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GRAY'S *•
SCHOOL AND FIELD BOOK
OP
BOTANY.
CONSISTING OP
"LESSONS IN BOTANY," AND "FIELD, FOREST, AND
GARDEN BOTANY,"
BOUND IN ONE VOLUME.
BY ASA GRAY,
KSHER PROFESSOR OP NATURAL HISTORY IN HARVARD
IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR & CO.,
NEW YORK AND CHICAGO.
1881.
PUBLISHEES' PREFACE
GHAT'S SCHOOL AND FIELD BOOK OF BOTANY
THIS work consists of the " LESSONS IN BOTANY " and the
" FIELD, FOREST AND GARDEN BOTANY," bound together in one
complete volume, forming a most popular and comprehensive
SCHOOL BOTANY, adapted to beginners and advanced classes, to
Agricultural Colleges and Schools, as well as to all other grades
in which the science is taught ; it is also adapted for use as a
hand-book to assist in analyzing plants and flowers in field
study of botany, either by classes or individuals.
The book is intended to furnish Botanical Classes and
beginners with an easier introduction to the Plants of this
country, and a much more comprehensive work, than is tne
MANUAL.
Beginning with the first principles, it progresses by easy
stages until the student, who is at all diligent, is enabled to
master the intricacies of the science.
It is a Grammar and Dictionary of Botany, and comprises
the common Herbs, Shrubs, and Trees of the Southern as well
as the Northern and Middle States, including the commonly
cultivated, as well as the native species in fields, gardens,
pleasure-grounds, or house culture, and even the conservatory
plants ordinarily met with.
This work supplies a great desideratum to the Botanist and
Botanical Teacher, there being no similar class-book published
in this country.
GRAY'S 3
LESSONS IN BOTANY
AND
VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY,
ILLUSTRATED BY OVER 360 WOOD ENGRAVINGS, FROM ORIGINAL
DRAWINGS, BY ISAAC SPRAGUE.
TO WHICH IS ADDED A COPIOUS
GLOSSARY,
OB
DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS,
BY ASA GKAY,
FISHER PROFESSOR OP NATURAL HISTORY IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY.
IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR & CO.,
NEW YORK AND CHICAGO
1881.
Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1357, by
GEORGE T. PUTNAM & i-i- .
the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New Yon.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in ft- 3 /ear 1868, bv
ASA GRAY,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
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,
and 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.
IT 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., &e., — 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, an Introduction
to Structural Botany, 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.
%* Revised August, 1868, and alterations made adapting it to the new edition of
Manual, and to Fitld, Forest, and Garden tiotany, to which this work is the propel
introduction and companion.
A. G.
ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS.1
LESSON I. — BOTANY AS A BRANCH OF NATURAL HISTORY. . . p. 1.
1. Natural History, its subjects. 2. The Inorganic or Mineral Kingdom,
what it is : why culled 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 ho\v animals.
8. Botany, how defined. 9. Physiology, and Physiological Botany, what
/iey 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 Plantlet : 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 : monocotyledonous : 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. 56. 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 fv>"ins. 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 A-ND 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 VH. 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. VH
LESSON VIII. MORPHOLOGY OF 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 rihs or veins and veinlets. 137. Division and
use of these. 138. Venation, or mode of veining. 139. Its two kinds. 140.
Netted-vcined 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. Relation 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. MORPHOLOGY 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. 183. 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 are expressed.
189. The eight-ranked and the thirteen-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 XI. 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 arc 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 Hea'
fiii 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
(-2-27) 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 si:< cession. 233. The Stamen : its parts. 234.
The Pistil : its parts.
LESSON XIII. THE PLAN OF THE FLOWER p. 88.
235. Flowers all constructed up«m 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. Unsymmetrical flowers. 246. Numerical plan of the flower. 247.
Alternation of the successive parts. 248. Occasional obliteration of certain parts.
24^- Abortive organs. 250. Multiplication of parts.
LESSON XIV. MORPHOLOGY OF THE FLOWER 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, &e. 267. When the parts are
distinct, polysepalous, and polvpetalous. 268. Consolidation, or the growing
together of the parts of different sets. 269. Insertion, what it means, and what
i^ meant by the terms Free and Hypogynou*. 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
flower. 277. 278. Ligulate flowers : the so-called compound flowers.
ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. IX
LESSON XVI. ^ESTIVATION, OR THE ARRANGEMENT or THE
CALYX AND COROLLA IN THE BUD. ... p. 108.
279. ^Estivation or Prcefloration defined. 280. Its principal modes illustrated,
viz. the valvate, induplicatc, 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. 111.
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 placenta? in the axis : 315. their dissepiments or parti-
tions. 316, 317. One-celled compound pistils. 318. With a freo central pla-
centa. 319, 320. With parietal placenta?. 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 Pcpo or Ground-fruit. 342. The Pome or Apple-fruit. 343-
345. The Drupe or Stone-fruit. 346. Dry fruits. 347. The Achcnium : 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
Radicle. 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 iu 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, &e. 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 ROOT, 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 aftet
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 lir-
ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. xl
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.
Stomates 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 pla'nt'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 XXVII. PLANT-LIFE p. i66.
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; Erulosmose. 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. 4SO -
492. Special movements of a conspicuous sort ; such as seen in the bending,
twining, revolving, and coiling of stems and tendrils ; in the so-called sleeping
and waking states of plants ; in movements from irritation, aud striking spon-
taneous motions.
Xii ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS.
493. Cryptogamous 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 their 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
FIRST LESSONS
IN
BOTANY AND VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY.
LESSON 1.
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, with
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. f 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 mere 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.
6. 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 which 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
ttr 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.
1 1 . 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 Geographical 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 Botanyt
and the like.
4 GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 2.
LESSON II.
THE GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM 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, — which 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 Plantlet, 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 pair 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 th»
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 developinf
* 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
jnore 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 Mapleu further developed.
8 GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE 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 OF 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 doe* it bear leaves,
or anything of the kind. The stem grows 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 Plantlel 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,
S&F— 2
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 nourishment 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 the Embryo itself, And we may observe it
in every gradation as to quantity, from the Maple of our first illus-
tration, where there is very 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
JO. The same, when it has germinated.
LESSON 3.] GROWTH OF 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 oi
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
tame, a little later, with the second joint lengthened.
12
GROWTH OF 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 smal)
stem 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.
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, 24) 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 22
out of the seed, when the former develops downwardly the root, the
latter upwardly the leafy stem and all it bears (Fig. 24).
30. Deposit of Food OQtside 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, ha.ving 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 & as
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.
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 Morning-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
so 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-
37
FIG. 29. Germination of the Morning Glory more advanced : the upper part only ; showing
the leafy cotyledons, the second joint of stein with its leaf, and the third with its leaf just
developing.
FIG. 30. Section of a seed of a Peony, showing a very small embryo 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 oi 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 tfi«
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
leaf appears at first from the
sprouting seed : in these the
embryo has only one cotyle-
don, and it is therefore termed
by the botanists monocotyledo-
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 thai,
they evidently belong to the plumule (16); 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 peed.
FIG. 39. 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. The 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
«hort radicle enclosed in the sheathing base of the first leaf of the plumule.
tESSON 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 4l
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 ite
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 \tepolycotyledonous.
that is, as the word denotes, many-
cotyledoned.
34. Plan of Vegetation, The student
who has understandingly 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 Corn 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
43 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 45
(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
Ihe 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 stem let, displaying its six seed-leaves.
LESSON 3.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED.
19
produce additional stems, that is, branches. The branching plant
we 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 prise 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.J 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 Cabbage
— 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 liv« 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 ieaveg
iave 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 oui
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 OF 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,
(bided 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
npon 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, \ve 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 Luds 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 opposite 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 the 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 OF 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 injured. 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 OF 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
si 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 OF PLANTS FROM BUDS.
27
than the others, and grows into a branch which is considerably out 01
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 Mapl«
(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 (16).
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. 53
Adventitious (58), when they occur out of the axils and without
order, on stems or roots, or even on leaves. Any of these kind*
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, when 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 otf into branches ; and some spiiy trees (Spruces
on the right hand, and two of the Arbor- Vitae on the left) with ex-
current siems.
LESSON V.
MORPHOLOGY (1.6. VARIOUS SORTS AND FORMS) OF ROOTS.
61. MoFpholOgV» 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 we 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
65. The Simple Primary Root, which most plants send down from
the root-end of the embryo as it grows from the seed ; as we havf
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 aide-
branches here and there proceed. Some plants keep this maii> root
throughout their whole life, and send off only small side bra' <;hes ;
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 mnch.
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. 56. A bit of the
•n4 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
PTO. 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. 60).
74. All but the last of these illustra-
trations 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
Tery 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 60) 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 toots of the Dahlia, with the bottom of the stem they
belong to.
LESSON 5.] MOItPHOLOGY 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. CO). 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 Pandauus, called Screw Pine (not from its resemblance to a
S&F— 3
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, or 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 61 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.J
MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS.
85
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 shorfr 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.
83. 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 otyious 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 A.ND BRANCHES. |_LESSON (X
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
of buds or leaves, but intended for climbing. Those of the Grape-
Yine, of the Virginia Creeper (Fig. 62), and of the Cucumber and
FIG, 62. Piece of the stem of Virginia Creeper, bearing a leaf and a tendril. 63. Tips
of a tendril, about the natural size, showing the disks by which they hold fast to walls, &,c.
LESSON 6.] RUNNERS, TENDRILS, SPINES. 89
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. 63),
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 OF Thorns 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 lor 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
lorms may be referred to four principal kinds ; namely, the Rhizo-
ma or Rootstock, the Tuber, the Corm, and the Bulb.
97. The RootstOCk, or Rhizoma, in its simplest form, is merely a
creeping stem or branch (80) 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. 64. 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 K
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
separate 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. 66).
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;
FFG. 65. A piece of the running rootstock of the Peppermint, with its node or joint, and
an axillary bud ready to grow.
A. *
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 grow-
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. 66. Rootstock of Solomon's Seal, with the bottom of the stalk of the season, and th«
*ud for the next year's growth.
FIG. 67. The very short rootstock and bud of a Trillium or Birthroot.
LESSON 6.] SUBTERRANEAN FORMS : 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 Tuber 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
jti-t 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, 68. Forming tubers of the Potato. 69. 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, Carro!,
Dahlia, &c. (Fig. 57 - 60), 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 eyes, 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,
10G. Til form, OF 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
so 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 \ve 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 Avell 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).
1 07. The corm of a Crocus is commonly covered with a thin and
dry, scaly or fibroua 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. The Bulb. This is an extremely short subterranean stemr
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
etem does not elongate enough to separate them. That the scales
FIG. 71. Conn or solid bulb of a Crocus. 72. The same, cut through lengthwise.
46
MORPHOLOGY OF 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
73 74 having lasted its time
and served its purpose as foliage, the green leaf dies, down 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 (106).
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
uew 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 oulb-
•oale.
LESSON G.] 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, 5), 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 (e?), with shorter and flatter joints, with
an ordinary leafy shrub or herb of equal size. And finally, in
Melon- Cactuses or Echinocactus (e), 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-
.5
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 from 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 case?,
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 generally 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 (Genius parviflora),
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.
1 25. Leaves as Pitchers, or hollow tubes,
are familiar to us in the common Pitcher-
plant or Side-saddle Flower (Sarracania,
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 another with the upper part cut off.
52
MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES.
[LESSON
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 Dionsea 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. If the fly
escapes, the trap soon slowly opens, and
is ready for another capture. When retained, the insect is after a
time moistened by a secretion from minute glands of the inner sur-
face, and is apparently digested ! How such
and various other movements are made by
plants, — some as quick as in this case,
others very slow, but equally wonderful, —
must be considered in a future 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-
naea, 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, tendri\, and pitcher combined.
FIG. 81. Leaves of Dioniea : 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.)
5*
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 suiface 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.]
THEIR 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 greer;
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
wood, — 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
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. 81 Leaf of the Quince: b, blade ; p, petiole ; st, 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 veining 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 Linnaeus, to distinguish them
called nerves, and parallel-veined leaver
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 tc
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
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 two
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.
146. In the other case (as in the Button wood, 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 palmately
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 frame-
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
S&F— 4
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.
V.
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 the 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. obovatc, 94. wedge-shaped, feather-veined leaves.
LESSON 8.]
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
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, 96. auriculate, 97. halberd-shaped, leaves.
FIG. 98 - 102. Various forms of radiate-veined leaves.
60
MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 8.
kidney-shaped (Fig. 100) or other rounded leaf, with the margins at
the base brought together and united.
153. As tO the 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, awn-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.
103 104 105
110 111
FIG. 103 - 11L Forms of the apex of Ieaf 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 Pitch 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 delrcate scales of the axillary btid.
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 Spider wort, 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.
188. The five-ranked arrangement :s 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 'A ; 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 I to 6. 142. Diagram or cross-section of the
all in one plane ; the leaves similarly numbered.
7
74
ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES ON THE STEM. [LESSON 10.
ranks, namelj 5. In the same way the fraction £ stands for the
two-ranked mode, and £ for the three-ranked : and so these different
sorts are expressed by the series of fractions £,
•£, 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 -f .
This is seen in the Holly, and in the common
Plantain. Then comes the thirteen-ranked 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
Houseleek (Fig. 146).
190. The series so far,
then, is £, £, f , f , T5^ ; 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 £§, 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.
0-"
FIG. 143. Shoot with its leaves 5-ranked, the sixth leaf over the first ; as in the Apple-tree.
FIG. 144. 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 Houseleek, with the leaves (not yet expanded) numbered,
and exhibiting the Ki 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, £, 7}, f , |, -fy9 7j8T, &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 we 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 up. 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 inflexed 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 OF 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 f.om 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 Linnaeus.
151
158
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-
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 numinularia) of the gardens, with axillary flowers*-
7*
78 ARRANGEMENT OF 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.
20Q. 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 (p')> The portion
of the general stalk along which flowers are dis-
posed is called the axis of injlorescence, or, when cov-
ered with sessile flower;?, 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, &c. Each flower
comes from the axil of a small leaf, or bract, which,
111 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
lets (ft').
A Raceme, with a general peduncle (p~), pedicels (//)> bracts (*), and bract-
WESSON ll.j 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.
206. 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. AD 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
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
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, &c. It is commonly covered by a peculiar
enveloping leaf, called a spathe.
FIG. 160. 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 Of Ament 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 a partial 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
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 If.
214. A ThjTSUS 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
8 & F— 5
FIG. 1C3. 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
c b
c b
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-
$} 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
Q £7 flowers. The middle flower, a, terminates the stem ;
1 I 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. 166, 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. 164, each with a pair of small
FIG. 1C3 a. Diagram of an opposite-leaved plant, with a single terminal flower. 1G4
Same, with a cyme of three flowers ; a, the first flower, of the main axis ; b b, those of branches.
165. Same, with flowers of the third order, c c. ICG. 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 their 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
Flowers 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 axis, 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
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 oi
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. 167. Cyme of the Wild Hydrangea (with neutral flowers in the border).
LESSON 12.] ITS PARTS OR ORGANS* 85
225. The Organs Of the 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.
226. 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 Cranberry-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
A A 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-
tration the flower of a spe-
cies of Stonecrop (Sedum ter-
rtatum), — 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
c and well known.
233. k Stamen consists of two parts,
namely, the Filament or stalk (Fig. 170,
rz), and the Anther (b). The latter is
a the only essential part. It is a case,
commonly with two lobes or cells, each
opening lengthwise by a slit, at the
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. k Pistil is distinguished into three parts ; namely, — beginning
from below, — the Ovary, the Stijle, and the Stigma. The Ovary is
the hollow case or young pod (Fig. 171, «), containing rudimentary
seeds, called Ovules (d). Fig. 172, representing a pistil like that ol
FIG. If8. Flower of a Stonecrop : Pednm ternatnm.
FIG. 1C9. T\vo parts of eacli kind of the same flower, displayed and enlarged.
FIG. 170. \ stamen : a, the filament ; ft, the anther, discharging pollen.
FIG. 171. A pistil divided lengthwise, showing the interior of the ovary, a, and it*
ovule-:, d ; b, the style ; c, stigma.
FIG. 172. A pistil, enlarged ; the ovary cut across to show the ovules within.
FIG. 173. " Double " Ros« ; the essential organs all replaced by petal*.
LESSON 12.]
ITS PARTS OR ORGANS.
Fig. 169, <:/, but on a larger 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 (c) 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.
234a. 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.
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
ghape 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 Flower5 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.
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 (Menispennum Caiiadense). 177. Pistillate
flower of th« same.
8*
90
PLAN OF THE FLOWER.
[LESSON 13.
(Fig. 17C, 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 opetalous (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
eaid to be naked, as in the Lizard's-
tail (Fig. 180), and in the Willow.
243. Our two pattern flowers (Fig.
168, *74) 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 Mossom, especially. But the student may often fail to perceive
Tlf 178. Monoecious flowers, i. e. one staminato (s) and one pistillate (p) flower, of
the OMor-oil Plant, growing on the same stem.
FIG. 179. Apctalous (incomplete) flower of Anemone Pennsylvania.
FIG. 180. A naked /but perfect) flower of the Lizard Js-tail.
LESSON 13. J 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-
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,
186); 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. Unsymmetrical 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 ; the five large*
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,
and a corolla of only two, very small,
curiously-shaped petals ; the thiee 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 o.
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 also,
two of them being shorter
than the other four.
246. Numerical Plan of
the Flower, Although not
easy to make out in all
cases, yet generally it is
plain to see that each
blossom is based up6n a particular number, which
runs through all or most of its parts. And a prin-
cipal thing which a botanist notices when examin-
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,
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
tentre.
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.
The 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 Birthroot, spread out a little, and riewei from
above.
FfG. 190. Diagram or ground-plan of the 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.
54 PLAN OF THE FLOWER, J]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 sudi cases a real obliteration of the miss-
ing part is shown by the
249. Abortive Organs, or vertiges 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. 192. Diagram of the calyx and corolla of a Larkspur. 193. Similar diagram of
Monkshood. The dotted lines show where the petals are wanting ; one in the former, three
in the latter.
LESSON 13. !
A.BORTIVE 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. Muliiplicaticr. 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-
mo^lv 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. The flowers of Mag-
nolia have indefinitely numerous stamens
and pistils, and rather numerous floral
envelopes ; but these latter are plainly distinguishable into sets oi
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. [LESSON U
LESSON XIV.
MORPHOLOGY OF THE FLOWER.
251. IN all the plant till we came to the blossom we found nothing
bat 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. 107. A Cactus-flower, viz. of Mamillaria csespitoea of the Upper Missouri
LESSON 14.] ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES IN THE BUD. 97
•
scales of bulbs (Fig. 73-75), in the spines of the Barberry and the
tendrils of the Pea, in the fleshy rosettes of the Houseleek, the
strange fly-trap of Dionaea (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 sueh a regular gradation from the last leaves of the
9
88 MORPHOLOGY 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.
256. 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 an&svers
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, <$cc. (Fig. 194-196), jn Lesson 13. This growing
FIG. 198. Succession of sepals, petals, gradations between petals and stamens, and true
stamens, of the Nymplwa, 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.
262. Union OF 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
206 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.
263. 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 lobed when the notches
do not extend below the middle or thereabouts, as in Fig. 205 ;
FIG. 199. Flower of the common Stramonium ; both the calyx and the corolla with then
parts united into a tuba.
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
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,
205 206
like the salver represented in old pictures, with a slender handle
beneath. The corolla of the Phlox (Fig. 208) and of the Cyprees-
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 clawa
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 united into a trumpet-shaped tube, with the spreading border nearly even (or entire).
FIG. 204. Wheel-shaned 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 (PhysalisJ
9*
102
THE CALYX AND COROLLA.
[LESSON 15.
Bell-shaped, or campanulate ; 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).
Tubular ; 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,
the 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.
266. So, likewise, a separate petal is sometimes distinguishable
into two parts ; namely, into a narrowed base or stalk-like part (a?
in Fig. 200, where this part is peculiarly long), called the claw, 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 campannlate 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. 213
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 sho.w 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,
fhere 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
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 OP 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 217
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 wings. And
the two anterior ones (&), the
blades of which commonly stick
together a little, and which en-
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 •
S&F-45
106 THE CALYX AND COROLLA. JJLESSON !*>•
(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 upper 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 flowers. 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.] 80-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
6
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 -dower (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. [LESION 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 XVI.
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 external (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 acrois the flower-bud ot Geranium
10
the sepals numbered in their order
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 (J) spiral arrangement of leaves (186, 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 a Stramonium (Datura meteloides), in the bud.
Underneath is a cross-section of the same.
LESSON 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, 2G7) or united. They may
\)efree (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
Hypogynom (269), when they are borne on the receptacle, or axis
of the flower, under the pistils, as they naturally should be, and as is
shown in Fig. 212.
Perigynous, 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
Gynandrous (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 each 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 (275) : here
the stamens are nine in one set, and one in the other (Fig. 227).
FIG. 026. Style of a Lady's Slipper (Cypripediurn), and stamens united with it : a, a, the
anthers of the two good stamens ; s£., an abortive stamen, what should be its anther changed
into a petal-like body ; 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
there are twenty or a larger number, as in a
Cactus (Fig. 397). All such terms may be
found in the Glossary at the end of the book.
288. Two terms are used to express particular numbers wit{i uo,
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,
FIG. 227. Diadelphous stamens of the Pea, &c. 228. Monadelphous stamens of tho
Lupine.
FIG. 229. Syngenesioua stamens of Coreopsis (Fig. 220, «), &c. 230. Same, with tb«
tube of anthers split down on one side and spread open.
