on the outside alone, — the older layers are quietly buried
under the newer ones, and protected by them from all disturbance.
All the wood of the young sapling may be alive, and all its cells
or woody tubes active in carrying up the sap from the roots to the
leaves. It is all Sap-ivood or Alburnum, as young and fresh wood
is called. But the older layers, removed a step farther every year
from the region of growth, — or rather the zone of growth every
year removed a step farther from them, — soon cease to bear much,
if any, part in the circulation of the tree, and probably have long
before ceased to be alive. Sooner or later, according to the kind of
tree, they are turned into

432. Heart-wood, which we know is drier, harder, more solid, and
much more durable as timber, than sap-wood. It is generally of a
different color, and it exhibits in different species the hue peculiar
to each, such as reddish in Red-Cedar, brown in Black-Walnut,
black in Ebony, &c. The change of sap-wood into heart-wood re-
sults from the thickening of the walls of the wood-cells by the depo-
sition of hard matter, lining the tubes and diminishing their calibre ;
and by the deposition of a vegetable coloring-matter peculiar to each
species.

433. The heart-wood, being no longer a living part, may decay,

154 ANATOMY OF THE STEM [LESSON 25.

and often does so, without the least injury to the tree, except by im-
pairing the strength of the trunk, and so rendering it more liable to
be overthrown.

434. The living Paris Of a Tree, of the exogenous kind, are only
these : first, the rootlets at one extremity ; second, the buds and
leaves of the season at the other ; and third, a zone consisting of
the newest wood and the newest bark, connecting the rootlets with
the buds or leaves, however widely separated these may be, — in
the largest trees from two to four hundred feet apart. And these
parts of the tree are all renewed every year. No wonder, there-
fore, that trees may live so long, since they annually reproduce
everything that is essential to their life and growth, and since only
a very small part of their bulk is alive at once. The tree sur-
vives, but nothing now living has existed long. In it, as elsewhere,
life is a transitory thing, ever abandoning the old, and displaying
itself afresh in the new.

435. Cambium-Layer. The new growth in the stem, by which it
increases in diameter year after year, is confined to a narrow line
between the wood and the inner bark. Cambium is the old name
for the mucilage which is so abundant between the bark and the
wood in spring. It was supposed to be poured out there, and that
the bark really separated from the wood at this time. This is not
the case. The newest bark and wood are still united by a delicate
tissue of young and forming cells, — called the Cambium-layer, —
loaded with a rich mucilaginous sap, and so tender that in spring
the bark may be raised from the wood by the slightest force.
Here, nourished by this rich mucilage, new cells are rapidly form-
ing by division (387-390) ; the inner ones are added to the wood,
and the outer to the bark, so producing the annual layers of the
two, which are ever renewing the life of the trunk.

436. At the same time new rootlets, growing in a similar way, are
extending the roots beneath ; and new shoots, charged with new buds,
annually develop fresh crops of leaves in the air above. Only,
while the additions to the wood and bark remain as a permanent
portion of the tree, or until destroyed by decay, the foliage is tem-
porary, the crop of leaves being annually thrown off after they have
served their purpose.

437. Structure of the Leaf. Leaves also consist both of a woody
and a cellular part (135). The woody part is the framework of ribs
and veins, which have already been described in full (136-147).

LESSON 25.] AND LEAVES. 155

They serve not only to strengthen the leaf, but also to bring in the
ascending sap, and to distribute it by the veinlets throughout every
part. The cellular portion is the green pulp, and is nearly the same
as the green layer of the bark. So that the leaf may properly
enough be regarded as a sort of expansion of the fibrous and green
layers of the bark. It has of course no corky layer ; but the whole
is covered by a transparent skin or epidermis, resembling that of
the stem.

438. The green pulp consists of cells of various forms, usually
loosely arranged, so as to leave many irregular spaces, or air-pas-
sages, communicating with each other throughout the whole interior
of the leaf (Fig. 356). The green color is owing to a peculiar
green matter lying loose in the cells, in form of minute grains,

named Chlorophyll (i. e. the green of ~z^7— \i — u — 1| — ir— ir~ \i '

leaves). It is this substance, seen
through the transparent walls of the
cells where it is accumulated, which
gives the common green hue to vege-
tation, and especially to foliage.

439. The green pulp in most leaves
forms two principal layers ; an upper
one, facing the sky, and an under one,
facing the ground. The upper one is
always deeper green in color than the lower. This is partly owing,
perhaps, to a greater amount of chlorophyll in the upper cells, but
mainly to the more compact arrangement of these cells. As is seen
in Fig. 356 and 357, the cells of the upper side are oblong or cylin-
drical, and stand endwise to the surface of the leaf, usually close to-
gether, leaving hardly any vacant spaces. Those of the lower part
of the leaf are apt to be irregular in shape, most of them with their
longer diameter parallel to the face of the leaf, and are very loosely
arranged, leaving many and wide air-chambers. The green color
underneath is therefore diluted and paler.

440. In many plants which grow where they are subject to
drought, and which hold their leaves during the dry season (the
Oleander for example), the greater part of the thickness of the leaf
consists of layers of long cells, placed endwise and very much com-

FIG. 356. Section through the thickness of a leaf of the Star-Anise (Illiciuin), of Florida,
magnified. The upper and the lower layers of thick-walled and empty cells represent tho
epidermis or skin. All those between are cells of the green pulp, containing grains of
chlorophyll.

156 ANATOMY OF THE LEAVES. [LESSON 25.

pacted, so as to expose as little surface as possible to the direct action
of the hot sun. On the other hand, the leaves of marsh plants, and
of others not intended to survive a drought, have their cells more
loosely arranged throughout. In such leaves the epidermis, or skin,
is made of only one layer of cells ; while in the Oleander, and the
like, it consists of three or four layers of hard and thick-walled cells.
In all this, therefore, we plainly see an arrangement for tempering
the action of direct sunshine, and for restraining a too copious evap-
oration, which would dry up and destroy the tender cells, at least
when moisture is not abundantly supplied through the roots.

441. That the upper side of the leaf alone is so constructed as to
bear the sunshine, is shown by what happens when their position is
reversed : then the leaf soon twists on its stalk, so as to turn again
its under surface away from the light ; and when prevented from
doing so, it perishes.

442. A large part of the moisture which the roots of a growing
plant are constantly absorbing, after being carried up through the
stem, is evaporated from the leaves. A Sunflower-plant, a little
over three feet high, and with between five and six thousand square
inches of surface in foliage, <fcc, has been found to exhale twenty or
thirty ounces (between one and two pints) of water in a day. Some
part of this, no doubt, flies off through the walls of the epidermis or
skin, at least in sunshine and dry weather ; but no considerable por-
tion of it. The very object of this skin is to restrain evaporation.
The greater part of the moisture exhaled escapes from the leaf
through the

443. Stomates or BreatWng-poreS. These are small openings through
the epidermis into the air-chambers, establishing a direct commu-
nication between the whole interior of the leaf and the external air.
Through these the vapor of water and air can freely escape, or
enter, as the case may be. The aperture is guarded by a pair of
thin-walled cells, — resembling those of the green pulp within, —
which open when moist so as to allow exhalation to go on, but
promptly close when dry, so as to arrest it before the interior of the
leaf is injured by the dryness.

444. Like the air-chambers, the breathing-pores belong mainly to
the under side of the leaf. In the White Lily, — where they are
unusually large, and easily seen by a simple microscope of mod-
erate power, — there are about 60,000 to the square inch on the
epidermis of the lower surface of the leaf, and only about 3,000 in

LESSON 26.]

THE PLANT IN ACTION.

157

the same space of the upper surface. More commonly there are few
or none on the upper side ; direct sunshine evidently being unfavor-
able to their operation. Their immense numbers make up for their
minuteness. They are said to vary from less than 1,000 to 170,000
to the square inch of surface. In the Apple-tree, where they are
under the average as to number, there are about 24,000 to the
square inch of the lower surface ; so that each leaf has not far from
100,000 of these openings or mouths.

LESSON XXVI.

THE PLANT IN ACTION, DOING THE WORK OF VEGETATION.

445. Being now acquainted with the machinery of the plant, we
naturally proceed to inquire what the use of it is, and how it works.

446. It has already been stated, in the first of these Lessons (7),
that the great work of plants is to change inorganic into organic
matter ; that is, to take portions of earth and air, — of mineral mat-
ter, — upon which animals cannot live at all, and to convert them

FIG. 357. Portion of a White-Lily leaf, cut through and magnified, showing a section of
the thickness, and also a part of the skin of the lower side, with some breathing-pores.

14

158 THE PLANT IN ACTION. [LESSON 26.

into something upon which they can live, namely, into food. All
the food of all animals is produced hy plants. Animals live upon
vegetables ; and vegetables live upon earth and air, principally
upon the air.

447. Plants feed upon Earth and Air. This is evident enough from

the way in which they live. Many plants will flourish in pure sand
or powdered chalk, or on the bare face of a rock or wall, watered
merely with rain-water. And almost any plant may be made to
grow from the seed in pure sand, and increase its weight many times,
even if it will not come to perfection. Many naturally live suspended
from the branches of trees high in the air, and nourished by it alone,
never having any connection with the soil (81) ; and some which
naturally grow on the ground, like the Live-for-ever of the gardens,
< vhen pulled up by the roots and hung in the air will often flourish
the whole summer long.

448. It is true that fast-growing plants, or those which produce
considerable vegetable matter in one season, — especially in such a
concentrated form as to be useful as food for man or the higher
animals, — will come to maturity only in an enriched soil. But
what is a rich soil ? One which contains decomposing vegetable
matter, or some decomposing animal matter ; that is, in either case,
some decomposing organic matter formerly produced by plants ;
aided by this, grain-bearing and other important vegetables will
grow more rapidly and vigorously, and make a greater amount of
nourishing matter, than they could if left to do the whole work at
once from the beginning. So that in these cases also all the organic
matter was made by plants, and made out of earth and air.

449. Their Chemical Composition shows what Plants are made of, The

soil and the air in which plants live, and by which they are every-
where surrounded, supply a variety of materials, some likely to be
useful to the plant, others not. To know what elements the plant
makes use of, we must first know of what its fabric and its products
are composed.

450. We may distinguish two sorts of materials in plants, one of
which is absolutely essential, and is the same in all of them ; the
other not really essential, and very variable in different plants, or in
the same plant under different circumstances. The former is the
organic, the latter, the inorganic or earthy materials.

451. The Earthy or Inorganic Constituents. If we burn thoroughly a
leaf, a piece of wood, or any other part of a vegetable, almost all of

LESSON 26.] ITS CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. 159

it is dissipated into air. But a little ashes remain : these represent
the earthy constituents of the plant.

452. They consist of some potash (or soda if a marine plant was
used), some silex (the same as flint), and probably a little lime, al~
umine, or magnesia, iron or manganese, sulphur or phosphorus, &c.
Some or all of these elements may be detected in many or most
plants. But they make no part of their real fabric ; and they form
only from one or two to nine or ten parts out of a hundred of any
vegetable substance. The ashes vary according to the nature
of the soil. In fact, they consist, principally, of such materials as
happened to be dissolved, in small quantity, in the water which was
taken up by the roots ; and when that is consumed by the plant, or
flies off pure (as it largely does, 447) by exhalation, the earthy mat-
ter is left behind in the cells, — just as it is left incrusting the sides
of a teakettle in which much hard water has been boiled. As is
very natural, therefore, we find more earthy matter (i. e. more
ashes) in the leaves than in any other part (sometimes as much as
seven per cent, when the wood contains only two per cent) ; because
it is through the leaves that most of the water escapes from the plant.
These earthy constituents are often useful to the plant (the silex, for
instance, increases the strength of the Wheat-stalk), or are useful in
the plant's products as furnishing needful elements in the food of man
and other animals ; but they are not necessary to vegetation, which
may go on without them. The really essential elements are

453. The Organic Constituents. As has just been remarked, when
we burn in the open air a piece of any plant, nearly its whole bulk,
and from 88 to more than 99 parts out of a hundred by weight of its
substance, disappear, being turned into air and vapor. These are
the organic constituents which have thus been consumed, — the
actual materials of the cells and the whole real fabric of the plant.
And we may state that, in burning, it has been decomposed into ex-
actly the same kinds of air, and the vapor of water, that the plant
used in its making. The burning has merely undone the work of
vegetation, and given back the materials to the air just in the state
in which the plant took them.

454. It will not be difficult to understand what the organic con-
stituents, that is, what the real materials, of the plant are, and how
the plant obtains them. The substance of which vegetable tissue,
viz. the wall of the cells, is made, is by chemists named Cellulose. It
is just the same thing in composition in wood and in soft cellular tis-

160 THE PLANT IN ACTION. [LESSON 26.

sue, — in the tender pot-herb and in th<? oldest tree. It is composed
of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, 12 parts of the former to 10 of each
of the two latter. These, accordingly, are necessary materials of
vegetable growth, and must be received by the growing plant.

455. Tlie Plant's Food must contain these three elements in some
sbape or other. Let us look for them in the materials which the
plant is constantly taking from the soil and the air.

456. Water is the substance of which it takes in vastly more than
of anything else : we well know how necessary it is to vegetable life.
The plant imbibes water by the roots, which are specially construct-
ed for taking it in, as a liquid when the soil is wet, and probably
also in the form of vapor when the soil is only damp. That water
in the form of vapor is absorbed by the leaves likewise, when the
plant needs it, is evident from the way partly wilted leaves revive
and freshen when spi'inkled or placed in a moist atmosphere. Now
water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen, two of the three elements
of cellulose or plant-fabric. Moreover, the hydrogen and the oxygen
exist in water in exactly the same proportions that they do in cellu-
lose : so it is clear that water furnishes these two dements.

457. "We inquire, therefore, after the third element, carbon. This
is the same as pure charcoal. Charcoal is the carbon of a vegetable
left behind after charring, that is, heating it out of contact of the air
until the hydrogen and oxygen are driven off. The charcoal of wood
is so abundant in bulk as to preserve perfectly the shape of the cells
after charring, and in weight it amounts to about half that of the
original material. Carbon itself is a solid, and not at all dissolved
by water : as such, therefore, it cannot be absorbed into the plant,
however minute the particles ; only liquid and air can pass through
the walls of the cells (402, 410). It must therefore come to the
plant in some combination, and in a fluid form. The only substance
within the plant's reach containing carbon in the proper state is

458. Carbonic Acid. This is a gas, and one of the components
of the atmosphere, everywhere making about ^V^ part of its bulk,
— enough for the food of plants, but not enough to be injurious to
animals. For when mixed in any considerable proportion with the
air we breathe, carbonic acid is very poisonous. The air produced
by burning charcoal is carbonic acid, and we know how soon burning
charcoal in a close room will destroy life.

459. The air around us consists, besides this minute proportion
of carbonic acid, of two other gases, mixed together, viz. mygen

LESSON 26.] ITS FOOD. 161

and nitrogen. The nitrogen gas does not support animal life : it only
dilutes the oxygen, which does. It is the oxygen gas alone which
renders the air fit for breathing.

460. Carbonic acid consists of carbon combined with oxygen. In
breathing, animals are constantly forming carbonic acid gas by unit-
ing carbon from their bodies with oxygen of the air ; they inspire
oxygen into their lungs ; they breath it out as carbonic acid. So
with every breath animals are diminishing the oxygen of the air, —
so necessary to animal life, — and are increasing its carbonic acid, —
so hurtful to animal life ; or rather, which would be so hurtful if it
were allowed to accumulate in the air. The reason why it does not
increase in the air beyond this minute proportion is that plants feed
upon it. They draw their whole stock of carbon from the carbonic
acid of the air.

461. Plants take it in by their leaves. Every current, or breeze
that stirs the foliage, brings to every leaf a succession of fresh atoms
of carbonic acid, which it absorbs through its thousands of breathing-
pores. We may prove this very easily, by putting a small plant or
a fresh leafy bough into a glass globe, exposed to sunshine, and hav-
ing two openings, causing air mixed with a known proportion of
carbonic acid gas to enter by one opening, slowly traverse the foliage,
and pass out by the other into a vessel proper to receive it : now,
examining the air chemically, it will be found to have less carbonic
acid than before. A portion has been taken up by the foliage.

462. Plants also take it in by their roots, some probably as a gas,
in the same way that leaves absorb it, and much, certainly, dissolved
in the water which the rootlets imbibe. The air in the soil, es-
pecially in a rich soil, contains many times as much carbonic acid
as an equal bulk of the atmosphere above. Decomposing vegetable
matter or manures, in the soil, are constantly evolving carbonic acid,
and a large part of it remains there, in the pores and crevices, among
which the absorbing rootlets spread and ramify. Besides, as this gas
is dissolved by water in a moderate degree, every rain-drop that falls
from the clouds to the ground brings with it a little carbonic acid,
dissolving or washing it out of the air as it passes, and bringing it
down to the roots of plants. And what flows off into the streams
and ponds serves for the food of water-plants.

463. So water and carbonic acid, taken in by the leaves, or taken
in by the roots and carried up to the leaves as crude sap, are the
general food of plants, — are the raw materials out of which at least

14*

162 THE PLANT IN ACTION, [LESSON 26.

the fabric and a part of the general products of the plant are made.
Water and carbonic acid are mineral matters : in the plant, mainly
in the foliage, they are changed into organic matters. This is

464. The Plant's proper Work, Assimilation, viz. the conversion by the

vegetable of foreign, dead, mineral matter into its own living sub-
stance, or into organic matter capable of becoming living substance.
To do this is, as we have said, the peculiar office of the plant. How
and where is it done ?

465. It is done in the green parts of jjlants alone, and only when
these are acted upon by the light of the sun. The sun in some way
supplies a power which enables the living plant to originate these
peculiar chemical combinations, — to organize matter into forms
which are alone capable of being endowed with life. The proof of
this proposition is simple ; and it shows at the same time, in the
simplest way, what the plant does with the water and carbonic acid
it consumes. Namely, 1st, it is only in sunshine or bright daylight
that the green parts of plants give out oxygen gas, — then they do ;
and 2d, the giving out of this oxygen gas is just what is required to
render the chemical composition of water and carbonic acid the same
as that of cellulose (454), that is, of the plant's fabric. This shows
why plants spread out so large a surface of foliage.

466. In plants growing or placed under water we may see bubbles
of air rising from the foliage ; we may collect enough of this air to
test it by a candle's burning brighter in it ; which shows it to be
oxygen gas. Now if the plant is making cellulose or plant-substance,
— that is, is making the very materials of its fabric and growth, as
must generally be the case, — all this oxygen gas given off by the
leaves comes from the decomposition of carbonic acid taken in by
the plant.

467. This must be so, because cellulose is composed of 10 parts of
oxygen and 10 of hydrogen to 12 of carbon (454) : here the first
two are just in the same proportions as in water, which consists of
one part of oxygen and one of hydrogen, — so that 10 parts of water
and 12 of carbon represent one of cellulose or plant-fabric ; and to
make it out of water and carbonic acid, the latter (which is composed
of carbon and oxygen) has only to give up all its oxygen. In other
words, the plant, in its foliage under sunshine, decomposes carbonic
acid gas, and turns the carbon together with water into cellulose, at
the same time giving the oxygen off into the air.

468. And we can readily prove that it is so, — namely, that plants

LESSON 2G.] PRODUCING ORGANIC MATTER. 163

do decompose carbonic acid in their leaves and give out its oxygen,
— by the experiment mentioned in paragraph 461. There the
leaves, as we have stated, are taking in carbonic acid gas. We
now add, that they are giving out oxygen gas at the same rate.
The air as it comes from the glass globe is found to have just as
much more oxygen as it has less carbonic acid than before — just
as much more oxygen as would be required to turn the carbon re-
tained in the plant back into carbonic acid again.

469. It is all the same when plants — instead of making fabric at
once, that is, growing — make the prepared material, and store it
up for future use. The principal product of plants for this purpose
is Starch, which consists of minute grains of organic matter, lying
loose in the cells. Plants often accumulate this, perhaps in the root,
as in the Turnip, Carrot, and Dahlia (Fig. 57 - 60) ; or in subter-
ranean stems or branches, as in the Potato (Fig. 68), and many
rootstocks ; or in the bases of leaves, as in the Onion, Lily (Fig.
73-75), and other bulbs ; or in fleshy leaves above ground, as those
of the Ice-Plant, House-leek, and Century-Plant (Fig. 82) ; or in
the whole thickened body, as in many Cactuses (Fig. 76) ; or in
the seed around the embryo, as in Indian Corn (Fig. 38, 39) and
other grain ; or even in the embryo itself, as in the Horsechestnut
(Fig. 23, 24), Bean (Fig. 16), Pea (Fig. 19), fee. In all these
forms this is a provision for future growth, either of the plant
itself or of some offset from it, or of its offspring, as it springs
from the seed. Now starch is to cellulose or vegetable fabric just
what the prepared clay is to the potter's vessel, — the same thing,
only requiring to be shaped and consolidated. It has exactly the
same chemical composition, and is equally made of carbon and the
elements of water, by decomposing the same amount of carbonic
acid and giving back its oxygen to the air. In using it for growth,
the plant dissolves it, conveys it to the growing parts, and consoli-
dates it into fabric.

470. Sugar, another principal vegetable product, also has essen-
tially the same chemical composition, and may be formed out of the
same common food of plants, with the same result. The different
kinds of sugar (that of the cane, &c. and of grapes) consist of the
same three materials as starch and cellulose, only with a little more
water. The plant generally forms the sugar out of starch, changing
one into the other with great ease ; starch being the form in which
prepared material is stored up, and sugar that in which it is ex-

164 THE PLANT PURIFYING THE AIR, [LESSON 26.

peniled or transferred from one part of the plant to another. In the
Sugar-cane and Indian Corn, starch is deposited in the seed ; in ger-
mination this is turned into sugar for the plantlet to begin its growth
with ; the growing plant produces more, and deposits some as starch
in the stalk ; just before blossoming, this is changed into sugar again,
and dissolved in the sap, to form and feed the flowers (which cannot,
like the leaves, create nourishment for themselves) ; and what is left
is deposited in the seed as starch again, with which to begin the
same operation in the next generation.

471. We might enumerate other vegetable products of this class
(such as oil, acids, jelly, the pulp of fruits, &c), and show how they
are formed out of the carbonic acid and water which the plant takes
in. But those already mentioned are sufficient. In producing any
of them, carbonic acid taken from the air is decomposed, its carbon
retained, and its oxygen given back to the air. That is to say,

472. Plants purify the Air for Animals, by taking away the carbonic
acid injurious to them, continually poured into it by their breathing,
as well as by the burning of fuel and by decay, and restoring in its
place an equal bulk of life-sustaining oxygen (4G0). And by the
same operation, combining this carbon with the elements of water,
&c, and elaborating them into organic matter, — especially into
starch, sugar, oil, and the like, —

473. Plants produce all the Food and Fabric of Animals. The herbiv-
orous animals feed directly upon vegetables ; and the carnivorous
feed upon the herbivorous. Neither the one nor the other originate
any organic matter. They take it all ready-made from plants, —
altering the form and qualities more or less, and at length destroy-
ing or decomposing it.

474. Starch, sugar, and oil, for example, form a large part of the
food of herbivorous animals and of man. When digested, they enter
into the blood ; any surplus may be stored up for a time in the form
of fat, being changed a little in its nature ; while the rest (and finally
the whole) is decomposed into carbonic acid and water, and exhaled
from the lungs in respiration ; — in other words, is given back to the
air by the animal as the very same materials which the plant takes
from the air as its food (4G3) ; — is given back to the air in the same
form that it would have been if the vegetable matter had been left
to decay where it grew, or if it had been set on fire and burned ; —
and with the same result too as to the heat, the heat in this case
producing and maintaining the proper temperature of the animal.

LESSON 26.] AND PRODUCING THE FOOD OF ANIMALS. 165

475. But starch, sugar, and the like, do not make any part of the
flesh or fabric of animals. And that for the obvious reason, that they
consist of only the three elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen ;
whereas the flesh of animals has nitrogen as well as these three ele-
ments in its composition. The materials of the animal body, called
Fibrine in the flesh or muscles, Gelatine in the sinews and bones,
Caseine in the curd of milk, Sec., are all forms of one and the same
substance, composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. As
nitrogen is a large constituent of the atmosphere, and animals are
taking it into their lungs with every breath they draw, we might
suppose that they take this element of their frame directly from the
air. But they do not. Even this is furnished by vegetables, and
animals receive it ready-made in their food. And this brings us to
consider still another and most important vegetable product, of a
different class from the rest (omitted till now, for the sake of greater
simplicity) ; namely, what is called

476. Proteine. This name has been given to it by chemists, be-
cause it occurs under such a protean variety of forms. The Gluten
of wheat and the Legumine of beans and other leguminous plants
may be taken to represent it. It occurs in all plants, at least in
young and growing parts. It does not make any portion of their
tissue, but is contained in all living cells, as a thin jelly, mingled
with the sap or juice, or as a delicate mucilaginous lining. In fact,
it is formed earlier than the cell-wall itself, and the latter is moulded
on it, as it were ; so it is also called Protoplasm. It disappears from
common cells as they grow old, being transferred onward to new or
forming parts, where it plays a very active part in growth. Mixed
with starch, &c, it is accumulated in considerable quantity in wheat,
beans, and other grains and seeds, especially those which are most
nutritious as food. It is the proteine which makes them so nutritious.
Taken by animals as food, it forms their flesh and sinews, and the
animal part of their bones, without much change ; for it has the same
composition, — is just the same thing, indeed, in some slightly different
forms. To produce it, the plant employs, in addition to the carbonic
acid and water already mentioned as its general food, some ammo-
nia; which is a compound of hydrogen and nitrogen. Ammonia
(which is the same thing as hartshorn) is constantly escaping
into the air in small quantities from all decomposing vegetable
and animal substances. Besides, it is produced in every thunder-
storm. Every flash of lightning causes some to be made (in the

166 PLANT-LIFE. [LESSON 27.

form of nitrate of ammonia) out of the nitrogen of the air and the
vapor of water. The reason why it never accumulates in the air
so as to be perceptible is, that it is extremely soluble in water, as
are all its compounds. So it is washed out of the atmosphere by the
rain as fast as it is made or rises into it, and is brought down to the
roots of plants, which take it in freely. When assimilated in the
leaves along with carbon and water, proteine is formed, the very
substance of the flesh of animals. So all flesh is vegetable matter
in its origin.

477. Even the earthy matter of the bones, and the iron and other
mineral matters in the blood of animals, are derived from the plants
they feed upon, with hardly an exception. These are furnished by
the earthy or mineral constituents of plants (452), and are merely
accumulated in the animal frame.

478. Animals, therefore, depend absolutely upon vegetables for
their being. The great object for which the All-wise Creator estab-
lished the vegetable kingdom evidently is, that plants might stand on
the sui-face of the earth between the mineral and the animal crea-
tions, and organize portions of the former for the sustenance of
the latter.

LESSON XXVII.

PLANT-LIFE.

479. Life is known to us only by its effects. We cannot tell
what it is ; but we notice some things which it does. One peculi-
arity of living things, which has been illustrated in the last Lesson,
is their power of transforming matter into new forms, and thereby
making products never produced in any other way. Life is also
manifested by

480. Motion, that is, by self-caused movements. Living things
move ; those not living are moved. Animals, living as they do
upon organized food, — which is not found everywhere, — must
needs have the power of going after it, of collecting it, or at least of
taking it in ; which requires them to make spontaneous movements.
But plants, with their wide-spread surface (34, 131) always in con-

LESSON 27.] CIRCULATION IN CELLS. 167

tact with the earth and air on which they feed, — the latter and the
most important of these everywhere just the same, — have no need
of locomotion, and so are generally fixed fast to the spot where
they grow.

481. Yet many plants move their parts freely, sometimes when
there is no occasion for it that we can understand, and sometimes
accomplishing by it some useful end. The sudden closing of the
leaflets of the Sensitive Plant, and the dropping of its leafstalk,
when jarred, also the sudden starting forwards of the stamens of the
Barberry at the touch, are familiar examples. Such cases seem at
first view so strange, and so different from what we expect of a plant,
that these plants are generally imagined to be endowed with a pe-
culiar faculty, denied to common vegetables. But a closer exam-
ination will show that plants generally share in this faculty ; that
similar movements may be detected in them all, only — like those
of the hands of a clock, or of the shadow of a sun-dial — they are
too slow for the motion to be directly seen.

482. It is perfectly evident, also, that growth requires motion ;
that there is always an internal activity in living plants as well as
in animals, — a power exerted which causes their fluids to move or
circulate, and carries materials from one part to another. Some
movements are mechanical ; but even these are generally directed
or controlled by the plant. Others must be as truly self-caused as
those of animals are. Let us glance at some of the principal sorts,
and see what light they throw upon vegetable life.

483. Circulation ill Cells. From what we know of the anatomy of
plants, it is clear that they have no general circulation (like that of
all animals except the lowest), through a system of vessels opening
into each other (402, 410). But in plants each living cell carries
on a circulation of its own, at least when young and active. This
may be beautifully seen in the transparent stems of Chara and many
other water-plants, and in the leaves of the Fresh-water Tape-Grass
(Vallisneria), under a good microscope. Here the sap circulates,
often quite briskly in appearance, (but the motion is magnified as
well as the objects,) in a steady stream, just beneath the wall,
around each cell, passing up one side, across the end, down the
other, and so round to complete the circuit, carrying with it small
particles, or the larger green grains, which make the current more
visible. This circulation may also be observed in hairs, particularly
those on flowers, such as the jointed hairs of Spiderwort, looking

168 PLANT-LIFE. [LESSON 27.

under the glass like strings of blue beads, each bead being a cell.
But here a microscope magnifying six or eight hundred times in
diameter is needed to see the current distinctly.

484. The movement belongs to the protoplasm (476), or jelly-like
matter under the cell-wall. As this substance has just the same
composition as the flesh of animals, it is not so strange that it should
exhibit such animal-like characters. In the simplest water-plants,
of the Sea-weed family, the body which answers to the seed is at
first only a rounded little mass of protoplasm. When these bodies
escape from the mother plant, they often swim about freely in the
water in various directions, by a truly spontaneous motion, when they
closely resemble animalcules, and are often mistaken for them. After
enjoying this active life for several hours, they come to rest, form
a covering of cellulose, and therefore become true vegetable cells,
fix themselves to some support, germinate, and grow into the
perfect plant.

485. Absorption, Conveyance of the Sap, kt. Although contained in

cells with closed walls, nevertheless the fluids taken in by the roots
are carried up through the stem to the leaves even of the topmost
bough of the tallest tree. And the sap, after its assimilation by the
leaves, is carried down in the bark or the cambium-layer, and dis-
tributed throughout the plant, or else is conveyed to the points where
growth is taking place, or is accumulated in roots, stems, or wherever
a deposit is being stored up for future use (71, 104, 128, 469).

486. That the rise of the sap is pretty rapid in a leafy and growing
plant, on a dry summer's day, is evident from the amount of water it
is continually losing by exhalation from the foliage (447) ; — a loss
which must all the while be supplied from the roots, or else the
leaves would dry up and die ; as they do so promptly when sepa-
rated from the stem, or when the stem is cut off from the roots.
Of course they do not then lose moisture any faster than they
did before the separation ; only the supply is no longer kept
up from below.

487. The rise of the sap into the leaves apparently is to a great
degree the result of a mechanical process, which has been called En-
dosmose. It acts in this way. Whenever two fluids of different
density are separated by a membrane, whether of dead or of living
substance, or are separated by any porous partition, a flow takes
place through the partition, mainly towards the heavier fluid, until
that is brought to the same density as the other. A familiar illus-

LESSON 27.] CONVEYANCE OF THE SAP. 169

tration is seen when we place powdered sugar upon strawberries,
and slightly moisten them : the dissolving sugar makes a solution
stronger than the juice in the cells of the fruit ; so this is gradually
drawn out. Also when pulpy fruits are boiled in a strong sirup ; as
soon as the sirup becomes denser than the juice in the fruit, the
latter begins to flow out and the fruit begins to shrivel. But when
shrivelled fruits are placed in weak sirup, or in water, they become
plump, because the flow then sets inwards, the juice in the cells being
denser than the water outside. Now the cells of the living plant
contain organic matter, in the form of mucilage, protoplasm, some-
times sugar, &c. ; and this particularly abounds in young and
growing parts, such as the tips of roots (Fig. 5G), which, as is well
known, are the principal agents in absorbing moisture from the
ground. The contents of their cells being therefore always much
denser than the moisture outside (which is water containing a little
carbonic acid, &c, and a very minute quantity of earthy matter),
this moisture is constantly drawn into the root. What makes it
ascend to the leaves ?

488. To answer this question, we must look to the leaves, and
consider what is going on there. For (however it may be in the
spring before the leaves are out), in a leafy plant or tree the sap is
not forced up from below, but is drawn up from above. "Water large-
ly evaporates from the leaves (447) ; it flies off into the air as vapor,
leaving behind all the earthy and the organic matters, — these not
being volatile ; — the sap in the cells of the leaf therefore becomes
denser, and so draws upon the more watery contents of the cells of
the stalk, these upon those of the stem below, and so on, from cell to
cell down to the root, causing a flow from the roots to the leaves,
which begins in the latter, — just as a wind begins in the direction
towards Which it blows. Somewhat similarly, elaborated sap is
drawn into buds or any growing parts, where it is consolidated
into fabric, or is conveyed into tubers, roots, seeds, and the like,
in which it is condensed into starch and stored up for future use
(74, 103, Sec).

489. So in absorbing moisture by the roots, and in conveying
the sap or the juices from cell to cell and from one part to another,
the plant appears to make use of a physical or inorganic force ; but
it manages and directs this as the purposes of the vegetable econ-
omy demand. Now, when the proper materials are brought to the
growing parts, growth takes place ; and in growth the plant moves

15

170 PLANT-LIFE. [LESSON 27.

the particles of matter, arranges them, and shapes the fabric in a
manner which we cannot at all explain by any mechanical laws.
The organs are not shaped by any external forces ; they shape
themselves, and take such forms and positions as the nature of
each part, or the kind of plant, requires.

490. Special Movements. Besides growing, and quite independent
of it, plants not only assume particular positions, but move or bend
one part upon another to do so. Almost every species does this, as
well as what are called sensitive plants. In springing from the seed,
the radicle or stem of the embryo, if not in the proper position
already, bends itself round so as to direct its root-end downwards,
and the stem-end or plumule upwards. It does the same when
covered so deeply by the soil that no light can affect it, or when
growing in a perfectly dark cellar. But after reaching the light,
the stem bends towards that, as every one knows ; and bends
towards the stronger light, when the two sides are unequally ex-
posed to the sun. It is now known that the shoot is bent by the
shortening of the cells on the more illuminated side ; for if we split
the bending shoot in two, that side curves over still more, while the
opposite side inclines to fly back. But how the light causes the
cells to shorten on that side, we can no more explain, than Ave can
tell how the will, acting through the nerves, causes the contraction
of the fibres of the muscles by which a man bends his arm. "VVe
are sure that the bending of the shoot has nothing to do with
growth, because it takes place after a shoot is grown ; and the del-
icate stem of a young seedling will bend a thousand times faster
than it grows. Also because it is yellow light that most favors
growth and the formation of vegetable fabric, while the blue and
violet rays produce the bending. Leaves also move, even more
freely than stems. They constantly present their upper face to the
light ; and when turned upside down, they twist on their stalks, or
curve round to recover their original position.

491. Many leaves make other and quicker movements, as is seen
in what has been called the sleep of plants. That is, they change their
position as night draws on, and in different ways, according to the
species, — the Locust and Wood-Sorrel turning down their leaflets,
the Honey Locust raising them upright, the Sensitive Plant turning
them forwards one over another ; and the next morning they resume
their diurnal position. One fact, among others, showing that the
changes are not caused by the light, but by some power in the plant

LESSON 27.] MOVEMENTS. 171

itself, is this. The leaves of the Sensitive Plant close long before
sunset ; but they expand again before sunrise, under much less light
than they had when they closed. Besides, in this as in many other
plants, the leaves take the nocturnal position when brushed or jarred,
— in the common Sensitive Plant very suddenly, in other sorts
less quickly, in the Honey Locust a little too slowly for us to see
the motion. The way in which blossoms open and close, some when
the light increases and others when it diminishes, illustrates the same
thing.

492. The stamens of the Barberry, when touched at the base on
the inner side, — as by an insect seeking for honey, or by the point
of a pin, — make a sudden jerk forward, and in the process commonly
throw some pollen upon the stigma, which stands a little above their
reach. In many blossoms, the stamens just at the proper season
slowly approach the stigma, and after shedding their pollen recede
or wither away. In such cases we plainly perceive that a useful
end is subserved. But what shall we say of the Venus's Fly-trap
of North Carolina, growing where it is always sure of all the food a
plant can need, yet provided with an apparatus for catching insects,
and for no other special use that we know of, and actually captur-
ing them expertly by a sudden motion, in the manner already de-
scribed (12G, Fig. 81)? Or of the leaflets of the Desmodium
gyrans of the East Indies, or one of the petals of some Orchideous
flowers, moving spontaneously in a wide sweep, falling and rising by
turns every few seconds for nearly the whole day long ? We can
only say, that plants are alive, no less than animals, and that it is a
characteristic of living things to move.

172 CRYPTO GAM OUS OR FLOWERLESS PLANTS. [LESSON 27.

%* Cryptogamous or Flowerless Plants.

493. In all the foregoing Lessons, we have had what may be
called plants of the higher classes alone in view. There are others,
composing the lower grades of vegetation, to which some allusion
ought to be made.

494. Of this sort are Ferns or Brakes, Mosses, Liverworts,
Lichens, Sea-weeds, and Fungi or Mushrooms. They are all
classed together under the name of Flowerless Plants, or Crypto-
gamous Plants ; the former epithet referring to the fact that they do
not bear real blossoms (with stamens and pistils) nor seeds (with an
embryo ready-formed within). The latter name means " hidden
fructification," and intimates that they may have something answer-
ing to stamens and pistils, although not the same ; and this is now
known to be the case with most of them.

495. Flowerless plants are so very various, and so peculiar in each
family, that a volume would be required to illustrate them. Curious
and attractive as they are, they are too difficult to be studied botan-
ically by the beginner, except the Ferns, Club-Mosses, and Horse-
tails. For the study of these, as well as of the Mosses (which are
more difficult, and more microscopic), we refer the student at once
to the Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, where
the species of this country are described and illustrated. The
structure and physiology of these plants, as well as of the still
lower grades of Lichens, Sea-weeds, and Fungi, are explained in
the Botanical Text-Book, and in other similar works. When the
student has become prepared for the study, nothing can be more
interesting than these plants of the lowest orders.

LESSON 28.] SPECIES AND KINDS. 173

LESSON XXVIII.

SPECIES AND KINDS.

496. Until now, we have been considering plants as to their
structure and their mode of life. "We have, as it were, been read-
ing the biography of an individual plant, following it from the tiny-
seedling up to the mature and fruit-bearing herb or tree, and learning
how it grows and what it does. The botanist also considers ^j/«^s
as to their relationships.

497. Plants and animals, as is well known, have two great pecu-
liarities : 1st, they form themselves ; and 2d, they multiply them-
selves. They reproduce themselves in a continued succession of

498. Individuals (3). Mineral things occur as masses, which are
divisible into smaller and still smaller ones without alteration of
their properties (391). But organic things (vegetables and ani-
mals) exist as individual beings. Each owes its existence to a
parent, and produces similar individuals in its turn. So each indi-
vidual is a link of a chain ; and to this chain the natural-historian
applies the name of

499. Species. All the descendants from the same stock therefore
compose one species. And it was from our observing that the sev-
eral sorts of plants or animals steadily reproduce themselves, — or, in
other words, keep up a succession of similar individuals, — that the
idea of species originated. So we are led to conclude that the Cre-
ator established a definite number of species at the beginning, which
have continued by propagation, each after its kind.

500. There are few species, however, in which man has actually
observed the succession for many generations. It could seldom be
proved that all the White Pine trees or White Oaks of any forest
came from the same stock. But observation having familiarized
us with the general fact, that individuals proceeding from the same
stock are essentially alike, we infer from their close resemblance
that these similar individuals belong to the same species. That is,
we infer it when the individuals are as much like each other as those
are which we know to have sprung from the same stock.

501. We do not infer it from every resemblance ; for there is the
resemblance of kind, — as between the White Oak and the Red Oak,

15*

174 SPECIES AND KINDS. [LESSON 28.

and between the latter and the Scarlet Oak : these, we take for
granted, have not originated from one and the same stock, but from
three separate stocks. Nor do we deny it on account of every
difference ; for even the sheep of the same flock, and the plants
raised from peas of the same pod, may show differences, and such
differences occasionally get to be very striking. When they are
pretty well marked, we call them

Varieties. The White Oak, for example, presents two or three
varieties in the shape of the leaves, although they may be all alike
upon each particular tree. The question often arises, practically,
and it is often hard to answer, whether the difference in a particular
case is that of a variety, or is specific. If the former, we may
commonly prove it to be so by finding such intermediate degrees
of difference in various individuals as to show that no clear line of
distinction can be drawn between them ; or else by observing the
variety to vary back again, if not in the same individual, yet in its
offspring. Our sorts of Apples, Pears, Potatoes, and the like, show
us that differences which are permanent in the individual, and con-
tinue unchanged through a long series of generations when propa-
gated by division (as by offsets, cuttings, grafts, bulbs, tubers, Sec),
are not likely to be reproduced by seed. Still they sometimes are
so : and such varieties are called

Races. These ai'e strongly marked varieties, capable of being
propagated by seed. Our different sorts of Wheat, Indian Corn,
Peas, Radishes, &c, are familiar examples : and the races of men
offer an analogous instance.

502. It should be noted, that all varieties have a tendency to be
reproduced by seed, just as all the peculiarities of the parent tend to
be reproduced in the offspring. And by selecting those plants which
have developed or inherited any desirable peculiarity, keeping them
from mingling with their less promising brethren, and selecting again
the most promising plants raised from their seeds, we may in a few
generations render almost any variety transmissible by seed, so long
as we take good care of it. In fact, this is the way the cultivated or
domesticated races, so useful to man, have been fixed and preserved.
Races, in fact, can hardly, if at all, be said to exist independently of
man. But man does not really produce them. Such peculiarities
— often surprising enough — now and then originate, we know not
how (the plant sports, as the gardeners say) ; they are only pre-
served, propagated, and generally further developed, by the culti-

LESSON 28.] CLASSIFICATION. 175

vator's skilful care. If left alone, they dwindle and perish, or else
revert to the original form of the species.

503. Botanists variously estimate the number of known species
of plants at from seventy to one hundred thousand. About 2,350
species of the higher classes of plants grow wild in the Northern
United States. So that the vegetable kingdom exhibits a very
great diversity. Between our largest and highest-organized trees,
such as a Magnolia or an Oak, and the simplest of plants, reduced
to a single cell or sphere, much too minute to be visible to the
naked eye, how wide the difference ! Yet the extremes are con-
nected by intermediate grades of every sort, so as to leave no wide
gap at any place ; and not only so, but every grade, from the most
complex to the most simple, is exhibited under a wide and most
beautiful diversity of forms, all based upon the one plan of vegeta-
tion which we have been studying, and so connected and so an-
swering to each other throughout as to convince the thoughtful
botanist that all are parts of one system, works of one hand, realiza-
tions in nature of the conception of One Mind. We perceive this,
also, by the way in which the species are grouped into

504. Kinds. If the species, when arranged according to their re-
semblances, were found to differ from one another about equally, —
that is, if No. 1 differed from No. 2 just as much as No. 2 did from
No. 3, and No. 4 from No. 5, and so on throughout, — then, with all
the diversity in the vegetable kingdom there is now, there would yet
be no foundation in nature for grouping species into kinds. Species
and kinds would mean just the same thing. We should classify them,
no doubt, for convenience, but our classification would be arbitrary.
The fact is, however, that species resemble each other in very un-
equal degrees. Some species are almost exactly alike in their whole
structure, and differ only in the shape or proportion of their parts ;
these, we say, belong to one Genus. Some, again, show a more gen-
eral resemblance, and are found to have their flowers and seeds con-
structed on the same particular plan, but with important differences
in the details ; these belong to the same Order or Family. Then,
taking a wider survey, we perceive that they all group themselves
under a few general types (or patterns), distinguishable at once by
their flowers, by their seeds or embryos, by the character of the
seedling plant, by the structure of their stems and leaves, and by
their general appearance : these great groups we call Classes.
Finally, we distinguish the whole into two great types or grades ;

176 SPECIES AND KINDS. [LESSON 28.

the higher grade of Flowering plants, exhibiting the full plan of
vegetation, and the lower grade of Flowerless plants, in which
vegetation is so simplified that at length the only likeness between
them and our common trees or Flowering plants is that they are
both vegetables. From species, then, we rise first to

505. Genera (plural of Genus). The Eose kind or genus, the Oak
genus, the Chestnut genus, &c, are familiar illustrations. Each
genus is a group of nearly related species, exhibiting a particular
plan. All the Oaks belong to one genus, the Chestnuts to another,
the Beech to a third. The Apple, Pear, and Crab are species of one
genus, the Quince represents another, the various species of Haw-
thorn a third. In the animal kingdom the common cat, the wild cat,
the panther, the tiger, the leopard, and the lion are species of the cat
kind or genus ; while the dog, the jackal, the different species of wolf,
and the foxes, compose another genus. Some genera are represented
by a vast number of species, others by few, very many by only one
known species. For the genus may be as perfectly represented in
one species as in several, although, if this were the case throughout,
genera and species would of course be identical (504). The Beech
genus and the Chestnut genus would be just as distinct from the Oak
genus even if but one Beech and one Chestnut were known ; as in-
deed was the case formerly.

506. Orders or Families (the two names are used for the same thing
in botany) are groups of genera that resemble each other ; that is,
they are to genera what genera are to species. As familiar illustra-
tions, the Oak, Chestnut, and Beech genera, along with the Hazel
genus and the Hornbeams, all belong to one order, viz. the Oak Fam-
ily ; the Birches and the Alders make another family ; the Poplars
and "Willows, another ; the Walnuts (with the Butternut) and the
Hickories, another. The Apple genus, the Quince and the Haw-
thorns, along with the Plums and Cherries and the Peach, the
Raspberry, with the Blackberry, the Strawberry, the Rose, and many
other genera, belong to a large order, the Rose Family.

507. Tribes and Suborders. This leads us to remark, that even the
genera of the same order may show very unequal degrees of resem-
blance. Some may be very closely related to one anothei*, and at the
same time differ strikingly from the rest in certain important partic-
ulars. In the Rose Family, for example, there is the Rose genus
itself, with the Raspberry genus, the Strawberzy, the Cinquefoil,
&c. near it, but by no means so much like it as they are like each

LESSON 28.] ORDERS, CLASSES, ETC. 177

other : this group, therefore, answers to what is called a Tribe ; and
the Bose itself stands for another tribe. But we further observe
that the Apple genus, the Hawthorns, the Quince, and the June-
berry, though of the same order, and nearly related among them-
selves, differ yet more widely from the Rose and its nearest relations;
and so, on the other hand, do the Plum and Cherry, the Peach and
the Almond. So this great Eose Family, or Order, is composed of
three groups, of a more marked character than tribes, — groups
which might naturally be taken for orders ; and we call them Sub-
orders. But students will understand these matters best after a few
lessons in studying plants in a work describing the kinds.

508. Classes. These are great assemblages of orders, as already
explained (515). The orders of Flowering Plants are numerous,
no less than 134 being represented in the Botany of the Northern
United States ; but they all group themselves under two great
classes. One class comprises all that have seeds with a mono-
cotyledonous embryo (32), endogenous stems (423), and generally
parallel-veined leaves (139) ; the other, those with dicotyledonous
embryo, exogenous stems, and netted-veined leaves ; and the whole
aspect of the two is so different that they are known at a glance.