230
LESSON 17.] 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 Anther 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,
234 the anther either looks inwards or out-
wards. When 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, as 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. Its 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 lobe*
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 Isopymm, with innate anther. 233. Of Tulip-tree, with adnate (and
•xtroree) anther- 234 Of Evening Primrose, with rersatile anther.
10*
iu
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
SM ass 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). But
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.
FIG. 235. Stamen of Pyrola ; the anther opening by holes at the top.
FIG. 236. Stamen of Barberry ; the anther opening by uplifted valves.
FIG. 237. Stamen of Pentstemon pubescens ; 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
t 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.
293. A grain of pollen is made up of two coats ; the outer coat
Ihickish, 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 discharge 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 1&
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, digynous ; 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 Parts 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, that 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 (263) answers to two or more petals, or leaves
of the flower, united into one body. In theory, accordingly,
305. The Simple Pistil, OF 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 whut 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 m Fig. 251) Avith a pistil of a
Garden Peeony, 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. 251.
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. 168) 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
FIG. 251. A Inaf rolled up inwards, to show how the pistil \a supposed to he formed.
FIG. 252. Pistil of Isopyrum biternatuin 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 halt' 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
simple. 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.
254 ass 256 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
Mily, 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 iuto 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 three 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 placentas (that is, as SS7
many placentae 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 are 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.
316. 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 placenta. That is, first, where the
ovules or seeds are borne in the axis or centre of the ovary, and,
secondly, where they are borne on its walls. The first of these
cases, or that
FIG. 257. Pistil of Spidenvort (Tradescantia) : the three-celled orary 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 Placentae, 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, we 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. 260) ;
— 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 ma%ins ; 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 placentae 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 placentae 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
placentae 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 ; and 259, the same
divided transversely, to show the free central placenta
FIG. 260. Plan of a one-celled ovary of three carpel-leaves, with parietal placentae, cut
across below, where it is complete ; the upper part showing the top of the three leaves it is
composed of, approaching, but not united.
FIG. 261 Cross-section of the ovary of Frodt-weed (Hclianthemum), with three parietal
placenta., bearing ovule*.
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. 216; 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 OF GymnospermoilS Pistil, This is what we have in the
X"~~N whole Pine family, the most peculiar, and yet the simplest,
/ \ of all pistils. While the ordinary simple pistil in the eye
Vof the botanist represents a leaf rolled together into a
closed pod (305), those of the Pine, Larch (Fig. 264),
264 Cedar, and Arbor- Vitae (Fig. 265,
266) are plainly open leaves, in the form of;
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 seeds are not
enclosed in a pod, all such plants are said to be Gymnospermous^
that is, naked-seeded.
FIG. 262. Cross-section of the ovary of Hypericum graveolens. 2G3. 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.
F[G. 265. 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. 266. 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
122 THE PISTILS. [LESSON 181
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. 267-269).
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. 267).
and the Purslane (Fig. 214) ;
Erect, when rising upright from
wheat (Fig. 268);
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. 269), 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 nw.g-
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. 267. 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. 2T>9. Section of th» 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.
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
Campylotropous 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 xxvule. This is shown in Fig. 267, and
273 ; also a much enlarged section lengthwise, or diagram, in Fig.
275. To understand it, we have only to suppose the first sort (Fig.
270) to be inverted on its stalk, or rather to have it,** stalk bent
round, applied to one side of the ovule lengthwise, and to grow fast
to the coat down to near the orifice (f) ; the hilum, therefore, where
the seed-stalk is to break away (A), 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 (r), 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. Orthotropou? ovule of Buckwheat: c, hilum and chalaza ; /, orifice.
FIG. 271. Campylotropous ovule of a Chickweed : c, hilum and chalaza ; /, orifice.
FIG. 272. Ampliitro|K)us ovule of Mallow : /, orifice ; A, 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 orthotropous, 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. 276), 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, whioh
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. 276. 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 baa*.
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 Nekimbium, 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 Kinds, 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. The 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. The Drupe, 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 inner, 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. The AcliCllitini, or Akene, is a small, one-seeded, dry, indehis-
F1G. 285. Longitudinal section of a peach, showing the flesh, the stone, and the teed-
LESSON 20.]
ITS KINDS.
129
cent frnit, such as is popularly taken for a naked seed : but it is
plainly a ripened ovary, and shows the re-
mains of its style or stigma, or the place
ass 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, botanical ly
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
A^—-^_;- -- ----- 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 btone-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, md Fig. 220, a). Sometimes the
limb or divisions of the calyx are entirely wanting,
as in Mayweed (Fig. 291) and White weed. 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
FIG. 286. Achenium of Buttercup. 287. Same, cut through, to show the seed within.
FIG. 288. Slice of a part of a ripe strawberry, enlarged ; some of the achenia shown cut
through.
FIG. 289. Slice of a part of a blackberry. 290. One of the grains or drupes divided, more
enlarged ; showing the flesh, the stone, and the seed, as in Fig. 285.
S&F— 7
130
THE FRUIT.
|_LE8SUN 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. 296), 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 witk a thin and
bladdery loose pericarp ; like that of the Goosefoot ur 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, OF 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 Nllt is a dry and indehiscent fruit,
commonly one-celled and one-seed^ i, with a hard, crus-
taceous, or bony wall, such as tne cocoanut, hazelnut,
chestnut, and the acorn (Fig. 21, 299). Here the
involucre, in the form of a cup at the base, is called the Cupule. ID
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). 294. Of Sneezeweed (Hele-
nium), with its pappus of five scales. 295. Of Sow-Thistle, with its pappus of delicate downj
hairs. 296. 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. 290. Nut (acorn) of the Oak, with its cup (or cupule).
LESSON 20.]
ITS KINDS.
131
353. A Samara, OF Key-fruit, is either a nut or an acheniura, or any
other indehiscent fruit, furnished with a wing, like that of the Mapls
(Fig. 1), Ash (Fig. 300), and Elm (Fig. 301).
354. The Capsule, OF 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 Preony, 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.
I 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 394. Loment or jointed legume of Tick-Trefoil (DesmoiZiuinJ.
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 ma/ 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. 306. Pod of a Marsh St. John's-wort, with septicidal dehiscence.
FIG. 307. Diagram of septicidal ; 308, of loculicidal ; and 300, of septifragal dehiscenc*.
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 placentas with the partition
are left behind when the valves fall off.
362. A Silicic OF 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 pupper part forming a lid, as
in Purslane (Fig. 311), the Plantain, Hen-
bane, &c. In these the dehiscence extends
all round, or is circumcissile. So it does
in Fig. 298, which represents a sort of one-
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 puipy 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- Vitse, the scales
FIG. 310. Siliqne of Sprinp Cress (Cardamine rhomboidea), opening.
FIG. 311. The pyxis, or pod, of the common Purslane
FIG. 312. Inside view of a scale from the cone of Pitch-Pine ; with one of the seed*
(Fig. 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. 265).
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 embryo (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 Seed-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
FIG. 314. Cone of Pitch-Pine (Pinus rigida).
PIG. 315. Seed of Basswood cut through lengthwise : a, the hilum or scar ; i, the outer
coat ; r, the inner ; d. the albumen ; e. the embryo.
LESSON 21.]
ITS COATS OR COVERINGS.
135
the kernel closely ; sometimes it is expanded into a wing, 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, cr tuft of long and soft hairs,
such as we find in the Milkweed or Silk weed (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, OF ArillllS. The loose and transparent bag
which encloses the seed of the White Water-Lily (Fig. 317
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 c
the Hilum. The orifice
of the ovule, now closed
up, and showing only a
small point or mark, is sis 322 320 321
named the Micropyle. The terms orthotropous, anatropous, &c.
FIG. 316. A winged seed of the Trumpet-Creeper.
FIG. 317. Seed of Milkweed, with a coma or tuft ).
140
HOW PLANTS GROW.
[LESSON 22.
385. The poJlen (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-
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,
and by a continuation of
the same process, the em-
bryo begins to shape it- ^
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. 399. Vesicle or first cell of the emliryo, with a portion of the summit of the embryo-
sac, detached. 330. Fame, more advanced, divided into two rells. 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 emhryo of Buckwheat, moderately magnified, showing a nick at the
end where the cotyledons are to he. 334. Same, more advanced in growth. 335. Same,
still farther advanced. 333. The completed emliryo, displayed and straightened out; tb«
tame as shown in a section when folded together in Fig. 326.
LESSON 22.] GROWTH OF THE PLANTLET.
141
388. The Growth Of the Plantlct 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. 56, 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 'T^ig. 340), we may per-
ceive that the whole interior is made up of just such cells. It is
the same with the young stem and the leaves (Fig. 355, 357).
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 ^ov of an inch in diameter) ; and 2d, the multiplication
FIG. 337. Tissue from the rootlet of a seedling Maple, magnified, showing root-hairs.
&3S. A small portion, more magnified.
FIG. 339. A regularly twelve-sided cell, like those of Fig. 840, detached.
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. Magnified view, or diagram, of some perfectly regular cellular tissue, formed of
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 edifice 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 anc^
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 -5^ 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 Fibre 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
SIG 341. Part of a slic« across the stem of the Calla, or rather Richardia Africana, magnified
13
U6
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 treesf
and shrubs they are so numerous and
crowded together, that they make a
6 solid mass of wood. In herbs they
are fewer, and often scattered. That
is all the difference.
b 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
6 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
email 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-
ton wood (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 hark 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 walls are cut through, these
;*) are seen in profile.
LESSON 24.]
WOOD.
147
A
©
V
409. In hard woods, such as Hickory, Oak, and Button wood (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
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.
v 41 2. Wood-cells in the bark are generally longer, finer, and
tougher than those of the proper wood, and appear more like fibre?.
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-fibres. 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. 34T. A separate wood-cell, more magnified, the varying thick-
ttess 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.
414. 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 orieutale, 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
(67). 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 roots 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, thej 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 (Fi0 We may distinguish two sorts of materials in plants, one of
whkrh is absolutely essential, and is the same in all of them ; the
other, ulso to some extent essential, but very variable in different
plants, or in the same plant under different circumstances. The
forn>er is the organic, the latter the inorganic or earthy materials.
451. The Earthy or Inorganic Constituents, If we burn thoroughly a
, 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 ; and some mu?t be held to be necessary to vege-
tation, since this is never known to go on without them.
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 IK ACTION". [LESSOR 26.
sue, — in the tender pot-herb and in the oldest tree. It is composed
of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, 6 parts of the first to 10 of the
second and 5 of the third. These, accordingly, are necessary mate-
rials of vegetable growth, and must be received by the growing plant
455. The Plant's Food must contain these three elements in some
shape 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 sprinkled 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 elements.
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 ^^ part of its bulk,
— enough for the food of plants, but not enough to be injurious to
nnimals. 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. oxygen
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 arc 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 plants 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 consume?. 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 5 parts of.
oxygen and 10 of hydrogen to 6 of carbon (454) : here the first two
are just in the same proportions as in water, which consists of 1 part
of oxygen and 2 of hydrogen, — so that 5 parts of water and 6 of car-
bon represent 1 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 off the oxygen of the carbonic acid into the air.
468. And we can readily prove that it is so, — namely, that plants
LESSON 26.] 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.
4G9. 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
Jjo-e 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 steins 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), &c. 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
eame 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.
pencled 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 (4GO). 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 (463) ; — 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, &c., 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 (45^), 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 surface 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-i
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 vegetable?. 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. Cil'CUlalioil 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, &c, 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 mode of diffusion 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
(bat is brought to the same density as the other. A familiar illus-
LESSON 27.3 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. 56), 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, (fee.).
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
35
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 stern-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 we 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. We
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 steins. 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. The free ends of
twining stems, as of Hop, or Morning Glory, or Bean, which appar-
ently hang over to one ?ide from their weight, are in fact bent over,
and, the direction of the bend constantly changing, the shoot is
steadily sweeping round the circle, making a revolution every few-
hours, or even more rapidly in certain ca^es, until it reaches a
neighboring support, when, by a continuation of the same move-
ment, it twines around it. Most tendrils revolve in the same way,
sometimes even .more rapidly ; while others only turn from the
LESSON 27.] MOVEMENTS. 171
light ; this is especially the case with those that cling to walls 01
trunks by sucker-like disks, as Virginia Creeper, p. 38, fig. 62.
When an active tendril comes into contact with a stem or any such
extraneous body, it incurves at the point of contact, and so lays hold
of the support: the same contraction or tendency to curve affecting
the whole length of the tendril, it soon shortens into a 'coil, part coil-
ing one way, part the other, thus drawing the shoot up to the sup-
porting body ; or, if the tendril be free, it winds up in a simple coil.
This movement of tendrils is so prompt in the Star-Cucumber (Sic-
yos) in Echinocystis, and in two sorts of Passion-flower, that the
end, after a gentle rubbing, coils up by a movement rapid enough to
be readily seen. In plants that climb by their leaf-stalks, such as
Mauramlia and Tropseolum, the movements are similar, but much
too slow to be seen.
491. • The so-called sleep of plants is a change of 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 for-
wards 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 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. In several plants the leaves take the
nocturnal position when brushed or jarred, — in the common Sensi-
tive 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, some
when it diminishes, illustrates the same thing. The stamens of ths
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.
432. In many of these cases we plainly perceive that a useful end
is subserved. But what shall we say of the Venns's Fly-trap of
IVorth Carolina, growing where it might be sure of all the food a
j;lant can need, yet provided with an apparatus for catching insects,
and actually capturing them expertly by a sudden motion, in the
manner already described (126, Fig. 81) ? Or of the leaflet* of the
172 CRYPTOGAMOUS OR FLOWERLESS PLANTS. [LESSON 27.
Desmodium gyrans of the East Indies, spontaneously falling and
rising by turns in jerking motions 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.
*#* 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). Instead of seeds they have spores,
which are usually simple cells (392). The name Cryptogamous
means, of hidden fructification, and intimates that they may have
something answering to stamens and pistils, although not the same ;
and this is now known to be the ca?e 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
botanically by the beginner, except the Ferns, Club-Mosses, and
Horse-tails. For the study of these we refer the student at once to
the Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, and to the
Field, Forest, and Garden. Botany. The structure and physiology
of these plants, as well as of the Mosses, Liverworts, Lichens, Sea-
weeds, and Fungi, are explained in the Structural Botany, or 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 plants
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 arid 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, &c.),
are not likely to be reproduced by seed. Still they sometimes are
so : and such varieties are called
Races. These are 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 are likely to 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 3,850
species of the higher classes grow wild in the United States east of
the Mississippi. 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
tincture, and differ only in the shape or proportion of their parts;
these, we say, belong to one Genus. Some, again, show a more gen-'
fcral 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 stern* 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. ]_Li:SSON 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 Rose kind or genus, the Oak
genus, the Chestnut genus, &c., are familiar illustrations. Ea:h
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 B-jech
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 another, 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 Strawberry, 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 Rose 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 Rose 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 Phcenogamous 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-
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 Names. 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 tne early
pages of the Manual of the Botany of the Northern United Siaies, —
in which the derivation of the generic names is explained. The
genus JTepatica, 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. Ciwicifuga, 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.
516. 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 Eraser, one of the first to find this species ; Ra
180 BOTANICAL NAMES AND CHARACTERS. [LESSON 29.
worthia Michauxii, p. 65, named for the early botanist Michaux ;
and Polygala Nuttallii, in compliment to Mr. Nuttall, who described
it under another name. Such names of persons are of course writ-
ten with a capital initial letter. Occasionally some old substantive
name is used for the species ; as Magnolia Umbrella, p. 49, and Ra-
nunculus Flammula, p. 41. 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. 41 (i. e. the
creeping variety), and R. abortivus, variety micranthus, p. 42, 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-
culacecR (Manual, p. 34) ; meaning Planter Ranunculacece when
written 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 Clematis, or the Virgin's-Bower, belongs, takes accordingly
the name of Clematidece ; and so on. So the term Rosacece (mean-
ing 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. 123), 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. 187) means Umbelliferous or Umbel-bearing Plants;
and the vast order Composite (Manual, p. 215) is so named because
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 itg
Character. Thus, in the Manual, already referred to, at the begin-
LESSON 30.] HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 1*1
ning, the character of the first great series is given ; then that of
the first class, of the first subclass, and of the first division under it.
Then, after the name of the order, follows its character (the ordinal
character) : under the name of each genus (as, 1. Clematis, p. 35)
is added the generic character, or description of what essentially
distinguishes 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
illustration, Clematis Viorna, p. 36, where the sentence immediately
following the name is intended to characterize that species from all
others like it.
521. Under this genus, and generally where we have several spe-
cies of a genus, the species are arranged under sections, and these
often under subsections, for the student's convenience 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.
Under Clematis, also, are two sections with names, or sub-genera,
which indicates that they might almost be regarded as two distinct
genera. 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 gen-
eral 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 a hand magni-
fy ing-glass, and, if possible, with a simple microscope, i. e. with a
magnify ing-glass, of two or more different powers, mounted on a
support, over a stage, holding a glass plate, on which small flowers
or their parts may be laid, while they are dissected under the mi-
croscope with the points of needles (mounted in handles), or divided
16
182 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 30.
by a sharp knife. Such a microscope is not necessary, except for
very small flowers; but it is a great convenience at all times, and
is indispensable in studying the more difficult orders of plants.
524. We suppose the student now to have a work in which the
plants of the country or district are scientifically arranged and
described : if in the Southern Atlantic States, Dr. Chapman's Flora
of the Southern States ; if north of Carolina and Tennessee, Gray's
Manual of the Botany of the United States, fifth edition ; or, as cov-
ering the whole ground as to common plants, and including also all
the common cultivated plants, Gray's Field, Forest, and Garden
Botany, which is particularly arranged as the companion of the
present work ; that containing brief botanical descriptions of the
plants, and this the explanation of their general structure, and of
the technical terms employed in describing them. 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 at the end of
this volume. 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 learn-
ing a classical language.
525. The following illustrations and explanations of the way to use
the descriptive work are, first, for The Field, Forest, and Garden Bot-
any, that being the one which will be generally used by beginners and
classes. This and the Lessons, bound together in a single compact
volume, will serve the whole purpose of all but advanced students,
teachers, and working botanists. Thus equipped, we proceed to
526. The Analysis of a Plant. A Buttercup will serve as well
as any. Some species or other may be found in blossom throughout
nearly the whole spring and summer ; and, except at the very
beginning of the season, the fruit, more or less developed, may be
gathered with the blossom. To a full knowledge of a plant the
fruit is essential, although the name may almost always be ascer-
tained without it. This common yellow flower being under exam-
ination, we are to refer the plant to its proper class and order or
LESSON 30.]
HOW TO STUDY PLANTS.
183
family. The families are so numerous, and so generally distinguish-
able only by a combination of a considerable number of marks thai
the student must find his way to them by means of a contrivance
called an Analytical Key. This Key begins on p. 12.
527. It takes note of the most comprehensive possible division of
plants, namely those " producing true flowers and seeds," and those
"not producing flowers, propagated by spores." To the first of'
these, the great series of PH^NOGAMOUS or FLOWERING PLANTS,
the plant under examination obviously belongs.
528. This series divides into those u with wood in a circle, or in
concentric annual circles or layers around a central pith, netted-veined
leaves, and parts of the flower mostly in fives or fours," — to which
might be added the dicotyledonous embryo, but that in the present
case is beyond the young student's powers, even if the fruit were at
hand; — and into those " with wood in separate threads scattered
through the diameter of the stem, not in a circle," also the '* leaves
mostly parallel-veined, and parts of the flower almost always in
threes, never in fives." Although the hollo wness of the stem of the
present plant may obscure its internal structure, a practised hand,
by throwing the light through a thin cross section of the stem under
the glass, would make it evident that its woody bundles were all in
a circle near the circumference, yet this could hardly be expected
of an unassisted and inexperienced beginner. But the two other
and very obvious marks, the netted-veined leaves, and the number
five in both calyx and corolla, certify at once that the plant belongs
to the first cla-s, EXOGENOUS or DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS.
529. We should now look at the flower more particularly, so
as to make out its general
plan of structure, which we
shall need to know all about
as we go on. We observe
that it has a calyx of 5
sepals, though these are apt
to fall soon after the blossom
opens ; that the 5 petals are
borne on the receptacle (or common axis of the flower) just above
the sepals and alternate with them ; that there are next borne, a
FIG. 358. A flower of a Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus) cut through from top to bottom,
and enlarged.
184 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 30.
little higher up on the receptacle, an indefinite number of stamens ;
and, lastly, covering the summit or centre of the receptacle, an in-
definite number of pistils.
A good view of the whole
is to be had by cutting the
flower directly through the
middle, from top to bottom
359 sec 361 (Fig. 358). If this be done
with a sharp knife, some of the pistils will be neatly divided, or may
be so by a second slicing. Each pistil, we see, is a closed ovary,
containing a single ovule (Fig. 359) ascending from near the base
of the cell, and is tipped with a very short broad style, which has
the stigma running down the whole length of its inner edge. The
ovary is little changed as it ripens into the sort of fruit termed an
akene (Fig. 360) ; the ovule becoming the seed and fitting the cell
(Fig. 361). Reverting to the key, on p. 13, we find that the class
to which our plant belongs has two subclasses, one " with pistil of
the ordinary sort, the ovules in a closed ovary"; the other "without
proper pistil, the ovules naked on a scale," &c. The latter is
nearly restricted to the Pine Family. The examination already had
makes it quite clear that our plant belongs to the first subclass,
ANGIOSPERMOUS Exogenous or Dicotyledonous Plants.
530. We have here 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
Monopetalous, and the Apetalous. The plant in hand being fur-
nished, in the words of the key, "with both calyx and corolla, the
latter of wholly separate petals," is to be sought under I. POLY-
PETALOUS DIVISION; for the analysis of which, see p. 14.
531. Fully half the families of the class rank under this division.
The first step in the key is to the sections A and B ; to the first of
which, having "stamens more than 10, and more than twice the
number of the sepals or divisions of the calyx," our plant must pertain.
532. Under this we proceed by a series of successive steps, their
gradations marked by their po-ition on the page, leading down to
the name of the order or family, to which is appended the number
FIG. 359. A pistil taken from a Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus), and more magnified ;
its ovary cut through lengthwise, showing the ovule. 360. One of its pistils when ripened
into a fruit (achenium or akene). 361. The same, cut through, to show the seed in it.
LESSON 30. J HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 185
of the page where that family and the plants under it are described.
The propositions of the same grade, two or more, from which de-
termination is to be made, not only stand one directly under the
other, but begin with the same word or phrase, or with some
counterpart, — in the present case again with " Stamens," and with
four propositions, with one and only one of which the flower in
hand should agree. It agrees with the last of the four : »« Stamens
not monadelphous."
533. The propositions under this, to which we are now directed,
are six, beginning with the word " Pistils " or " Pistil." The one
which applies to the flower in hand is, clearly, the fourth : " Pistils
numerous or more than one, separate, on the receptacle."
534. The terms of the analysis directly subordinate to this are
only two : we have to choose between " Stamens borne on the
calyx," and " Stamens borne on the receptacle." The latter is true
of our flower. The terms subordinate to this are four, beginning
with the word " Leaves." The fourth alone accords : " Leaves not
peltate ; herbs," — and this line leads out to the CROWFOOT
FAMILY, and refers to p. 33.
535. Turning to that page, a perusal of the brief account of the
marks of the RANUNCULACE^E (the technical Latin name) or CROW-
FOOT FAMILY, assures us that the Key has led us safely and readily
to a correct result. Knowing the order or family, we have next to
ascertain the genus. Here are twenty genera to choose from ; but
their characters are analyzed under sections and successive sub-
sections (§, * ,-»-,*+, &c.) so as to facilitate the way to the desired
result. Of the two primary sections, we must reject § 1, as it agrees
only in respect to the pistils, and differs wholly in the characters
furnished by the sepals, the petals, and the leaves. With " § 2.
Sepals imbricated in the bud: not climbing nor woody" it agrees. Il
also agrees with the sub-section immediately following, viz. : " * Pis-
tils and akenes, several or many in a head, one-seeded." The sub.
division following : " +- Petals none: sepals petal-like " is inapplicable ;
but its counterpart, «' H- •»- Petals and sepals both conspicuous, Jive or
more : akenes, naked, short-pointed" suits, and restricts our choice to
the three genera, Adonis, Myosurus, and Ranunculus. The deter-
mination is soon made, upon noting the naked sepals, the petals with
the little scale on the upper face of the short claw, and the akenes
in a head: so the genus is, 7. RANUNCULUS.
16*
186 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 30.
536. The arrangement of the species of Ranunculus is to be
found, under the proper number, 7, 0:1 p. 37 and the following.
The first section contains aquatic species ; ours is terrestrial, and in
all other particulars answers to § 2. The smooth ovary and akene,
and the perennial root refer it to the sub-ectioii following, marked
by the single star. The shape of the leaves excludes it from the
" •*- Spearwort Crowfoots," the large and showy petals from the
" -f— -i— Small-flowered Crowfoots ; while all the marks agree with
.*- -H- 4- BUTTERCUPS or COMMON CROWFOOTS. There is still
a subdivision, one set marked, " -n- Natives of the country, low or
spreading" the other " •*-+ ++ Introduced weeds from Europe, com-
mon in fields, fyc.: stem erect: leaves muck cut," — which is the
case. We have then only to choose between the two field Crow-
foots, and we have supposed the pupil to have in hand the lower,
early-flowered one, common at the east, which has a solid bulb or corm
at the base of the stem, and displays its golden flowers in spring or
earliest summer, and which accordingly answers to the description
of RANUNCULUS BULBOSUS, the BULBOUS BUTTERCUP.
537. Later in the season it might have been R. acris, the Tall
Buttercup, or much earlier R. fascicularis, or R. repens. Having
ascertained the genus from any one species, the student would not
fail to recognize it again in any other, at a glance.
538. If now, with the same plant in hand, the Manual (Fifth
edition) be the book used, the process of analysis will be so similar,
that a brief indication of the steps may suffice. Here the corres-
ponding Analytical Key, commencing on p. 21, leads similarly to
the first Series, Class, Subclass, and Division ; — to A, with nume-
rous stamens; 1, with calyx entirely free and separate from the
pistil or pistils, thence to the fourth line beginning with the word
Pistils; thence to the third of the three subordinate propositions,
viz. to <; Stamens inserted on the receptacle " ; to the second of the
succeeding couplet, or "Filaments longer than the anther"; to the
second of the next couplet, «• Flowers perfect," &c., and to the first
of the final Couplet, " Leaves not peltate ; petals deciduous," — which
ends in " RANUNCULACE^E, 34" This is the technical name of the
family, and the page where it is described.
539. Turning to that page we read the general description of that
order, particularly the portion at the beginning printed in italics,
which comprises the more important points. The " Synopsis of the
LESSON 31.J HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 187
Genera " which follows is similar to, but more technical than that of
the other, more elementary book ; and the names of the tribes or
natural groups of genera (507) are inserted. The steps of analysis
bring the student to the Tribe III. RANUNCULE^E, and under it to
the genus RANUNCULUS. The number prefixed to the name enables
the student to turn forward and find the genus, p. 40. The name,
seif/^ific and popular, is here followed by a full generic character
(5^0). The primary sections here have names : the plant under
examination belongs to " § 2. RANUNCULUS proper"; and thence
is to be traced, through the subdivisions *, -t— -t— ••— -t— , -M. +H-, to
the ultimate subdivision b., under which, through a comparison of
characters, the student reaches the species R. BULBOSUS, L.
o 10. The L. at the end of the name is the recognized abbrevia-
tion of the name of Linnaeus, the botanist who gave it. Then come
the common or English names ; then the specific character ; after this,
the station where the plant grows, and the region in which it occurs.
This is followed by the time of blossoming (from May to July);
and then by some general descriptive remarks. The expression
4* Nat. from Eu." means that the species is a naturalized emigrant
from Europe, and is not original to this country. But all these
details are duly explained in the Preface to the Manual, which the
student who uses that work will need to study.
LESSON XXXI.
HOW TO STUDY PLANTS : FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.
541. BEGINNERS should not be discouraged by the slow progress
they must needs make in the first trials. By perseverance the vari-
ous 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. To help on the student by a second example, we will take
the common cultivated Flax. Turning to the Key, as before, on
188
HOW TO STUDY PLANTS.
[LESSON 31.
p. 12, the student is led to ask, 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 of Flowering Plants 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 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. We might even judge from the embryo ;
for there is little difficulty in dissecting a flax-seed, and in finding
that almost the whole interior is occupied by an embryo with two
cotyledons, much like that of an apple-seed (Fig. 11, 12), and this
class, as one of its name denotes, is dicotyledonous. If we view the
parts of the blossom, we perceive they are five throughout (Fig. 363,
365), a number which occurs in that class only. All these marks,
or as many of them as the student is able to verify, show that the
plant belongs to Class I. EXOGENOUS or DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS.
543. To which subclass, is the next inquiry. The single but
several-celled ovary in the centre of the flower, enclosing the ovules,
assures us that it belongs to the ANGIOSPERMOUS subclass, p. 13.
544. To get a good idea of the general plan of the flower, before
proceeding farther, cut it through the middle lengthwise, as in Fig.
364, and also take a slice across a flower-bud, which will bring to view
an arrangement somewhat like that of Fig. 365. Evidently 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
FIG. 382. Section of the stem of Flax, magnified. 383. Summit of a branch of the common
Flax, with two flowers. 384. A flower divided lengthwise and enlarged.
LESSON 31.} HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 189
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 recep-
tacle underneath the ovary ; but the filaments,
on close inspection, may show a slight union
among themselves, at the base.
545. So our plant, having 5 separate petals, is of the POLYPETA-
LOUS division of the first cla?s, for the analysis of which see page 14.
546. But it does not belong to the primary division A, which has
more than 10 stamens. The student passes on, therefore, to the
counterpart division B, on page 16, to which the few stamens, here
only five, refer it.
547. Of the three subdivisions, with numerals prefixed, only the
second answers ; for the calyx is free from the ovary, and there is
only one ovary, although the styles are five.
548. The divisions subordinate to this form a couplet ; and our
plant agrees with the second member of it, having " Stamens of the
same number as the petals" [5] and "alternate with them." The
division under this is a triplet, of which we take the third member;
for the " Leaves are not punctate with pellucid dots." Under this,
in turn, is a triplet beginning with the word Ovary, and the five, if
not ten cells, determine our choice of the third member of it,
" Ovary compound." Under this we have no less than nine choices,
dependent upon the structure of the ovary, the number of ovules
and seeds, &c. But the 5-celled ovary with a pair of ovules in
each cell, separated by a false partition projecting from the back
(Fig. 365), so that the pod becomes in fact 10-celled, with a sol-
itary seed in each cell, is described only in the ninth and last of
the set, p. 18. Under this, again, we have to choose among five
propositions relating to the seeds. Here the fifth — "Seeds and
ovules only one or two in each cell" — alone meets the case.
Under this, finally, we have to choose from six lines, beginning
with the words Tree, Shrubs, or Herbs. The fifth alone agrees,
and leads to the FLAX FAMILY, p. 77.
549. There is only one genus of it in this country, namely, the
FLAX genus itself, or LINUM. To determine the species, look first
FIG. 365. Cross-section of an unexpanded flower of the same, a sort of diagram.
11JO HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 31.
at the three section?, marked with stars. The second answers to
oui plant ; and the annual root, pointed sepals, and blue petals deter-
mine it to be the COMMON FLAX, LINUM USITATISSIMUM.
550. By the Manual, the same plant would be similarly traced,
ulong a somewhat different order of steps, down to the genus on
p. 104, and to the species, which being a foreign cultivated one, and
only by chance spontaneous, is merely mentioned at the close.
551. After several analyses of this kind, the student will be able
to pass rapidly over most of these steps ; should ordinarily recog-
nize the class and the division at a glance. Suppose a common Mal-
low to be the next subject. Having flowers and seeds, it is Phaeno-
gamous. The netted-veined leaves, the structure of the stem, and
the leaves of the flower in fives, 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. Turning to the Key in the Field, Forest,
and Garden Botany, and to the analysis of that division, commencing
on p. 14, the numerous stamens fix it upon A, under which the
very first line, " Stamens monadelphous, united with the base of
the corolla; anthers kidney-shaped, one-celled," exactly expresses
the structure of these organs, in our plant, which is thus determined
to be of the MALLOW FAMILY, — for which see page 70.
552. After reading the character of the family, and noting its
agreement in all respects, we fix upon § 1, in which the anthers are
all borne at the top, and not down the side of the tube of filaments.
We pass the subdivision with a single star, and choose the alternative,
with two stars, on account of the ring of ovaries, &c. ; fix upon the
division -K-, on account of the stigmas running down one side of the
slender style, instead of forming a little head or blunt tip at their
apex ; and then have to choo-e among five genera. The three
separate bracts outside of the calyx, the obcordate petals, and the
fruit determine the plant to be a MALVA. Then, referring to p. 71
for the species, the small whitish flowers point to the first division,
and a comparison of the characters of the two species under it,
assures us that the plant in hand is MALVA ROTUNDIFOLIA.
553. For the sake of an example in the Monopt-talous Division,
we take a sort of Morning-Glory which is often met with climbing
over shrubs along the moist banks of streams. Its netted-veined
leaves, the sepals and the stamens being five, — also the structure of
the stem, if we choose to examine it, and the embryo with two leafy
31.1 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 191
cotyledons (as in Fig. 26), readily inspected if we have seeds, —
show it belongs to Class I. Its pistil refers it of course to Subclass I.
The corolla being a short funnel-shaped tube, theoretically regarded
as formed of five petals united up to the very summit or border, ren-
ders the flower a good illustration of the MONOPETALOUS DIVISION,
the analysis of which begins on p. 20, in the work we are using.
554. The calyx free from the ovary excludes it from the section,
A, and refers it to section B. This 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, in other words, how many
petals enter into its composition. 'But the five leaves of the calyx
would lead one 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 show 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 falls under the third subdivision : " Sta-
mens as many as the lobes or parts of the corolla and alternate with
them." This subdivides by the pistils. Our plant, having a pistil
with two stigmas and two cells to the ovary, must be referred to the
fifth and last category : " Pistil one, with a single compound ovary,'*
&c. We are then directed to the stamens, which here are " plainly
borne on the corolla " ; next to the leaves, which are on the stem
(not all at the root), also alternate, without stipules; the stamens
5, and the ovary 2-celled, — all of which accords with the seventh
of the succeeding propositions, and with no other. The middle one
alone under this agrees as to the ovary and seeds, and all is confirmed*
by the twining stem. It is the CONVOLVULUS FAMILY, p. 262.
555. The proper Convolvulus Family has green foliage, as has
our plant. Its style is single and entire, as in § 1. Its calyx has a
pair of large leafy bracts, as in the subdivision with two stars. So
we reach the genus CALYSTEGIA, or BKACTED BINDWEED.
556. Under this genus two species are described : the twining stem,
and the other particulars of our plant, direct us to the first C. SEPIUM,
which in England is named HEDGE BINDWEED, and here is one
of the various Convolvulaceous plants known as MORNING-GLOEY.
192
HOW TO STUDY PLANTS.
[LESSON
LESSON XXXII.
HOW TO STUDY PLANTS : FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.
557. THE foregoing illustrations have all been of the first or Ex-
ogenous class. We will take one from the other class, and investi-
gate it by the Manual.
558. It shall be a rather common plant of our woods in spring,
the Three-leaved Nightshade, or Birthroot. With specimens in
hand, and the Manual open at the Analytical Key, p. 21, seeing
that the plant is of the Phcenogamous series, we procyeed to deter-
mine the class. The netted-veined leaves would seem to refer the
plant to the first class; while the blossom (Fig. 366, 367), con-
structed on the number three, naturally directs us to the second
class, in which this number almost
universally prevails. Here the stu-
dent 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, and if they were, the embryo
would not readily be made out. We
366 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 endo-
genous (422); and this decides the question in
favor of Class II. MONOCOTYLEDONOUS or EN-
DOGENOUS PLANTS (page 30), notwithstanding the branching veins
of the leaves. For neither this character, nor the number of parts in
FIG. 36G. Flower of Trillium erectum, viewed from above. 367. Diagram of the same, a
cross-swition of the unopened blossom, showing the number and arrangement of parts.
I.KSSON 32.] HOW TO STUD1* PLANTS 193
the blossom, holds good universally, while the plan of the stem
does.
559. The single flower of our plant with distinct calyx and corolla
takes us over the Spadiceous to the PETALOIDEOUS DIVISION:
the Petaloideous Division of Endogens there begins on p. 28.
These parts being free from and beneath the ovary, refer us to the
third subdivision, viz : kt 3. Perianth wholly free from the ovary"
559*. The pistil is next to be considered : it accords with the third
of the triplet: " Pistil one, compound (cells or placenta? 3) ; anthers
2-celled." Under this follows a triplet, of which the initial word is
"Perianth": our choice falls upon the first, as there is nothing
"glumaceous" about this flower.
560. The succeeding triplet relates to the stamens; here 6, so
we take the first alternative. The next refers to mode and place of
growth : our plant is " Terrestrial, and not rush-like." The next
again to the perianth : the second number of the triplet : " Perianth
of 3 foliaceous and green sepals, and 3 colored withering-persistent
petals" (as would be seen after flowering-time), brings us to a par-
ticular group in the great Lily family, or LILIACE^E, p. 520.
561. Reading over the family character, and collating the five
tribes comprised, we perceive that our plant belongs to the group,
quite peculiar among Liliaceous plants, here ranked as Tribe 1.
TRILLIDE^E, the Trillium tribe. And the next step, leading to a
choice between two genera, determines the genus to be TRILLIUM.
562. Turning to this, on p. 522, and reading the full description
of it, we proceed to the easy task of ascertaining the species. The
"flower is raised on a peduncle," as in § 2. This peduncle is slender
and nearly erect, and all the other particulars accord with the sub-
division marked by a single star. And, finally, the ovate, acutish,
widely-spreading, dark dull-purple petals mark the species as the
PURPLE BIRTHROOT, TRILLIUM ERECTUM, L.
563. By the Field, Forest, and Garden Botany, the analysis is
similar, only more simple. The details need not be particularly
recapitulated.
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. grandiflorum. And
towards the north, in cold and damp woods or swamps, a smaller
17
194 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 32.
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, it will be seen, is T. cernuum, the Nodding Trillium'
or Wake Robin.
565. Whenever the student has fairly studied out one species of
a genus, he will be likely to 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
resemblance. For instance, having first become acquainted with the
Convolvulus family in the genus Calystegia (555), 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 (Malvacetz) in the Marsh-Mallow,
sparingly naturalized along the coast, in the Glade Mallow, and the
Indian Mallow, in the Hibiscus or Rose-Mallow, and so of the rest :
for the relationship is manifest in their general appearance, and in
the whole structure of the flowers, if not of the foliage also.
5G6. 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 about one hundred and thirty orders of Flowering
Plants represented in our Botany of the Northern States by about
2,540 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 students
who will patiently and thoroughly study out twenty or thirty well-
chosen examples will afterwards experience little difficulty in determin-
ing any of our Flowering Plants and Ferns, and will find the pleasure
of the pursuit largely to increase with their increasing knowledge.
5G7.-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 id
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 fail 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 iii fact they may be very unequal, — to assume, on
106 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 fiower,
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 LinnaiUS 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, even perhapi
vO the species themselves.
LESSON 33.] ARTIFICIAL SYSTEM OF LINNJEUS.
197
575. The twenty-four classes of Linnaeus 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. PH^ENOGAMIA ; plants with stamens and pistils, i. e. with real
flowers.
I Stamens in the same flower as the pistils :
# Not united with them,
•<- Nor with one another.
•w. Of equal length if either 6 or 4 in number.
One to each flower, Class 1.
MONANBRIA.
Two "
2.
DlAXDRIA.
Three "
3.
TRIANDRIA.
Four "
4.
TETRANDRIA.
Five "
5.
PENTANDRIA.
Six
6.
HEXANDRIA.
Seven "
7.
HEPTANDRIA.
Eight «
8.
OCTAXDRIA.
Nine " "
9.
ENNEANDRIA.
Ten "
10.
DECANDRIA.
Eleven to nineteen to each flower,
11.
DODECANDRIA.
Twenty or more inserted on the calyx,
12.
ICOSANDRIA.
" " " on the receptacle,
13.
POLYANDRIA.
•*-«• -w- Of unequal length and either 4 or 6.
,
Four, 2 long and 2 shorter,
14.
DlDYNAMIA.
Six, 4 long and 2 shorter,
15.
TETRADYNAMIA
•«- -i- United with each other,
By their filaments,
Into one set or tube, 16. MONADELPHIA.
Into two sets, 17. DIADELPHIA.
Into three or more sets, 18. POLYADELPHIA
By their anthers into a ring, 19. SYNGENESIA.
* * United with the pistil, 20. GYNANDRIA.
2. Stamens and pistils in separate flowers,
Of the same individuals, 21. MONCECIA.
Of different individuals, 22. DICECIA.
Some flowers perfect, others staminate or
pistillate either in the same or in different
individuals, 23. POLYGAMIA.
Series II. CRYPTOGAMIA. No stamens and
pistils, therefore no proper flowers, 24. CRYPTOGAMIA
17*
198 ARTIFICIAL SYSTEM OF LINNJEUS. [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 llth
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 13th 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 loth, "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 (Monadelphia, Diaddpliia,
and Poly adelphia). 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,
Linnasus 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 Order 1. MONOGYNIA.
Two styles or sessile stigmas, to 2. DIGYNIA.
Three " " 3. TRIOYNIA.
Four " " 4. TETRAGYNIA.
Five " " 5. PENTAGYNIA.
Six " " 6. HEXAGYKIA.
Seven " " 7. HEPTAGYNIA.
Eight " " 8. OCTOGYXIA.
Nine " " 9. EKNEAGYNIA.
Ten " " 10. DECAGYNIA.
Eleven or twelve " 11. DODECAGYNIA.
More than twelve " 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 Linnasan 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 meanu
so certain, as a proper Artificial Key, prepared for the purpose, such
as we 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 iaid 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 34.] 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 Linnaeus 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.
S&F— 10
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 negatire,
or the absence of something ; as apetalous, without petals ; aphyllous, leaf-
less, &c. If the word begins with a vowel, the prefix is an ; as awanther-
ous, 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 iu Bloodroot, and most
Violets ; p. 36.
Accessory: something additional; as Accessory 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. 18U.
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 ; 3g. 289.
Acorn: the nut o'f the Oak ; fig. 299, p. 130.
Acotyle'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 ai
Ferns, &c., p. 172.
204 GLOSSARY.
Aculeate : armed with prickles, i. e. aculei ; as the Rose and Brier.
Aculeofate : 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 monadelphous and
diadelphous.
Adherent: sticking to, or, more commonly, growing fast to another body ; p. 104.
Adnate: growing fast to; it means horn 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 assurgeni : 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.
Ake'nium, or akene. See achenium,
Ala (plural alee) : a wing; the sid«Vpetals of a papilionaceous corolla, p. 105,
fig. 218, w.
Alubdstrum : a flower-bud.
Alar: situated in the forks of a stem.
Alale: winged, as the seeds of Trumpet-Creeper (fig. 316) the fruit of the Maple,
Elm (fig. 301), &c.