509. Finally, these two classes together compose the upper Series
or grade of Flowering or Phcenogamoas Plants, which have their
counterpart in the lower Series of Flowerless or Cryptogamous Plants,
— composed of three classes, and about a dozen orders.

510. The universal members of classification are Class, Order,
Genus, Species, always standing in this order. When there are
more, they take their places as in the following schedule, which
comprises all that are generally used in a natural classification,
proceeding from the highest to the lowest, viz. : —

Series,

Class,

Subclass,

Order, or Family,
Suborder,
Tribe,

Subtribe,
Genus,

Subgenus or Section,
Species,
Variety.

178 BOTANICAL NAMES. [LESSON 29.

LESSON XXIX.

BOTANICAL NAMES AND CHARACTERS.

511. Plants are classified, — i. e. are marshalled under their re-
spective classes, orders, tribes, genera, and species, — and they are
characterized, — that is, their principal characteristics or distinguish-
ing marks are described or enumerated, in order that,

First, their resemblances or differences, of various degrees, may
be clearly exhibited, and all the species and kinds ranked next to
those they are most related to ; — and

Secondly, that students may readily ascertain the botanical names
of the plants they meet with, and learn their peculiarities, properties,
and place in the system.

512. It is in the latter that the young student is chiefly interested.
And by his studies in this regard he is gradually led up to a higher
point of view, from which he may take an intelligent survey of the
whole general system of plants. But the best way for the student
to learn the classification of plants (or Botany as a system), is to use
it, in finding out by it the name and the peculiarities of all the wild
plants he meets with.

513. Names. The botanical name of a plant, that by which a
botanist designates it, is the name of its genus followed by that of
the species. The name of the genus or kind is like the family name
or surname of a person, as Smith, or Jones. That of the species
answers to the baptismal name, as John, or James. Accordingly,
the "White Oak is called botanically Quercus alba ; the first word, or
Quercus, being the name of the Oak genus ; the second, alba, that
of this particular species. And the Red Oak is named Quercus
rubra ; the Black-jack Oak, Quercus nigra ; and so on. The bo-
tanical names are all in Latin (or are Latinized), this being the
common language of science everywhere ; and according to the
usage of that language, and of most others, the name of the species
comes after that of the genus, while in English it comes before it.

514. Generic NameSi A plant, then, is named by two words. The
generic name, or that of the genus, is one word, and a substantive.
Commonly it is the old classical name, when the genus was known
to the Greeks and Romans ; as Quercus for the Oak, Fagus for the

LESSON 29.] BOTANICAL NAMES. 179

Beech, Corylus, the Hazel, and the like. But as more genera be-
came known, botanists had new names to make or borrow. Many
are named from some appearance or property of the flowers, leaves,
or other parts of the plant. To take a few examples from the early
pages of the Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, —
in which the derivation of the generic names is explained. The
genus Hepatica, p. 6, comes from the shape of the leaf resembling
that of the liver. Myosurus, p. 10, means mouse-tail. Delphin-
ium, p. 12, is from delphin, a dolphin, and alludes to the shape of
the flower, which was thought to resemble the classical figures of the
dolphin. Zanthorhiza, p. 13, is from two Greek words meaning
yellow-root, the common name of the plant. Cimicifuga, p. 14, is
formed of two Latin words, meaning, to drive away bugs, the same
as its common name of Bugbane, the Siberian species being used to
keep away such vermin. Sanguinaria, p. 26, is named from the
blood-like color of its juice.

515. Other genera are dedicated to distinguished botanists or pro-
moters of natural science, and bear their names : such are Magnolia,
p. 15, which commemorates the early French botanist, Magnol, and
Jeffersonia, p. 20, named after President Jefferson, who sent the first
exploring expedition over the Rocky Mountains. Others bear the
name of the discoverer of the plant in question ; as, Sarracenia, p.
23, dedicated to Dr. Sarrazin of Quebec, who was one of the first
to send our common Pitcher-plant to the botanists of Europe ; and
Claytonia, p. 65, first made known by the early Virginian botanist
Clayton.

51G. Specific Names. The name of the species is also a single
word, appended to that of the genus. It is commonly an adjective,
and therefore agrees with the generic name in case, gender, &c.
Sometimes it relates to the country the species inhabits ; as, Clay-
tonia Virginica, first made known from Virginia ; Sanguinaria
Canadensis, from Canada, &c. More commonly it denotes some
obvious or characteristic trait of the species; as, for example, in
Sarracenia, our northern species is named purpurea, from the pur-
ple blossoms, while a more southern one is named flava, because
its petals are yellow ; the species of Jeffersonia is called diphylla,
meaning two-leaved, because its leaf is divided into two leaflets.
Some species are named after the discoverer, or in compliment to a
botanist who has made them known ; as, Magnolia Fraseri, named
after the botanist Fraser, one of the first to find this species ; Pa-

180 BOTANICAL NAMES AND CHARACTERS. [LESSON 29.

nunculus Purshii, p. 7, named for the botanist Pursh ; and Pulsa-
tilla Nuttalliana, p. 4, named in compliment to Mr. Nuttall. Such
names of persons are of course written with a capital initial letter.
Occasionally some old substantive name is used for the species ; as
Magnolia Umbrella, p. 16, and Ranunculus Flammula, p. 8. These
are also written with a capital initial, and need not accord with the
generic name in gender, &c.

517. The name of a variety, when it is distinct enough to require
any, is made on the same plan as that of the species, and is written
after it ; as, Ranunculus Flammula, variety reptans, p. 8 (i. e. the
creeping variety), and R. abortivus, variety micranthus, p. 9, or
the small-flowered variety of this species.

518. Names Of Groups. The names of tribes, orders, and the like,
are in the plural number, and are commonly formed by prolonging
the name of a genus of the group taken as a representative of it.
For example, the order of which the Buttercup or Crowfoot genus,
Ranunculus, is the representative, takes from it the name of Ranun-
culacece (Manual, p. 2) ; meaning Plantce Ranunculacece when writ-
ten out in full, that is, Ranunculaceous Plants. This order comprises
several tribes ; one of which, to which Ranunculus itself belongs,
takes the name of Ranunculece ; another, to which the genus Clem-
atis, or the Virgin's-Bower, belongs, takes accordingly the name of
Clematidece ; and so on. So the term Rosacece (meaning Rosaceous
plants) is the name of the order of which the Rose (Rosa) is the
well-known representative ; and Rosece is the name of the particular
tribe of it which comprises the Rose.

519. A few orders are named on a somewhat different plan. The
great order Leguminosce, for instance (Manual, p. 88), is not named
after any genus in it ; but the fruit, which is a legume (356), gives
the name of Leguminous Plants. So, likewise, the order Umbelliferce
(Manual, p. 148) means Umbelliferous or Umbel-bearing Plants ;
and the vast order Composite (Manual, p. 177) is so named be-
cause it consists of plants whose blossoms are crowded into heads
of the sort which were called "compound flowers" by the old
botanists (277).

520. Characters. The brief description, or enumeration in scien-
tific terms of the principal distinctive marks of a species, genus,
order, or other group, as given in botanical works, is called its
Character. Thus, in the Manual, already referred to, on the first
page, the character of the first great series is given ; then that of

LESSON 30.] HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 181

the first class, of the first subclass, and of a division under it (p. 2).
Then, after the name of the order, follows its character (the ordinal
character) : under the name of each genus (as, 1. Atragene, p. 3) is
added the generic character, or description of what essentially dis-
tinguishes it ; and finally, following the name of each species, is the
specific character, a succinct enumeration of the points in which it
mainly differs from other species of the same genus. See, for illus-
tration, Atragene Americana, p. 3, where the sentence immediately
following the names is intended to characterize our species as to its
difference from those of other regions.

521. Under the next genus, Clematis (p. 3), and generally where
we have several species of a genus, the species are arranged under
sections, and these often under subsections, for the student's conven-
ience in analysis, — the character or description of a section applying
to all the species under it, and therefore not having to be repeated
under each species. But these details are best understood by
practice, in the actual studying of plants to ascertain their name and
place. And to this the student is now ready to proceed.

LESSON XXX.

HOW TO STUDY PLANTS.

522. Having explained, in the two preceding Lessons, the general
principles of Classification, and of Botanical Names, we may now
show, by a few examples, how the student is to proceed in applying
them, and how the name and the place in the system of an unknown
plant are to be ascertained.

523. We suppose the student to be provided with the Manual
of the Botany of the Northern United States, which describes all
our plants known to grow wild this side of the Mississippi River
and north of North Carolina and Tennessee. And also to have a
hand magnifying-glass, and, if possible, a simple microscope, with
mounted glasses, and with a stage, holding a glass plate, on which
small flowers or their parts may be laid, while they are dissected
under the microscope with the points of needles (mounted in han-

16

182 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 30.

dies), or divided by a sharp knife. Such a microscope is not neces-
sary, except for very small flowers ; but it is a great convenience at
all times, and is indispensable in studying the more difficult sorts of
plants.*

524. To express clearly the distinctions which botanists observe,
and which furnish the best marks to know a plant by, requires a good
many technical terms, or words used with a precise meaning. These,
as they are met with, the student should look out in the Glossary
(p. 103). The terms in common use are not so numerous as they
would at first appear to be. With practice they will soon be-
come so familiar as to give very little trouble. And the application
of botanical descriptive language to the plants themselves, indicating
all their varieties of form and structure, is an excellent discipline for
the mind, equal, if not in some respects superior, to that of learning
a classical language.

525. Analysis Of a Plant. For the first trial we may as well take
a Buttercup. Some species or other may be found in blossom at
almost any part of the season, and, except in early spring, the fruit,
more or less matured, may be gathered Avith the flowers. For a
full knowledge of a plant the fruit is essential, although the name
may generally be ascertained without it.

526. "We wish to refer the plant first to its proper class and order,
and then to its genus and species. The orders are so numerous, and
so generally distinguishable only by a combination of a considerable
number of marks, that the young student must find his way to them
by means of an Artificial Key. With the plant in hand, let the
student turn to page xvii of the introductory part of the Manual,
on which this artificial key to the natural orders commences.

527. It opens with " Series I. Ph^enogamous or Flowering
Plants " ; — to which, as it has real flowers and produces seeds,
our plant plainly enough belongs. Under this are two classes.

528. We read the characters (520) or distinctive marks of Class I.
Dicotyledonous or Exogenous Plants. This class, we per-
ceive, is known by its stem, by its leaves, by its embryo, and by the
number of parts in the plan of the flower. The easiest of these for
the young student to determine it by, is that of the leaves, which
in this class are netted- veined (140). So they plainly are in the

* A very good instrument of the kind, in its simplest form, is furnished by
Messrs. J. & TV. Grunow, opticians, of New Haven, Connecticut, for ten dollars.

LESSON 30.]

THE BUTTERCUP.

183

Buttercup ; the plan of the veins is just as in Fig. 50, only the leaf
is very deeply cut, in most species. The character of the stem is not
quite so easy to make out in an herb as it is in a shrub or tree. In
these we see at a glance what an exogenous stem is (424-426) :
besides, the stem of the Buttercup is generally hollow, and so the
pith is partly broken up. Still, if we make a slice near the base,
and view it under a magnifying-glass, we shall find that, although
herbaceous, it is formed on the same plan as that of Maple (Fig.
353) or any common wood. It is just as in Fig. 352, only there is
not so much wood in it ; but what there is evidently forms a ring
between a pith in the centre and an outside bark ; so it is exogenous.
The embryo, in the seed of
the Buttercup, is too minute
for the student to find without
considerable practice in dis-
secting seeds : so that charac-
ter must be passed by. But
the five leaves of the calyx
and the five petals plainly
show that the flower is con-
structed on the plan of five. All this agrees with Class I. ; so we
may be sure our plant belongs to that class. -

529. Under this class are two subclasses. Subclass I. Angio
sperms, has regularly closed pistils, the ovary forming a case which
includes the ovules or young
seeds. To get a good view
of the parts, let us with a
sharp knife cut a flower di-
rectly through the middle from
top to bottom ; as in Fig. 358.
We see it has a cluster of many pistils, heaped on an oblong recep-
tacle : some are left whole ; some are divided. One pistil, with the
wall of the ovary cut away on one side, is shown, more magnified, in
Fig. 359, bringing to view the single ovule it contains. The other
subclass (mentioned on page xxiii) has an open scale for a pistil,
bearing naked ovules, such as is shown in Fig. 264 and Fig. 266.

FIG. 358. A flower of a Ruttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus) cut through from top to bot-
tom, and enlarged. 359. A pistil taken from it, and more magnified ; its ovary cut through
lengthwise, showing the ovule. 3C0. One of its pistils when ripened into a fruit (achcnium).
361. The same, cut through, to show the seed in it.

184 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 30.

Our plant clearly belongs to the first subclass. The second subclass
comprises only Pines, Spruces, Cedars, and the like.

530. We have no less than 110 orders under this subclass. To
aid the unpractised student in finding his way among them, they are
ranked under three artificial divisions ; the Polypetalous, the Mono-
petahus (page xx), and the Apetalous (page xxi). The flowers
of the last are destitute of any corolla ; those of the second have the
petals more or less united into a tube or cup ; the first alone has a
corolla of separate petals. Our plant accordingly belongs to the
Polypetalous division.

531. This division comprises fifty-four orders in the Northern
United States. The Artificial Key analyzes them by certain easy
characters, arranged, as we perceive, under a series of headings,
which lead by successive steps down to the order. The first is
marked A, and has its counterparts B and C on the next page. It
relates to the number of the stamens. In our plant the stamens are
more numerous than the petals : so it falls under the head A.

532. The head under this, marked 1, — with its counterpart on
the next page, marked 2, — relates to the calyx, whether free (269),
or coherent with the ovary (271). If we have any doubt about this,
the best way is to split the blossom through from top to bottom, just
as in Fig. 358. Here the calyx is entirely and widely separate
from the pistils ; so we refer our plant to the head No. 1.

533. The next step under this is marked with a star ( * ), and has
its alternatives on the next page, marked one with two stars, the
other with three. It directs us to examine the stamens, and see
whether they grow directly on the receptacle (that is, are hypogy-
nous, 2G9), or are united with the base of the petals, or else are
borne on the calyx. The first is plainly the case in the present in-
stance ; so we read on down the page.

534. The next line reads, " Pistils numerous, but cohering over
each other on a long receptacle." In our plant they are numerous,
but are entirely separate, only crowded together. "We pass therefore
to the next line, which reads, "Pistils several, immersed in the upper
surface of a top-shaped receptacle " ; which by no means accords
with our plant. So we proceed to the third line, which does accord,
viz. : " Pistils more than one, wholly separate and distinct." The
six lines which follow this, and which are set further in, rank under
it. The first two give an alternative, relating to the length of the
filaments. Our plant falls under the second, the " filaments " being

LESSON 30.] THE BUTTERCUP. 185

" longer than the anther." Then follows an alternative, in several
particulars, beginning with the anther. As our plant has two-celled
anthers (294) and perfect flowers, and is an herb, we follow the
second line. Under that is another alternative, beginning with the
word " petals " : these as well as the sepals are deciduous soon after
blossoming. So we are confined to the upper of the two lines, and
this brings us out to the word RANUNCULACEiE, p. 2.

535. This is the name of the order to which our plant must be-
long ; and the figure, 2, refers to the page of the Manual where that
order is described.

536. We turn to that page, and read over the general description
of the order Ranunculacere, especially the portion at the beginning
printed in italics, which comprises the most important points. Its
agreement with our plant shows that the key has opened the way to
a right result. Under this order we find 21 genera described. A
Synopsis gives their characters in brief, and also those of the five
tribes they belong to. We compare the characters of these tribes
in succession with our plant. The petals, being present and conspic-
uous, exclude it from the first and the second tribes ; but with the
third tribe, Ranuncule.^, it exactly accords, having the sepals
overlapping each other in the bud, conspicuous petals with a little
scale at their base inside, and one-seeded pistils, which form achenia
or seed-like fruits (348). Under it are two genera, Ranunculus and
Myosurus. With the first our plant agrees in its calyx, in its head
of pistils or fruits, and in its erect seed (Fig. 361). This genus is
No. 8. We turn over to where it is fully described, under that
number, on page 7, and read the generic character or description,
which makes it certain that our plant belongs to the genus Ranun-
culus, the Croiofoot or Buttercup genus.

537. We have now only to find out to which of the 17 species of
Ranunculus our plant belongs. The color of the petals and the little
scale at the base, as well as other marks, exclude it from the first
section (§1), and lead us to § 2. Under this are two subdivisions
designated by stars. The first has the " Achenia smooth" and takes
in all the section except the last two species ; our Buttercup has
smooth fruits, and belongs here. Then we come to a further sub-
division, marked with daggers ; to the first (^-) our plant does not
belong, not being aquatic, nor are the leaves filiformly dissected,
i. e. cut into fine threads. It falls into the counterpart subdivision,
marked -t- •*-, being terrestrial, and having a perennial root.

16*

186 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 30.

538. Under this are 13 species (from No. 3 to No. 15) arranged
under three further subdivisions. The first, marked ++, having
the leaves all undivided, does not answer. The second, marked
++ ++, will not do, having the root-leaves undivided. The third,
++ ++ ++J answers to our plant. Under it is yet a further sub-
division (marked a and b) : the first (a) does not answer, having
the petals pale and not exceeding the calyx ; the other (b) does
answer well. This comprises four species, to one of which our plant
must belong, — a comparison will soon determine which. To save
labor in the comparison, some of the easiest and most certain marks
are printed in italics in the description. We read the italics first, find
that numbers 12, 13, and 14 are all excluded, are brought therefore
to No. 15, ascertain that the whole description agrees very well, and
conclude that our plant is the Bulbous Crowfoot or Buttercup, called
by botanists Ranunculus bulbosus.

539. This species flowers in spring and the early part of summer,
and was introduced from Europe into Eastern New England and
New York, but is rarely met with in the interior of the country.
Later in the season, however, another and taller species, otherwise
much like it, is everywhere common in meadows and low pastures,
the Ranunculus acris, which answers just as well for this illustra-
tion. There is also the wild Creeping Crowfoot, Ranuncidus repens
(No. 13), very common in most places; at the opening of spring the
Early Crowfoot, R. fascicidaris, makes its appearance ; and several
others occur in the course of the season. Having ascertained the
genus from one species, the student cannot fail to recognize it again
at a glance, in other species, whenever they are met with.

540. Returning to the species we have been occupied with, viz. R.
hdbosus, we note the letter L. following the name. This stands for
Linnaeus, the author who first described the plant under this name.
Then come the common or English names ; then the specific char-
acter ; after this, the station where the plant grows, and the part of
the country in which it occurs. This is followed by the time of blos-
soming (from May to July) ; and then by some general descriptive
remarks. The expression " Nat. from Eu. " means that the species
is a naturalized emigrant from Europe, and is not original to this
country. These and other abbreviations used in botanical descrip-
tions are explained in the Preface to the Manual of Botany.

LESSON 31.] THE COMMON FLAX. 187

LESSON XXXI.

HOW TO STUDY PLANTS : FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.

541. Beginners should not be discouraged by the slow progress
they will necessarily make in the first trials. By perseverance
the various difficulties will soon be overcome, and each successful
analysis will facilitate the next. Not only will a second species of
the same genus be known at a glance, but commonly a second genus
of the same order will be recognized as a relative at sight, by the
family likeness. Or if the family likeness is not detected at the first
view, it will be seen as the characters of the plant are studied out.

542. "We will help the student along the way by one or two more
examples. We will take in the first place the common cultivated
Flax, which will serve our present purpose, although not truly a
wild plant in this country. Turning, as before, to the Artificial Key,
on p. xvii of the Introduction to the Manual, the student asks first,
Is the plant Ph^enogamous or Flowering ? Of
course it is ; the blossom, with its stamens and pistils,
answers that question. Next, To which of the two
classes does it belong? If we judge by the stem, we
ask whether it is exogenous or endogenous (422-424).
A section of the stem, considerably magnified, given on
page 151 we may here repeat (Fig. 362) ; it plainly m
shows a ring of wood between a central pith and a bark. It is
therefore exogenous. Moreover, the leaves are netted-veined, though
the veins are not conspicuous. If we judge from the embryo, there
will be little difficulty in dissecting a flax-seed, and in finding that
almost the whole interior is occupied by an embryo with two cotyle-
dons, much like that of an apple-seed (Fig. 11, 12) ; so it is dico-
tyledonous. If we turn to the parts of the blossom, we perceive
they are five throughout (Fig. 3G3, 365), a number which occurs
in the first class only. All these marks, or any of them which the
student is able readily to verify, show that the plant belongs to
Class I. Dicotyledonous or Exogenous Plants.

543. To which subclass, is the next inquiry. The ovary in the

FIG. 3C2. Section of the stem of Flax, magnified.

188

H0AV TO STUDY PLANTS.

[lesson 31.

centre of the flower is of the ordinary sort, enclosing the ovules : so
the plant belongs to Subclass I. Angiospermte.

544. To get a good idea of the general plan of the flower, let the
student cut it through the middle lengthwise, as in Fig. 3G4, and

also take a slice across a flower-bud, like Fig. 3G5. "We see that
the blossom is regularly constructed upon the number five. It has
a calyx of five sepals, a corolla of five petals, five stamens, and five
styles, with their ovaries all combined into one compound ovary.
"We note, also, that the several parts of the blos-
som are all free and unconnected, — the leaves
of the calyx, the petals, and the stamens all ris-
ing separately one after another from the re-
ceptacle underneath the ovary: that is, these
parts are hypogynous (2G9).

545. Continuing now our analysis by means
of the Artificial Key, we perceive at a glance that our plant belongs
to the first or Polypetalous division, having five separate petals.
Next, its stamens, being only five, exclude it from the subdi-
vision marked A ; their position alternate with the petals excludes
it from B (p. xviii), but brings it under C. Under this comes the
alternative between " 1. Calyx free from the ovary" and its coun-
terpart, 2. (at the top of p. xx), in which the tube of the calyx is
adherent to the ovary. The first is the case here.

546. Under the next alternative ( * ) we are led to ask whether
the leaves are punctate with dots, either transparent, appearing
like holes when we hold up a leaf between the eye and the light

FIG. 303. Summit of a branch of the common Flax, with two flowers. 3G4. A flower
divided lengthwise and enlarged.
FIG. 3C5. Cross-section of an unexpanded flower of the same, a sort of diagram.

LESSON 31. j THE MALLOW. 189

(at least with a hand magnify ing-glass), or else hlackish and opaque.
There are no dots ; we accordingly take the alternative below, with
two stars.

547. "We next ask (under +- ) whether the pistil or pistils are sim-
ple. There are five separate styles, but only one ovary, which, Avhen
cut across (Fig. 3G5) is found to be divided within by partitions into
several cells. It is therefore a compound pistil (311), which ex-
cludes the plant from the section h— ; while the cells being more
than one exclude it from the section •*-- -t-, and bring it under the
section h— -t— n— (p. xix).

548. The next question (under ++) is, Are the flowers irregular
or regular? Clearly regular (239, 244). "We therefore take the
subdivision marked ++ ++, and follow the analysis under it, begin-
ning with the word " Stamens." Having five of these, and the same
number of petals, our plant is excluded from the first line, and also
from the second, but falls into the remaining alternative, " Stamens
just as many or twice as many as the petals." Under this comes the
line, " Ovules and seeds only one or two in each cell." That is the
case with our plant. Furthermore, it is an herb, and accordingly
falls into one of the two succeeding lines. Its perfect flowers (239),
and its styles as many as the petals, exclude it from the first, and
refer it to the second line. Under this are three alternatives, com-
mencing with the word " Sepals." The second, with five sepals and
petals, and the pod (more or less completely) 10-celled, alone accords
with our plant, and brings us to the name of the order it belongs to,
viz. Linace^e, described on page 70.

549. "We turn to this page, and find that the plant agrees well
with the brief character of the order Linacese, or the Flax Family ;
and also with that of the only genus it comprises, viz. Linum.