Albescent : whitish, or turning white.
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 com (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 with the
sepals, or stamens with the petals, when they stand 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.
Amphigdstrium (plural amphigastria) : a peculiar stipule-like, leaf of certair
Liverworts.
Amphitropous or Amphttropal ovules or seeds, p. 123, fig. 272.
Ampl&tant : embracing. Amplexicaul (leaves) : clasping the stem by the base.
Ampulldceous : swelling out like a bottle or bladder.
Amylaceous : composed of starch, or starch-like.
GLOSSARY. 205
Andntherous : without anthers. Andntkous : destitute of flowers ; flowerless.
Anastomosing: forming a net-work (anastomosis), as the veins of leaves.
Andtropous or Andtropal ovules or seeds ; p. 123, fig. 273.
Ancipital (anceps) : two-edged, as the stem of Blue-eyed Grass.
Androxium : a name for the stamens taken together.
Androgynous : having both staminate 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'rmce, Angiospe'rmous Plants : with their seeds formed in an ovary or peri-
carp, p. 183.
Angular divergence of leaves, p. 72.
Annual (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. 86, 113.
Anthertdium (plural antheridia) : the organ in Mosses, &c. which answers to
the anther of Flowering plants.
Anthenferous : anther-bearing.
Anthe'sis : the period or the act of the expansion of a flower
Anthocdrpous (fruits) : same as multiple fruits ; p. 133.
Anticous : same as anterior.
Antro'rse: directed upwards or forwards.
Ape'talous: destitute of petals ; p. 90, fig. 179.
Aphyllous : destitute of leaves, at least of foliage.
Apical : belonging to the apex or point.
Apiculate : pointletted ; tipped with a short and abrupt point.
Apocarpous (pistils) : when the several pistils of the same flower are separate.
as in a Buttercup, Sedum (fig. 168), &c.
Apdphysis : 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.
Apprised: where branches are close pressed to the stem, or leaves to tho
branch, &c.
Apterous: wingless.
Aquatic : living or growing in water ; applied to plants whether growing under
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.
Archeg6nium (plural archegonia) : the organ in Mosses, &c., which is analogous
to the pistil of Flowering Plants.
Arcuate : bent or curved like a bow.
Are'olate : marked out into little spaces or areoloe.
Arillate (seeds) • furnished with an
Aril or Arillus : a fleshy growth forming a false coat or appendage to a seed;
p. 135, fig. 318.
Aristate : awned. i. e. furnished with an arista, like the beard of Barley, &c.
Aristulate: diminutive of the last; short-awned.
^rrow-shaped or Arrow-headed : same as sagittate ; p. 59, fig. 95.
'Articulated: jointed ; furnished with joints or articulations, where it separates 01
inclines to do so. Articulated leaves, p. 64.
Artificial Classification, p. 196.
Ascending (stems, &c.), p. 37 , (seeds or ovules), p. 122.
Aspergillifonn : shaped like the brusli used to sprinkle holy water ; as the stigma*
of many Grasses.
Assimilation, p. 162.
Assurgent: same as ascending, p. 37.
Atropous or Atropal (ovules) : same as orthotropous.
Auriculate: furnished with auricles or ear-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.
Awned: furnished with an awn or long bristle-shaped tip.
Axil: the angle on the upper side between a leaf and the stem, p. 20.
Axile : belonging to the axis, or occupying the axis ; p. 1 1 9, &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 Echinospermum (Stickseed), &c.
Bdrbellate: said of the bristles of the pappus of some Composite (species of
Liatris, &c.), when beset with short, stiff hairs, longer than when denticulate,
but shorter than when plumose.
Barbe'llulate : diminutive of barbellate.
Bark : the covering of a stem outside of the wood, p. 150, 152.
Basal : belonging or attached to the
Base: that extremity of any organ by which it is attached to its support.
Bast, Bast-fibres, p. 147.
Beaked: ending in a prolonged narrow tip.
Bearded: see barbate. Beard is sometimes used popularly for awn, more conv
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
Biartfculate : 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.
Bidtntate: 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.
BUobed : the same as two-lobed.
Bildcular : two-celled ; as most anthers, the pod of Foxglove, most Saxifrages
(fig. 254), &c.
Binate : in couples, two together.
Bipartite : the Latin form of two-parted ; p. 62.
Bipinnate (leaf) : twice pinnate ; p. 66, fig. 130.
Bipinndtifid : twice pinnatifid, p. 64; that is, pinnatifid with the lobes again
pinnatifid.
Biplicate : twice folded together.
Bise'rial, or Biseriate : 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 (bracteola) 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 aspergi/liform.
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.
Bidbose or bulbous : bulb-like in shape, &c.
208 GLOSSARY.
Bulblets: 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 (calcur), as the flower of Larkspur, fig. 183,
and Violet, tig. 181.
Calceolate or Cdlceiform : slipper-shaped, like one petal of the Lady's Slipper-
Cdllose : hardened ; or furnished with callosities or thickened spots.
Cdlycine: belonging to the calyx.
Calculate : furnished with an outer accessory calyx (calyculus) or set of bracts
looking like a calyx, as in true Pinks.
Calyptra : the hood or veil of the capsule of a Moss : Manual, p. 607, &c.
Calyptriform : 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 Campylotropal ; curved ovules and seeds of a particular sort ;
p. 123, fig. 271.
Campi/lospe'nnous : applied to fruits of Umbelliferae 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 : gray ish- white ; hoary, usually because the surface is covered with
fine white hairs. Incanous is whiter still.
CapilldceoHS, Capillary : 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. <
Capitellate : diminutive of capitate; as the stigmas of fig. 255.
Capitulum (a little head) : a close rounded dense cluster or head of sessile
flowers; p. 80, fig. 161.
Capreo/ate: bearing tendrils (from caprcohis, 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 are
combined to form a body shaped somewhat like the keel (or nther the
prow) of a vessel ; p. 105, fig. 218, k.
Cdrinate: keeled ; furnished with a sharp ridge or projection on the lower side.
Caridpsis, or Carydpsis : the one-seeded fruit or grain of Grasses, &c., p. 351.
Corneous: 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
Carpolotjy : that department of Botany which relates to fruits.
Carpophore: the stalk or support of a fruit or pistil within the flower; as in
Sg. 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.
Caulescent: having an obvious stem ; p. 36.
Caulicle : a little stem, or rudimentary stem ; p. 6.
Cauline : 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.
Ct.lj.lar 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.
Cernnous : nodding; the summit more or less inclining.
Chaff: small membranous scales or bracts on the receptacle of Compositae ; the
glumes, &c. of Grasses.
Chaffy : furnished with chaff, or of the texture of chaff.
Chaldza : that part of the ovule where all the parts grow together; p. 122.
Channelled: hollowed out like a gutter; same as canaliculate.
Character : a phrase expressing the essential marks of a species, genus, &c.
which distinguish it from all others ; p. 180.
Chartdceom : of the texture of paper or parchment.
Chlorophyll : 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.
Chrdmule: coloring matter in plants, 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. e. of hairs or bristles, like
the eyelashes fringing the eyelids, whence the name.
Cine'reous, 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.
Citrhiferous, 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 narrower 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
Chjpeate : 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 carpeis
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 Umbelliferse 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.
Collum or Collar : the neck or line of junction between the stem and the root.
Columbia : 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.
Como.se: 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 Umbelliferse,
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 ihe same as coherent.
Conformed : similar to another thing it is associated with or compared to ; of
closely fitted to it, as the skin to the kernel of a seed.
Congested, Gmgldmeratt. : crowded together.
Conjugate : coupled ; in single pairs.
Connate : united or grown together from the first.
GLOSSARY. 211
Connective, ConnecUvum : the part of the anther connecting its two cells ; p. 113.
Connwent : 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 estivation, 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.
Corniculale : furnished with a small horn or spur.
Cornute : horned ; bearing a horn-like projection or appendage.
Cordlla : the leaves of the flower within the calyx ; p. 86.
Corolldceous, Corollme : 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.
Coronate : crowned ; furnished with a crown.
Cdrtical : 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.
Cotyledons : 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.
Cremocarp : 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 Mu%.
tard (fig. 187), and all the flowers of that family.
Crustaceous : hard, and brittle in texture ; crust-like. .
Cryptoyamous, or Cryptogam ic : relating to Cryptogamia; p. 172, 197.
Cucullate : hooded, or hood-shaped, rolled up like a cornet of paper, or a hood
(cucullus], as the spathe of Indian Turnip, fig. 162.
Culm : a straw ; the stem of Grasses and Sedges.
Odneate, 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 acorn 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.
Ciiticle : 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.
Cycldsis : 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.
Cymbifform, 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.
Deflexed: 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
Didddphm* (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
Didphanous : transparent or translucent.
Dichlamydeous (flower) : having both calyx and corolla.
Dichdtomons : two-forked.
Diclinous; having the stamens in one flower, the pistils in another; p. 89,
fig. 176, 177.
Dicdccous (fruit) : splitting into two cocci, or closed carpels.
Dicotyledonous (embryo) : having a pair of cotyledons ; p. 16, 137.
Dicotyledonous Plants, p. 150, 182.
Didi/mous : 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.
Dioecious, 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.
Disc/form 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
Dodecdf/ynous : with twelve pistils or styles.
Dodecandrous : with twelve stamens.
Dolabrifcrm : 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 stone-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, h'g. 96.
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. 1 08.
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 pericarp or fruit ; p. 128.
Endochrome : the coloring matter of Alga and the like.
Endogenous 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
kpicarp : the outermost layer of a fruit ; p. 128.
Epidermal: relating to the Epide'rmis, or the skin of a plant ; p. 152, 155.
Epiyceous: growing on the earth, or close to the ground.
Epigynous: upon the ovary ; p. 105, 111.
Ep/petalous: borne on the petals or the corolla.
Epiphyllous : borne on a leaf.
Epiphyte : a plant growing on another plant, but not nourished by it ; p. 34.
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 fag. 201.
Exstipulate : 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.
Extr6rse : 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 Pseony 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'olate, 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 (jimbi~ice).
Fistular or Ffstulose: hollow and cylindrical, as the leaves of the Onion.
Flabelliform or Flabe'llate : fan-shaped ; broad, rounded at the summit, and nar-
rowed at the btvse.
Flagellate, or Flagelliform »• long, narrow, and flexible, like the thong of a whip •
or like the runners (flagella) of the Strawberry.
Flavescent : yellowish, or turning yellow.
Fleshy : composed of firm pulp or flesh.
Fleshy Plants, p. 47.
216 GLOSSARY.
Fltxuose, or Fle'xuous: bending gently in opposite directions, in a zigzag way.
Floatitig: 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 a head (or of the so-called
compound flower) of Compositse, p. 106.
Flower: the whole organs of reproduction of Phaenogamous 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).
Fdliose : leafy ; abounding in leaves.
Fdliolate: relating to or bearing leaflets (foliola).
Fdllide: 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.
Fo'ceate: deeply pitted. Foveolate: diminutive of foveate.
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 on*
body, as in Duckweed and many Liverworts, &c.
Frondescence : the bursting into leaf.
Frdndose : frond-bearing ; like a frond : or sometimes used for leafy.
Fruct ification : 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 (frulex).
Fruticulose: like a small shrub. Fruticose: shrubby; p. 36.
Fugacious : soon falling off or perishing.
Fulvous : tawny ; dull yellow with gray.
Funiculus: 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.
Furfurdceous : covered with 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 (qalea] ; as the upper sepal of the Monkshood,
fig. 185, and the upper lip of the corolla of Dead-Nettie, fig. 209.
Gamope'talons: of united petals ; same as monopetalous, and a better word; p. 102.
Gamophyllons : formed of united leaves. Gainose'palous : 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 (yenu), 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. e. having no hairs, bristles, or other pubescent*.
G/adiate: sword-shaped; as the leaves of Iris, fig. 134.
Glands : small cellular organs which secrete oily or aromatic or other products :
they are 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, frc.), 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.
Gians ( Gland) : the acorn 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 cabbage-leaf.
Glolxtse: spherical in form, or nearly so. Gldbular : nearly globose.
Glochidlate (hairs or bristles): barbed; tipped with barbs, or with a double
hooked point.
Gltimcrate : closely aggregated into a dense cluster.
G/omerule: a dense head-like cluster; p. 83.
Glossology : the department of Botany in which technical terms are explained.
G/umaceous : glume-like, or glume-bearing.
Glume: G'umes are the husks or floral coverings of Grasses, or, particularly,
the outer husks or bracts of eaeh spikelet. (Manual, p. 535 )
Glume/les: the inner husks, or palete, 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.
Gymnocdr/x>us : naked-fruited.
Gymnospe'rmous : naked-seeded; p. 121.
Gymnospe'rmce, or Gymnospermous Plants, p. 184 ; Manual, p. xxiii.
Gyndndrous : with stamens borne on, i. e. united with, the pistil; p. Ill, fig. 226.
GyncKcium : 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 ampkitropous, p. 123.
Hepta- (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 Amphicarpjea.
Heterdgamous : 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.
Heterdtropous, 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.
Hexdpterons : 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 stimsh 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.
Homoge'neous : uniform in nature ; all of one kind.
Homomdlfoiis (leaves, &c.) : originating all round a stem, but all bent or curved
round to one side.
GLOSSARY. 219
Homomorphous : all of one shape.
Homtitropous 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. Horny : of the texture of horn.
Hortus Slccus: 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.
\llypocrate'riform : salver-shaped; p. 101, fig. 202, 208.
Hi/poycean: 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
Horsechesnut (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. 126.
Imperfect flowers : wanting either 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.
IndupUcate: with the edges turned inwards; p. 109.
Indusium: the shield or covering of a fruit-dot of a Fern. (Manual, p 588 }
Infei'ior : 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.
InfundibuUform 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, especially 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 5/wzces, 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.
Intrafoliaceous (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.
Inrolucellate : 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-sJiaped: resembling the outline of a kidney ; p. 59, fig. 100.
LaMlum : the odd petal in the Orchis Family.
Labiate: same as bilabiate or two-lipped; p. 105.
Laciniate: slashed ; cut into deep narrow lobes (called ladniaz).
Lactescent: producing milky juice, as does the Milkweed, &c.
Ldcunose : full of holes or gaps.
Lcevigote : smooth as if polished.
Lamellar or Lamellate : consisting of flat plates (lamellce}.
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
Ltpidote : leprous ; covered with scurfy scales.
Liber: the inner, fibrous bark of Exogenous plants; p. 152.
Ligneous, or Lignose : woody in texture.
Ligidate: furnished with a ligule ; p. 106.
Ligule: the strap-shaped corolla in many Composite, p. 106, fig. 220; the
little membranous appendage at the summit of the leaf-sheatbs of most
Grasses.
Limb: the blade ol 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\
Loceilus (plural locelli) : a small cell, or compartment of a cell, of an ovary or
anther.
Lticular: 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 spikelet of Grasses.
Ldment: a pod which separates transversely into joints; p. 131, fig. 304.
Lomentdceous : pertaining to or resembling a loment.
Ltirate: thong-shaped.
Lunate : crescent-shaped. Lunulate : diminutive of lunate.
Lyrate : lyre-shaped ; a pinnatifid leaf of an obovate or spatulate 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 re»t.
Masked: see personate.
.Median : belonging to the middle.
Medullary: belonging to, or of the nature of pith (medulla) ; pithy.
Medullary Rctys : the silver-grain of wood; p. 151.
Medullary Sheath: 'a set of ducts just around the pith ; p. 151.
Membranaceous or Membranous : of the texture of membrane ; thin and more or
less translucent.
Mentscoid : crescent-shaped.
Mericarp : 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.
Mondgyhous (flower) : having only one pistil, or one style; p. 116.
Monopetalous (flower) : with the corolla of one piece; p. 101.
Monophyllous : one-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.
Miicronate: tipped with an abrupt short point (mucro) ; p. 60, fig. 111.
Mucrdnulate : tipped with a minute abrupt point ; a diminutive of the last.
Muiti-, in composition : many ; as
Multangular: many-angled. Multicipital : many-headed, &c.
Multifarious: in many rows or ranks. Miiltifid: many-cleft; p. 62.
Multildcular : many-celled. Mult ise'rial : in many rows.
Multiple Fruits, p. 133.
Muricate: 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).
Miiticous : pointless ; beardless ; unarmed.
Mycelium : 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 ana
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 knots.
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.
Nuciform : 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.
Obco'rdate: 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.
Obduate: 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 ochrece (boots), or stipules in the form of sheaths; &»
in Polygonum, p. 69, fig. 137.
Ochroleucous : yellowish-white; dull cream-color.
Octo-, eight, enters into the composition of
Octdgynous : 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.
Ovary : 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.
ovate or oval in a solid form.
Ovule: the body which is destined to become a seed ; p. 86, 116, 122.
Palea (plural palew) : chaff; the inner husks of Grasses ; the chaff or bracts on
the receptacle of many Composite, as Coreopsis, fig. 220, and Sunflower.
Paleaceous : furnished 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.
Pandunform; 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 papillae) : little nipple-shaped protuberances.
Papillate, Papillose: covered with papilla.
Pappus : thistle-down. The down crowning the achenium of the Thistle, and
other Composite, 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. 607.)
Pare'nchyma : soft cellular tissue of plants, like the green pulp of leaves.
Parietal (placentae, &c.) : attached to the walls (parietes) of the ovary or pen-
carp ; p. 119, 120.
Parted: separated or cleft into parts almost to the base; p. 62.
Partial involucre, same as an involucd : 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 paucijlorous, few-flowered, £Q.
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 :i single flower or of a flower-duster ; p. 78.
Pe'duncied, Pediincti/ate : 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.
PenCcillate : 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
Pentdgi/nous : 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 Cucumhcr; 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'richfetk : the cluster of peculiar leaves at the base of the fruit-stalk of Mosses.
PerichfRtial : belonging to the perichrcth.
Perigo'nium, Per/gone: same as perianth.
Perigyninm : bodies around the pistil ; applied to the closed cup or bottle-shapod
body which encloses the ovary of Sedges, and to the bristles, little scales,
&c. of the flowers of some other Cyperacete.
Perigynous : the petals and stamens borne on the calyx; p. 104, 111.
Penpheric: around the outside, or periphery, of any organ.
Pe'risperm: a name for the albumen of a seed (p. 136).
Pe'ristome: 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.
Personate : masked ; a bilabiate corolla with a projection, or polote in the throat.
as of the Snapdragon ; p. 106, fig. 210, 211.
Petal: a leaf of the corolla; p. 85.
PetaJoid: petal-like ; resembling or colored like petals.
Pe'tiole : a footstalk of a leaf; a leaf-stalk, p. 54.
Petioled, Petiolate: furnished with a petiole.
Petidhdate : said of a leaflet when raised on its own partial leafstalk.
PkcentfgamouSy or Pltanerfyamoiis: plants bearing flowers and producing seeds;
same as Flowering Plants ; p. 177, 182.
PhyUddium (plural phyllodta] : a leaf where the blade is a dilated petiole, as in
New Holland Acacias ; p. 69.
Phyllotdxit, or Phylfotaxy : the arrangement of leaves on the stem ; p. 71.
Physiological Botany, Physiology, p. 3.
8&F— 11
226 GLOSSARY.
Phyton : a name used to designate the pieces which by their repetition make up
a plant, theoretically, viz. a joint of stern Avith 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.
Pinnately lobed, cleft, parted, divided, &c., p. 63.
Pinndtrfid: same as pinnately cleft; p. 63, fig. 119.
Pistil: the seed-bearing organ of the flower ; p. 86, 116.
Pistillidiwn : 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-i
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.
Ptidosperm : the stalk of a seed.
Pointless : destitute of any pointed tip, such as a mucro, awn, acuminmtion, &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 multi- in those of Latin
origin, viz. many; as
Polyadelphous: having the stamens united by their filaments into several bun.
dies; p. 112.
Polydndrous : with numerous (more than 20) stamens (inserted on the recep-
tacle) ; p. 112.
Poly cotyle'don ous : having many (more than two) cotyledons, as Pines; p. 17,
137, fig. 45, 46.
Polygamous : having some perfect and some separated flowers, on the same or on
different individuals, as the Red Maple.
Polygonal : many-angled.
Polygynous : with many pistils or styles ; p. 1 1 6.
Polymerous: formed of many parts of each set.
Polymorphous : of several or varying forms.
Polypetalous : when the petals are distinct or separate (whether few or many ) ;
p. 108.
GLOSSARY. 227
Polyphyttous : many-leaved ; formed of several distinct pieces, as the calyx of
Sedum, fig. 168, Flax, fig. 174, &c.
Polyse'palous : same as the last when applied to the calyx ; p. 103.
Polyspe'rmous : many-seeded.
Pome: the apple, pear, and similar fleshy fruits ; p. 128.
Porous : full of holes or pores.
Pouch : the silicic or short pod, a? of Shepherd's Purse ; p. 133.
Pnpfloration : same as (estivation; p. 108.
Prfffoliation: same as vernation ; p. 75.
Prcemdrse : 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.
Pniinose, Pruinate: frosted ; covered with a powder like hoar-frost.
Pube'rulent : covered with fine and short, almost imperceptible down.
Pubescent : hairy or downy, especially with fine and soft hairs or pubescence.
Pulve'ndent, or Pulveraceous : dusted ; covered with fine powder, or what looks
like such.
Piih-inate : 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.
Pyrene, 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 Qnadrifofiate : four-leaved.
Qitddrfjid : four-cleft; p 62.
Q'tate'rnate • in fours. Qinnate : in fives.
Quinaincial : 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. 174.
Raceme : a flower-cluster, with one-flowered pedicels arranged 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.
Rddicant : 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.
Rameal: belonging to a branch. Ramose: full of branches (rami).
Rdmulose: full of branchlets (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
ligulate, 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 curved 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.
Reniform: kidney-shaped; p. 58, fig. 100.
Repdnd: wavy-margined ; p. 62, fig. 115
Re'pent: creeping, i. e. prostrate and rooting underneath.
Re'plum : the persistent frame of some pods (as of Prickly Poppy and Crees),
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.
Retrqftexed : bent backwards ; same as re-flexed.
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.
R/iachis (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, 6.
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 elastic band on the spore-cases of Ferns. (Manual, p. 587, plate 9.
fig. 2,3.)
Ringent : grinning; gaping open; p. 102, fig. 209.
Boot, 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'llate: 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.
Rdtate: wheel-shaped : p. 101, fig. 204, 205.
Rotund : rounded or roundish in outline.
Rudimentary : imperfectly developed, or in an early state of development.
Riigose : 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.
Scaldrifonn : with cross-bands, resembling the steps of a ladder.
Scales: of buds, p. 22, 50 ; of bulbs, &c., p. 40, 46, 50.
Seal// : 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.
Sctibifonn: resembling sawdust.
20
230 GLOSSARY.
Scdrpioid or Scorpioidal : curved or circinate at the end, like the tail of a scor-
pion, as the inflorescence of Heliotrope.
Scrobiculate : pitted ; excavated into shallow pits.
Scurf, Scurjiness : minute scales on the surface of many leaves, as of Goosefoot,
Buffalo-berry, &c.
Scutate : buckler-shaped.
Scute'llate, or Scute'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. 124.
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.
Semper T irent : evergreen.
Sepal : a leaf or division of the calyx ; p. 85.
Se'pahid : sepal-like. Sepaline : relating to the sepals.
Separated Flowers : those having stamens or pistils only ; p. 89.
Septate: divided by partitions (septa).
Se'ptenate : 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 biseriaf, in two rows, &c.
Sericeous : silky ; clothed with satiny pubescence.
Serdtinous : happening late in the season.
Serrate, or Serrated: the margin cut into teetli (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't/form : bristle-shaped.
Setigerous : bearing bristles. Setose: beset with bristles or bristly hairs.
Sex: six; in composition. Sexangular: 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.
Si(/moid .• curved in two directions, like the letter S, or the Greek sigma.
Siliculose: bearing a silicic, or a fruit resembling it.
Sf/icle: 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
Siliqnose : hearing 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 recels or bay ; the re-entering angle or space between two lobes or pro-
jections.
Sleep of Plants (so called), p. 170.
Soboliferous : 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.
Spathaceous : resembling or furnished with a
Spathe: a bract which in wraps an inflorescence; p. 80, fig. 162.
Spdtulate, or Spat/iulate : 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.
Spicijbrm : 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 Spinifcrous: thorny.
Spiral arrangement of leaves, p. 72. Spiral vessels or ducts, p. 148.
Sporangia, or Sptfrocarps : 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.
Stjnamate, Squamose, or S(]uamaceous : furnished with scales (squamce).
Squam&llate or Squdmulose: furnished with little scales (squamelkz or squamulai).
Squdmiform : shaped like a scale.
Squarrose: where scales, leaves, or any appendages, are spreading widely from
the axis on which they are thickly set.
Sqndrrnlose : diminutive of squarrose; slightly squarrose.
Sfalfc : the stem, petiole, peduncle, £e., as the case may be.
Stamen, p. 86, 111.
Staminate: furnished with stamens; p. 89. Stamineal: relating to the stamen*
StamiiHSdium : an abortive stamen, or other body resembling a sterile stamen.
Standard: the upper petal of a papilionaceous corolla; p. 105, fig. 217, 218f s.
Starch: a well-known vegetable product; p. 163.
232 GLOSSARY.
Station : the particular place, or kind of situation, in which a plant naturall j
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 Stigmatose : belonging to the stigma.
Stipe (Latin stifles) • the stalk of a pistil, £c., when it has any; the stem of a
Mushroom.
Stipd : a stipule of a leaflet, as of the Bean, &c.
Stipe'llate: furnished with stipels, as the Bean and some other Leguminous
plants.
Stipitate: furnished with a stipe, as the pistil of Cleome, 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.
Stotoniferous : producing stolons.
Stomate (Latin xtoma, plural stomatu) : 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 striae,}.
Strict : close and narrow ; straight and narrow.
Striyillose, Striyose : 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. Stropkiolate : 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.
Stylopodium: 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 : fub-
serrate, slightly serrate : subaxillary, just beneath the axil, &c., &c.
Suberose: 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.
Suffrvt&eettt : slightly shrubby or woody at the base only ; p. 36. -
Suaar, p. 163.
Sulcate : grooved longitudinally with deep furrows.
Supernumerary Buds: p. 26.
Siipervolute: 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.
Suture: 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. 112,
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.
Terminology : the part of the science which treats of technical terms ; same as
glossology.
Te'rnate: in threes; p. 66. Ternately: in a ternate way.
Testa: the outer (and usually the harder) coat or shell of the seed; p. 134.
Tetra- (in words of Greek composition) : four; as,
Tetrac6ccous : 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.
Thorn : see spine ; p. 39.
Thread-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 borde*
and the tube join, and a little below.
Thyrse 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 tne 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.
2ricuspidate : three-pointed. Tride'ntate: three-toothed.
Triennial : lasting for three years.
Trifdrious : in three vertical rows ; looking three ways.
Trifid: three-cleft; p. 62.
Trifoliate: three-leaved. Trifdliolate : of three leaflets ; p. 66.
Trifurcate: three-forked. Trigonous: three-angled, or triangular.
Trigynous: with three pistils or styles ; p. 116. Trijugate: in three pairs (jugty
Triltibed, or Trilobate : three-lobed ; p. 62.
Trildcular: three-celled, as the pistils or pods in fig. 225-227.
Trimerous: with its parts in threes, as Trillium, fig. 189.
Trine'rvate : three-nerved, or with three slender ribs.
Triaxious : where there are three sorts of flowers on the same or different indi-
viduals ; as in Red Maple.
Tripdrtible : separable into three pieces. Tripartite : three-parted ; p. 62.
Tripctalous: having three petals ; as in fig. 189.
Triphyllous : three-leaved ; composed of three pieces.
Tripinnate: thrice pinnate; p. 66. Tripinndtifid : thrice pinnately cleft; p. 64.
Triple-ribbed, Triple-nerved, &c. : where a midrib branches into three near the
base of the leaf, as in Sunflower.
friquetrous : sharply three-angled ; and especially with the sides concave, like a
bayonet.
Trisfrial, or Triseriate : in three rows, under each other.
Tristichous : in three longitudinal or perpendicular ranks.
Tristigmdtic, or Tristfgmatose : 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 or
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 eyet
(buds) on the sides ; as a potato, p. 43, fig. 68.
Tubercle : a small excrescence.
Tubercled, or Tuberculate : bearing excrescences or pimples.
Tuberous : resembling a tuber. Tuberiferous : bearing tubers.
Ttfbular: 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 turunes) : young shoots or suckers springing out of the ground ; as
Asparagus-shoots.
Turnip-shaped: broader than high, narrowed below; p. 32, fig. 57.
Ticin : in pairs (see geminate), as the flowers of Linnaaa
Twining : ascending by coiling round a support, like the Hop ; p. 37.
Typical : well expressing the characteristics of a species, genus, &c.
Umbel: 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)-
Uinli;dcutiform ; 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.
UnguCculate: 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,
Uhi-, in compound words : one ; as
Unifldrous : one-flowered. Unifdliate: one-leaved.
Unifdliolate: of one leaflet; p. 66. Unijugate: of one pair.
Unildbiate: one-lipped. Unilateral: one-sided.
Unildcular: one-celled, as the pistil in fig. 261, and the anther in fig. 238, 239.
Uniovulate: having only one ovule, as in fig. 213, and fig. 267-269.
Uniserial : in one horizontal row.
Unise'xual: having stamens or pistils only, as in Moonseed, fig. 176, 177, &c.
Uniualved: 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, orconsistiug 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, &e. ; p. 55.
236 GLOSSARY.
Veined, Veiny : furnished with evident veins. Veinless : destitute of veins.
Veinlets t the smaller ramifications of veins.
Velate : furnished with a veil.
Velutinous : 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.
Vernicose : the surface appearing as if varnished.
Ve'rrucose: warty ; beset with little projections like warts.
Versatile: 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
Vexillum: 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.
Virescent, Viridescent: greenish; turning green.
Virgate : wand-shaped, as a long, straight, and slender twig.
Viscous, Viscid: having a glutinous surface.
Vitta (plural vittce) : the oil-tubes of the fruit of UmbelliferaB.
Voluble: 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 base5
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.
FIELD, FOREST, AND GARDEN
BOTANY
Jfblfr, J^mt, anfr
BOTANY,
A SIMPLE INTRODUCTION TO THE
COMMON PLANTS OF THE UNITED STATES
EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI,
BOTH WILD AND CULTIVATED.
BY ASA GEAY,
FISHER PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY.
IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR & CO.,
NEW YORK AND CHICAGO.
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1868, by
ASA GRAY,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts
PREFACE.
THIS book is intended to furnish botanical classes and "beginners
generally with an easier introduction to the plants of this country
than is the Manual, and one which includes the common cultivated
as well as the native species. It is made more concise and simple,
1. by the use of somewhat less technical language ; 2. by the omis-
sion, as far as possible, of the more recondite and, for the present
purpose, less essential characters ; and also of most of the obscure,
insignificant, or rare plants which students will not be apt to meet
with or to examine, or which are quite too difficult for beginners ;
such as the Sedges, most Grasses, and the crowd of Golden Rods,
Asters, Sunflowers, and the like, which require very critical study.
On the other hand, this small volume is more comprehensive than
the Manual, since it comprises the common herbs, shrubs, and trees
of the Southern as well as the Northern and Middle States, and all
which are commonly cultivated or planted, for ornament or use, in
fields, gardens, pleasure-grounds, or in house-culture, including even
the conservatory plants ordinarily met with.
It is very desirable that students should be able to use exotic as
well as indigenous plants in analysis ; and a scientific acquaintance
with the plants and flowers most common around us in garden, field,
and green-house, and which so largely contribute to our well-being
and enjoyment, would seem to be no less important than in the case
of our native plants. If it is worth while so largely to assemble
around us ornamental and useful trees, plants, and flowers, it is cer-
tainly well to know what they are and what they are like. To stu-
dents in agricultural schools and colleges this kind of knowledge
will be especially important.
' One of the main objects of this book is to provide cultivators,
gardeners, and amateurs, and all who are fond of plants and flowers,
with a simple guide to a knowledge of their botanical names and
10 PREFACE.
structure. There is, I believe, no sufficient work of this kind in
the English language, adapted to our needs, and available even to
our botanists and botanical teachers, — for whom the only recourse is
to a botanical library beyond the reach and means of most of these,
and certainly quite beyond the reach of those whose needs I have
here endeavored to supply, so far as I could, in this small volume.
The great difficulties of the undertaking have been to keep the book
within the proper compass, by a rigid exclusion of all extraneous
and unnecessary matter, and to determine what plants, both native
and exotic, are common enough to demand a place in it, or so
uncommon that they may be omitted. It is very unlikely that I can
have chosen wisely in all cases and for all parts of the country,
and in view of the different requirements of botanical students on
the one hand and of practical cultivators on the other, — the latter
commonly caring more for made varieties, races, and crosses, than
for species, which are the main objects of botanical study. But I
have here brought together, within less than 350 pages, brief and
plain botanical descriptions or notices of 2,650 species, belonging to
947 genera ; and have constructed keys to the natural families,
and analyses of their contents, which I hope may enable students, who
have well studied the First Lessons, to find out the name, main char-
acters, and place of any of them which they will patiently examine
in blossom and, when practicable, in fruit also. If the book an-
swers its purpose reasonably well, its shortcomings as regards culti-
vated plants may be made up hereafter. As to the native plants
omitted, they are to be found, and may best be studied, in the Man-
ual of the Botany of the Northern United States, and in Chapman's
Flora of the Southern United States.
This book is designed to be the companion of the First Lessons in
Botany, which serves as grammar and dictionary ; and the two may
be bound together into one compact volume, forming a comprehen-
sive School Botany.
1 For the account of the Ferns and the allied families of Cryptoga-
mous Plants I have to record my indebtedness to Professor D. C.
Eaton of Yale College. These beautiful plants are now much cul-
tivated by amateurs ; and the means here so fully provided for
studying them will doubtless be appreciated.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY HERBARIUM,
Cambridge, Massachusetts, August 29, 1868.
PREFACE. 11
*** In revising the sheets for the present impression, many small errors
of the press, most of them relating to accentuation, have now been cor-
rected.
January, 1870.
SIGNS AND ABBREVIATIONS.
THE SIGNS AND ABBREVIATIONS employed in this work are ftw.
The signs are :
® for an annual plant.
@ " a biennial plant.
2/ u a perennial plant.
The signs for degrees, minutes, and seconds are used for feet, inches,
and lines, the latter twelve to the inch.
Thus 1° means a foot in length or height, &c. ; 2', two inches ; 3", three
lines, or a quarter of an inch. The latter sign is seldom used in this work.
The dash between two figures, as " 5-10," means from five to ten, &c.
" Fl." stands for flowers or flowering.
" Cult." " for cultivated.
" Nat." " for naturalized.
" N., E., S., W." for North, East, South, and West.
The geographical abbreviations, such as "Eu." for Europe, and the
common abbreviations for the names of the States, need no particular
explanation.
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E. cheiranthoid.es, TREACLE-MUSTARD or WORMSEED MUSTARD.
A rather insignificant annual, wild or run wild in waste moist places, with slen-
der branches, lanceolate almost entire leaves, and small yellow flowers, followed
by shortish and obscurely 4-sided pods on slender spreading pedicels.
9. BARB ARE A, WINTER-CRESS. (The Herb of Santa Barbara.)
Different from the last genus in the seeds, divided leaves, and in the general
aspect. Leaves used by some as winter salad, but bitterish. (2) 1J.
B. VUlgaris, COMMON W. or YELLOW ROCKET. Smooth, common in
old gardens and other rich soil, with green lyrate leaves, and bright yellow
flowers, in spring and summer; pods erect, crowded in a dense raceme," much
thicker than their pedicels.
B. praecox, EARLY W. or SCURVY-GRASS. Cult, from Penn. S. for early
salad, beginning to run wild, probably a variety of the last, with more numerous
and narrower divisions to the leaves ; the less erect pods scarcely thicker than
their pedicels.
10. ARABIS, ROCK-CRESS. (Name from Arabic.) Fl. spring and
summer. Leaves mostly simple and undivided.
* Wild species, on rocks, Sfc. : flowers white or whitish, not showy. ®
A. lyrata, Low R. A delicate, low, nearly smooth plant, with a cluster
of lyrate root-leaves ; stem-leaves few and narrow ; bright white petals rather
conspicuous ; pods slender, spreading.
A. hirsuta, HAIRY R. Strictly erect, l°-2° high; stem-leaves many
and sagittate ; small greenish-white flowers and narrow pods erect.
A. laevigata, SMOOTH R. Erect, l°-2° high, glaucous; upper leaves
sagittate ; flowers rather small ; pods 3' long, very narrow and not very flat,
recurving ; seeds winged.
A. Canadensis, CANADIAN or SICKLEPOD R. Tall, growing in ravines ;
stem-leaves pointed at both ends, pubescent ; petals whitish, narrow ; pods 3'
long, scythe-shaped, very flat, hanging ; seeds broadly winged.
* * Wild, on river banks : flowers pink-purple, rather showy. ® 1J.
A. hesperidoides, ROCKET R. Smooth, erect, l°-3° high; with
rounded or heart-shaped long-petioled root-leaves, ovate-lanceolate stem-leaves
(2' -6' long), the lower on a winged petiole or with a pair of small lateral
lobes ; petals long-clawed ; pods spreading, narrow ; seeds wingless. Banks of
the Ohio and S.W.
* * # Garden species : flowers white, showy. 1|.
A. alpina, ALPINE R., and its variety? A. ALBIDA, from Eu., low and
tufted, hairy or soft-downy, are cult, in gardens ; fl. in early spring.
11. CARDAMINE, BITTER-CRESS. (Ancient Greek name.) 11
C. hirstlta, SMALL B. A low and branching insignificant herb, usually
not hairy, with slender fibrous root, pinnate leaves, the leaflets angled or
toothed, and small white flowers, followed by narrow upright pods : common in
moist soil, fl. spring and summer.
MUSTARD FAMILY. 55
C. prat^nsis, CUCKOO-FLOWER or LADIES' SMOCK. Stem ascending
from a short perennial rootstock ; the pinnate leaves with rounded and stalked
entire small leaflets ; flowers in spring, showy, pink or white : in bogs at the
north, and a double-flowered variety is an old-fashioned plant in gardens.
C. rhomboidea. Stems upright from a small tuber, simple, bearing rather
large white or rose-purple flowers in spring, and simple angled or sparingly
toothed leaves, the lowest rounded or heart-shaped, rtie upper ovate or, oblong :
in wet places northward.
12. DENTARIA, TOOTHWORT. (From the Latin dens, a tooth.) U
D. diph^lla, TWO-LEAVED T., PEPPER-ROOT, or CRINKLE-ROOT. So
called from the fleshy, long and toothed rootstocks, which are. eaten and taste
like Water-Cress ; there are only 2 stem leaves, close together, each of 3 rhom-
bic-ovate and toothed leaflets, and the root-leaf is similar ; flowers quite large,
white, in spring. Woods in vegetable mould, N.
D. laciniata, LACINIATE T. Rootstock necklace-form or constricted in
2 or 3 places, scarcely toothed ; stem-leaves 3 in a whorl, each 3-parted into
linear or lanceolate leaflets, which are cut or cleft into narrow teeth, or the
lateral ones 2-lobed ; flowers purplish, in spring : banks of streams.
13. LUNAR-IA, HONESTY or SATIN-FLOWER. (Name from Luna,
the moon, from the shape of the broad or rounded pods.) @ 1J.
L. bidnnis, COMMON HONESTY. Not native to the country, but cultivated
in old-fashioned places, for the singular large oval pods, of which the broad
white partitions, of satiny lustre, remaining after the valves have fallen, are
used for ornament ; leaves somewhat heart-shaped ; flowers large, pink-purple,
in early summer.
L. rediviva, PERENNIAL HONESTY, is a much rarer sort, with oblong
pods ; seldom met with here.
14. DRABA, WHITLOW-GRASS. (Name is a Greek word, meaning
acrid.) Low herbs, mostly with white flowers : the commoner species are the
following : fl. early spring ; winter annuals.
D. Caroliniana. Leaves obovate, hairy, on a very short stem, bearing a
short raceme or corymb on a scape-like peduncle 1 ' - 4' high ; petals not notched ;
pods broadly linear, much larger than their pedicels : in sandy waste places.
D. V^rna. A diminutive plant, with a tuft of oblong or lanceolate root-
leaves, and a scape l'-3' high; petals 2-cleft ; pods oval or oblong, in a ra-
ceme, shorter than their pedicels : in sandy waste places.
15. CAMELINA, FALSE-FLAX. (An old name, meaning dwarf-flax-,
the common species was fancied to be a degenerate flax.) ®
C. sativa, COMMON F. A weed, in grain and flax-fields, l°-2° high,
with lanceolate leaves, the upper ones sagittate and clasping the stem ; small
pale-yellow flowers, followed by obovate turgid pods in a long loose raceme ;
style conspicuous.
16. CAPSELLA, SHEPHERD'S-PURSE. (Name means a little pod.) ®
C. Bursa-Past6ris, COMMON S. The commonest of weeds, in waste
places ; root-leaves pinnatifid or toothed, those of the stem sagittate and partly
clasping ; small white flowers followed by the triangular and notched pods, in a
long raceme.
17. IB^IRIS, CANDYTUFT. (Name from the country, Iberia, an old
name for Spain.) Low garden plants, from Europe, cultivated for ornament;
different from the rest of the order in the irregular corollas.
I. umbellata, COMMON C. ®. Lower leaves lanceolate, the upper
linear and entire ; flowers purple-lilac (or pale), in flat clusters, in summer.
I. semp^rvirens, EVERGREEN C. U Rather woody-stemmed, tufted,
with bright green lanceolate or linear-spatulate thickish entire leaves, and flat
clusters of pure white flowers, in spring.
56 CAPER FAMILY.
18. LEPIDIUM, PEPPERGRASS. (A Greek word, meaning little scale,
from the pods. ) Our common species have incised or pinnatitid leaves, and
very small white or whitish flowers. ©
L. Virginicum, WILD P. A common weed by roadsides, with petals,
and usually only 2 stamens ; the little pods orbicular and scarcely margined at
the notched top*; seeds flat, the radicle against the edge of the cotyledons.
L. ruderale, introduced from Europe, is much less common, more
branched, with no petals, smaller scarcely notched pods, and turgid seeds, the
radicle against the back of one of the cotyledons.
L. safivum, GARDEN P. Cult, as a cress, has petals, and the larger ovate
pods are winged and slightly notched at the top.
19. ALYSSITM, MAD WORT. (Name refers to being a fancied remedy for
canine madness.) Cult, for ornament; from Eu.
A. maritimum, SWEET ALYSSUM. A spreading little plant, from Eu-
rope, fl. all summer in gardens, or in the greenhouse in winter, green or slightly
hoary, with lanceolate or linear entire leaves tapering at the base, and small
white honey-scented flowers, in at length elongated racemes, the round little
pods with a single seed in each cell. A variety much used for borders has
paler and white-edged leaves.