550. As to the species, of course it does not agree with either of
the sorts of "Wild Flax ; but it is barely mentioned at the end under
its specific name of usitatissimum, it being occasionally found spon-
taneous in fields where it has lately been cultivated. If we find a
wild, yellow-flowered Flax with these same general characters, and
having broadish leaves and distinct styles, it would be L. Virgini-
anum ; if with narrower and pointed leaves, and the styles partly
united, L. Boottii.

551 After one or two analyses of this kind, the student will be
able to pass rapidly over most of these steps. Suppose, for instance,
a common Mallow to be the next subject. Having flowers and seeds,

190 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 31.

it is Phsenogamous. The netted-veined leaves, the structure of the
stem, and the leaves of the flower in fives, at once refer it to Class I.
The pistils, of the ordinary sort, refer it to Subclass I. The five
petals refer it to the Polypetalous division ; the numerous stamens,
to subdivision A ; the free calyx to the section marked 1 ; the sta-
mens with the column of filaments united with the base of the petals
to * * (p- xviii) ; and the calyx being valvate in the bud (280), the
monadelphous stamens (111), and the one-celled anthers (Fig. 238),
of the first line under this head, bring us to the order Malvaceae,
described on page Go.

552. Turning to that page, we find that our plant accords with
the character of the order. The synopsis which follows contains two
tribes, differing in the stamens, the pistils, and the fruit. Our plant
agrees with Tribe I. Malve^e. The stigmas bring it under the sub-
division marked with one star, under which are four genera. The
involucel (looking like an outer calyx) of three leaves or bractlets
excludes it from the first and fourth. The petals being obcordate or
strongly notched at the end exclude it from the third ; while in all
points it agrees with the second, viz. the genus Malva, or true
Mallow. Referring to the full description of Malva, on page 66,
which confirms this conclusion, we then read over the characters of
the two species there described, especially noting the more distin-
guishing points in Italic type, and we learn at once that our speci-
men belongs to the species rotundifolia. Its botanical name,
therefore, is Malva rotundifolia.

553. We will take one plant more for illustration. Let it be a
sort of Morning-Glory which is often met with climbing over shrubs
along the moist banks of streams. Its netted-veined leaves, the
leaves of the calyx and the stamens being five, — no less than the
structure of the stem, if we choose to examine it, and the embryo
with two leafy cotyledons (as in Fig. 26), readily inspected if we
have seeds, — show that it belongs to Class I. Its pistil refers it
of course to Subclass I. The corolla being a cup or funnel-shaped
tube excludes the plant from the first or Polypetalous division, and
brings it under the second or Monopetalous division (page xx).

554. This division is subdivided, in the first place, by the number
of the stamens, and their position as respects the lobes of the corolla.
Now, as the petals of the corolla in this flower are united up to the
very border, the student may at first be puzzled to tell how many
lobes it should have, or, more properly, how many petals enter into

LESSON 32.] THE MORNING-GLORY. 191

its composition. But the five leaves of the calyx would lead him to
expect a corolla of five parts also. And, although there are here
really no lobes or notches to be seen, yet the five plaits of the corolla
answer to the notches, and prove it to consist of five petals perfectly
united. Since the stamens are of the same number as the plaits
of the corolla, and are placed before them (as may be best seen by
splitting down the corolla on one side and spreading it out flat), it
follows that they alternate with the lobes, or petals ; therefore our
plant belongs to the subdivision C.

555. Next, the ovary is free from the calyx ; so the plant falls
under the section * * , at the top of page xxi ; and the regular
flowers and the number of stamens bring it under the subdivision
•4— -)-. Then our choice out of the five equivalent lines beginning
with "Ovary" or "Ovaries" falls upon the third, viz. "Ovary 2-
10-celled," ours being two-celled. Our plant has a style, and green
herbage, referring it to the second of the next alternatives. Its
five stamens borne on the corolla bring it to the third of the next
set of lines ; and the absence of stipules, to the second line of the next
alternative ; and, finally, its alternate leaves and only four-seeded pod
bring us to the name of its order, viz. Convolvulace^e, p. 332.

55Q. Then, by the synopsis of that order, we refer the plant to the
tribe Convolvule^e, — to the section with one star, and the sub-
section 4- 4— (the calyx being surrounded by two broad leafy bracts),
and so to the genus, 4. Calystegia ; and under that genus (p. 334)
we are led to the species sepium ; — Calystegia sepium (or Hedge
Bindweed) being the name of our plant.

LESSON XXXII.
how to study plants : FURTHER illustrations.

557. The foregoing illustrations have all been of the first or Exo-
genous class. "We will take one from the other class.

558. A striking and rather common plant of our woods in spring
is the Three-leaved Nightshade, or Birthroot. With specimens of
this in hand, and the Manual before him open at the Artificial Key,

192

HOW TO STUDY PLANTS.

[LESSON 32.

page xvii, the student, seeing at once that the plant belongs to the
Phamogamous series, proceeds to determine the class. The netted-
veined leaves would seem to refer the plant to the first class ; while
the blossom (Fig. 366, 3G7), constructed on the number three, natu-
rally directs us to the second class, in which this number almost uni-
versally prevails. Here the student will be somewhat puzzled. If the
seeds were ripe, they might be examined, to see whether the embryo
has one cotyledon only, or a pair. But the seeds are not to be had
in spring. We must judge, therefore, by the structure of the stem.

Is it exogenous or endogenous ? If
we cut the stem through, or take off
a thin slice crosswise and lengthwise,
we shall perceive that the woody
matter in it consists of a number of
threads, interspersed throughout the
soft cellular part without regularity,
and not collected into a ring or layer.
In fact, it is just like the Corn-stalk
(Fig. 351), except that the woody
threads are fewer. It is therefore endogenous (422) ; and this
decides the question in favor of Class II. Monocotyledonous or
Endogenous Plants (page xxiii), notwithstanding the branching
veins of the leaves. For neither this character,
nor the number of parts in the plan of the blos-
som, holds good universally, while the plan of the
stem holds without exception.

559. The first division of this class, in the Ar-
tificial Key, is into three sections, marked A, B,
and C. Our plant plainly belongs to section B,
the only one in which the flowers exhibit both a calyx and a corolla.

560. Under this are two subdivisions, marked 1 and 2. The
plant we are examining belongs to the second, having solitary (i. e.
single) flowers. This again is subdivided into two sections, the first
with a single star prefixed, the second with two stars. Having the
"perianth free from the ovary" our plant falls into the second (page
xxiv, line 2).

561. At the next step we have four subdivisions to select from,
marked by daggers (■*-- ) : the three herbaceous sepals and three

FIG. 306. Flower of Trillium erectuni, viewed from above. 3.77. Diagram of the same;
a cross-section of the unopened blossom, showing the number and arrangement of parts.

LESSON 32.] TRILLIUM, OR BIRTHROOT. 193

colored petals refer our plant to the third, marked -i — -* — -i — . Under
this we have four lines in a row, beginning with " Pistils" or "Pistil."
As our plant has a compound pistil, with three styles or stigmas, but
the ovaries all united into one, which is three-celled, and with many
ovules (or at length seeds) in each cell, it cannot belong to the first,
which has numerous pistils ; nor to the third, which has only one or
two seeds in each cell ; nor to the fourth, which has a one-celled
ovary; but it does accord with the second line. One step only
remains ; which the three styles or stigmas and the three leaves in
a whorl decide, directing us to Trilliaceje, page 461.

5G2. On referring to that page, we learn that Trilliacere is a sub-
order of the order Smilace.e, and that it comprises two genera.
Our plant accords with the first genus, Trillium, which is fully
characterized on p. 4G3.

563. "We have now only to ascertain the species. The species of
Trillium are arranged in two principal sections. The first (§1)
has a sessile (i. e. stalkless) flower, with long and narrow petals.
The second (§ 2) has the flower raised on a peduncle ; this includes
our plant. The species we have in hand has a slender and nearly
erect peduncle ; so it falls into the division * * ; it also has sessile
and abruptly pointed leaves, which bring it under the subdivision +- .
The shape, size, and color of the petals, as well as the other partic-
ulars mentioned, determine the species to be T. erectum.

564. The student residing west of New England will also be
likely to find another species, with similar foliage, but with larger,
pure white, and obovate petals, turning rose-color when about to
fade. This will at once be identified as T. grandijlorum. And
towards the north, in cold and damp woods or swamps, a smaller
species will be met with, having dull-green and petioled leaves
rounded at the base, and rather narrow, wavy, white petals, marked
with pink or purple stripes at the base : this the student will refer
to T. erythrocarpum. But the species principally found in the east-
ern parts of the country has a short peduncle recurved under the
leaves, so as nearly to conceal the much less handsome, dull white
flower : this belongs accordingly to the first division under § 2, and
is T. cernuum, the Nodding Trillium or Wake-Robin.

565. Whenever the student has fairly studied out one species of
a genus, he will know the others when he sees them. And when
plants of another genus of the same order are met with, the order
may generally be recognized at a glance, from the family resem-

17

194 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 32.

blance. For instance, having first become acquainted with the
Convolvulus family in the genus Calystegia (556), we recognize it
at once in the common Morning-Glory, and in the Cypress- Vine,
and even in the Dodder, although these belong to as many different
genera. Having examined the common Mallow (552), we immedi-
ately recognize the Mallow family {Malvaceae) in the Marsh-Mallow,
sparingly naturalized along the coast (Manual, p. 66), in the Glade
Mallow and the Indian Mallow (p. 67), in the Hibiscus or Rose-
Mallow (p. 68), and so of the rest; because their relationship is
exhibited in their general appearance, and in the whole structure of
the flowers, if not of the foliage also.

566. So the study of one plant leads naturally and easily to the
knowledge of the whole order or family of plants it belongs to ; —
which is a great advantage, and a vast saving of labor. For,
although we have one hundred and thirty-four orders of Flowering
Plants represented, in our Botany of the Northern States, by about
2,350 species, yet half of these species belong to nine or ten of these
orders ; and more than four fifths of the species belong to forty of
the orders. One or two hundred species, therefore, well examined,
might give a good general idea of our whole botany. And stu-
dents who will patiently and thoroughly study out twenty or thirty
well-chosen examples, will afterwards experience little difficulty in
determining any of our Flowering Plants and Ferns, and will find
the pleasure of the pursuit largely to increase with their increasing
knowledge.

567. And the interest will be greatly enhanced as the student,
rising to higher and wider views, begins to discern the System of
Botany, or, in other words, comprehends more and more of the Plan
of the Creator in the Vegetable Kingdom.

LESSON 33.] NATURAL SYSTEM. 195

LESSON XXXIII.

BOTANICAL SYSTEMS.

568. Natural System. The System of Botany consists of the orders
or families, duly arranged under their classes, and having the tribes,
the genera, and the species arranged in them according to their re-
lationships. This, when properly carried out, is the Natural System ;
because it is intended to express, as well as we are able, the various
degrees of relationship among plants, as presented in nature ; — to
rank those species, those genera, &c. next to each other in the classi-
fication which are really most alike in all respects, or, in other words,
which are constructed most nearly on the same particular plan.

569. Now this word plan of course supposes a planner, — an in-
telligent mind working according to a system : it is this system,
therefore, which the botanist is endeavoring as far as he can to
exhibit in a classification. In it we humbly attempt to learn some-
thing of the plan of the Creator in this department of Nature.

570. So there can be only one natural system of Botany, if by the
term we mean the plan according to which the vegetable creation
was called into being, with all its grades and diversities among the
species, as well of past as of the present time. But there may be
many natural systems, if we mean the attempts of men to interpret
and express the plan of the vegetable creation, — systems which will
vary with our advancing knowledge, and with the judgment and
skill of different botanists, — and which must all be very imperfect.
They will all bear the impress of individual minds, and be shaped
by the current philosophy of the age. But the endeavor always is
to make the classification a reflection of Nature, as far as any system
can be which has to be expressed in a series of definite propositions,
and have its divisions and subdivisions following each other in some
single fixed order.*

* The best classification must foil to give more than an imperfect and con-
siderably distorted reflection, not merely of the plan of creation, but even of our
knowledge of it. It is often obliged to make arbitrary divisions where Nature
shows only transitions, and to consider genera, &c. as equal units, or groups of
equally related species, while in fact they may be very unequal, — to assume, on

196 BOTANICAL SYSTEMS. [LESSON 33.

571. The Natural System, as we receive it, and as to that portion
of it which is represented in the botany of our country, is laid before
the student in the Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States.
The orders, however, still require to be grouped, according to their
natural relationships, into a considerable number of great groups
(or alliances) ; but this cannot yet be done throughout in any easy
way. So we have merely arranged them somewhat after a custom-
ary order, and have given, in the Artificial Key, a contrivance for
enabling the student easily to find the natural order of any plant.
This is a sort of

572. Artificial Classification. The object of an artificial classifica-
tion is merely to furnish a convenient method of finding out the name
and place of a plant. It makes no attempt at arranging plants ac-
cording to their relationships, but serves as a kind of dictionary. It
distributes plants according to some one peculiarity or set of pecu-
liarities (just as a dictionary distributes words according to their
first letters), disregarding all other considerations.

573. At present we need an artificial classification in Botany
only as a Key to the Natural Orders, — as an aid in referring an
unknown plant to its proper family ; and for this it is very needful to
the student. Formerly, when the orders themselves were not clearly
made out, an artificial classification was required to lead the student
down to the genus. Two such classifications were long in vogue.
First, that of Tournefort, founded mainly on the leaves of the flower,
the calyx and corolla : this was the prevalent system throughout the
first half of the eighteenth century ; but it has long since gone by.
It was succeeded by the well-known artificial system of Linnaeus,
which has been used until lately ; and which it is still worth while
to give some account of.

574. The Artificial System of Linna;us was founded on the stamens

and pistils. It consists of twenty-four classes, and of a variable
number of orders, which were to take the place temporarily of the
natural classes and orders ; the genera being the same under all
classifications.

paper at least, a strictly definite limitation of genera, of tribes, and of orders,
although observation shows so much blending here and there of natural groups,
sufficiently distinct on the whole, as to warrant us in assuming the likelihood
that the Creator's plan is one of gradation, not of definite limitation, except as to
the species themselves.

LESSOX 33.] ARTIFICIAL SYSTEM OF LIXX^EUS.

197

575.- The twenty-four classes of Linnreus were founded upon
something about the stamens. The following is an analysis of
them. The first great division is into two great series, the Phce-
nogamous and the Cryptogamous, the same as in the Natural System.
The first of these is divided into those flowers which have the sta-
mens in the same flower with the pistils, and those which have not ;
and these again are subdivided, as is shown in the following tabular
view.

Series I. PELZENOGAMIA ; plants with stamens and
flowers.
1. Stamens in the same flower as the pistils :

# Not united with them,

-i- Nor with one another.

•w Of equal length if either 6 or 4 in number.
One to each flower, Class 1

Two "
Three "
Four " "

Five " "

Six

Seven "
Eight "
Nine " "

Ten

Eleven to nineteen to eaeh flower,
Twenty or more inserted on the calyx,

" " on the receptacle, 13

•*■+ ++ Of unequal length and either 4 or 6.

Four, 2 long and 2 shorter, 1 4

Six, 4 long and 2 shorter, 15

■<- -i- United with each other,
By their filaments,
Into one set or tube,
Into two sets,
Into three or more sets,
By their anthers into a ring,

* * United with the pistil,
2. Stamens and pistils in separate flowers,

Of the same individuals,
Of different individuals,
Some flowers perfect, others staminate or

pistillate either in the same or in different

individuals,

Scries II. CRYPTO GAMIA. No stamens and
pistils, therefore no proper flowers,
17*

pistils, i. e. with real

IG.
17.

18.

1'.).
20.

21.
22.

2.'3.

24.

MOXAXDRIA.
DlAXDRIA.

Triaxdria.

Tetraxdria.

Pextaxdria.

Hexaxdria.

Heptaxdria.

OcTAXDRIA.

Enxeaxdria.

Decaxdria.

dodecaxdria.

icosaxdria.

polyaxdria.

DlDYXAMIA.

Tetradyxamia.

MOXADELPHIA.
DlADELPHIA.

polyadelpiiia.

Syxgexesia.
Gyxaxdria.

MOX03CIA.

DIOZCIA.

polygamia.
Cryptogamia.

198

ARTIFICIAL SYSTEM OF LINNAEUS. [LESSON 33.

576. The names of these classes are all compounded of Greek
words. The first eleven consist of the Greek numerals, in succes-
sion, from 1 to 11, combined with andria, which here denotes sta-
mens ; — e. g. Monandria, with one stamen; and so on. The 11th
has the numeral for twelve stamens, although it includes all which
have from eleven to nineteen stamens, numbers which rarely occur.
The 12th means "with twenty stamens," but takes in any higher
number, although only when the stamens are borne on the calyx.
The loth means "with many stamens," but it takes only those
with the stamens borne on the receptacle. The 14th means "two
stamens powerful," the shorter pair being supposed to be weaker ;
the 15th, "four powerful," for the same reason. The names of the
next three classes are compounded of adelphia, brotherhood, and
the Greek words for one, two, and many {JSIonadelpMa, Diadelphia,
and 'Polyadelpliid). The 19th means "united in one household."
The 20th is compounded of the words for stamens and pistils united.
The 21st and 22d are composed of the word meaning house and the
numerals one, or single, and two : Moncecia, in one house, Dicecia,
in two houses. The 23d is fancifully formed of the words meaning
plurality and marriage, from which the English word polygamy is
derived. The 24th is from two words meaning concealed nuptials,
and is opposed to all the rest, which are called Phcenogamous, be-
cause their stamens and pistils, or parts of fructification, are evident.

577. Having established the classes of his system on the stamens,
Linmeus proceeded to divide them into orders by marks taken from
the pistils, for those of the first thirteen classes. These orders de-
pend on the number of the pistils, or rather on the number of styles,
or of stigmas when there are no styles, and they are named, like the
classes, by Greek numerals, prefixed to gynia, which means pistil.
Thus, flowers of these thirteen classes with

One style or sessile stigma belong to <

Two styles or sessile stigmas, to

Three " "

Four " "

Five " "

Six

Seven " "

Eight " "

Nine " "

Ten " "

Eleven or twelve "

More than twelve "

• 1.

MONOGYNIA.

2.

"Dl GYNIA.

3.

Teigtnia.

4.

Tetragynia.

5.

Pentagynia.

6.

Hexagynia.

7.

Heptagynia.

8.

OCTOGYNIA.

9.

Enneagynia.

10.

Decagynia.

11.

DODECAGYNIA,

13.

POLYGYNIA.

LESSON 34.] HOW TO COLLECT SPECIMENS. 199

578. The orders of the remaining classes are founded on various
considerations, some on the nature of the fruit, others on the number
and position of the stamens. But there is no need to enumerate
them here, nor farther to illustrate the Linnaaan Artificial Classifi-
cation. For as a system it has gone entirely out of use ; and as a
Key to the Natural Orders it is not so convenient, nor by any means
so certain, as a proper Artificial Key, prepared for the purpose, such
as Ave have been using in the preceding Lessons.

LESSON XXXIV.

HOW TO COLLECT SPECIMENS AND MAKE AN HERBARIUM.

579. For Collecting Specimens the needful things are a large knife,
strong enough to be used for digging up bulbs, small rootstocks,
and the like, as well as for cutting woody branches ; and a botanical
box, or a portfolio, for holding specimens which are to be carried to
any distance.

580. It is well to have both. The botanical box is most useful
for holding specimens which are to be examined fresh. It is made
of tin, in shape like a candle-box, only flatter, or the smaller sizes
like an English sandwich-case ; the lid opening for nearly the
whole length of one side of the box. Any portable tin box of con-
venient size, and capable of holding specimens a foot or fifteen inches
long, will answer the purpose. The box should shut close, so that
the specimens may not wilt : then it will keep leafy branches and
most flowers perfectly fresh for a day or two, especially if slightly
moistened.

581. The portfolio should be a pretty strong one, from a foot to
twenty inches long, and from nine to eleven inches wide, and fasten-
ing with tape, or (which is better) by a leathern strap and buckle at
the side. It should contain a quantity of sheets of thin and smooth,
unsized paper ; the poorest printing-paper and grocers' tea-paper
are very good for the purpose. The specimens as soon as gathered
are to be separately laid in a folded sheet, and kept under moderate
pressure in the closed portfolio.

200 HOW TO PRESERVE SPECIMENS, [LESSON 34.

582. Botanical specimens should be either in flower or in fruit.
In the case of herbs, the same specimen will often exhibit the two ;
and both should by all means be secured whenever it is possible.
Of small herbs, especially annuals, the whole plant, root and all,
should be taken for a specimen. Of larger ones branches will suf-
fice, with some of the leaves from near the root. Enough of the
root or subterranean part of the plant should be collected to show
whether the plant is an annual, biennial, or perennial. Thick roots,
bulbs, tubers, or branches of specimens intended to be preserved,
should be thinned with a knife, or cut into slices lengthwise.

583. For drying Specimens a good supply of soft and unsized paper
— the more bibulous the better — is wanted ; and some convenient
means of applying pressure. All that is requisite to make good dried
botanical specimens is, to dry them as rapidly as possible between
many thicknesses of paper to absorb their moisture, under as much
pressure as can be given without crushing the more delicate parts.
This pressure may be given by a botanical press, of which various
forms have been contrived ; or by weights placed upon a board, —
from forty to eighty or a hundred pounds, according to the quantity
of specimens drying at the time. For use while travelling, a good
portable press may be made of thick binders' boards for the sides,
holding the drying paper, and the pressure may be applied by a
cord, or, much better, by strong straps with buckles.

584. For drying paper, the softer and smoother sorts of cheap
wrapping-paper answer very well. This paper may be made up
into driers, each of a dozen sheets or less, according to the thickness,
lightly stitched together. Specimens to be dried should be put into
the press as soon as possible after gathering. If collected in a port-
folio, the more delicate plants should not be disturbed, but the sheets
that hold them should one by one be transferred from the portfolio
to the press. Specimens brought home in the botanical box must
be laid in a folded sheet of the same thin, smooth, and soft paper
used in the portfolio ; and these sheets are to hold the plants until
they are dry. They are to be at once laid in between the driers,
and the whole put under pressure. Every day (or at first even
twice a day would be well) the specimens, left undisturbed in their
sheets, are to be shifted into well-dried fresh driers, and the pressure
renewed, while the moist sheets are spread out to dry, that they may
take their turn again at the next shifting. This course must be
continued until the specimens are no longer moist to the touch, —

LESSON 84.] AND FORM AN HERBARIUM. 201

which for most plants requires about a week ; then they may be
transferred to the sheets of paper in which they are to be preserved.
If a great abundance of drying-paper is used, it is not necessary
to change the sheets every day, after the first day or two.

585. Herbarium. The botanist's collection of dried specimens,
ticketed with their names, place, and time of collection, and sys-
tematically arranged under their genera, orders, &c, forms a Hor-
tus Siccus or Herbarium. It comprises not only the specimens
which the proprietor has himself collected, but those which he ac-
quires through friendly exchanges with distant botanists, or in other
ways. The specimens of an herbarium may be kept in folded sheets
of neat, and rather thick, white paper ; or they may be fastened on
half-sheets of such paper, either by slips of gummed paper, or by
glue applied to the specimens themselves. Each sheet should be
appropriated to one species ; two or more different plants should
never be attached to the same sheet. The generic and specific
name of the plant should be added to the lower right-hand corner,
either written on the sheet, or on a ticket pasted down at that corner;
and the time of collection, the locality, the color of the flowers, and
any other information which the specimens themselves do not afford,
should be duly recorded upon the sheet or the ticket. The sheets
of the herbarium should all be of exactly the same dimensions. The
herbarium of Linnajus is on paper of the common foolscap size, about
eleven inches long and seven wide. But this is too small for an
herbarium of any magnitude. Sixteen and a half inches by ten
and a half, or eleven and a half inches, is an approved size.

586. The sheets containing the species of each genus are to be
placed in genus-covers, made of a full sheet of thick, colored paper
(such as the strongest Manilla-hemp paper), which fold to the same
dimensions as the species-sheet ; and the name of the genus is to be
written on one of the lower corners. These are to be arranged
under the orders to which they belong, and the whole kept in closed
cases or cabinets, either laid flat in compartments, like large "pigeon-
holes," or else placed in thick portfolios, arranged like folio volumes,
and having the names of the orders lettered on the back.

GLOSSARY

DICTIONARY OF TERMS USED IN DESCRIB-
ING PLANTS,

COMBINED WITH AN INDEX.

A, at the beginning of words of Greek derivation, commonly signifies a negative,
or the absence of something ; as erpetalous, without petals ; aphyllous, leaf-
less, &c. If the word begins with a vowel, the prefix is an ; as ananther-
ons, destitute of anther.

Abnormal : contrary to the usual or the natural structure.

Aboriginal: original in the strictest sense; same as indigenous.

Abortive: imperfectly formed, or rudimentary, as one of the stamens in fig. 195,
and three of them in fig. 196, p. 95.

Abortion : the imperfect formation, or non-formation, of some part.

Abrupt: suddenly terminating ; as, for instance,

Abruptly pinnate: pinnate without an odd leaflet at the end; fig. 128, p. 65.

Acaulescent (acaulis) : apparently stemless ; the proper stem, bearing the leaves
and flowers, being very short or subterranean, as in Blood root, and most
Violets; p. 36.

Accessory: something additional; as Acccssoiy buds, p. 26.

Accrescent : growing larger after flowering, as the calyx of Physalis.

Accumbent : lying against a thing. The cotyledons are accumbent when they
lie with their edges against the radicle.

Acerose: needle-shaped, as the leaves of Pines; fig. 140, p. 72.

Acetdbuliform : saucer-shaped.

Achenium (plural achenia) : a one-seeded, seed-like fruit; fig. 286, p. 129.

Achlamydeous (flower) : without floral envelopes; as Lizard's-tail, p. 90, fig. 180.

Acicular: needle-shaped; more slender than acerose.

Acindciform : scymitar-shaped, like some bean-pods.

Acines: the separate grains of a fruit, such as the raspberry; fig. 289.

Acorn: the nut of the Oak ; fig. 299, p. 130.

Acofyle'donous : destitute of cotyledons or seed-leaves.

Acrdgenous : growing from the apex, as the stems of Ferns and Mosses.

Acrogens, or Acrogenous Plants: the higher Cryptogamous plants, such as
Ferns, &c., p. 172.

204 GLOSSARY.

Aculeate: armed with prickles, i. c. aculei ; as the Rose and Brier.

Aculeolate : armed with small prickles, or slightly prickly.

Acuminate: taper-pointed, as the leaf in fig. 97 and fig. 103.

Acute : merely sharp-pointed, or ending in a point less than a right angle.

Adelphous (stamens) : joined in a fraternity (adelphia) : see vionadelphous and
diadelphous.

Adherent : sticking to, or, more commonly, growing fast to another body ; p. 104.

Adnate : growing fast to ; it means born adherent. The anther is adnate when
fixed by its whole length to the filament or its prolongation, as in Tulip-
tree, fig. 233.

Adpressed, or oppressed: brought into contact, but not united.

Adscendent, ascendent, or ascending : rising gradually upwards.

Adsurgent, or assurgent : same as ascending.

Adventitious: out of the proper or usual place; e. g. Adventitious buds, p. 26, 27.

Adventive : applied to foreign plants accidentally or sparingly spontaneous in a
country, but hardly to be called naturalized.

^Equilateral : equal-sided; opposed to oblique.

^Estivation: the arrangement of parts in a flower-bud, p. 108.

Air-cells or Air-passages : spaces in the tissue of leaves and some stems, p. 143.

Air-Plants, p. 34.

Akenium, or akene. Sec achenium.

Ala (plural alee) : a wing; the side-petals of a papilionaceous corolla, p. 105,
fig. 218, io.

Alabastrum : a flower-bud.

Alar : situated in the forks of a stem.

Alate : winged, as the seeds of Trumpet-Creeper (fig. 316) the fruit of the Maple,
Elm (fig. 301), &c.

Albescent : whitish, or turning wliite.

Absorption, p. 168.

Albumen of the seed : nourishing matter stored up with the embryo, but not
within it; p. 15, 136.

Albumen, a vegetable product; a form of proteine, p. 165.

Albuminous (seeds) : furnished with albumen, as the seeds of Indian corn (fig. 38,
39), of Buckwheat (fig. 326), &c.

Alburnum: young wood, sap-wood, p. 153.

Alpine: belonging to high mountains above the limit of forests.

Alternate (leaves): one after another, p. 24, 71. Petals are alternate ivith the
sepals, or stamens with the petals, when they 6tand over the intervals be-
tween them, p. 93.

Alveolate : honeycomb-like, as the receptacle of the Cotton-Thistle.

Ament: a catkin, p. 81. Amentaceous : catkin-like, or catkin-bearing.

Amorphous : shapeless ; without any definite form.

Ampkigdstrium (plural amphigastria) : a peculiar stipule-like leaf of certain
Liverworts.

Amph'tmpniis or Amphitropal ovules or seeds, p. 123, fig. 272.

Amplectant : embracing. Amplexicaul (leaves) : clasping the stem by the base.

Ampulldceous : swelling out like a bottle or bladder.

Amylaceous : composed of starch, or starch-liko.

GLOSSARY. 205

Andntherous : without anthers. Andnthous : destitute of flowers ; flowerless.

Anastomosing : forming a net-work (anastomosis), as the veins of leaves.

Andtropous or Andtropcd ovules or seeds ; p. 123, fig. 273.

Ancipital (anceps) : two-edged, as the stem of Blue-eyed Grass.

Andraxium : a name for the stamens taken together.

Androgynous : having both staininatc and pistillate flowers in the same cluster

or inflorescence, as many species of Carex.
Androphore : a column of united stamens, as in a Mallow ; or the support on

which stamens are raised.
Anfrdctuose: bent hither and thither, as the anthers of the Squash, &c.
Angiospe'rma:, Angiospe'rmous Plants : with their seeds formed in an ovary or peri-
carp, p. 183.
Angular divergence of leaves, p. 72.
Animal (plant) : flowering and fruiting the year it is raised from the seed, and

then dying, p. 21.
Annular: in the form of a ring, or forming a circle.
Annulate : marked by rings ; or furnished with an

Annulus, or ring, like that of the spore-case of most Ferns (Manual Bot. N.
States, plate 9, fig. 2) : in Mosses it is a ring of cells placed between the
mouth of the spore-case and the lid, in many species.
Anterior, in the blossom, is the part next the bract, i. e. external : — while the
posterior side is that next the axis of inflorescence. Thus, in the Pea, &c.
the keel is anterior, and the standard posterior.
Anther: the essential part of the stamen, which contains the pollen ; p. 8G, 113.
Antfteridium (plural anther idia) : the organ in Mosses, &c. which answers to

the anther of Flowering plants.
Antheriferous : anther-bearing.

Anthesis : the period or the act of the expansion of a flower.
Anthoedrpous (fruits) : same as multiple fruits ; p. 133.
Anticous: same as anterior.
Antrorse: directed upwards or forwards.
Apelalous: destitute of petals ; p. 90, fig. 179.
Aphyllous : destitute of leaves, at least of foliage.
Apical : belonging to the apex or point.
Apieulate : pointletted ; tipped with a short and abrupt point.
Apocarpous (pistils) : when the several pistils of the same flower arc separate,

as in a Buttercup, Scdum (fig. 1G8), &c.
Apophysis : any irregular swelling ; the enlargement at the base of the spore-
case of the Umbrella-Moss (Manual, plate 4), &c.
Appendage ; any superadded part.
Appendiculate : provided with appendages.
Appressed: where branches are close pressed to the stem, or leaves to the

branch, &c.
Apterous : wingless.
Aquatic : living or growing in water ; applied to plants whether growing uuder

water, or with all but the base raised out of it.
Arachnoid: cobwebby ; clothed with, or consisting of, soft downy fibres.
Arboreous, Arborescent ; tree-like, in size or form ; p. 36.
18

206 GLOSSARY.

Archegdnium (plural archegonia) : the organ in Mosses, &c, which is analogous
to the pistil of Flowering Plants.

Arcuate: bent or curved like a bow.

Arc'o/ate : marked out into little spaces or areola.

Aril/ate (seeds) : furnished with an

Aril or Arillus : a fleshy growth forming a false coat or appendage to a seed ;
p. 135, fig. 318.

Arvstate: awned, i. e. furnished with an arista, like the beard of Barley, &c.

{Lristulate : diminutive of the last; short-awned.

Anvmshaped or Arrow-headed : same as sagittate ; p. 59, fig. 95.

Articulated: jointed ; furnished with joints or articulations, where it separates or
inclines to do so. Articulated leaves, p. 04.

Artijicial Classijication, p. 196.

Ascending (stems, &c), p. 37 ; (seeds or ovules), p. 122.

Asjiergil/ijorm : shaped like the brush used to sprinkle holy water ; as the stigmas
of many Grasses.

Assimilation, p. 162.

Assurgent: same as ascending, p. 37.

Atropous or Atropal (ovules) : same as orthotropous.

Auricuhtc : furnished with auricles or car-like appendages, p. 59.

Awl-shaped: sharp-pointed from a broader base, p. 68.

Awn : the bristle or beard of Barley, Oats, &c. ; or any similar bristle-like ap-
pendage.

Aivned: furnished with an awn or long bristle-shaped tip.

Axil : the angle on the upper side between a leaf and the stem, p. 20.

A'Jcile: belonging to the axis, or occupying the axis; p. 119, &c.

Axillary (buds, &c.) : occurring in an axil, p. 21, 77, &c.

Axis : the central line of any body ; the organ round which others are attached ;
the root and stem. Ascending Axis, p. 9. Descending Axis, p. 9.

Baccate: berry-like, of a pulpy nature like a berry (in Latin bacca) ; p. 127.

Barbate : bearded ; bearing tufts, spots, or lines of hairs.

Barbed : furnished with a barb or double hook ; as the apex of the bristle on the
fruit of Echinospcrmum (Sticksccd), &c.

Bdrbellate : said of the bristles of the pappus of some Compositas (species of
Liatris, &c), when beset with short, stiff hairs, longer than when denticulate,
but shorter than when plumose.

Barbdlulate : diminutive of barbellate.

Bark: the covering of a stem outside of the wood, p. 150, 152.

Based : belonging or attached to the

Base: that extremity of any organ by which it is attached to its support.

Bast, Bast-fibres, p. 147.

Bealccd: ending in a prolonged narrow tip.

Bearded : sec barbate. Beard is sometimes used popularly for awn, more com-
monly for long or stiff hairs of any sort.

Bell-shaped: of the shape of a bell, as the corolla of Harebell, fig. 207, p. 102.

Berry : a fruit pulpy or juicy throughout, as a grape; p. 127.

Bi- (or Bis), in compound words : twice ; as

GLOSSARY. 207

Biarticulate : twice jointed, or two-jointed ; separating into two pieces.

Biauriculate : having two ears, as the leaf in fig. 96.

Bicallose : having two callosities or harder spots.

Bicdrinate: two-keeled, as the upper palea of Grasses.

Bicipital (Biceps) : two-headed ; dividing into two parts at the top or bottom.

Bicdnjugate : twice paired, as when a petiole forks twice.

Bide'ntate: having two teeth (not twice or doubly dentate).

Biennial : of two years' continuance ; springing from the seed one season,

flowering and dying the next ; p. 21.
Bifdrious : two-ranked ; arranged in two rows.

Bifid : two-cleft to about the middle, as the petals of Mouse-ear Chickweed.
Bifdliolate : a compound leaf of two leaflets ; p. 66.
Bifurcate: twice forked; or, more commonly, forked into two branches.
Bijugate: bearing two pairs (of leaflets, &c).
Bilabiate: two-lipped, as the corolla of sage, &c., p. 105, fig. 209.
Bildmellate : of two plates (lamellce), as the stigma of Mimulus.
Bildbed : the same as two-lobed.
Bildcular : two-celled ; as most anthers, the pod of Foxglove, most Saxifrages

(fig. 254), &c.
Binale : in couples, two together.
Bipartite : the Latin form of two-parted ; p. G2.
Bipinnate (leaf) : twice pinnate ; p. 66, fig. 130.
Bipinndtijid : twice pinnatifid, p. 64 ; that is, pinnatifid with the lobes again

pinnatifid.
Biplicate : twice folded together.

Bise'rial, or Bise'riate : occupying two rows, one within the other.
Biserrate : doubly serrate, as when the teeth of a leaf, &c. are themselves serrate.
Bite'rnate: twice ternate ; i. e. principal divisions 3, each bearing 3 leaflets, &c.
Bladdery: thin and inflated, like the calyx of Silene inflata.
Blade of a leaf: its expanded portion ; p. 54.

Boat-shaped: concave within and keeled without, in shape like a small boat.
Brdchiate: with opposite branches at right angles to each other, as in the

Maple and Lilac.
Bract (Latin, bractea). Bracts, in general, are the leaves of an inflorescence,

more or less different from ordinary leaves. Specially, the bract is the

small leaf or scale from the axil of which a flower or its pedicel proceeds ;

p. 78 ; and a
Bractlet (bracleola) is a bract seated on the pedicel or flower-stalk; p. 78, fig. 156.
Branch, p. 20, 36.

Bristles : stiff, sharp hairs, or any very slender bodies of similar appearance.
Bristly : beset with bristles.
Brush-shaped: see aspergilliform.
Bryology : that part of Botany which relates to Mosses.
Bud: a branch in its earliest or undeveloped state ; p. 20.
Bud-scales, p. 22, 50.

Bulb : a leaf-bud with fleshy scales, usually subterranean ; p. 45, fig. 73.
Bulbiferous: bearing or producing bulbs.
Bulbose or bulbous : bulb-like in shape, &c.

208 GLOSSARY.

Dulblets : small bulbs, borne above ground, as on the stems of the bulb-bearing
Lily and on the fronds of Cistopteris bulbifera and some other Ferns ; p. 46.
Bulb-scales, p. 50.
Bullate: appearing as if blistered or bladdery (from bulla, a bubble).

Caducous: dropping off very early, compared with other parts; as the calyx in

the Poppy Family, falling when the flower opens.
Ccespitose, or Ce'spitose : growing in turf-like patches or tufts, like most sedges, &c.
Cdlcarate: furnished with a spur (calcar), as the flower of Larkspur, fig. 183,

and Violet, fig. 181.
Calceolate or Cdlceiform : slipper-shaped, like one petal of the Lady's Slipper.
Cd/lose : hardened ; or furnished with callosities or thickened spots.
Cdlycine : belonging to the calyx.
Cahjculate: furnished with an outer accessory calyx (calyculus) or set of bracts

looking like a calyx, as in true Finks.
Calyptra : the hood or veil of the capsule of a Moss : Manual, p. 607, &c.
Cahjptriform : shaped like a calyptra or candle-extinguisher.
Calyx : the outer set of the floral envelopes or leaves of the flower ; p. 85.
Cambium and Cambium- layer, p. 154.
Campdnulate: bell-shaped; p. 102, fig. 207.
Campyldtropous, or Campyldtropal ; curved ovules and seeds of a particular sort ;

p. 123, fig. 271.
Campi/lospe'rmous : applied to fruits of Umbelliferaj when the seed is curved in

at the edges, forming a groove down the inner face ; as in Sweet Cicely.
Canaliculate : channelled, or with a deep longitudinal groove.
Cdncellate: latticed, resembling lattice-work.
Cane'scent: grayish-white; hoary, usually because the surface is covered with

fine white hairs. Tncanous is whiter still.
Capilldccous, Cdpillary : hair-like in shape ; as fine as hair or slender bristles.
Capitate : having a globular apex, like the head on a pin ; as the stigma of

Cherry, fig. 213; or forming a head, like the flower-cluster of Button-bush,

fig. 161.
Capite'llate : diminutive of capitate; as the stigmas of fig. 255.
Capilulum (a little head) : a close rounded dense cluster or head of sessile

flowers; p. 80, fig. 161.
Caprc'olate: bearing tendrils (from capreolus, a tendril).
Capsule: a pod; any dry dehiscent seed-vessel; p. 131, fig. 305, 306.
Cdpsular: relating to, or like a capsule.
Carina: a keel; the two anterior petals of a papilionaceous flower, which arc

combined to form a body shaped somewhat like the keel (or rather the

prow) of a vessel; p. 105, fig. 218, k.
Cdrinate : keeled ; furnished witli a sharp ridge or projection on the lower side.
Caridpsis, or Carydpsis : the one-seeded fruit or grain of Grasses, &c, p. 351.
Cdmeous : flesh-colored ; pale red.
Cdrnose: fleshy in texture.
Carpel, or Carpidium : a simple pistil, or one of the parts or leaves of which a

compound pistil is composed; p. 117.
Cdrpellary: pertaining to a carpel.

GLOSSARY. 209

Carpology : that department of Botany which relates to fruits.

Carpophore: the stalk or support of a fruit or pistil within the flower; as in
fig. 276-278.

Cartilaginous, or Cartilagineous : firm and tough, like cartilage, in texture.

Caruncle: an excrescence at the scar of some seeds; as those of Polygala.

Carunculate : furnished with a caruncle.

Caryophylldceous : pink-like : applied to a corolla of 5 long-clawed petals ; fig. 200.

Catkin: a scaly deciduous spike of flowers, an ament; p. 81.

Caudate : tailed, or tail-pointed.

Caudex: a sort of trunk, such as that of Palms ; an upright rootstock ; p. 37.

Caule'scent : having an obvious stem ; p. 36.

Caulicle : a little stem, or rudimentary stem ; p. 6.

Catiline: of or belonging to a stem (caulis, in Latin), p. 36.

Cell (diminutive Cellule) : the cavity of an anther, ovary, &c, p. 113, 119; one of
the elements or vesicles of which plants are composed ; p. 140, 142.

Cellular tissue of plants ; p. 142. Cellular Bark, p. 152.

Cellulose, p. 159.

Centrifugal (inflorescence) : produced or expanding in succession from the centre
outwards ; p. 82. The radicle is centrifugal, when it points away from the
centre of the fruit.

Centripetal: the opposite of centrifugal ; p. 79, 83.

Cereal: belonging to corn, or corn-plants.

Ce'rnuous : nodding ; the summit more or less inclining.

Chaff: small membranous scales or bracts on the receptacle of Composite ; the
glumes, &c. of Grasses.

Chaffy : furnished with chaff, or of the texture of chaff.

Clialdza : that part of the ovule where all the parts grow together; p. 122.

Channelled: hollowed out like a gutter; same as canaliculate.

Cliaracter : a phrase expressing the essential marks of a species, genus, &c.
which distinguish it from all others ; p. 180.

CJiartdceous : of the texture of paper or parchment.

Chldropkyll : the green grains in the cells of the leaf, and of other parts exposed
to the light, which give to herbage its green color; p. 155.

Clirdmule: coloring matter in plauts, especially when not green, or when: liquid.

Cicatrix : the scar left by the fall of a leaf or other organ.

Ciliate : beset on the margin with a fringe of cilia, i. c. of hairs or bristles, like
the eyelashes fringing the eyelids, whence the name.

Cinereous, or Cinerdceous : ash-grayish ; of the color of ashes.

Circinate : rolled inwards from the top, like a crosier, as the shoots of Ferns ;
p. 76, fig. 154; the flower-clusters of Heliotrope, &c.

Circumscissile, or Circumcissile : divided by a circular line round the sides, as
the pods of Purslane, Plantain, &c. ; p. 133, fig. 298, 311.

Circumscription : the general outline of a thing.

Cirrhiferous, or Cirrhose: furnished with a tendril (Latin, cirrhus) ; as the Grape-
vine. Cirrhose also means resembling or coiling like tendrils, as the leaf-
stalks of Virgin's-bower ; p. 37.

Class, p. 175, 177.

Classification, p. 173.

18*

210 GLOSSARY.

Cldthrate : latticed ; same as cancellate.

Cldvate : club-shaped ; slender below and thickened upwards.

Claw: the narrow or stalk-like base of some petals, as of Pinks ; p. 102, fig. 200.

Climbing : rising by clinging to other objects ; p. 37.

Club-shaped : see clavate.

Clustered : leaves, flowers, &c. aggregated or collected into a bunch

Clypeate : buckler-shaped.

Coddunate : same as connate ; i. e. united.

Coale'scent : growing together.

Codrctate : contracted or brought close together.

Coated Bulbs, p. 46.

Cobwebby : same as arachnoid ; bearing hairs like cobwebs or gossamer.

Coccus (plural cocci) : anciently a berry ; now mostly used to denote the carpels

of a dry fruit which are separable from each other, as of Euphorbia.
Cochledriform : spoon-shaped.
Cochleate : coiled or shaped like a snail-shell.

Ccelospe'rmous : applied to those fruits of Umbelliferte which have the seed hol-
lowed on the inner face, by the curving inwards of the top and bottom ; as in

Coriander.
Coherent, in Botany, is usually the same as connate; p. 104.
Collective fruits, p. 133.

Colhim or Collar : the neck or line of junction between the stem and the root.
Columella : the axis to which the carpels of a compound pistil are often attached,

as in Geranium (fig. 278), or which is left when a pod opens, as in Azalea

and Rhododendron.
Column : the united stamens, as in Mallow, or the stamens and pistils united into

one body, as in the Orchis family, fig. 226.
Columnar : shaped like a column or pillar.

Coma : a tuft of any sort (literally, a head of hair) ; p. 135, fig. 317.
Comose: tufted ; bearing a tuft of hairs, as the seeds of Milkweed ; fig. 317.
Commissure : the line of junction of two carpels, as in the fruit of Umbelliferoe,

such as Parsnip, Caraway, &c.
Common : used as " general," in contradistinction to " partial " ; e. g. " common

involucre," p. 81.
Cdmplanate : flattened.

Compound leaf, p. 64. Compound pistil, p. 118. Compound umbel, &c., p. 81.
Complete (flower), p. 89.
Complicate : folded upon itself.
Compressed: flattened on two opposite sides.
Conduplicate : folded upon itself lengthwise, as are the leaves of Magnolia in the

bud, p. 76.
Cone: the fruit of the Pine family ; p. 133, fig. 314.
Confluent : blended together ; or the same as coherent.
Conformed : similar to another thing it is associated with or compared to ; or

closely fitted to it, as the skin to the kernel of a seed.
Congested, Conglomerate : crowded together.
Conjugate : coupled ; in single pairs.
Connate : united or grown together from the first.

GLOSSARY. 211

Connective, Connectivum : the part of the anther connecting its two cells ; p. 113.

Connivent : converging, or brought close together.

Consolidated forms of vegetation, p. 47.

Continuous : the reverse of interrupted or articulated.

Contorted: twisted together. Contorted (estivation ; same as convolute ; p. 109.

Contortuplicate : twisted back upon itself.

Contracted: either narrowed or shortened.

Contrary : turned in an opposite direction to another organ or part with which
it is compared.

Convolute : rolled up lengthwise, as the leaves of the Plum in vernation ; p. 76,
fig. 151. In aestivation, same as contorted; p. 109.

Cordate: heart-shaped ; p. 58, fig. 90, 99.

Coriaceous : resembling leather in texture.

Corky : of the texture of cork. Corky layer of bark, p. 152.

Corm, Cormus : a solid bulb, like that of Crocus; p. 44, fig. 71, 72.

Corneous : of the consistence or appearance of horn, as the albumen of the
seed of the Date, Coffee, &c.

Corniculate : furnished with a small horn or spur.
Cornule : horned ; bearing a horn-like projection or appendage.
Cordlla : the leaves of the flower within the calyx ; p. 86.
Corolldceous, Corolline : like or belonging to a corolla.

Corona : a coronet or crown ; an appendage at the top of the claw of some
petals, as Silene and Soapwort, fig. 200, or of the tube of the corolla of
Hound's-Tongue, &c.
Cordnate : crowned ; furnished with a crown.
Cortical : belonging to the bark (cortex).