A. saxatile, ROCK A. Low, hoary-leaved, with abundant bright yellow
flowers, in spring ; cult, from Europe. ^J
20. ISATIS, WOAD. (Name of obscure derivation.) © One common
species of Eu.,
I. tinct6ria, DYER'S WOAD. Rather tall, glabrous and glaucous, with
the stem-leaves lanceolate and entire, sessile and somewhat sagittate ; the ra-
cemes of small yellow flowers panicled, succeeded by the hanging samara-like
closed pods ; fl. in early summer. Old gardens, formerly cult, for a blue dye.
21. CAKILE, SEA-ROCKET. (An old Arabic name.) ® ®
C. Americana, AMERICAN S. A fleshy herb, wild on the shore of the
sea and Great Lakes, with obovate wavy-toothed leaves, and purplish flowers.
22. RAPHANUS, RADISH. (Ancient Greek name, said to refer to the
rapid germination of the seeds.) ® @ All from the Old World.
R. sativus, RADISH. Cult, from Eu. ; with lyrate lower leaves, purple
and whitish flowers, and thick and pointed closed pods ; the seeds separated by
irregular fleshy false partitions : cult, for the tender and fleshy pungent root :
inclined to run wild.
R. caudatUS, RAT-TAIL R., from India, lately introduced into gardens,
rather as a curiosity, is a probable variety of the Radish, with the narrow pod
a foot or so long, eaten when green.
R. Raphanistrum, WILD R. or JOINTED CHARLOCK. Troublesome
weed in cult, fields, with rough lyrate leaves, yellow petals changing to whitish
or purplish, and narrow long-beaked pods, which are divided across between the
several seeds, so as to become necklace-form.
11. CAPPARIDACE^E, CAPER FAMILY.
In our region these are herbs, resembling Cruciferce, but with
stamens not tetradynamous and often more than 6, no partition in
the pod (which is therefore 1-celled with two parietal placentas), and
kidney-shaped seeds, the embryo rolled up instead of folded to-
gether : the leaves commonly palmately compound, and the herbage
bitter and nauseous instead of pungent. But in warm regions the
Cress-like pungency sometimes appears, as in capers, the pickled
flower-buds of CAPPARIS SPINOSA, of the Levant. This and its
near relatives are trees or shrubs.
P1TTOSPORUM FAMILY. 57
1. CLEOME. Calyx 4-cleft. Petals 4. Stamens 6, on a short thickened recep-
tacle. Ovary and many-seeded pod in ours raised above the receptacle on a
long stalk. Style very short or none. Usually an appendage on one side of
the receptacle.'
2. GYNANDROPS1S. Sepals 4. Stamens borne on the long stalk of the ovary
far above the petals. Otherwise as in No. 1.
3. POLANISIA. Sepals 4. Stamens 8-32. Ovary and pod sessile or short-
stalked on the receptacle. Style present. Otherwise nearly as No. 1.
1. CLEOME. (From a Greek word meaning closed, the application not
obvious.) (i)
C. pungens. Tall (2° -4° high), clammy-pubescent, with little spines or
prickly points (whence the name) in place of stipules, about 7 broadly lanceolate
leaflets, but the bracts simple and ovate or heart-shaped, and a raceme of large
and handsome flowers, with long-clawed pink or purple petals and declined sta-
mens. Cult, from S. America, for ornament, and run wild S.
C. integrifblia, much smaller, very smooth, with 3 leaflets and the pink
petals without claws, is wild in Nebraska, &c., and lately introduced to gard*ens.
2. GYNANDROPSIS. (Greek-made name, meaning that the stamens
appear to be on the pistil.) (Lessons, p. 125, fig. 276.)
G. pentaph^lla. Nat. from Carolina S. from West Indies, is a clammy-
pubescent weed, with 5 leaflets to the leaves and 3 to the bracts ; the white
petals on claws.
3. POLAND SIA. (Greek-made name, meaning many -unequal, referring to
the stamens.)
P. gravdolens. A heavy-scented (as the name denotes), rather clammy,
vow herb, with 3 oblong leaflets, and small flowers with short white petals, about
1 1 scarcely longer purplish stamens, and a short style ; fl. summer. Wild on
gravelly shores, from Conn. W.
12. RESEDACE^I, MIGNONETTE FAMILY.
Herbs, with inconspicuous flowers in spikes or racemes ; rep-
resented by the main genus,
1. RESEDA, MIGNONETTE, &c. (From a Latin word, to assuage, from
supposed medical properties.) Calyx 4-7-parted, never closed even in the
bud. Petals 4-7, unequal, cleft or notched, those of one side of the flower
appendaged within. Stamens 10-40, borne on a sort of disk dilated on one
side of the flower. Ovary and pod composed of 3 - 6 carpels united not
quite to the top into a 3 - 6-lobcd or 3 - 6-horned 1 -celled pistil which opens
at the top long before the seeds are ripe. The seeds are numerous, kidney-
shaped, on 3 - 6 parietal placenta?. Leaves alternate.
R. Odorata, COMMON MIGNONETTE. Cult, (from N. Africa) as an an<
nual, for the delicious scent of the greenish-white flowers ; the anthers orange ;
petals 6, the posterior ones cut into several fine lobes ; stems low ; some leaves
entire and oblong, others 3-lobed.
R. Lut6ola, DYER'S M. or WELD. Nat. along roadsides, tall, with
lanceolate entire leaves, and a long spike of yellowish flowers ; petals 4.
13. PITTOSPOE.ACE.aE, PITTOSPORUM FAMILY.
A small family of shrubs and trees, belonging mostly to the south-
ern hemisphere, in common cultivation represented only by one
house-plant, a species of
1. PITTOSPORUM. (Name means pitchy seed in Greek, the seeds being
generally covered with a sticky exudation.) Flowers regular, of 5 sepals.
58 VIOLET FAMILY.
5 petals, and 5 stamens ; the claws of the petals sometimes slightly united :
ovary one-celled with three parietal placentae, a single style and stigma.
Fruit a globular woody pod, many-seeded.
P. Tobira, COMMON P. A low tree, cultivated as a house-plant (from
Japan), with obovate and retuse evergreen leaves crowded at the end of
the branches, which are terminated by a small sessile umbel of white fragrant
Bowers, produced in winter.
14. VIOLACE-SI, VIOLET FAMILY.
Commonly known only by the principal genus of the order, viz.
1. VIOLA, VIOLET. (Ancient Latin name.) Sepals 5, persistent. Pet-
als 5, more or less unequal, the lower one with a sac or spur at the base.
(Lessons, p. 91, fig! 181, 182.) Stamens 5, short: the very broad flat fila-
ments conniving and slightly cohering around the pistil, which they cover,
all but the end of the style and the (usually one-sided) stigma, bearing the
anthers on their inner face, two of these spurred at the base. Ovary and pod
1 -celled, with 3 parietal placentae, containing several rather large seeds. —
Herbs, with stipules to the alternate leaves, and 1 -flowered peduncles.
# STEMLESS VIOLETS, with leaves and peduncles all from creeping or sub-
terranean rootstocks, there being no proper ascending stems : all flowering in
spring, also producing inconspicuous flowers and most of the fruitful pods,
all summer, concealed among the leaves.
•*- Garden species, from Europe : fragrant.
V. Odorata, SWEET VIOLET. Cult, from Eu., the tufts spreading by
creeping runners ; leaves rounded heart-shaped, more or less downy ; flowers
purple-blue (violet-color) varying to bluish and white, single or in cultivation
commonly full double. Hardy ; while the ITALIAN VIOLET, the variety used
for winter-blooming, with leaves smoother and brighter green and flowers paler
or grayish-blue, is tender northward.
•*- •*- Wild species : slightly sweet-scented or scentless.
•*•+ Flowers blue or violet-color.
V. Selkirkii, SELKIRK'S V. Small, only 2' high, the rounded heart-
shaped leaves spreading flat on the ground ; the flower large in proportion, its
thick spur nearly as long as the beardless petals : on shady banks, only N.
V. sagittata, ARROW-LEAVED V. One of the commonest and earliest ;
leaves varying from oblong-heart-shaped to ovate and often rather halberd-
shaped, the earlier ones on short and margined petioles ; flower large in propor-
tion ; spur short and sac-shaped, as in all the following.
V. CUCUllata, COMMON BLUE V. The tallest and commonest of the
blue violets, in all low grounds, with matted fleshy and scaly-toothed rootstocks,
erect and heart-shaped or kidney-shaped obscurely serrate leaves, with the sides
at the base rolled in when young, on long petioles ; flowers sometimes pale or
variegated with white.
V. palmata, HAND-LEAF V., is a variety of the last, with the leaves, or
all the later ones, 3 - 7-cleft or parted ; common southward.
V. pedata, BIRD-FOOT V. Grows in sandy or light soil, from a short and
thick or tuber-like rootstock ; the leaves all cut into linear divisions or lobes ;
the flower large, beardless, usually light violet-color : sometimes the two upper
petals deep dark violet, like a pansy.
V. delphinif61ia, LARKSPUR-LEAVED V., takes the place of the preced-
ing in prairies, £c. W. and is like it, but has the lateral petals bearded.
«-*• +* Flowers (small) white, the lower petal purplish-veined.
V. blanda, SWEET WHITE V. Very common, with faintly sweet-scented
flowers, all the petals beardless ; leaves rounded heart-shaped or kidney-shaped.
V. primulaef61ia, PRIMROSE-LEAVED V. Common S., between the last
and next, has oblong or ovate leaves.
V. lanceolata, LANCE-LEAVED V. Commonest S., has lanceolate leaves
tapering into long petioles, and beardless petals.
SUNDEW FAMILY. 59
•M. •«-*• -M- Flowers yellow.
V. rotundif61ia, ROUND-LEAVED V. Only in cold woods N. ; the
roundish heart-shaped leaves flat on the ground, becoming large and shining in
summer ; spreads by runners ; flower small.
* # LEAFY-STEMMED VIOLETS, wild, perenn ial : flowering in spring and summer.
•*- Flowers yellow, short-spurred : stem 2 — 4-leaved above, naked below.
V. pubescens, DOWNY YELLOW V. Common in rich woods ; soft-
downy, also a rather smooth variety ; leaves broadly heart-shaped.
V. hastata, HALBERD-LBAVBD V. Scarce W. & S. ; smoother ; leaves
oblong-heart-shaped, halberd-shaped, or 3-lobed ; flower small.
•»- •+- Flowers not yellow : stem branched, leafy below : /eaves rounded heart-shaped. I
V. Striata, PALE V. Not rare N. & W., low ; flowers creamy-white,
with lower petal purple-lined ; spur short ; stipules large in proportion, strongly
fringe-toothed.
V. canina, DOG V., the Amer. variety : common in low grounds ; low,
with creeping branches or short runners, fringe-toothed stipules, and spur half
the length of the violet flower.
V. rostrata, LONG-SPURRED V. Shady hills N. & W. ; 6' high, with
fringe-toothed stipules, and slender spur longer than the pale violet petals.
V. Canad^nsis, CANADA V. Common in rich woods N. & W., taller
than the others, 1° — 2° high, larger-leaved, with entire stipules; flowers all
summer, the petals white or purplish above, the upper ones violet-puq)le under-
neath ; spur very short and blunt.
* * * PANSY VIOLETS, from Europe, with leafy and branching stems, and large
leaf-like stipules : flowering through the spring and summer.
V. tricolor, PANSY or HEART'S-EASE. Cult, or running wild in gardens,
low, with roundish leaves, or the upper oval and lowest heart-shaped ; stipules
lyrate-pinnatifid ; petals of various colors, and often variegated, and under culti-
vation often very large and showy, the spur short and blunt. — Var. ARVENSIS,
is a field variety, slender and small-flowered, thoroughly naturalized in some
places. © (5) J^
V. COrnuta, HORNED V. From the Pyrenees, cult, in borders of late ;
has stipules merely toothed, and light violet-purple flowers with a very long
and slender spur. 2/
15. DROSERACE^E, SUNDEW FAMILY.
Bog-herbs, with regular flowers, on scapes ; leaves in a tuft at
the root, glandular-bristly or bristly-fringed, and rolled up from the
apex in the bud, in the manner of Ferns ; the persistent sepals and
withering-persistent petals each 5; stamens 5-15 witli their anthers
turned outward ; and a 1 -celled many-seeded pod. Represented by
two genera.
1. DROSKRA. Stamens 5. Styles 3-5, but 2-parted so a* to seem like 6-10.
Ovarv- with 3 parietal placentae. Reddish-colored sind sticky-glandular.
2. D1ON.EA. Stamens 15. Style 1: stigma lobed and fringed. Ovules and
seeds all at the broad base of the ovary and pod. Leaves terminated by a
bristly-bordered fly-trap.
1. DROSERA, SUNDEW. (Name means in Greek dewy, or beset with
dew-drops, the gland surmounting the bristles of the leaves producing a clear
and dew-like drop of liquid, which is glutinous, and serves to catch small flies. )
Flowers small, in a 1 -sided spike or raceme, each opening only once, in sun-
shine, in summer. 2/
* Flowers small, white : leaves with a bfade.
D. rotu.ndif.61ia, ROUND-LEAVED S. The commonest species in peat-
bogs, white round leaves on long petioles spreading in a tuft. When a small
fly or other insect is caught by the sticky glands on the upper face of the leaf,
60 ROCK-ROSE FAMILY.
the bristles of the outer rows very slowly turn inwards, so that their glands help
to hold the prey !
D. longifolia, LONGER-LEAVED S. In very wet bogs or shallow water,
with spatulate-oblong leaves, some of them erect, on long petioles.
D. brevifblia, SHORT-LEAVED S. In wet sand, only at the S. ; small ;
scape only 2' - 5' high, few-flowered ; leaves short, wedge-shaped.
# # Flowers rose-purple : no blade to tlte leaf.
D. fllif61ia, THREAD-LEAVED S. In wet sandy soil near the coast, from
Plymouth, Mass., to Florida ; leaves erect, thread-shaped; scape 6' -12' high,
from a bulb-like base ; flowers handsome, £' or more broad.
2. DION^l A, VENUS'S FLY-TRAP. (Named for the mother of Venus.)
2j! Only one species,
D. muscipula. Grows only in sandy bogs near Wilmington, N. Car.,
but kept in conservatories as a great curiosity. (See Lessons, p. 52, fig. 81,
for the leaves, and the Avay they catch insects !) Flowers white, borne in an
umbel-like cyme on a scape 1° high, in spring.
16. CISTACE-SI, ROCK-ROSE FAMILY.
Shrubby or low herbaceous plants, with regular flowers ; a per-
sistent calyx of 5 sepals, two of them exterior and resembling bracts;
the petals and stamens on the receptacle ; the style single or none ;
ovary 1-celled with 3 or 5 parietal placentas (Lessons, fig. 261),
bearing orthotropous ovules. Represented in greenhouses by one
showy species, CISTDS LADANIFERUS of Europe (not common),
and in sandy woods and fields by the following wild plants.
1. HELIANTHEMUM. Petals 5, crumpled in the bud, fugacious (falling at the
close of the first day). Stamens and ovules many in the complete flower:
placentae 3. Style none or short.
2. HUDSONIA. Petals as in the last. Calyx narrow. Stamens 9 -30. Style
slender. Ovules few.
3. LECHKA. Petals 3, persistent, not longer than the calyx. Stamens 3-12.
Style none. Pod partly 3-celled, 6-seeded.
1. HELIANTHEMUM, FROSTWEED. (Name from Greek words
for sun and flower, the blossoms opening only in sunshine. Popular name,
from crystals of ice shooting from the cracked bark at the root late in the
autumn.) Low, yellow-flowered, in sandy or gravelly soil. ^
H. Canadense, CANADIAN or COMMON F. Common, and the only one
N. ; has lance-oblong leaves hoary beneath ; flowers produced all summer,
some with showy corolla 1' broadband many stamens ; others small and clus-
tered along the stem, with inconspicuous corolla and 3-10 stamens ; the latter
produce small few-seeded pods.
H. GOrymb6sum, only along the coast S., is downy all over, with smaller
flowers clustered at the top of the stem, and larger ones long-pcduncled.
H. Carolinianum, grows only S., is hairy, with green leaves, the lower
obovate and clustered ; flowers all large-petalled and scattered, in spring.
2. HUDSONIA. (For an English botanist, William Hudson.) Heath-like
little shrubs, 6' -12' high, nearly confined to sandy shores of the ocean and
Great Lakes, with minute downy leaves closely covering the branches, and
small yellow flowers, opening in sunshine, in spring and summer.
H. ericoides, HEATH-LIKE H. Greenish; leaves awl-shaped; flowers
peduncled. From New Jersey N.
H. tomentdsa, DOWNY H. Hoary with soft down ; leaves oblong or
oval and close pressed ; peduncles short or hardly any. From New Jersey to
Maine and Lake Superior.
ST. JO UN'S- WORT FAMILY. 61
3. LECHEA, PINWEED. (For Leche, a Swedish botanist.) Small,
homely herbs, with inconspicuous greenish or purplish flowers, and pods
about the size of a pin's head, whence the popular name : common in sterile
soil; fl. summer and autumn. 11
L. major, LARGER P. Stem upright, hairy, l°-2° high; leaves ellipti-
cal, mucronate ; flowers densely clustered. Borders of sterile woodlands.
L. minor, SMALLER P. Stems low, 6'- 18' high, often straggling, minutely
hairy ; leaves linear ; flowers loosely racemed on the branches. Open sterile
ground.
17. HYPEBICACE.ZE, ST. JOHN'S -WORT FAMILY.
Distinguished from all other of our plants by the opposite and
entire simple and chiefly sessile leaves, punctate with translucent
and commonly some blackish dots, perfect flowers with the stamens
(usually many and more or less in 3 or 5 clusters) inserted on the
receptacle, and a pod either 1-celled with parietal placentas or 3-5-
celled (see Lessons, p. 120, fi£. 260, 262, 263), filled with many
small seeds. Juice resinous and acrid. All here described are wild
plants of the country.
* No glands between the stamens. Petals convolate in the btid.
1. ASCYRUM. Sepals 4; the outer pair very broad, the inner small and narrow.
Petals 4, yellow. Stamens many. Ovary 1-celled.
2. HYPERICtfM. Sepals and (yellow) petals'o. Stamens many, rarely few.
# * Large yland between eod several-seeded.
7. SAGINA. Styles and valves of the pod as many as the sepals and alternate
with them (4 or 5). Petals entire or none. Small plants.
8. CERASTIUM. Styles as many as the sepals and opposite them (5). Petals
notched at the end or 2-cleft, rarely none. Pod mostly elongated, opening at
the top by 10 teeth.
9. STELLARIA. Styles fewer than the sepals (3 or sometimes 4) and opposite
as many of them. Petals 2-clefr, or sometimes none. Pod globular or ovoid,
splitting into twice as many valves as there are styles.
(0. ARENA HI A. Styles (commonly only 3) fewer than the sepals and opposite as
many of them. * Petals entire,' rarefy none. Pod globular or oblong, splitting
into as many or twice as many valves as there are styles.
# * With scarious stipules between the leaves, conspicuous and entire petals, and a
many-seeded 3 - b-valved pod.
11. SPERGULARIA. Styles usually 3. Leaves opposite.
12. SPERGULA. Styles 5, as many as the sepals and alternate with them.
Leaves in whorls.
* * * Without petals : the fruit (utricle) 1-seeded and indehiscent.
13. ANYCHIA. Sepals 5, nearly distinct. Stamens 2-5. Stigmas 2, sessile.
Stipules and flowers minute.
14. SCLERANTHUS. Sepals (5) united below into an indurated cup, narrowed at
the throat where it bears 5 or 10 stamens, enclosing the small utricle.
Styles 2. Stipules none.
# * # * Without petals, but the 5 sepals white and petal-like inside: stipules obscure
if any : fruit a 3-celled many-seeded pod.
15. MOLLUGO. Stamens generally 3, on the receptacle. Stigmas 3. Pod
3-valved, the partitions breaking away from the seed-bearing axis and ad-
hering to the middle of the valves.
1. DIANTHUS, PINK. ( Greek name, meaning Jove's own flower. ) Ali
but the first species cultivated for ornament : fl. summer.
# Flowers sessile and many in a close cluster, with long and narrow-pointed bracts
under the calyx, except in the last.
D. Armeria, DEPTFORD PINK of Europe, lias got introduced into fields
in a few places ; a rather insignificant plant, somewhat hairy, narrow-leaved,
with very small scentless flowers ; petals rose-color with whitish dots. (T)
D. barbatUS, SWEET WILLIAM or BUNCH PINK, of Europe, with thin-
nish oblong-lanceolate green leaves, and a very flat-topped cluster of various-
colored flowers, the petals sharply toothed, abounds in all country gardens; the
many double-flowered varieties arc more choice. 2/
D. Carthusianbrum, CARTHUSIANS' PINK, from Eu., has linear leaves,
slender stems, and a dense cluster of small flowers ; bracts ovate or oblong,
abruptly awn-tipped, brown, shorter than the calyx ; petals merely toothed,
short, usually dark purple or crimson : now rather 'scarce in gardens. ^
PINK FAMILY. 65
* # Flowers single at the ends of the branches : leaves narrow and often grass-like,
ratlier rigid, glabrous and (/laucous, usually without any evident veins.