Cdrymb: a sort of flat or convex flower-cluster ; p. 79, fig. 158.
Corymbdse: approaching the form of a corymb, or branched in that way;

arranged in corymbs.
Costa : a rib ; the midrib of a leaf, &c. Costate : ribbed.
Cotyle'dons : the first leaves of the embryo ; p. 6, 137.
Crate'riform : goblet-shaped ; broadly cup-shaped.

Creeping (stems) : growing flat on or beneath the ground and rooting; p. 37.
Cre'mocarp : a half-fruit, or one of the two carpels of Umbellifera.
Crenate, or Crenelled : the edge scalloped into rounded teeth; p. 62, fig. 114.
Crested, or Cristate : bearing any elevated appendage like a crest.
Cribrose : pierced like a sieve with small apertures.
Crinite : bearded with long hairs, &c.
Crown : see corona.

Crowning : borne on the apex of anything.

Cruciate, or Cruciform : cross-shaped, as the four spreading petals of the Mus-
tard (fig. 187), and all the flowers of that family.
Crustaceous : hard, and brittle in texture ; crust-like.
Cryptdgamous, or Cryptogamic : relating to Cryptogamia; p. 172-201.
Cucullate: hooded, or hood-shaped, rolled up like a cornet of paper, or a hosd

(cucullus), as the spathe of Indian Turnip, fig. 162.
Culm : a straw ; the stem of Grasses and Sedges.
Cuneate, Cuneiform : wedge-shaped ; p. 58, fig. 94.

212 GLOSSARY.

Cup-shaped: same as cyathiform, or near it.

Cupule : a little cup ; the cup to the acora of the Oak, p. 130, fig. 299.

Cupulate : provided with a cupule.

Cuspidate : tipped with a sharp and stiff point.

Cut : same as incised, or applied generally to any sharp and deep division.

Cuticle : the skin of plants, or more strictly its external pellicle.

Cyathiform : in the shape of a cup, or particularly of a wine-glass.

Cycle : one complete turn of a spire, or a circle ; p. 73.

Cyclical : rolled up circularly, or coiled into a complete circle.

Cyclosis : the circulation in closed cells, p. 167.

Cylindraceous : approaching to the

Cylindrical form ; as that of stems, &c, which are round, and gradually if at all

tapering.
Cymbafiorm, or Cymbiform : same as boat-shaped.
Cyme: a cluster of centrifugal inflorescence, p. 82, fig. 165, 167.
Cymose : furnished with cymes, or like a cyme.

Deca- (in composition of words of Greek derivation) : ten; as
Dccdgynous : with 10 pistils or styles. Decandrous : with 10 stamens.
Deciduous : falling off, or subject to fall , said of leaves which fall in autumn,

and of a calyx and corolla which fall before the fruit forms.
Declined : turned to one side, or downwards, as the stamens of Azalea nudiflora.
Decompound : several times compounded or divided ; p 67, fig. 138.
Decumbent: reclined on the ground, the summit tending to rise; p. 37.
Decurrent (leaves) : prolonged on the stem beneath the insertion, as in Thistles.
Decussate: arranged in pairs which successively cross each other; fig. 147.
Definite: when of a uniform number, and not above twelve or so.
Defiexed: bent downwards.

Deflorate : past the flowering state, as an anther after it has discharged its pollen.
Dehiscence : the mode in which an anther or a pod regularly bursts or splits

open; p. 132.
Dehiscent : opening by regular dehiscence.

Deliquescent : branching off so that the stem is lost in the branches, p. 25.
Deltoid: of a triangular shape, like the Greek capital A.
Demersed : growing below the surface of water.
Dendroid, Dendritic : tree-like in form or appearance.
Dentate: toothed (from the Latin dens, a tooth), p. 61, fig. 113.
Denticulate : furnished with denticulations, or very small teeth : diminutive of

the last.
Depauperate (impoverished or starved) : below the natural size.
Depressed : flattened, or as if pressed down from above ; flattened vertically.
Descending : tending gradually downwards.
Determinate Inflorescence, p. 81, 83.
Dextrorse : turned to the right hand.
Di- (in Greek compounds) : two, as

Diddelphous (stamens) : united by their filaments in two sets ; p. Ill, fig. 227.
Didndrous: having two stamens, p. 112.
Diagnosis : a short distinguishing character, or descriptive phrase.

GLOSSARY. 213

Diaphanous : transparent or translucent.

Dicldamydeous (flower) : having both calyx and corolla.

Dichotomons : two-forked.

Diclinous : having the stamens in one flower, the pistils in another ; p. 89,

fig. 176, 177.
Dico'ccous (fruit) : splitting into two cocci, or closed carpels.
Dicotyledonous (embryo) : having a pair of cotyledons ; p. 16, 137.
Dicotyledonous Plants, p. 150, 182.
Didymous: twin.
Didynamous (stamens) ; having four stamens in two pairs, one pair shorter than

the other, as in fig. 194, 195.
Diffuse: spreading widely and irregularly.
Digitate (fingered) : where the leaflets of a compound leaf are all borne on the

apex of the petiole; p. 65, fig. 129.
Digynous (flower) : having two pistils or styles, p. 116.
Dimerous : made up of two parts, or its organs in twos.
Dimidiate : halved ; as where a leaf or leaflet has only one side developed, or a

stamen has only one lobe or cell ; fig. 239.
Dimorphous : of two forms.
Dicecious, or Dioicous : where the stamens and pistils are in separate flowers on

different plants ; p. 89.
Dipe'talous : of two petals. Diphyllous : two-leaved. Dipterous : two-winged.
Disciform or Disk-shaped : flat and circular, like a disk or quoit.
Disk: the face of any flat body ; the central part of a head of flowers, like the

Sunflower, or Coreopsis (fig. 224), as opposed to the ray or margin; a

fleshy expansion of the receptacle of a flower ; p. 125.
Dissected : cut deeply into many lobes or divisions.
Dissepiments : the partitions of an ovary or a fruit ; p. 119.
Distichous : two-ranked ; p. 73.
Distinct: uncombined with each other ; p. 102.
Divaricate : straddling ; very widely divergent.

Divided (leaves, &c.) : cut into divisions extending about to the base or the mid-
rib; p. 62, fig. 125.
Dodeca- (in Greek compounds) : twelve; as
Dodecdgynous : with twelve pistils or styles.
Dodecandrous : with twelve stamens.
Dolabriform : axe-shaped.

Dorsal: pertaining to the back (dorsum) of an organ.
Dorsal Suture, p. 117.
Dotted Ducts, p. 148.

Double Flowers, so called : where the petals are multiplied unduly ; p. 85, 98.
Downy : clothed with a coat of soft and short hairs.
Drupe: a 6tone-fruit ; p. 128, fig. 285.
Drupaceous : like or pertaining to a drupe.
Ducts: the so-called vessels of plants; p. 146, 148.
Dumose: bushy, or relating to bushes.
Duramen: the heart-wood, p. 153.
Dwarf: remarkably low in stature.

214 GLOSSARY.

E-, or Ex-, at the beginning of compound words, means destitute of ; as ecostate,
without a rib or midrib ; exalbuminous, without albumen, &c.

Eared: see auriculate; p. 59, fig. 9G.

Ebrdcteate ; destitute of bracts.

Echinate : armed with prickles (like a hedgehog). Echinulate: a diminutive of it.

Edentate : toothless.

Effete : past bearing, &c. ; said of anthers which have discharged their pollen.

Eglandulose : destitute of glands.

Eldters : threads mixed with the spores of Liverworts. (Manual, p. 682.)

Ellipsoidal : approaching an elliptical figure.

Elliptical : oval or oblong, with the ends regularly rounded ; p. 58, fig. 88.

Emdrginate : notched at the summit ; p. 60, fig. 108.

Embryo: the rudimentary undeveloped plantlet in a seed; p. 6, fig. 9, 12, 26,
31-37, &c, and p. 136. Embryo-sac, p. 139.

Emersed : raised out of water.

Endecdgynous : with eleven pistils or styles. Endecdndrous : with eleven stamens-

Endocarp : the inner layer of a pericai-p or fruit ; p. 128.

Endochrome : the coloring matter of Alga? and the like.

Enddgenous Stems, p. 150. Endogenous Plants, p. 150.

Endosmose : p. 168.

Endosperm : another name for the albumen of a seed.

Endostome : the orifice in the inner coat of an ovule.

Ennea- : nine. Ennedgynous : with nine petals or styles.

Ennedndrous : with nine stamens.

Ensiform : sword-shaped ; as the leaves of Iris, fig. 134.

Entire: the margins not at all toothed, notched, or divided, but even ; p. 61.

Ephemeral : lasting for a day or less, as the corolla of Purslane, &c.

Epi-, in composition : upon ; as

Epicarp : the outermost layer of a fruit ; p. 128.

Epidermal: relating to the Epide'rmis, or the skin of a plant; p. 152, 155.

Epigaous : growing on the earth, or close to the ground.

Epigynous: upon the ovary; p. 105, 111.

Epipe'talous: borne on tho petals or the corolla.

Epiphyllous : borne on a leaf.

Epiphyte : a plant growing on another plant, but not nourished by it ; p. 84.

Epiphytic or Epiphytal : relating to Epiphytes ; p. 34.

Episperm : the skin or coat of a seed, especially the outer coat.

Equal: same as regular ; or of the same number or length, as the case may be,
of the body it is compared with.

Equally pinnate : same as abruptly pinnate ; p. 65.

Equitant (riding straddle) ; p. 68, fig. 133, 134.

Erose: eroded, as if gnawed.

Erdstrate: not beaked.

Essential Organs of the flower, p. 85.

Estivation: see aestivation.

Etiolated: blanched by excluding the light, as the stalks of Celery.

Evergreen : holding the leaves over winter and until new ones appear, or longer.

Exalbuminous (seed) : destitute of albumen ; p. 136.

GLOSSARY. 215

Exciirrent : running out, as when a midrib projects beyond the apex of a leaf,

or a trunk is continued to the very top of a tree.
Exhalation, p. 156, 169.

Exogenous Stems, p. 150. Exogenous Plants, p. 182.
Exostome: the orifice in the outer coat of the ovule; p. 122.
Explanate : spread or flattened out.

Exserted: protruding out of, as the stamens out of the corolla of fig. 201.
Exstipidate : destitute of stipules.
Extra-axillary : said of a branch or bud a little out of the axil ; as the upper

accessory buds of the Butternut, p. 27, fig. 52.
Extrdrse : turned outwards ; the anther is extrorse when fastened to the filament

on the side next the pistil, and opening on the outer side, as in Iris ; p. 113.

Falcate : scythe-shaped ; a flat body curved, its edges parallel.

Family: p. 176.

Farinaceous : mealy in texture. Farinose : covered with a mealy powder.

Fdsciate: banded ; also applied to monstrous stems which grow flat.

Fascicle: a close cluster ; p. 83.

Fascicled, Fasciculated: growing in a bundle or tuft, as the leaves of Pine
and Larch (fig. 139, 140), the roots of Pteony and Dahlia, fig. 60.

Fastigiate : close, parallel, and upright, as the branches of Lombardy Poplar.

Faux (plural, fauces) : the throat of a calyx, corolla, &c.

Fave'olaie, Fdvose : honeycombed ; same as alveolate.

Feather-veined : where the veins of a leaf spring from along the sides of a mid-
rib ; p. 57, fig. 86-94.

Female (flowers) : with pistils and no stamens.

Fene'strate : pierced with one or more large holes, like windows.

Ferrugineous, or Ferruginous : resembling iron-rust ; red-grayish.

Fertile : fruit-bearing, or capable of producing fruit ; also said of anthers when
they produce good pollen.

Fertilization : the process by which pollen causes the embryo to be formed.

Fibre, p. 145. Fibrous : containing much fibre, or composed of fibres.

Fibrillose : formed of small fibres.

Fibrine, p. 165.

Fiddle-shaped : obovate with a deep recess on each side.

Filament: the stalk of a stamen; p. 86, fig. 170, a; also any slender thread-
shaped appendage.

Filame'ntose, or Filamentous : bearing or formed of slender threads.

Filiform : thread-shaped ; long, slender, and cylindrical.

Fimbriate: fringed; furnished with fringes (fimbria).

Fistular or Fistulose: hollow and cylindrical, as the leaves of the Onion.

Ftabe'lliform or Flabe'llate : fan-shaped ; broad, rounded at the summit, and nar-
rowed at the base.

Flagellate, or Flagelliform < long, narrow, and flexible, like the thong of a whip ;
or like the runners (flagelkv) of the Strawberry.

Flavescent : yellowish, or turning yellow.

Fleshy : composed of firm pulp or flesh.

Fleshy Plants, p. 47.

216 GLOSSARY.

F/e'xuose, or Fle'xuous : bending gently in opposite directions, in a zigzag way.

Floating : swimming on the surface of water.

Fldccose : composed, or bearing tufts, of woolly or long and soft hairs.

Flora (the goddess of flowers) : the plants of a country or district, taken

together, or a work systematically describing them ; p. 3.
Floral : relating to the blossom.
Floral Envelopes : the leaves of the flower ; p. 85, 99.
Floret: a diminutive flower; one of the flowers of ahead (or of the so-called

compound flower) of Composite, p. 106.
Flower : the whole organs of reproduction of Phamogamous plants ; p. 84.
Flower-bud: an unopened flower.

Flowering Plants, p. 177. Flowerless Plants, p. 172, 177.
Folidceous : belonging to, or of the texture or nature of, a leaf (folium).
Foliose : leafy ; abounding in leaves.
Fdliolate: relating to or bearing leaflets (foliola).

Follicle: a simple pod, opening down the inner suture ; p. 131, fig. 302.
Follicular : resembling or belonging to a follicle.
Food of Plants, p. 160.

Foramen : a hole or orifice, as that of the ovule ; p. 122.
Fornix: little arched scales in the throat of some corollas, as of Comfrey.
Fornicate : over-arched, or arching over.
Foveate : deeply pitted. Fove'olate : diminutive offoveate.
Free: not united with any other parts of a different sort ; p. 103.
Fringed : the margin beset with slender appendages, bristles, &c.
Frond : what answers to leaves in Ferns ; the stem and leaves fused into one

body, as in Duckweed and many Liverworts, &c.
Frondescence : the bursting into leaf.

Frdndose : frond-bearing ; like a frond : or sometimes used for leafy.
Fructification : the state of fruiting. Organs of, p. 76.
Fruit: the matured ovary and all it contains or is connected with; p. 126.
Frute'scent: somewhat shrubby ; becoming a shrub (frutex).
Fruticulose: like a small shrub. Fruticose: shrubby; p. 36.
Fugacious : soon falling off or perishing.
Fulvous : tawny ; dull yellow with gray.
Funicidus: the stalk of a seed or ovule; p. 122.
Funnel -form, or Funnel-shaped : expanding gradually upwards, like a funnel

or tunnel ; p. 102.
Furcate : forked.

Furfuruceous : covered witli bran-like fine scurf.
Furrowed : marked by longitudinal channels or grooves.
Fuscous: deep gray-brown.
Fusiform: spindle-shaped; p. 32.

Gdleate: shaped like a helmet (galea); as the upper sepal of the Monkshood,

fig. 185, and the upper lip of the corolla of Dead-Nettie, fig. 209.
Gamope'talous : of united petals ; same as monopetalous, and a better word; p. 102.
Gamophjllous : formed of united leaves. Gamosepalous : formed of united sepals.
Gelatine, p. 165.

GLOSSARY. 217

Geminate: twin; in pairs; as the flowers of Linnsea.

Gemma : a bud.

Gemmation : the state of budding, or the arrangement of parts in the bud.

Ge'mmule : a small bud ; the buds of Mosses ; the plumule, p. 6.

Geniculate: bent abruptly, like a knee (genu), as many stems.

Genus : a kind ; a rank above species ; p. 175, 176.

Generic Names, p. 178. Generic Character, p. 181.

Geographical Botany : the study of plants in their geographical relations, p. 3.

Germ: a growing point; a young bud; sometimes the same as embryo; p. 136.

Germen : the old name for ovary.

Germination : the development of a plantlet from the seed; p. 5, 137.

Gibbous : more tumid at one place or on one side than the other.

Glabrate : becoming glabrous with age, or almost glabrous.

Glabrous : smooth, i. c. having no hairs, bristles, or other pubescence.

Gladiate: sword-shaped; as the leaves of Iris, fig. 134.

Glands : small cellular organs which secrete oily or aromatic or other products :
they arc sometimes sunk in the leaves or rind, as in the Orange, Prickly
Ash, &c. ; sometimes on the surface as small projections ; sometimes raised
on hairs or bristles {glandular hairs, <|-c.), as in the Sweetbrier and Sun-
dew. The name is also given to any small swellings, &c, whether they
secrete anything or not.

Glandular, Glandulose : furnished with glands, or gland-like.

Glans ( Gland) : the acom or mast of Oak and similar fruits.

Glaucescent : slightly glaucous, or bluish-gray.

Glaucous : covered with a bloom, viz. with a fine white powder that rubs off, like
that on a fresh plum, or a cabbagc-lcaf.

Globose: spherical in form, or nearly so. Gldbular : nearly globose.

Glochidiate (hairs or bristles): barbed; tipped with barbs, or with a double
hooked point.

Glomerate : closely aggregated into a dense cluster.

Gldmerule: a dense head-like cluster; p. 83.

Glossology : the department of Botany in which technical terms are explained.

Glumaccous : glume-like, or glume-bearing.

Glume : Glumes are the husks or floral coverings of Grasses, or, particularly,
the outer husks or bracts of each spikelet. (Manual, p. 535.)

Glumelles : the inner husks, or palcaj, of Grasses.

Gluten : a vegetable product containing nitrogen ; p. 165.

Granular: composed of grains. Granule: a small grain.

Growth, p. 138.

Grumous or Grumose : formed of coarse clustered grains.

Guttate : spotted, as if by drops of something colored.

Gymnocdrpous : naked-fruited.

Gymnospe'nnous : naked-seeded; p. 121.

Gymnospermce, or Gymnospermous Plants, p. 184 ; Manual, p. xxiii.

Gyndndrous : with stamens borne on, i. e. united with, the pistil ; p. Ill, fig. 226.

Gynascium: a name for the pistils of a flower taken altogether.

Gynobase : a particular receptacle or support of the pistils, or of the carpels of
a compound ovary, as in Geranium, fig. 277, 278.

19

218 GLOSSARY.

Gynophore : a stalk raising a pistil above the stamens, as in the Cleome Family,

p. 276.
Gyrate : coiled in a circle : same as circinate.
Gyrose : strongly bent to and fro.

Habit : the general aspect of a plant, or its mode of growth.

Habitat : the situation in which a plant grows in a wild state.

Hairs: hair-like projections or appendages of the surface of plants.

Hairy : beset with hairs, especially longish ones.

Halberd-shaped, or Halberd-headed: see hastate.

Halved : when appearing as if one half of the body Were cut away.

Hamate or Hamose : hooked ; the end of a slender body bent round.

Hdmulose : bearing a small hook ; a diminutive of the last.

Hastate or Hostile : shaped like a halberd ; furnished with a spreading lobe on

each side at the base ; p. 59, fig. 97.
Heart-shaped : of the shape of a heart as commonly painted ; p. 58, fig. 90.
Heart-wood: the older or matured wood of exogenous trees; p. 153.
Helicoid: coiled like a helix or snail-shell.

Helmet: the upper sepal of Monkshood in this shape, fig. 185, &c.
Hemi- (in compounds from the Greek) : half; e. g. Hemispherical, &c.
He'micarp: half-fruit, or one carpel of an Umbelliferous plant.
Hemitropous or Hemitropal (ovule or seed): nearly same as amphitropous, p. 123.
Hcpta- (in words of Greek origin) : seven; as,
Heptdgynous : with seven pistils or styles.

Heptdmerous : its parts in sevens. Heptdndrous: having seven stamens.
Herb, p. 20.

Herbaceous: of the texture of common herbage; not woody; p. 36.
Herbarium: the botanist's arranged collection of dried plants; p. 201.
Hermaphrodite (flower) : having both stamens and pistils in the same blossom ;

same as perfect; p. 89.
Heterocdrpous : bearing fruit of two sorts or shapes, as in Amphicarpaea.
Hetcrdr/amous : bearing two or more sorts of flowers as to their stamens and

pistils ; as in Aster, Daisy, and Coreopsis.
Heteromdrphous : of two or more shapes.

Heterdlropous, or Heterdtropal (ovule) : the same as amphitropous; p. 123.
Hexa- (in Greek compounds) : six; as

Hexagonal: six-angled. Hexdgynous: with six pistils or styles.
Hexdmerous : its parts in sixes. Hexdndrous: with six stamens.
Hexdpterous : six-winged.
Hilar : belonging to the hilum.

Hilum: the scar of the seed; its place of attachment ; p. 122, 135.
Hippocre'piform : horseshoe-shaped.
Hirsute : hairy with stiffish or beard-like hairs.

Hispid: bristly; beset with stiff hairs. Hispidulous is a diminutive of it.
Hoary : grayish-white ; see canescent, &c.

Homdgamous : a head or cluster with flowers all of one kind, as in Eupatorium.
Homoye'ncous : uniform in nature ; all of one kind.
Homomdllous (leaves, &c.) : originating all round a stem, but all bent or curved

round to one side.

GLOSSARY. 219

Homomdrphous : all of one shape.

Homdtropous or Homdtropal (embryo) : curved with the seed; curved one way.

Hood: same as helmet or galea. Hooded: hood-shaped; see cucullate.

Hooked: same as hamate.

Horn : a spur or some similar appendage. Homy : of the texture of horn.

Hortus Siccus: an herbarium, or collection of dried plants; p. 201.

Humifuse : spread over the surface of the ground.

Hyaline : transparent, or partly so.

Hybrid: a cross-breed between two allied species.

Hypocrate'riform : salver-shaped; p. 101, fig. 202, 208.

Hypogcean : produced under ground.

Hypogynous; inserted under the pistil; p. 103, fig. 212.

Icosdndrous: having 12 or more stamens inserted on the calyx.

Imbricate, Imbricated, Imbricative : overlapping one another, like tiles or shingles
on a roof, as the scales of the involucre of Zinnia, &c, or the bud-scales of
Horscchcsnut (fig. 48) and Hickory (fig. 49). In aestivation, where some
leaves of the calyx or corolla are overlapped on both sides by others ; p. 109.

Immarginate : destitute of a rim or border.

Immersed: growing wholly under water.

Impari-pinnate : pinnate with a single leaflet at the apex; p. 65, fig. 12G.

Imperfect flowers : wanting cither stamens or pistils ; p. 89.

Incequilateral : unequal-sided, as the leaf of a Begonia.

Incanous : hoary with white pubescence.

Incised: cut rather deeply and irregularly ; p. 62.

Included: enclosed ; when the part in question does not project beyond another.

Incomplete Flower: wanting calyx or corolla ; p. 90.

Incrassated: thickened.

Incumbent: leaning or resting upon: the cotyledons are incumbent when the
back of one of them lies against the radicle ; the anthers are incumbent
when turned or looking inwards, p. 113.

Incurved: gradually curving inwards.

Indefinite: not uniform in number, or too numerous to mention (over 12).

Indefinite or Indeterminate Inflorescence: p. 77.

Indehiscent; not splitting open; i. e, not dehiscent; p. 127.

Indigenous ; native to the country.

Individuals: p. 173,

Indiiplicate: with the edges turned inwards ; p. 109,

Indusium: the shield or covering of a fruit-dot of a Fern. (Manual, p. 588.)

Inferior: growing below some other organ; p. 104, 121.

Inflated: turgid and bladdery,

Inflexed: bent inwards.

Inflorescence: the arrangement of flowers on the stem; p. 76.

Infra-axillary : situated beneath the axil.

Infundibvliform or Infundibular: funnel-shaped; p. 102, fig. 199.

Innate (anther) : attached by its base to the very apex of the filament; p. 113.

Innovation : an incomplete young shoot, esjjecially in Mosses.