D. Chinensis, CHIXA or INDIAN PINK, has lanceolate leaves, less rigid
and greener than any of the following, and linear acute scales or bracts as long
as the calyx ; the large petals toothed or cut, of various colors, red, purple,
violet, &c. The garden var. HEDDEWIGII is a more glaucous and large-flowered
form, lately introduced. (\) @
D. Caryoph^llllS, CLOVE PINK, the parent of all the sorts of CARNA-
TION', &c., has the stems almost woody below, very glaucous long-linear leaves ;
the scales under the calyx very short and broad ; petals merely toothed, of
various colors. Scarcely hardy N. 11
D. plumarius, PHBASAHT'S-EYK or PLUMED PINK. A low, hardy spe-
cies, making broad tufts, with small very glaucous leaves, sending up flower-
stems in early summer, the white or pink or variegated petals cut into a fringe
of slender lobes. ^
D. superbus, is taller, less tufted, and later-flowered ; the large petals
entirely dissected into delicate almost capillary divisions. ^
2. LYCHNIS. (Greek name for lamp, the down of the Mullein Lychnis
having been used for wicking. ) All from the Old World : fl. summer.
§ 1. Caly x with long leaf -I ike loltes : }>etals naked. ©
L. GithagO, CORN-COCKLE. A weed in gram-fields, hairy, with long
linear leaves, and long-pedunclcd showy red-purple flowers ; in fruit the calyx-
lobes falling off; the black seeds injurious to the grain.
§ 2. Cali/r without long leaf-like lobes : petals crowned with a 2-cleft little scale or
l>air of teeth on the lase of the blade or at the top of the claw. ^
L. COronaria, MULLEIN-LYCHNIS or MULLEIN PINK. Cult, in gar-
dens; the flower crimson and like that of CORN-COCKLE; but teeth of the
calvx short and slender ; plant white-cottony ; leaves oval or oblong. @ ^f
L. Flos-J6vis, JUPITER'S L. Less common in gardens, downy-hairv or
cottony and whitish ; leaves lance-oblong ; flowers many and smaller, in a
head-like long-peduncled cluster, reddish-purple ; jx^tals obcordate.
L. Chalcedonica, MALTESE-CROSS or SCAKLET L. Very common in
country -gardens ; tall, rather hairy and coarse, with lance-ovate partly clasping
green leaves, and a very dense flat-topped cluster of many smallish flowers ; the
bright scarlet or brick-red petals deeply 2-lobed.
L. grandiflora, L.YRGE-FLOWERED L. Cult from China; smooth, with
oblong green leaves tapering to both ends, and the branches bearing single or
scattered short-peduncled flowers, which are 2' or 3' across ; the red or scarlet
petals fringe-toothed at the end.
L. Viscaria, VISCID L. Rather scarce in gardens ; smooth, but the slen-
der stem glutinous towards the top ; leaves linear ; flowers many in a narrow
raceme-like cluster, rather small ; calyx tubular or club-shaped ; jxitals pink-
red, slightly notched ; also a double-flowered variety.
L. Flos-CUCuli, CUCKOO L, RAGGED ROBIN is the double-flowered
variety, in gardens ; slightly downy and glutinous, with lanceolate leaves, and
an open panicle of pink-red petals, these cleft into 4 narrow -linear lobes.
L. dilirna, DAY-BLOOMING L. Double-flowered form also called RAGGED
ROBIN in the gardens ; smoothish or soft-hairy ; leaves oblong or lance-ovate,
the upper ones pointed ; flowers scattered or somewhat clustered on the
branches, rose-red.
L. vespertina, EVENING-BLOOMING L. A weed in some waste grounds,
like the last, and more like the Night-flowering Catchfly ; but has 5 styles and
a more ovate enlarging calyx ; the flowers are commonly dioecious, white, and
open after sunset, the root biennial. But a full double-flowering variety in gar-
dens is perennial, day-flowering, and is a white sort of RAGGED ROBIN.
3. SILENE, CATCHFLY. (Both names refer to the sticky exudation on
stems and calyx of several species, by which small insects are often caught.)
Besides the following, some other wild or cultivated species are met with, but
not common. Fl. mostly all summer,
S&F— U
66 PINK FAMILT.
* All over sticky-hairy : naturalized from Europe. (T)
S. noctifl6ra, NIGHT-FLOWERING C. Tall coarse weed in cult, or waste
grounds ; lower leaves spatulate, upper lanceolate and pointed ; flowers single
or in loose clusters terminating the branches, with awl-shaped calyx-teeth and
white or pale rosy 2-parted petals, opening at nightfall or in cloudy weather.
* # Smooth, a part of each of the upper joint of stem glutinous: flowers small. (T)
S. Armeria, SWEET-WILLIAM C. In old gardens or running wild, from
Europe; stem about 1° high, branching into flat-topped cymes of many flowers,
which are rather showy ; calyx club-shaped ; petals notched, bright pink, or a
white variety, opening only in sunshine ; leaves lance-ovate, glaucous.
S. antirrhina, SLEEPY C. Wild in sandy or gravelly soil ; stem slen-
der, 6' - 20' high, rather simple ; flowers very small, panicled ; calyx ovoid ;
petals rose-color, obcordate, opening only at midday in sunshine ; leaves lan-
ceolate or linear.
* * * Somewhat sticky-pubescent, at least the calyx, which is oblong, tubular, or
club-shaped : wild species, with red or pink showy flowers. 2/
S. Pennsylvanica, PENNSYLVANIAN C. or WILD PINK. In gravelly
soil ; stems 4' - 8' high, bearing 2 or 3 pairs of lanceolate leaves and a cluster
of short-stalked middle-sized flowers, in spring ; petals pink-red, wedge-shaped,
slightly notched.
S. virginica, VIRGINIAN C. or FIRE PINK. In open woods W. & S. ;
1° - 2° high ; leaves spatulate or lanceolate ; flowers few, peduncled ; the pretty
large bright crimson-red petals 2-cleft.
S. rdgia, ROYAL C. Prairies, &c., from Ohio S. ; like the last, but 3°
high, with lance-ovate leaves, numerous short-peduncled flowers in a narrow
panicle, and narrower scarlet-red petals scarcely cleft.
* * * * Not sticky : calyx inflated and bladdery : petals ratlier small, white. JJ.
S. Stellata, STARRY CAMPION. Wild on wooded banks ; stem slender,
2° - 3° high ; leaves in whorls of 4, lance-ovate, pointed ; flowers in a long and
narrow panicle ; petals cut into a fringe.
S. inflata, BLADDER CAMPION. Wild in fields E., but nat. from Eu.,
glaucous or pale and very smooth, 1° high, with ovate-lanceolate or oblong
leaves, and an open cyme of flowers ; the bladdery calyx veiny ; petals 2-cleft.
4. VACC ARIA, COW-HERB. (Name from Latin vacca, a cow.) ©
V. VUlgaris, COMMON C. In gardens or running wild near them, from
Eu. ; smooth, l°-2° high, with pale lanceolate partly clasping leaves, and a
loose open cyme of flowers ; petals pale red, naked, not notched ; fl. summer.
5. SAPpNABIA, SOAPWORT. (Latin and common names from the
mucilaginous juice of the stem and root forming a lather. ) From Europe.
S. officinalis, COMMON S. or BOUNCING BET. A rather stout, l°-2°
high, nearly smooth herb, in gardens, and running wild by roadsides ; leaves
3 - 5-ribbed, the lower ovate or oval, upper lanceolate ; flowers rather large,
clustered; petals pale rose-color or almost white, notched at the end. The
double-flowered is most common. ^
6. GYPSOPHILiA. (From Greek words meaning lover of gypsum or
chalk, growing on calcareous rocks.) Plants with the small and often pan-
icled flowers and foliage of Arenaria or Stellaria, but the sepals united into
a cup as in the true Pink Family, usually by their thin white edges, hoAvevcr,
so that to a casual glance they may appear distinct. Cult, in choicer gardens,
from Eu. and the East, ornamental, especially for dressing cut flowers, &c.
Fl. all summer.
G. paniculata, PANICLED G. Very smooth, pale, l°-2° high; with
lance-linear leaves, and branches repeated forking into very loose and light
cymes, bearing innumerable very small and delicate white flowers. 2/
G. elegans, ELEGANT G. Less tall or low, loosely spreading ; with
lanceolate leaves, much larger (£' broad) and fewer flowers, white or slightly
rosy. ®
PINK FAMILY. 67
7. SAGINA, PEARLWORT. (Latin name, means rich nourishment,
which, however, these small and insignificant plants can hardly he.) There
are four or five species in the country, none very common ; the most so is
S. prociimbens. Springy places and damp shores, &c., N. ; a smooth
little plant, tufted and spreading, l'-3' high, with almost thread-shaped leaves;
the blunt sepals, short white petals, stamens, and styles 4 or rarely 5.
8. CERASTIUM, MOUSE-EAR CHICKWEED. (Name in Greek
refers to the horn-shaped pod of some species. The popular name is from the
shape and soft hairiness of the leaves of the common species.)
* Flowers inconspicuous, the, deeply 2-cleft petals being shorter or little longer than
the calyx ; the pods becoming much longer and curving more or lens. Flower-
ing all summer, white.
C. VUlgatum, COMMON M., from Penn. S., but scarce N., in grassy places.
An insignificant soft-hairy weed ; stems erect, 4' - 9' high, slightly clammy ;
leaves ovate or obovate, small ; pedicels even in fruit and petals shorter than
the calyx. ©
C. viscbsum, CLAMMY M. Common in grassy places ; stems spreading,
6'- 15' long, clammy-hairy ; leaves oblong ; pedicels' becoming longer than the
calyx ; petals as long as the calyx. © ^
C. niltans, NODDING-FRUITED M. Common in moist or shady grounds,
wild. Clammy-pubescent, erect, 6' -18' high, becoming very loosely-flowered
and branched ; leaves oblong-lanceolate ; petals longer than calyx ; pods long,
nodding on the slender flower-stalk and curved upwards. ®
* * Flowers conspicuous, the snowy white petals 2 or 3 times the length of the calyx:
pod shorter : plants forming matted tufts. 2/
C. arv^nse, FIELD M. Dry fields, &c. Downy but green ; leaves vary-
ing from narrow-oblong to linear; flowering stems 4' -6' high, few-flowered;
petals notched at the end.
C. toment6sum, COTTONY M. Cult, from Eu. for borders, &c., its
spreading shoots, crowded with oblong white-woolly leaves, making dense silvery
mats ; petals deeply 2-cleft.
9. STELLARIA, STARWORT-CHICKWEED. (Name from Latin
stella, a star.) Petals white, but sometimes small or none. Fl. spring and
summer. None cultivated ; but the first is a weed in every garden.
* Stems weak and spreading, marked with pubescent lines : leaves broad.
S. m&dia, COMMON S. or CHICKWEED. In all damp cult, grounds ;
leaves ovate or oblong, the lower on hairy petioles ; petals shorter than the
calyx, 2-parted ; stamens 3-10. 0
S. ptlbera, GREAT S. Shaded rocks, wild from Penn. S. & W. ; leaves
oblong or oval, sessile ; petals longer than the calyx, 2-cleft.
* * Stems erect or spreading, and whole plant smooth : leaves narrow, sessile. ^
S. Iongif61ia, LONG-LEAVED S. or STITCHWORT. Common in damp
grassy places N. ; stem weak, 8' -18' high; leaves linear, widely spreading;
flowers numerous on slender spreading pedicels in a very loose cyme ; petals
2-parted, longer than the calyx.
S. borealis, NORTHERN S. Wet grassy places N. ; stem 3' -10' high,
forking repeatedly and with flowers in the forks of the leafy branches ; leaves
broadly lanceolate or narrow-oblong ; petals shorter than the calyx, or none.
10. ARENARIA, SAND WORT. (So named because several grow in
sand or sandy soil.) All the following are wild, also some others less com-
mon. Fl. spring and summer.
* Petals inconspicuous, white.
A. serpyllif61ia, THYME-LEAVED S. An insignificant little weed, in
sandy or gravelly waste places, 2' - 6' high ; stems erect, roughish, much
branched ; leaves" ovate, pointed ; petals scarcely longer than the 3 - 5-nerved
pointed sepals. ®
68 PINK FAMILY.
A. diffusa, SPREADING S. Shady grounds S. Plant soft-downy, stems
prostrate, 1° or more long; leaves lanceolate; peduncles lateral, 1 -flowered;
petals shorter than the sepals or none. ^
* * Petals conspicuous, longer than the calyx, ivhite. 1J.
A. Iaterifl6ra, SIDE-FLOWERING S. Gravelly shores and banks N.
Plant minutely downy ; stem erect, 3' - 10' high, sparingly branching ; pedun-
cles few-flowered, soon becoming lateral by the farther growth of the leafy stem ;
leaves oval or oblong.
A. Stricta. Rocky or shady banks N. Tufted, smooth, 4' -6' high ; stems
crowded with slender almost bristle-form leaves ; flowers several in a terminal
open cyme; sepals sharp-pointed.
A. squarrbsa, PINE-BARREN S. In sand, coast of New Jersey and S.
Densely tufted on a deep root, 3' - 5' high ; leaves much crowded, short, awl-
shaped, smooth ; the flowering branches or few-flowered peduncles glandular ;
sepals obtuse.
A. GrCBnlandica, MOUNTAIN S. On rocky summits of mountains and
N. E. coast. Densely tufted, soft ; leaves thread-form ; flowering stems 2' - 4'
high, few-flowered, the flowers large in proportion ; petals notched at the end.
A. peploides, SEA SANDWORT, in sands of sea-shore N., is large, with
very fleshy ovate leaves, and axillary flowers.
11. SPERGULARIA, SAND SPURREY. (Name from likeness to
Spergu/a.) A sort of Sandworts with scaly-membranaceous stipules, and
reddish flowers, produced all summer : chiefly maritime. © y. ?
S. rtlbra. The field form of this is common in sand or gravel, along roads
and paths, E., quite away from salt water ; smoothish, prostrate in tufts ; leaves
thread-shaped ; pod and pink-red corolla hardly exceeding the calyx ; seeds
rough, wingless, half-obovate.
S. salina. Larger and more fleshy, only in brackish sands ; with short
peduncles, pale corolla, pod longer than the calyx, and rough obovate-rounded
(winged or wingless) seeds.
S. media. Like the last, in salt marshes and sands, but with longer pedun-
cles and smooth seeds.
12. SPERGULA, SPURREY. (Latin spargere, to scatter, i. e. its seeds.)
S. arvdnsis, CORN S. Stems 1° or so high; bearing several thread-
shaped leaves in the whorls, and terminating in a panicle of white flowers.
A weed in grain-fields, cult, in Europe as a forage plant, sheep being fond of it :
fl. summer. ©
13. ANYCHIA FORKED CHICKWEED. (Name of obscure mean-
ing.) ©
A. dichotoma, a common little herb ; in shady places it is smooth and
erect, 6' - 10' high, with repeatedly forking long-jointed very slender stems,
minute short-stalked greenish flowers in the forks, and oval or oblong leaves : in
dry or parched soil it is spreading on the ground, short-jointed, narrower-leaved,
often pubescent, the flowers more clustered and nearly sessile : all summer.
14. SOLERA NTHUS, KNAWEL. (From Greek words meaning hard
and Jlotver, referring to the indurated tube of the calyx.)
S. annuus, our only species, is nat. from Eu. in gravelly grounds, around
gardens, &c., a verv pale little herb, 3' — 5' high, very much branched and
spreading, with short awl-shaped leaves, and greenish small flowers clustered or
sessile in the forks, in late summer and autumn.
15. MOLLUGO, CARPET -WEED. (An old Latin name for some soft
plant.) ©
M. verticillata. A very common, small, prostrate and spreading little
•weed, in waste gravelly soil, gardens, &c., with spatulate leaves and 1-flowered
pedicels in clusters or whorls at the joints ; the sepals white inside ; stamens 3 •
n, all summer.
PURSLANE FAMILY. 69
21. PORTULACACE^E, PURSLANE FAMILY.
Succulent-leaved herbs, with 2 sepals and 5 petals, the stamens
sometimes many, sometimes few, and then one before each petal ;
ovary 1-celled, becoming a pod, with many or few kidney-shaped
seeds on a central placenta, or on slender seed-stalks from the base.
Seeds as in the Pink Family.
1. PORTULACA. Stamens more numerous than the petals. Style cleft into
several slender divisions. Lower part of the ovary and many-seeded pod
united with the bottom of the calyx; the upper part when mature falling off
as a lid. Flowers opening only once, in sunshine.
'A. TALINUM. Stamens more numerous than the petals. Style 3-lobed at the
summit. Calyx free from the ovary, deciduous. Pod 3-valved, many-seeded.
Flowers opening only once, in sunshine.
3. CALANDR1N1A. Stamens numerous. Style 3-cleft nt the summit. Calyx
free from the ovary, persistent, enclosing the 3-valved many-seeded pod.
Flowers opening only once, in sunshine.
4. CLAYTONIA. Stamens 6, one attached to the base of eaph petal. Style
3-cleft at the summit. Calyx persistent, free from the few-seeded pod.
Flowers usually opening for more than one day.
1. PORTULACA, PURSLANE. (Old Latin name for Purslane.) Leafy
and branching, low and spreading, with fleshy sessile leaves ; fl. all summer.
(Lessons, p. 103, fig. 214.) ©
P. oleracea, COMMON P. Very smooth, with prostrate stems, obovate or
wedge-form leaves, and small sessile' flowers opening only in bright sunshine
and for a short time ; the petals pale yellow. The commonest garden weed,
sometimes used as a pot-herb.
P. pi!6sa, HAIRY P. Wild far S., has linear terete leaves, with a tuft of
beard-like hairs in the axils, and rather large pink flowers.
P. grandifl6ra, GREAT-FLOWERED P., is probably a variety of the last,
from South America, commonly cult, for ornament; 'the large' very showy
flowers brilliant purple, crimson, red, sometimes white or yellow, or with light
centre, of many shades or variations.
2. TALINUM. (Name unexplained.) One wild species in some places.
T. teretifolium, TERETE-LEAVED T. Low and smooth, with thick and
fleshy root, short stems bearing crowded linear terete leaves, and a slender
naked peduncle, many-flowered ; petals rose-purple. Serpentine rocks, Penn-
sylvania, and rarer west and south : fl. all summer. ^
3. CALANDRINIA. (Named for a Swiss botanist, Catandrini.) Culti-
vated for ornament in choice gardens : fl. all summer.
C. discolor. Cult, as an annual, from Chili; very glabrous, making a
rosette of fleshy spatulate leaves at the root (these glaucous above and tinged
with purple beneath), and sending up a naked flower-stem, bearing a raceme of
large rose-purple flowers, 2' in diameter.
C. Menziesii, MENZIKS' C. Low, spreading, leafy-stemmed annual, from
Oregon and California, with bright green and tender lancc-spatulate leaves, and
crimson flowers (nearly 1' broad) in a short leafy raceme.
4. CLAYTONIA, SPRING BEAUTY. (Named for John Clayton, an
early botanist in Virginia.) Low, smooth herbs : ours producing only a pair
of stem leaves and a short raceme of flowers.
# Stem simple from a round tuber : leaves separate : fl. ear/// spring. 2£
C. Virginica, NARROW-LEAVKD S. In moist woods, one of the prettiest
spring flowers ; pdtals rose-color with pink veins ; leaves linear-lanceolate.
C. Caroliniana, BROADER-LEAVED S. In rich woods ; commonest N.
and along the Alleghanies, smaller than the other, with oblong-spatulate or
lance-oblong leaves only 1' or 2' long.
70 MALLOW FAMILY.
# * Stem-leaves united into one usually rounded blade or cup underneath the tmall
and whitish flowers : fl. summer. (V)
C. perfoli&ta occurs in some gardens, from Oregon and California; small,
of no beauty ; root-leaves tufted, spatulate or lanceolate.
22. MALVACE^I, MALLOW FAMILY.
Known by the monadelphous numerous stamens, their tube con-
nected with the base of the petals, kidney -shaped 1 -celled anthers
(Lessons, p. 114, fig. 238), the calyx valvate and the corolla con-
volute in the bud. Herbs or shrubs, with alternate palmately-veined
and often lobed leaves, evident stipules, and regular flowers, the true
sepals and the petals 5. There is commonly an involucre of several
bracts, resembling an outer calyx. Seeds kidney-shaped: the leafy
cotyledons crumpled or doubled up, in some mucilaginous albumen.
Innocent plants, mucilaginous, with a very tough fibrous bark.
§ 1. Anthers all borne in a cluster at the top of the short tube of filaments.
* Ovaries numerous and separate, crowded in a head,in fruit becoming little 1-seeded
2)ods or akenes. Involucre conspicuous as a sort of outer calyx. Herbs.
1. MALOPE. Involucre of 3 ovate or heart-shaped leaves. Annuals.
2. KITAIBELIA. Involucre of 6 - 9 ovate and pointed leaves united at the base.
Perennial.
* * Ovaries several or many united in a ring around an axis, in fruit commonly
falling away separately, each l-seeded. Ours are all herbs.
••- Stigmas running down the side of the slender styles.
3. ALTJLEA. Involucre of 6-9 bracts united at the base. Axis of the fruit not
projecting nor enlarged.
4. LAVATERA. Involucre of 3 - 6 more united bracts. Axis of the fruit over-
topping the carpels.
[ALVA '
5. MALVA. Involucre of only 3 separate bracts. Petals obcordate, otherwise
entire. Carpels beakless.
6. CALL1RRHOE. Involucre of 1 - 3 bracts or none. Petals wedge-shaped and
truncate, denticulate or cut-fringed at the end. Carpels with a sort of beak
at the summit.
7. NAP^EA. Involucre none. Flowers dioecious !
t- i- Stigmas capitate or truncate at the apex of the styles.
8. ANODA. Involucre none. Fruit depressed, very flat and star-shaped, the
sides of the numerous carpels evanescent: seed nearly horizontal.
9. SID A. Involucre none. Fruit separating into 5 or more closed carpels, or
each 2-valved at the apex : seed hanging.