Inorganic Constituents, p. 160,

220 GLOSSARY.

Insertion : the place or the mode of attachment of an organ to its support ; p. 72.

Intercellular Passages or Spaces, p. 143, fig. 341.

Internode: the part of a stem between two nodes; p. 42.

Interruptedly pinnate: pinnate with small leaflets intermixed with larger ones,

as in Water Avens.
Intrafuliaceous (stipules, &c.) : placed between the leaf or petiole and the stem.
Introrse: turned or facing inwards, i. e. towards the axis of the flower; p. 113.
Inverse or Inverted: where the apex is in the direction opposite to that of the

organ it is compared with.
Involucel: a partial or small involucre; p. 81.
Involucellate: furnished with an involucel.
Involucrate: furnished with an involucre.

Involucre : a whorl or set of bracts around a flower, umbel, or head ; p. 79.
Involute, in vernation, p. 76 : rolled inwards from the edges.
Irregular Flowers, p. 91.

Jointed: separate or separable at one or more places into pieces ; p. 64, &c.

Keel: a projecting ridge on a surface, like the keel of a boat; the two anterior

petals of a papilionaceous corolla; p. 105, fig. 217, 218, k.
Keeled: furnished with a keel or sharp longitudinal ridge.
Kernel of the ovule and seed, p. 122, 136.
Kidney-shaped: resembling the outline of a kidney; p. 59, fig. 100.

Labetlum: the odd petal in the Orchis Family.

Labiate: same as bilabiate or two-lipped; p. 105.

Laciniate: slashed; cut into deep narrow lobes (called lacinice).

Lactescent : producing milky juice, as does the Milkweed, &c.

Ldcunose : full of holes or gaps.

Lcevigate: smooth as if polished.

Lamellar or Lamellate : consisting of flat plates (lamella?).

Lamina : a plate or blade : the blade of a leaf, &c, p. 54.

Lanate : woolly ; clothed with long and soft entangled hairs.

Lanceolate: lance-shaped; p. 58, fig. 86.

Lanuginous : cottony or woolly.

Latent buds : concealed or undeveloped buds ; p. 26, 27.

Lateral: belonging to the side.

Latex: the milky juice, &c. of plants.

Lax: loose in texture, or sparse; the opposite of crowded.

Leaf, p. 49. Leaf-buds, p. 20, 27.

Leaflet: one of the divisions or blades of a compound leaf; p. 64.

Leaf-like: same as foliaceous.

Leathery : of about the consistence of leather ; coriaceous.

Legume: a simple pod, dehiscent into two pieces, like that of the Pea, p. 131,

fig. 303; the fruit of the Pea Family (Leguminosce) , of whatever shape.
Legumine, p. 165.

Leguminous : belonging to legumes, or to the Leguminous Family.
Lenticular: lens-shaped; i. e. flattish and convex on both sides.

GLOSSARY. 221

Lepidote : leprous ; covered with scurfy scales.

Liber: the inner, fibrous bark of Exogenous plants; p. 152.

Ligneous, or Lignose : woody in texture.

Ligulate: furnished with a ligulc ; p. 10G.

Ligule: the strap-shaped corolla in many Compositte, p. 106, fig. 220; the

little membranous appendage at the summit of the leaf-sheaths of most

Grasses.
Limb: the blade ot a leaf, petal, &c. ; p. 54, 102.
Linear: narrow and flat, the margins parallel; p. 58, fig. 85.
Lineate: marked with parallel lines. Lineolate: marked with minute lines.
Lingulate, Linguiform : tongue-shaped.
Lip : the principal lobes of a bilabiate corolla or calyx, p. 105 ; the odd and

peculiar petal in the Orchis Family.
Lobe: any projection or division (especially a rounded one) of a leaf, &c.
Loce'llus (plural locdli) : a small cell, or compartment of a cell, of an ovary or

anther.
Ldcular : relating to the cell or compartment (loculus) of an ovary, &c.
Loculicidal (dehiscence) : splitting down through the middle of the back of each

cell ; p. 132, fig. 305.
Locusta : a name for the spikelct of Grasses.

Lament : a pod which separates transversely into joints; p. 131, fig. 304.
Lomentdceous : pertaining to or resembling a loment.
Ldrate : thong-shaped.

Lunate: crescent-shaped. Lunidate: diminutive of lunate.
Lyrate : lyre-shaped ; a pinnatifid leaf of an obovate or spatulatc outline, the

end-lobe large and roundish, and the lower lobes small, as in Winter-
Cress and Radish, fig. 59.

Mace: the aril of the Nutmeg; p. 135.

Maculate : spotted or blotched.

Male (flowers) : having stamens but no pistil.

Mdmmose: breast-shaped.

Marcescent : withering without falling off.

Marginal : belonging to the edge or margin.

Marginate : margined, with an edge different from the rest.

Masked : see personate.

Median : belonging to the middle.

Medullary: belonging to, or of the nature of pith (medulla) ; pithy.

Medullary Rays: the silver-grain of wood ; p. 151.

Medullary Sheath: a set of ducts just around the pith ; p. 151.

Membranaceous or Me'mbranous : of the texture of membrane ; thin and more or

less translucent.
Meniscoid : crescent-shaped.

Me'ricarp : one carpel of the fruit of an Umbelliferous plant.
Merismatic: separating into parts by the formation of partitions within.
Me'socarp : the middle part of a pericarp,, when that is distinguishable into three

layers ; p. 128.
Mesophlceum : the middle or green bark.
19*

222 GLOSSARY.

Micropyle: the closed orifice of the seed ; p. 135.

Midrib : the middle or main rib of a leaf; p. 55.

Milk-Vessels: p. 148.

Miniate : vermilion-colored.

Mitriform : mitre-shaped ; in the form of a peaked cap.

Monade'lphous : stamens united by their filaments into one set; p. 111.

Mondndrous (flower) : having only one stamen; p. 112.

Moniliform : necklace-shaped ; a cylindrical body contracted at intervals.

Monochlamydeous : having only one floral envelope, i. e. calyx but no corolla, as

Anemone, fig. 179, and Castor-oil Plant, fig. 178.
Monocotyle'donous (embryo) : with only one cotyledon; p. 16, 137.
Monocotyledonous Plants, p. 150, 192.

Monoecious, or Monoicous (flower) : having stamens or pistils only; p. 90.
Mondgynous (flower) : having only one pistil, or one style; p. 116.
Monope'talous (flower) : with the corolla of one piece; p. 101.
Monophyllous : orie-leaved, or of one piece; p. 102.
Monose'palous : a calyx of one piece ; i. e. with the sepals united into one body ;

p. 101.
Monospe'rmous : one-seeded.

Monstrosity : an unnatural deviation from the usual structure or form.
Morphology : the department of botany which treats of the forms which an organ

(say a leaf) may assume ; p. 28.
Mucronate: tipped with an abrupt short point {mucro) ; p. 60, fig. 111.
Mucrdnulate : tipped with a minute abrupt point ; a diminutive of the last.
Multi-, in composition : many ; as

Multangular : many-angled. Multicipital : many-headed, &c.
Multifarious: in many rows or ranks. Multijid: many-cleft; p. 62.
Multildcular : many-celled. Multise'rial : in many rows.
Multiple Fruits, p. 133.
Miiricate : beset with short and hard points.
Muriform : wall-like ; resembling courses of bricks in a wall.
Muscology: the part of descriptive botany which treats of Mosses (i. e. Musci).
Muticous : pointless ; beardless ; unarmed.
Mycdium : the spawn of Fungi ; i. e. the filaments from which Mushrooms, &c.

originate.

Ndpiform: turnip-shaped ; p. 31, fig. 57.

Natural System: p. 195.

Naturalized: introduced from a foreign country, but growing perfectly wild and

propagating freely by seed.
Navicular: boat-shaped, like the glumes of most Grasses.
Necklace-shaped : looking like a string of beads ; see moniliform.
Nectar : the honey, &c. secreted by glands, or by any part of the corolla.
Nectariferous : honey-bearing ; or having a nectary.
Nectary : the old name for petals and other parts of the flower when of unusual

shape, especially when honey-bearing. So the hollow spur-shaped petals of

Columbine were called nectaries; also the curious long-clawed petals of

Monkshood, fig. 186, &c.

GLOSSARY. 223

Needle-shaped: long, slender, and rigid, like the leaves of Pines ; p. 68, fig. 140.
Nerve: a name for the ribs or veins of leaves, when simple and parallel ; p. 56.
Nerved : furnished with nerves, or simple and parallel ribs or veins ; p. 56, fig. 84.
Netted-veined : furnished with branching veins forming network; p. 56, fig. 83.
Nodding (in Latin form, Nutant) : bending so that the summit hangs downward.
Node: a knot ; the "joints " of a stem, or the part whence a leaf or a pair of

leaves springs ; p. 40.
Nddose: knotty or knobby. Nddulose: furnished with little knobs or kuots.
Normal : according to rule ; the pattern or natural way according to some law.
Notate : marked with spots or lines of a different color.
Nucamentaceous : relating to or resembling a small nut.
Nucifbrm : nut-shaped or nut-like. Nucule : a small nut.
Nucleus: the kernel of an ovule (p. 122) or seed (p. 136) of a cell ; p. 140.
Nut : a hard, mostly one-seeded indehiscent fruit ; as a chestnut, butternut,

acorn; p. 130, fig. 299.
Nutlet : a little nut ; or the stone of a drupe.

Ob- (meaning over against) : when prefixed to words, signifies inversion ; as,

Obcompressed : flattened the opposite of the usual way.

Obcordate : heart-shaped with the broad and notched end at the apex instead of

the base; p. 60, fig. 109.
Obldnceolate : lance-shaped with the tapering point downwards ; p. 58, fig. 91.
Oblique : applied to leaves, &c. means unequal-sided.
Oblong: from two to four times as long as broad, and more or less elliptical

in outline ; p. 58, fig. 87.
Obdvate: inversely ovate, the broad end upward; p. 58, fig. 93.
Obtuse: blunt, or round at the end ; p. 60, fig. 105.
Obverse: same as inverse.
Obvolute (in the bud) : when the margins of one leaf alternately overlap those of

the opposite one.
Ochreate: furnished with ochreoz (boots), or stipules in the form of sheaths; as

in Polygonum, p. 69, fig. 137.
Ochroleucous : yellowish- white ; dull cream-color.
Octo-, eight, enters into the composition of
Octdgijnous : with eight pistils or styles.

Octdmerous : its parts in eights. Octdndrous : with eight stamens, &c.
Offset: short branches next the ground which take root ; p. 38.
One-ribbed, One-nerved, &c. : furnished with only a single rib, &c., &c.
Opaque, applied to a surface, means dull, not shining.

Ope'rculate : furnished with a lid or cover (operculum), as the capsules of Mosses.
Opposite : said of leaves and branches when on opposite sides of the stem from

each other (i. e. in pairs) ; p. 23, 71. Stamens are opposite the petals, &c.

when they stand before them.
Orbicular, Orbiculate : circular in outline or nearly so ; p. 58.
Organ : any member of the plant, as a leaf, a stamen, &c. ; p. 1
Organs of Vegetation, p. 7 ; of Reproduction, p. 77.
Organized, Organic: p. 1, 158, 159, 162.
Organic Constituents, p. 160. Organic Structure, p. 142.

224 GLOSSARY.

Orthdtropous or Orthdtropal (ovule or seed) : p. 122, 135, fig. 270, 274.
Osseous : of a bony texture.
Oval: broadly elliptical; p. 88.

6vary : that part of the pistil containing the ovules or future seeds ; p. 86, 116.
Ovate : shaped like an egg with the broader end downwards, or, in plane sur-
faces, such as leaves, like the section of an egg lengthwise ; p. 58, fig. 89.
Ovoid : ovate or oval in a solid form.
Ovule: the body which is destined to become a seed; p. 86, 116, 122.

Palea (plural palece) : chaff; the inner husks of Grasses ; the chaff or bracts on
the receptacle of many Compositas, as Coreopsis, fig. 220, and Sunflower.

Paleaceous : famished with chaff, or chaffy in texture.

Palmate : when leaflets or the divisions of a leaf all spread from the apex of the
petiole, like the hand with the outspread fingers ; p. 167, fig. 129, &c.

Palmately (veined, lobed, &c.) : in a palmate manner; p. 57, 63, 65.

Pandiiriform : fiddle-shaped (which see).

Panicle: an open cluster; like a raceme, but more or less compound; p. 81,
fig. 163.

Panicled, Paniculate: arranged in panicles, or like a panicle.

Papery : of about the consistence of letter-paper.

Papilionaceous : butterfly-shaped ; applied to such a corolla as that of the Pea
and the Locust-tree; p. 105, fig. 217.

Papilla (plural papilla') : little nipple-shaped protuberances.

Papillate, Papillose : covered with papilla?.

Pappus : thistle-down. The down crowning the achenium of the Thistle, and
other Composita?, represents the calyx ; so the scales, teeth, chaff, as well
as bristles, or whatever takes the place of the calyx in this family, are called
the pappus; fig. 292-296, p. 130.

Parallel-veined, or nerved (leaves) : p. 55, 56.

Pardphyses: jointed filaments mixed with the antheridia of Mosses. (Manual,
p. G07.)

Parenchyma : soft cellular tissue of plants, like the green pulp of leaves.

Parietal (placenta;, &e.) : attached to the walls (parietes) of the ovary or peri-
carp; p. 119, 120.

Parted: separated or cleft into parts almost to the base; p. 62.

Partial involucre, same as an involucel : partial petiole, a division of a main leaf-
stalk or the stalk of a leaflet : partial peduncle, a branch of a peduncle: par-
tial umbel, an umbellet, p. 81.

Patent : spreading ; open. Patulous : moderately spreading.

Pauci-, in composition : few ; as pauciflorous, few-flowered, &c.

Pear-shaped: solid obovate, the shape of a pear.

Pectinate : pinnatifid or pinnately divided into narrow and close divisions, like
the teeth of a comb.

Pedate : like a bird's foot ; palmate or palmately cleft, with the side divisions
again cleft, as in Viola pedata, &c.

Pedately cleft, lobed, &c. : cut in a pedate way.

Pe'dicel : the stalk of each particular flower of a cluster; p. 78, fig. 156.

Pedicellate, Pe'dicelled : furnished with a pedicel.

GLOSSARY. 225

Peduncle : a flower-stalk, whether of a single flower or of a flower-cluster ; p. 78.

Pe'duncled, Pedunculate : furnished with a peduncle.

Peltate : shield-shaped : said of a leaf, whatever its shape, when the petiole is

attached to the lower side, somewhere within the margin ; p. 59, fig. 102, 178.
Pendent : hanging. Pendulous : somewhat hanging or drooping.
Penicillate : tipped with a tuft of fine hairs, like a painter's pencil ; as the stig-
mas of some Grasses.
Penta- (in words of Greek composition) : five ; as
Pentdgynous : with five pistils or styles ; p. 116.
Pentdmerous : with its parts in fives, or on the plan of five.
Pentdndrous : having five stamens ; p. 112. Pentdstichous : in five ranks.
Pepo: a fruit like the Melon and Cucumber; p. 128.
Perennial: lasting from year to year; p. 21.
Perfect (flower) : having both stamens and pistils ; p. 89.
Perfoliate: passing through the leaf, in appearance ; p. 67, fig. 131, 132.
Perforate : pierced with holes, or with transparent dots resembling holes, as an

Orange-leaf.
Perianth : the leaves of the flower generally, especially when we cannot readily

distinguish them into calyx and corolla ; p. 85.
Pericarp: the ripened ovary ; the walls of the fruit ; p. 127.
Pericdrpic : belonging to the pericarp.

Pe'richath : the cluster of peculiar leaves at the base of the fruit-stalk of Mosses.
Perichatial : belonging to the perichaeth.
Perigdniuni, Perigdne: same as perianth.
Perigynium : bodies around the pistil ; applied to the closed cup or bottle-shaped

body which encloses the ovary of Sedges, and to the bristles, little scales,

&c. of the flowers of some other Cyperacea3.
Perigynous : the petals and stamens borne on the calyx; p. 104, 111.
Peripheric : around the outside, or periphery, of any organ.
Pe'risperm: a name for the albumen of a seed (p. 136).
Peristome : the fringe of teeth, &c. around the orifice of the capsule of Mosses.

(Manual, p. 607.)
Persistent : remaining beyond the period when such parts commonly fall, as the

leaves of evergreens, and the calyx, &c. of such flowers as remain during

the growth of the fruit.
Pdrsonate : masked ; a bilabiate corolla with a projection, or palate, in the throat,

as of the Snapdragon ; p. 106, fig. 210, 211.
Petal: a leaf of the corolla; p. 85.
Petaloid : petal-like ; resembling or colored like petals.
Petiole : a footstalk of a leaf ; a leaf-stalk, p. 54.
Petioled, Petiolate : furnished with a petiole.

Petidlulate : said of a leaflet when raised on its own partial leafstalk.
Phozndgamou?,, or Phanerdgamous : plants bearing flowers and pixiducing seeds ;

same as Flowering Plants ; p. 177, 182.
Phjllddium (plural phyllodia) : a leaf where the blade is a dilated petiole, as in

New Holland Acacias ; p. 69.
Phyllotdxis, or Phgllotaxy : the arrangement of leaves on the stem ; p. 71.
Physiological Botany, Physiology, p. 3.

22G GLOSSARY.

Phyton : a name used to designate the pieces which by their repetition make up

a plant, theoretically, viz. a joint of stem with its leaf or pair of leaves.
Piliferous: bearing a slender bristle or hair (pilum), or beset with hairs.
Pilose: hairy ; clothed with soft slender hairs.
Pinna : a primary branch of the petiole of a bipinnate or tripinnate leaf, as fig.

130, p. 66.
Pinnule : a secondary branch of the petiole of a bipinnate or tripinnate leaf ; p. 66.
Pinnate (leaf) : when the leaflets are arranged along the sides of a common pe-
tiole; p. 65, fig. 126-128.
Pinnatehj lobed, cleft, parted, divided, &c, p. 63.
Pinndtijid: same as pinnatcly cleft; p. 63, fig. 119.
Pistil: the seed-bearing organ of the flower ; p. 86, 116.
Pistillidium : the body which in Mosses, Liverworts, &c. answers to the pistil.
Pitchers, p. 51, fig. 79, 80.

Pith : the cellular centre of an exogenous stem ; p. 150, 151.
Pitted : having small depressions or pits on the surface, as many seeds.
Placenta : the surface or part of the ovary to which the ovules are attached ;

p. 118.
Plaited (in the bud) ; p. 76, fig. 150 ; p. 110, fig. 225.
Plane : flat, outspread.
Plicate : same as plaited.
Plumose: feathery; when any slender body (such as a bristle of a pappus) is

beset with hairs along its sides, like the plumes or the beard on a feather.
Plumule : the little bud or first shoot of a germinating plantlet above the cotyle-
dons ; p. 6, fig. 5; p. 137.
Pluri-, in composition : many or several ; as
Plurifoliolate : with several leaflets ; p. 66.

Pod: specially a legume, p. 131 ; also applied to any sort of capsule.
Pddosperm : the stalk of a seed.

Pointless: destitute of any pointed tip, such as a mucro, awn, acumination, &c.
Pollen : the fertilizing powder of the anther ; p. 86, 114.
Pollen-mass : applied to the pollen when the grains all cohere into a mass, as in

Milkweed and Orchis.
Poly- (in compound words of Greek origin) : same as mulli- in those of Latin

origin, viz. many ; as
Polyadelphous: having the stamens united by their filaments into several bun-
dles; p. 112.
Polydndrous : with numerous (more than 20) stamens (inserted on the recep-
tacle) ; p. 112.
Polycotyle'donous : having many (more than two) cotyledons, as Pines; p. 17,

137, fig. 45, 46.
Polygamous : having some perfeet and some separated flowers, on the same or on

different individuals, as the Red Maple.
Pohjgoncd : many-angled.

Pohjrjynous: with many pistils or styles; p. 116.
Pohjmerous : formed of many parts of each set.
Polymdrphous : of several or varying forms.

Polype'talous : when the petals are distinct or separate (whether few or many) ;
p. 103.

GLOSSARY.

227

Polyphijllous : many-leaved ; formed of several distinct pieces, as the calyx of

Sedum, fig. 168, Flax, fig. 174, &c
Polysepalous : same as the last when applied to the calyx ; p. 103.
Polyspc'rmous: many-seeded.

Pome: the apple, pear, and similar fleshy fruits ; p. 123.
Porous : full of holes or pores.

Pouch : the silicle or short pod, as of Shepherd's Purse ; p. 133.
Prcrfloration : same as cestivation ; p. 108.
Prcc foliation : same as vernation; p. 75.
Prwmdrse : ending abruptly, as if bitten off.

Prickles : sharp elevations of the bark, coming off with it, as of the Rose ; p. 39.
Prickly : bearing prickles, or sharp projections like them.
Primine: the outer coat of the covering of the ovule ; p. 124.
Primordial : earliest formed ; primordial leaves are the first after the cotyledons.
Prismatic : prism-shaped ; having three or more angles bounding flat or hollowed

sides.
Process : any projection from the surface or edge of a body.
Procumbent: trailing on the ground; p. 37.
Produced : extended or projecting, as the upper sepal of a Larkspur is produced

above into a spur ; p. 91, fig. 183.
Proliferous (literally, bearing offspring) : where a new branch rises from an

older one, or one head or cluster of flowers out of another, as in Filago

Germanica, &c.
Prostrate : lying flat on the ground.

Prdteine: a vegetable product containing nitrogen ; p. 165.
Protoplasm : the soft nitrogenous lining or contents of cells ; p. 165.
Pruinose, Pruinate: frosted ; covered with a powder like hoar-frost.
Pube'rulent : covered with fine and short, almost imperceptible down.
Pube'scent : hairy or downy, especially with fine and soft hairs or pubescence.
Pulverulent, or Pulveraceous : dusted ; covered with fine powder, or what looks

like such.
Pulvinate : cushioned, or shaped like a cushion.
Punctate : dotted, either with minute holes or what look as such (as the leaves of

St. John's-wort and the Orange), or with minute projecting dots.
Pungent : very hard, and sharp-pointed ; prickly-pointed.
Putdmen : the stone of a drupe, or the shell of a nut ; p. 128.
Pyramidal : shaped like a pyramid.

Pyre'ne, Pyre'na : a seed-like nutlet or stone of a small drupe.
Pyxis, Pyxidium : a pod opening round horizontally by a lid ; p. 133, fig. 298, 31 1.

Quadri-, in words of Latin origin : four ; as

Quadrangular : four-angled. Quadrifoliate : foui'-leaved.

Quddrijid: four-cleft; p. 62.

Quate'rnate : in fours. Quinate : in fives.

Quinciincial : in a quincunx ; when the parts in aestivation are five, two of them

outside, two inside, and one half out and half in, as shown in the calyx,

fig. 224.
Quintuple : five-fold.

228 GLOSSARY.

Race : a marked variety which may be perpetuated from seed ; p. 1 74.

Raceme : a flower-cluster, with one-flowered pedicels arraDged along the sides of

a general peduncle ; p. 78, fig. 156.
Racemose : bearing racemes, or raceme-like.
Rachis : see rhachis.
Radial : belonging to the ray.

Radiate, or Radiant: furnished with ray-flowers ; p. 107.
Radical : belonging to the root, or apparently coming from the root.
Rddkant : rooting, taking root on or above the ground, like the stems of Trum-
pet-Creeper and Poison-Ivy.
Rddicels : little roots or rootlets.
Radicle : the stem-part of the embryo, the lower end of which forms the root ; p.

6, fig. 4, &c. ; p. 137.
Ramcal. : belonging to a branch. Ramose : full of branches {rami).
Rdmulose: full of branclilets (ramuli).
Raphe : see rhaphe.
Ray: the marginal flowers of a head (as of Coreopsis, p. 107, fig. 219) or cluster

(as of Hydrangea, fig. 167), when different from the rest, especially when

lignlate, and diverging (like rays or sunbeams) ; the branches of an umbel,

which diverge from a centre; p. 79.
Receptacle: the axis or support of a flower; p. 86, 124; the common axis or

support of a head of flowers ; fig. 230.
Reclined : turned or cuiwed downwards ; nearly recumbent.
Recurved: curved outwards or backwards.

Reduplicate (in aestivation) : valvate with the margins turned outwards, p. 109.
Reflexed : bent outwards or backwards.
Refracted: bent suddenly, so as to appear broken at the bend.
Regular : all the parts similar ; p. 89.
Re'niform: kidney-shaped ; p. 58, fig. 100.
Repdnd: wavy-margined ; p. 62, fig. 115.
Re'pent : creeping, i. e. prostrate and rooting underneath.
Replum : the persistent frame of some pods (as of Prickly Poppy and Cress),

after the valves fall away.
Reproduction, organs of: all that pertains to the flower and fruit ; p. 76.
Resupinate : inverted, or appearing as if upside down, or reversed.
Reticulated: the veins forming network, as in fig. 50, 83.
Retroflexed : bent backwards ; same as reflexed.
Refuse : blunted ; the apex not only obtuse, but somewhat indented ; p. 60,

fig. 107.
Re~volute : rolled backwards, as the margins of many leaves ; p. 76.
Rhachis (the backbone) : the axis of a spike, or other body ; p. 78.
Rhaphe : the continuation of the seed-stalk along the side of an anatropous ovule

(p. 123) or seed ; fig. 273, r, 319 and 320, b.
Rhdphides : crystals, especially needle-shaped ones, in the tissues of plants.
Rhizdma : a rootstock ; p. 40, fig. 64 - 67.

Rhombic : in the shape of a rhomb. Rhomboidal : approaching that shape.
Rib : the principal piece, or one of the principal pieces, of the framework of a

leaf, p. 55 ; or any similar elevated line along a body.

GLOSSARY. 229

«

Ring : an clastic band on the spore-cases of Ferns. (Manual, p. 587, plate 9,

fig. 2,3.)
Ringent: grinning; gaping open; p. 102, fig. 209.
Root, p. 28.
Root-hairs, p. 31, 149.

Rootlets : small roots, or root-branches ; p. 29.

Rootstock : root-like trunks or portions of stems on or under ground ; p. 40.
Rosaceous : arranged like the petals of a rose.
Roste'Ilate: bearing a small beak (rostellum).
Rostrate : bearing a beak (rostrum) or a prolonged appendage.
Rdsulate : in a regular cluster of spreading leaves, resembling a full or double

rose, as the leaves of Houseleek, &c.
Rotate: wheel-shaped : p. 101, fig. 204, 205.
Rotund : rounded or roundish in outline.

Rudimentary : imperfectly developed, or in an early state of development.
Rugose : wrinkled, roughened with wrinkles.
Ruminated (albumen) : penetrated with irregular channels or portions filled with

softer matter, as a nutmeg.
Riincinate : coarsely saw-toothed or cut, the pointed teeth turned towards the

base of the leaf, as the leaf of a Dandelion.
Runner : a slender and prostrate branch, rooting at the end, or at the joints, as

of a Strawberry, p. 38.

Sac : any closed membrane, or a deep purse-shaped cavity.

Sagittate: arrowhead-shaped; p. 59, fig. 95.

Salver-shaped, or Salver-form : with a border spreading at right angles to a slen-
der tube, as the corolla of Phlox, p. 101, fig. 208, 202.

Samara : a wing-fruit, or key, as of Maple, p. 5, fig. 1, Ash, p. 131, fig. 300, and
Elm, fig. 301.

Sdmaroid: like a samara or key-fruit.

Sap: the juices of plants generally. Ascending or crude sap; p. 161, 168.
Elaborated sap, that which has been digested or assimilated by the plant ;
p. 162, 169.

Sdrcocarp : the fleshy part of a stone-fruit, p. 128.

Sarmentdceous : bearing long and flexible twigs (sarments), either spreading or
procumbent.

Saw-toothed : see serrate.

Scabrous: rough or harsh to the touch.

Scaldriform : with cross-bands, resembling the steps of a ladder.

Scales : of buds, p. 22, 50 ; of bulbs, &c, p. 40, 46, 50.

Scaly : furnished with scales, or scale-like in texture ; p. 46, &c.

Scandent : climbing; p. 37.

Scape : a peduncle rising from the ground, or near it, as of the stemless Violets,
the Bloodroot, &c.

Scdpiform : scape-like.

Scar of the seed, p. 135. Leaf-scars, p. 21.

Scdrious or Scariose : thin, dry, and membranous.

Scdbiform: resembling sawdust.
20

230 r GLOSSARY.

Scdrpioid or Scorpioidal : curved or circulate at the end, like the tail of a scor-
pion, as the inflorescence of Heliotrope.

Scrobiculatc : pitted ; excavated into shallow pits.

Scurf, Scurji}>ess : minute scales on the surface of many leaves, as of Goosefoot,
Buffalo-berry, &c.

Scutate : buckler-shaped.

Scutcllate, or Scutc'lliform : saucer-shaped or platter-shaped.

Se'cund : one-sided ; i. e. where flowers, leaves, &c. are all turned to one side.

Secundine : the inner coat of the ovule ; p. 1 24.

Seed, p. 134. Seed-coats, p. 134. Seed-vessel, p. 127.

Segment : a subdivision or lobe of any cleft body.

Segregate : separated from each other.

Semi- (in compound words of Latin origin) : half; as

Semi-adherent, as the calyx or ovary of Purslane, fig. 214. Semicordate : half-
heart-shaped. Semilunar: like a half-moon. Semiovate: half-ovate, &c.

Seminal : relating to the seed. Seminiferous : seed-bearing.

Sempe'rvirent : evergreen.

Sepal : a leaf or division of the calyx ; p. 85.

Se'pedoid : sepal-like. Sepaline : relating to the sepals.

Separated Flowers : those having stamens or pistils only ; p. 89.

Septate: divided by partitions (septa).

Septenate : with parts in sevens.

Septicidal: where a pod in dehiscence splits through the partitions, dividing
each into two layers ; p. 132, fig. 306.

Septiferous: bearing the partition.

Septifragal : where the valves of a pod in dehiscence break away from the par-
titions ; p. 132.

Septum (plural septa) : a partition, as of a pod, &c.

Serial, or Seriate : in rows ; as biserial, in two rows, &c.

Sericeous : silky ; clothed with satiny pubescence.

Serotinous : happening late in the season.

Serrate, or Serrated : the margin cut into teeth (serratures) pointing forwards ;
p. 61, fig. 112.

Serrulate : same as the last, but with fine teeth.

Sessile : sitting ; without any stalk, as a leaf destitute of petiole, or an anther
destitute of filament.

Seta : a bristle, or a slender body or appendage resembling a bristle.

Setaceous: bristle-like. Se'tiform: bristle-shaped.

Setigerous : bearing bristles. Setose: beset with bristles or bristly hairs.

Sex: six; in composition. Scxangnlar: six-angled, &c.

Sheath : the base of such leaves as those of Grasses, which are

Sheathing : wrapped round the stem.

Shield-shaped : same as scutate, or as peltate, p. 59.

Shrub, p. 21.

Sigmoid : curved in two directions, like the letter S, or the Greek sigma.

Siliculose: bearing a silicle, or a fruit resembling it.

Silicle: a pouch, or short pod of the Cress Family; p. 133.

Silique: a longer pod of the Cress Family ; p. 133, fig. 310.

GLOSSARY.

231

Siliquose : bearing siliques or pods which resemble siliques.
Silky : glossy with a coat of fine and soft, close-pressed, straight hairs.
Silver-grain of wood ; p. 151.

Silvery: shining white or bluish-gray, usually from a silky pubescence.
Simple: of one piece; opposed to compound.
Sinistrorse : turned to the left.

Sinuate: strongly wavy; with the margin alternately bowed inwards and out-
wards; p. 62, fig. 116.
Sinus : a recess or bay ; the re-entering angle or space between two lobes or pro-
jections.
Sleep of Plants (so called), p. 170.
Spboliferous : bearing shoots from near the ground.
Solitary : single ; not associated with others.
Sorus (plural sori) : the proper name of a fruit-dot of Ferns.
Spadix: a fleshy spike of flowers ; p. 80, fig. 162.
Spathiceous : resembling or furnished with a
Spathe: a bract which inwraps an inflorescence; p. 80, fig. 162.
Spdtulate, or Spathulate: shaped like a spatula; p. 58, fig. 92.
Special Movements, p. 170.
Species, p. 173.

Specific Character, p. 181. Specific Names, p. 179.
Spicate : belonging to or disposed in a spike.
Spiciform : in shape resembling a spike.

Spike : an inflorescence like a raceme, only the flowers are sessile ; p. 80, fig. 160.
Spikelet: a small or a secondary spike; the inflorescence of Grasses.
Spine : a thorn ; p. 39.

Spindle-shaped: tapering to each end, like a radish ; p. 31, fig. 59.
Spinescent : tipped by or degenerating into a thorn.
Spinose, or Spiniferous: thorny.

Spiral arrangement of leaves, p. 72. Spiral vessels or ducts, p. 14S.
Sporangia, or Spdrocarps: spore-cases of Ferns, Mosses, &c.
Spore: a body resulting from the fructification of Cryptogamous plants, in them

taking the place of a seed.
Spdrule: same as a spore, or a small spore.
Spur : any projecting appendage of the flower, looking like a spur, as that of

Larkspur, fig. 183.
Squamate, Squamose, or Squamaceous: furnished with scales (squama;).
Squame'llate or Squdmulosa: furnished with little scales (squamellcz or squamula).
Squdmiform : shaped like a scale.
Squarrose: where scales, leaves, or any appendages, are spreading widely from

the axis on which they are thickly set.
Squdrrulose: diminutive of squarrose; slightly squarrose.
Stalk : the stem, petiole, peduncle, &c, as the case may be.
Stamen, p. 86, 111.

Staminate: furnished with stamens ; p. 89. Stamineal: relating to the stamens.
Staminddium : an abortive stamen, or other body resembling a sterile stamen.
Standard: the upper petal of a papilionaceous corolla; p. 105, fig. 217, 218, 5.
Starch: a well-known vegetable product ; p. 163.

232 GLOSSARY.

Station : the particular place, or kind of situation, in which a plant naturally

occurs.
Stellate, Stellular: starry or star-like; where several similar parts spread out

from a common centre, like a star.
Stem, p- 36, &c.

Stemless : destitute or apparently destitute of stem.
Sterile: barren or imperfect ; p. 89.

Stigma : the part of the pistil which receives the pollen ; p. 87.
Stiymdtic, or Sligmatose : belonging to the stigma.
Stipe (Latin stipes) ; the stalk of a pistil, &c, when it has any ; the stem of a

Mushroom.
Stipel : a stipule of a leaflet, as of the Bean, &c.
Stipeilate: furnished with stipels, as the Bean and some other Leguminous

plants.
Stipitate: furnished with a stipe, as the pistil of Cleomc, fig. 276.
Stipulate : furnished with stipules.

Stipules: the appendages one each side of the base of certain leaves ; p. 69.
Stolons: trailing or reclined and rooting shoots ; p. 37.
Stoloniferous : producing stolons.

Stomate (Latin stoma, plural stomata) : the breathing-pores of leaves, &c. ; p. 156.
Strap-shaped; long, flat, and narrow; p. 106.
Striate, or Striated: marked with slender longitudinal grooves or channels

(Latin strice).
Strict : close and narrow ; straight and narrow.

Strigillose, Strigose : beset with stout and appressed, scale-like or rigid bristles.
Strobildceous : relating to, or resembling a
Strobile : a multiple fruit in the form of a cone or head, as that of the Hop and

of the Pine; fig. 314, p. 133.
Strdphiole : same as caruncle. Strophiolate : furnished with a strophiole.
Struma : a wen ; a swelling or protuberance of any organ.
Style: a part of the pistil which bears the stigma ; p. 86.
Stylopddium: an epigynous disk, or an enlargement at the base of the style,

found in Umbelliferous and some other plants.
Sub-, as a prefix : about, nearly, somewhat ; as subcordate, slightly cordate : sub-
serrate, slightly serrate : subaxillary, just beneath the axil, <Sbc, &c.
Siiberose: corky or cork-like in texture.
Subclass, p. 177, 183. Suborder, p. 176. Subtribe, p. 177.
Subulate : awl-shaped ; tapering from a broadish or thickish base to a sharp

point ; p. 68.
Succulent: juicy or pulpy.

Suckers: shoots from subterranean branches; p. 37.
Suffrute'scent : slightly shrubby or woody at the base only ; p. 36.
Sugar, p. 163.

Sulcate: grooved longitudinally with deep furrows.
Supernumerary Buds: p. 26.

Supe'rvolute : plaited and convolute in bud ; p. 110, fig. 225.
Supra-axillary: borne above the axil, as some buds ; p. 26, fig. 52
Supra-decompound: many times compounded or divided.

GLOSSARY.

233

Surculose: producing suckers, or shoots resembling them.

Suspended: hanging down. Suspended ovules or seeds hang from the very

summit of the cell which contains them; p. 122, fig. 269.
Sutural: belonging or relating to a suture.

Siiture: the line of junction of contiguous parts grown together ; p. 117.
Sword-shaped: vertical leaves with acute parallel edges, tapering above to a

point; as those of Iris, fig. 133.
Symmetrical Flower: similar in the number of parts of each set; p. 89.
Syndntherous, or Syngenesious: where stamens are united by their anthers ; p. 1 12,

fig. 229.
Syncdrpous (fruit or pistil) : composed of several carpels consolidated into one.

System, p. 195.

Systematic Botany: the study of plants after their kinds ; p. 3.

Taper-pointed: same as acuminate ; p. 60, fig. 103.
Tap-root : a root with a stout tapering body ; p. 32.
Tawny : dull yellowish, with a tinge of brown.
Taxonomy : the part of Botany which treats of classification.
Te'gmen : a name for the inner seed-coat.

Tendril: a thread-shaped body used for climbing, p. 38: it is either a branch,
as in Virginia Creeper, fig. 62 ; or a part of a leaf, as in Pea and Vetch,
fig. 127.
Terete: long and round; same as cylindrical, only it may taper.
Terminal: borne at, or belonging to, the extremity or summit.
Tenninology : the part of the science which treats of technical terms; same as

glossology.
Ternate: in threes ; p. 66. Ternately : in a tcrnate way.
Testa: the outer (and usually the harder) coat or shell of the seed; p. 134.
Tetra- (in words of Greek composition) : four ; as,
Tetracdccous : of four cocci or carpels.
Tetradynamous : where a flower has six stamens, two of them shorter than the

other four, as in Mustard, p. 92, 112, fig. 188.
Tetragonal: four-angled. Tetrdgynous : with four pistils or styles ; p. 116.
Tetrdmerous : with its parts or sets in fours.
Tetrdndrous: with four stamens; p. 112.
Theca : a case ; the cells or lobes of the anther.
Tliorn : see spine ; p. 39.
Tliread-shaped : slender and round, or roundish like a thread ; as the filament of

stamens generally.
Throat : the opening or gorge of a monopetalous corolla, &c, where the border

and the tube join, and a little below.
T/iyrse or Thyrsus: a compact and pyramidal panicle ; p. 81.
Tdmentose: clothed with matted woolly hairs (tomentum).
Tongue-shaped: long, flat, but thickish, and blunt.

Toothed: furnished with teeth or short projections of any sort on the margin;
used especially when these are sharp, like saw-teeth, and do not point for-
wards ; p. 61, fig. 113.
Top-shaped: shaped like a top, or a cone with its apex downwards.
20*

234 GLOSSARY.

Tdrose, Tdrulose : knobby ; where a cylindrical body is swollen at intervals.

Torus: the receptacle of the flower; p. 86, 124.

Tree, p. 21.

Tri-, in composition : three ; as

Triade'/phous : stamens united by their filaments into three bundles; p. 112.

Tridndrous : where the flower has three stamens ; p. 112.

Tribe, p. 176.

Trichdtomous : three-forked. Tricdccous: of three cocci or roundish carpels.

Tricolor; having three colors. Tricdstate: having three ribs.

Tricuspidate : three-pointed. Tride'ntate: three-toothed.

Trie'nnial : lasting for three years.

Trifdrious: in three vertical rows ; looking three ways.

Trifid: three-cleft; p. 62.

Trifdliate: three-leaved. Trifdliolate : of three leaflets ; p. 66.

Trifurcate: three-forked. Trigonous: three-angled, or triangular.

Triyynous: with three pistils or styles ; p. 116. Trijugate: in three pairs (jugi)-

Trildbed, or Trilobate : three-lobed ; p. 62.

Trildcular: three-celled, as the pistils or pods in fig. 225-227.

Trimerous : with its parts iu threes, as Trillium, fig. 189.

Trine'rvate: three-nerved, or with three slender ribs.

Tricccious : where there are three sorts of flowers on the same or different indi-
viduals ; as in Ecd Maple.

Tripdrtible : separable into three pieces. Tripartite: three-parted; p. 62.

Tripe'/alous : having three petals ; as in fig. 189.

Triphyllous : three-leaved ; composed of three pieces.

Tripinnate: thrice pinnate ; p. 66. Tripinndtifid : thrice piunately cleft ; p. 64.

Triple-ribbed, Triple-ncrvcd, &c. : where a midrib branches into three near the
base of the leaf, as in Sunflower.

Triquetrous : sharply three-angled ; and especially with the sides concave, like a
bayonet.

Trisdrial, or Triseriate : in three rows, under cacli other.

Tristichous : in three longitudinal or perpendicular ranks.

Tristigmdtie, or Tristiymatose : having three stigmas.

Trisulcate : three-grooved.

Trite'rnate: three times ternate ; p. 67.

Trivial Name : the specific name.

Trochlear : pulley-shaped.

Trumpet-shaped: tubular, enlarged at or towards the summit, as the corolla of
Trumpet-Creeper.

Truncate: as if cut off at the top ; p. 60, fig. 106.

Tube, p. 102.

Trunk : the main stem or general body of a stem or tree.

Tuber : a thickened portion of a subterranean stem or branch, provided with eyes
(buds) on the sides ; as a potato, p. 43, fig. 68.

Tubercle: a small excrescence,.

Tuhercled, or Tuberculate : bearing excrescences or pimples.

Tuberous: resembling a tuber. Tuberiferous : bearing tubers.

Tubular : hollow and of an elongated form ; hollowed like a pipe.

GLOSSARY.

235

Tumid : swollen ; somewhat inflated. *

Tunicate : coated ; invested with layers, as an onion ; p. 46.

Turbinate: top-shaped. Turgid: thick as if swollen.

Turio (plural turiones) : young shoots or suckers springing out of the ground ; as

Asparagus-shoots.
Turnip-shaped: broader than high, and abruptly narrowed below ; p. 32, fig. 57.
Twin : in pairs (see geminate), as the flowers of Linnrea
Twining : ascending by coiling round a support, like the Hop ; p. 37.
Typical : well expressing the characteristics of a species, genus, &c.

tTmbd: the umbrella-like form of inflorescence ; p. 79, fig. 159.

Umbellate : in umbels. Umbelliferous : bearing umbels.

Umbellet : a secondary or partial umbel ; p. 81.

Umbilicate : depressed in the centre, like the ends of an apple.

Umbonate : bossed ; furnished with a low, rounded projection like a boss (umbo)-

Umbrdculiform ; umbrella-shaped, like a Mushroom, or the top of the style of

Sarracenia.
Unarmed : destitute of spines, prickles, and the like.
Uncinate: hook-shaped; hooked over at the end.
Under-shrub : partially shrubby, or a very low shrub.
Undulate : wavy, or wavy-margined ; p. 62.

Unequally pinnate : pinnate with an odd number of leaflets ; p. 65.
Unguiculate: furnished with a claw {unguis) ; p. 102, i. e. a narrow base, as the

petals of a Rose, where the claw is very short, and those of Pinks (fig. 200),

where the claw is very long.
Uni-, in compound words : one ; as
Unijldrous: one-flowered. Unifdliate: one-leaved.
Unifoliolate : of one leaflet; p. 66. Unijugate: of one pair.
Unildbiate: one-lipped. Unilateral: one-sided.

Unilocular: one-celled, as the pistil in fig. 261, and the anther in fig. 238, 239.
Unidvulate: having only one ovule, as in fig. 213, and fig. 267-269.
Uniserial: in one horizontal row.

Unisexual: having stamens or pistils only, as in Moonseed, fig. 176, 177, &c.
Univalved: a pod of only one piece after dehiscence, as fig. 253.
Urce'olate : urn-shaped.

Utricle : a small, thin-walled, one-seeded fruit, as of Goosefoot ; p. 130, fig. 350.
Utricular : like a small bladder.

Vdginate: sheathed, surrounded by a sheath (vagina).

Valve : one of the pieces (or doors) into which a dehiscent pod, or any similar

body, splits ; p. 131, 114.
Valvate, Valvular : opening by valves. Valvate in aestivation, p. 109.
Variety, p. 174, 177.

Vascular: containing vessels, or consisting of vessels, such as ducts ; p. 146, 148.
Vaulted: arched; same as fornicate.
Vegetable Physiology, p. 3.

Veil: the calyptra of Mosses. (Manual, p. 607.)
Veins : the small ribs or branches of the framework of leaves, &c. ; p. 55.

236 GLOSSARY.

Veined, Veiny: furnished with evident veins. Veinless: destitute of veins.

Veinlets : the smaller ramifications of veins.

Velate : furnished with a veil.

Veliitinous : velvety to the touch.

Venation: the veining of leaves, &c. ; p. 55.

Venose : veiny ; furnished with conspicuous veins.

Ventral: belonging to that side of a simple pistil, or other organ, which looks

towards the axis or centre of the flower ; the opposite of dorsal ; as the
Ventral Suture, p. 117.

Ve'ntricose : inflated or swelled out on one side.
Ve'nulose : furnished with veinlets.
Vermicular : shaped like worms.

Vernation: the arrangement of the leaves in the bud; p. 75.
Ve'rnicose : the surface appearing as if varnished.
Ve'rrucose: warty; beset with little projections like warts.
Ve'rsatile : attached by one point, so that it may swing to and fro, as the anthers

of the Lily and Evening Primrose; p. 113, fig. 234.
Vertex : same as the apex.

Vertical : upright ; perpendicular to the horizon, lengthwise.
Verticil: a whorl ; p. 71. Verticillate : whorled; p. 71, 75, fig. 148.
Vesicle : a little bladder. Embryonal Vesicle, p. 139. Vesicular: bladdery.
Vessels: ducts, &c. ; p. 146, 148.
Ve'xillary, Vexillar: relating to the

Ve'xilhun : the standard of a papilionaceous flower; p. 105, fig. 218, $.
Villose: shaggy with long and soft hairs (villosity.)
Vimineous : producing slender twigs, such as those used for wicker-work.
Vine : any trailing or climbing stem ; as a Grape-vine.
Vire'scent, Viridescent : greenish; turning green.
Virgate : wand-shaped, as a long, straight, and slender twig.
Viscous, Viscid: having a glutinous surface.
Vitta (plural vitke) : the oil-tubes of the fruit of Urnbelliferas.
Voiuble: twining, as the stem of Hops and Beans ; p. 37.

Wavy : the surface or margin alternately convex and concave ; p. 62.

Waxy : resembling beeswax in texture or appearance.

Wedge-shaped: broad above, and tapering by straight lines to a narrow base;

p. 58, fig. 94.
Wheel-shaped: see rotate; p. 102, fig. 204, 205.
Whorl, Whorled: when leaves, &c. are arranged in a circle round the stem,

p. 71, 75, fig. 148.
Wing: any membranous expansion. Wings of papilionaceous flowers, p. 105.
Winged: furnished with a wing; as the fruit of Ash and Elm, fig. 300, 301.
Wood, p. 145. Woody: of the texture or consisting of wood.
Woody Fibre, or Wood-Cells, p. 146.
Woolly : clothed with long and. entangled soft hairs ; as the leaves of Mullein.

THE END.