* # * 0 vanes and cells of the fruit 2 -several-seeded.
10. ABUTILON. Involucre none. Carpels each 3 - several-seeded.
11. MODIOLA. Involucre of 3 bractlets. Carpels each 2-seeded, with a cross
partition between the upper and lower seed.
§ 2. Anthers borne along the outside of the tube of filaments. Ovary and fruit 3-
several-celled : stigmas capitate. Involucre jiiresent. Herbs, shrubs, or trees.
* Involucre of several or many bracts.
12. MALVA VISCUS. Branches of the style and stigmas 10, twice as many as the
cells of the ovary. Petals not separating and spreading. Fruit berry-1 ike:
cells 1-seeded.
13. KOSTELETZKYA. Branches of the style and stigmas 5. Pod 5-celled; the
cells single-seeded.
14. HIBISCUS. Branches of the style or stigmas and cells of the ovary 5. Pod
5-celled, loculicidal; the cells many-seeded.
* * Involucre of 3 large and heart-shaped leaf -like bracts.
15. GOSSYPIUM. Styles united into one: stigmas 3 -5, as many as the cells of
the pod. Seeds numerous, bearing cotton.
MALLOW FAMILY. 71
L MALOPE. (Ancient Greek name for some kind of Mallow.) Herbs,
resembling Mallows, from the Mediterranean region ; cult, as garden annuals :
fl. summer.
M. trifida, THREE-LOBED M. Smooth, with rounded leaves, the upper
ones 3-lobed ; the handsome flowers 2' or more broad, rose-color, veined with
purple or rose-red, also a white var. (T)
M. malacoides is rarer, hairy, low, with oblong-ovate toothed leaves,
long peduncles, and rose-colored flowers. ^
2. KITAIBELIA. (Named for Paid Kitaibd, a botanist of Hungary,
where the plant grows wild. ) Fi. summer. The only species is
K. vitif&lia, VINE-LEAVED K. Cult, in gardens ; a rough-hairy herb,
2° - 3° high, rather clammy at the summit, with acutely 5-lobed and toothed
leaves, involucre longer than the true calyx, and dull white corolla l£f broad
when expanded. ^
3. ALTHJEA. (From Greek word meaning to cure, used in medicine as an
emollient.) Tall herbs (the Shrubby AUJuea belongs not to this genus, but to
Hibiscus), natives only of the Old World : fl. summer and autumn.
A. officinalis, MARSH-MALLOW. Rarely cult., but has run wild on the
coast E. ; a rather coarse downy plant, with ovate, sometimes a little heart-
shaped or 3-lobed leaves, and clusters of short-peduncled flowers in their axils ;
corolla 1' broad, rose-color. The thick root is used for its mucilage, and for
making Marsh-Mallow paste. ^/
A. rosea, HOLLYHOCK. Cult, from Syria, with tali and simple hairy
stem, rugose rounded and heart-shaped angled or 5 - 7-lobed leaves, and large
flowers on very short peduncles, forming a long spike ; corolla of all shades of
rose, purple, white, or yellow, single or double, 3' - 4' broad. ®
4. LAVATERA. (Named for the brothers Lavater, of Zurich.) A sort
of Mallow, sometimes cult, in gardens, from Europe : fl. all summer.
L. trimestris, THREE-MONTH L. or FLOWERING MALLOW. Smooth or
smoothish, 1° — 2° high ; lower leaves round-kidney-shaped, crenate, upper heart-
shaped, uppermost 3-lobed ; flowers 2' - 3' broad, rose-color, rarely white ; in
fruit a broad disk-shaped or umbrella-like expansion of the top of the axis com-
pletely covers the carpels. ©
L/Th.uringiaca. GERMAN L. Rather downy, smaller; leaves mostly
3-lobed; flowers long-peduncled, I £' — 2' broad, rose-color; in fruit the axis pro-
jects much beyond the ring of carpels as a pointed cone. 1£
TJ. art>6rea, TREK MALLOW. Not quite hardy N., has a stout stem 2°-6°
high, woody below, rounded 5-9-Iobed rather downy leaves, pale purple flow-
ers l£' broad, on short pedicels, in a terminal raceme or narrow panicle; the
axis of the fruit (like that of Mallow) not projecting beyond the carpels. ^
5. MALVA, MALLOW. (Latin alteration of an old Greek word, mean-
ing soft or emollient.) All from Europe or the Orient, but several have run
wild in fields and along roadsides : fl. all summer and autumn.
* Flowers small, white or whitish, not conspicuous nor handsome.
M. rotundif61ia, COMMON or ROUND-LEAVED M. Weed in cult,
grounds ; with procumbent stems from a strong deep root, rounded kidney-
shaped crenate leaves on very long petioles, rather slender peduncles, and fruit
not wrinkled. (2) 2/
M. crispa, CURLED M. In country gardens, rarely in waste places ; with
erect stem (4° - 6° high) leafy to the top, rounded 5 - 7-lobed or angled leaves
very much crisped round the "margin, flowers clustered and almost sessile in the
axils, and fruit slightly wrinkled. i
* # Flowers larger, more or less showy, l£r — 2' in diameter ; the purple, rose-color,
or sometimes white petals much exceeding the calyx : stem erect.
M. Mauritiana, sometimes called TREE MALLOW. Cult. ; 3° - 5° high,
with rounded 5-lobed smooth or smoothish leaves, and clusters in their axil;- of
72 MALLOW FAMILY.
flowers l£' in diameter, the petals pale rose-color or white, striped with dark
purple or violet veins, (i)
M. sylvestris, HIGH M. Gardens and roadsides; 2° - 3° high, branch-
ing, with rather sharply 5 - 7-lobed leaves, and purple-rose-colored flowers rather
smaller, than in the last ; fruit wrinkled-veiny. © ^
M. Alcea. Gardens ; 2° - 4° high, hairy, with stem-leaves parted almost
to the base into 3-5 divisions which are again 3 - 5-cleft or cut-toothed ; and
showy flowers in clusters or terminal racemes ; corolla deep rose-color, l£'-2'
broad ; fruit smooth, minutely wrinkled-veiny. 2/
M. moschata, MUSK M. Gardens, and escaped to roadsides, l°-2°
high, rather hairy, with the herbage faintly musk-scented, leaves about thrice
parted or cut into slender linear lobes, and short-peduncled flowers somewhat
clustered or racemed ; corolla 1^' broad, rose-color or white ; fruit downy.
6. CALLIRRHOE. (A Greek mythological name, applied to N. American
plants.) Species chiefly farther W. and S., becoming rather "common in
choice gardens. Flowers crimson, mauve, or red-purple, very showy, pro-
duced all summer.
* Root thick, often turnip-shaped, farinaceous: stems roughish-hairy or smoothish. y.
C. triangulata. Dry prairies from Wisconsin S. ; stems erect, 2° high ;
leaves triangular, halberd-shaped, or the lowest heart-shaped, the upper cut-
lobed or 3 - 5-cleft ; flowers somewhat panicled and short-peduncled ; involucre
as long as the calyx ; corolla 1 £' or less in diameter ; carpels of the fruit even
on the back, tipped with a short point.
C. involucrata. Wild from plains of Nebraska S., and cult, for orna-
ment; stems spreading on the ground, l°-3° long; stipules conspicuous;
leaves rounded, 5-parted or cleft and cut-lobed, shorter than the axillary pedun-
cles ; involucre shorter than the calyx ; corolla 2' or more broad ; carpels of
the fruit reticulated, tipped with a flat and inconspicuous beak.
C. Papaver. Wild in rich woodlands from Georgia to Texas, and spar-
ingly cult. ; stems short, ascending, few-leaved ; leaves 3 - 5-parted with lance-
linear divisions, or the lowest rather heart-shaped and cleft into oblong lobes ;
axillary peduncles very (often 1°) long; involucre of 1-3 bracts or none;
corolla 2' or more broad ; carpels of the fruit wrinkled or reticulated and with
a stout incurved beak.
C. digitata. Wild in prairies of Arkansas and Texas ; 1° high ; leaves
mostly from the root, 5 - 7-parted into long linear sometimes 2 - 3-cleft divis-
ions ; peduncles long and slender ; involucre none; corolla 1^'- 2' broad, the
petals fringe-toothed at the end ; fruit nearly as in the last.
# * Root slender or tapering : herbage smooth. 0 ®
C. pedata. Wild in E. Texas; not rare cult. ; stem erect, l°-5° high,
leafy ; leaves rounded, 3 - 7-lobed or parted and the wedge-shaped divisions cleft
or cut; peduncles slender, longer than the leaves ; involucre none ; corolla about
1^' broad, the petals minutely eroded at the end ; carpels of the fruit smooth
and even on the back, and with a stout conspicuous beak.
7. NAPJEA, GLADE-MALLOW. (From Greek name for glade or nymph
of the groves.) Only one species,
N. dioica. In valleys, chiefly in limestone districts of Penn., Virginia,
and W. A rather coarse, roughish herb; stem 4° -7° high; leaves 9-11-
parted and their lobes cut and toothed, the lowest often 1° in diameter ; flowers
small, in panicled corymbs, in summer.
8. ANODA. (Origin of the name obscure.) Low herbs from Mexico,
Texas, &c., sparingly cult, for ornament. Stems, &c. hirsute : peduncles
long and slender, 1 -flowered. Fruit in the form of a many-rayed star, sup-
ported by the spreading 5-rayed calyx : when ripe the rim of each carpel falls
away with the seed it embraces, the sides or partitions disappearing. (T)
A. hastata has mostly halberd-shaped leaves, and blue or violet corolla
only 1 1 - l£ ' in diameter ; lobes of the calyx ovate, scarcely pointed.
MALLOW FAMILY. 73
A. Cristata has mostly triangular or obscurely halberd-shaped and toothed
leaves, and purple or rose-colored corolla 2' in diameter ; lobes of the calyx
triangular, taper-pointed.
9. SID A. (Ancient name, of obscure meaning.) Mostly rather small-flow-
ered or weedy herbs, with 5-12 styles and carpels : fl. summer and autumn.
# Peduncles axillary, \-flowered: corolla yellow.
S. 8pin6sa. So named from the little pointed projection or tubercle at the
base of the petiole, but which can hai'dly be called a spine ; stems much branched,
10' -20' high; leaves lance-ovate, serrate, minutely soft-downy; peduncles very
short ; flower very small ; pod ovate, of 5 carpels, each splitting at top into 2
points. A common weed S. of New York. (0
S. rhombifblia. But the leaves are hardly rhombic, usually lance-oblong,
short-petioled, serrate, pale and whitish downy beneath ; stems 1 ° - 3° high,
much branched; peduncles rather long; flower small; fruit of 10 or 12 one-
pointed carpels. A weed only S. ©
S. Elliottii.
_. Nearly smooth, l°-4° high; leaves linear or lanceolate,
serrate, short-pctioled ; flower 1' broad, on a short peduncle; fruit of 10-12
nearly blunt carpels. Woodlands S. ^
* Peduncles bearing a corymb of several white flowers from the upper axils.
S. Napsea. Smooth; stem simple, 4° -7° high; leaves rounded, 5-cleft, the
lobes toothed and taper-pointed; corolla about 1' broad; styles and cells of the
pod 10. Wild in S. Penn. and Virg. Cult, in old gardens. ^
10. ABUTILON, INDIAN MALLOW. (Origin of name obscure.)
Resembles Sida, but cells more than one-seeded ; flowers usually larger.
A. Avicennse, VELVET-LEAF. Cult, soil and old gardens, 3° -5° high;
leaves roundish heart-shaped, taper-pointed, soft-velvety ; peduncles shorter than
petiole, 1 - 3-flowered ; corolla orange-yellow; fruit of 12-15 united hairy
carpels with spreading beaks. Fl. autumn. (I)
A. Striatum, STRIPED ABUTILON. Cult, in greenhouses, &c. from Bra-
zil ; a tall shrub, very smooth, with rounded heart-shaped 3-lobed leaves, the
lobes very taper-pointed, and pretty large solitary floAvers hanging on a very
long and slender peduncle ; corolla not spreading open, orange-colored, with
deeper or brownish veining or stripes.
11. MODIOLA. (The shape of the depressed fruit likened to the Roman
measure modiolus.) Procumbent or spreading, small-flowered, weedy plants.
M. multifida. Virginia and S., in low grounds; leaves 3-7-cleft and
cut, or the earlier ones rounded and undivided ; flowers red, £' broad ; fruit
hairy at the top. © 1£
12. MALVAVISCUS. (Name composed of Malva, Mallow, and viscus,
birdlime, from the glutinous pulp of the berry-like fruit. ) Shrubby plants,
with showy scarlet flowers, of peculiar appearance, the petals not expanding,
but remaining convolute around the lower part of the slender projecting and
soon twisted column, held together as it were by a little side-lobe near the
base of the inner edge.
M. arb6reus, the common West India species, cult, in some hot-houses,
has heart-shaped leaves longer than broad, and yellowish fruit.
M. Drummondii, of Texas, if housed in winter flowers all summer in
open ground, is soft-downy, with more rounded and somewhat 3-lobed leaves,
and scarlet fruit.
13. KOSTELETZSKYA. (Named for a Bohemian botanist, Kosteletzshj. )
Like Hibiscus, only the cells of ovary and fruit 1-seeded. Fl. summer.
K. Virgtnica, VIRGINIAN K. In and near salt marshes, from New York
and New Jersey S. : roughish-hairy, 2° -5° high; leaves heart-shaped or mostly
3-lobed, often halberd-shaped ; flowers somewhat racemed or panicled, ros&-
purple, l'-2' broad. 11
74 MALLOW FAMILY.
14. HIBISCUS, ROSE-MALLOW. (Anciem name, of obscure origin.)
Flowers showy, usually large, in summer and autumn.
* Tall shrubs or even trees, exotics.
H. Syriacus, TREE H. or SHRUBBY ALTH^A, of gardens and grounds,
common, native of the Levant : nearly smooth, with wedge-ovate and 3-lobed
leaves, and short-peduncled flowers in their axils, in autumn, about 3' broad,
purple, rose-color, white, &c., often double.
H. Rosa-Sinensis. CHINA H. or ROSE OF CHINA. Cult, in conserva-
tories, from East Indies (where the splendid corollas, which stain black, are used
to black shoes) : very smooth, with bright green ovate and pointed somewhat
toothed leaves, and very showy flowers on slender peduncles, 4' or 5' broad,
scarlet-red (rarely rose-purple or even white), often double.
* # Herbs, with persistent and regular 5-lobed calyx, and a short pod.
•*- Wild species, but sometimes cultivated, tall and large. "^.
H. COCCineu.8, GREAT RED H. or ROSE-MALLOW. Marshes from Caro-
lina S. ; very smooth, 4° - 7° high, with leaves 5-parted or deeply cleft into
long lanceolate and taper-pointed divisions, and bright-red corolla 6'- 11' broad,
thepetals narrowed below.
H. militaris, HALBERD-LEAVED R. Low grounds from Pennsylvania
and Illinois S. ; smooth, 3° -4° high, with ovate or heart-shaped toothed or
3-lobed leaves, some of them halberd-shaped, and slender-peduncled flowers,
with inflated calyx, and flesh-colored corolla 4' - 5' broad.
H. Mosch.eu.tOS, SWAMP R. Common in brackish marshes and up the
larger rivers; 3° -7° high, soft-downy; the ovate pointed and often 3-lobed
leaves hoary beneath, generally smooth above ; peduncles slender; corolla 4' — 6'
broad, pale rose or white, with or without a darker centre ; pod smooth.
H. grandiflbrus, LARGE-FL. R. Swamps, from Illinois and Carolina S. ;
like the last, but leaves soft-downy both sides, and pod velvety-hairy.
H. aculeatUS, PRICKLY or ROUGH R. Swamps only S. ; rough with
stiff bristles and bristly points, 2° — 6° high ; leaves 3 — 5-cleft and the divisions
mostly toothed ; flowers short-peduncled ; leaves of the involucre often forked ;
corolla yellow with a purple centre, 4' broad ; pod bristly.
•*- •«- Exotic low species, in gardens or cultivated grounds. ®
H. Tri6num, BLADDER KKTMIA or FLOWER-OF-AN-HOUR. Rather
hairy, l°-2° high, with the leaves toothed, or the upper 3-parted into lanceolate
lobes, the middle lobe much longest ; calyx inflated and bladdery ; corolla about
2' broad, sulphur-yellow with a blackish eye, open only in midday sunshine.
# # # Herbs, with calyx splitting down one side, and generally falling off at once,
and with long or narrow pyramidal or angled pod : natives of East Indies.
H. esculentUS, OKRA or GUMBO. Nearly smooth, with rounded heart-
shaped 5-lobed toothed leaves, greenish-yellow flowers on slender peduncle (invo-
lucre falling early), and narrow pods 3' or 4' long, which are very mucilaginous,
and when green cooked and eaten, or used to thicken soups : cult. S. (T)
H. Manihot. Smoothish, with leaves 5 - 7-parted into long narrow divis-
ions ; the large and showy corolla pale yellow with a dark eye ; the leaves of
the involucre hairy and soon falling off : introduced or cult. S. W. 2/
15. GOSStfPIUM, COTTON. (Name given by Pliny, from the Arabic.)
Plants now diffused over warm countries, most valuable for the wool on the
seeds : the species much mixed up.
G. herbaceum, COMMON COTTON. Cult. S. Leaves with 5 short and
roundish lobes ; petals pale yellow or turning rose-color, puqjle at base. 0
G. Barbadense, BARBADOES OR SEA-!SLAND C. Cult, on the coast S.
Inclining to be shrubby at base ; branches black-dotted ; leaves with 5 longer
lance-ovate and taper-pointed lobes ; leaves of the involucre with very long and
slender teeth ; petals yellowish or whitish with purple base.
G. arb6reum, TREE C. Cult. S., only for curiosity, has 5-7 nearly
lanceolate and taper-pointed lobes to the leaves, leaves of involucre slightly
toothed, and a purple corolla with a darker centre.
CAMELLIA OR TEA FAMILY. 75
23. STERCULIACE^I, STERCULIA FAMILY.
Chiefly a tropical family, to which belongs the THEOBROMA or
CHOCOLATE-TREE ; in common cultivation known here only by a
single species of
1. MAHERNIA. (Name an anagram of Hermannia, a genus very like
it. ) Calyx, corolla, &c. as in the Mallow Family ; but the stamens only 5,
one before each petal ; the filaments monadelphous only at the base and en-
larged about the middle, and the anthers with 2 parallel cells. The edges of
the base of the petals rolled inwards, making a hollow claw. Ovary 5-celled,
with several ovules in each cell : styles 5, united at the base.
M. Verticillata. Cult, from Cape of Good Hope, in conservatories pro-
ducing a succession of honey-yellow sweet-scented small blossoms, on slender
peduncles, all winter and spring ; a sort of woody perennial, with slender and
spreading or hanging roughish branches and small green irregularly pinnatifid
leaves ; the specific name given because the leaves seem to be whorled ; but this
is because the stipules, which arc cut into several linear divisions, imitate leaves.
24. TILIACE-2E, LINDEN FAMILY.
Chiefly a tropical family, represented here only by an herbaceous
CORCHORUS on our southernmost borders, and by the genus of fine
trees which gives the name.
1. TILIA, LINDEN, LIME-TREE, BASSWOOD. (The old Latin
name.) Sepals 5, valvate in the bud, as in the Mallow Family, but decidu-
ous. Petals 5, imbricated in the bud, spatulate-oblong. Stamens numerous;
their filaments cohering in 5 clusters, sometimes with a petal-like body in each
cluster ; anthers 2-cclled. Pistil with a 5-celled ovary, having 2 ovules in
each cell, in fruit becoming a rather woody globular I - 2-seeded little nut.
Style 1 : stigma 5-toothed. Embryo with a slender radicle and leaf-like lobed
cotyledons folded up in the albumen. Trees with mucilaginous shoots, fibrous
inner bark (l>ast), soft white wood, alternate ixmndish and serrate leaves more
or less heart-shaped and commonly oblique at the base, deciduous stipules,
and a cyme of small, dull cream-colored, honey -bearing flowers, borne in early
summer on a nodding axillary peduncle which is united to a long and narrow
leaf-like bract.
* A. petal-like scale before each petal, to the base of which the stamens are joined,
T. Americana, AMERICAN LINDEN or COMMON BASSWOOD. A hand-
some and large forest-tree, with leaves of rather firm texture and smooth or
smoothish both sides, or in one variety thinner and more downy but not white
beneath.
T. heteroph^lla, WHITE LINDEN. Along the Alleghany region from
Penn. and Kentucky S. ; has larger leaves silvery white with a fine down under-
neath.
* * No scales with the stamens. Natives of Europe,
T. Europaea, EUROPEAN L., embraces both the SMALL-LEAVED variety,
which is commonly planted about cities, and the LARGE-LEAVED or DUTCH L.,
with leaves as large and firm as those of our wild Basswood.
25. CAMELLIACE^, CAMELLIA or TEA FAMILY.
Trees or shrubs, with alternate and simple feather-veined leaves,
and no stipules ; the flowers large and showy, mostly axillary, reg-
ular, with both sepals and petals imbricated in the bud ; the very
numerous stamens with filaments more or less united at the base
with each other and with the base of the corolla : anthers 2-celled :
ovary and thick or woody pod 5-celled, with one or more seeds in
76 CAMELLIA OR TEA FAMILY.
each cell. The petals themselves are commonly more or less
united at their base ; they are o or sometimes 6 or even more in
number in natural flowers, and in cultivated plants apt to be in-
creased by doubling.
* Exotics^ from China, Japan, <.fc. : some of the inner stamens entirely separate :
commonly there is a gradation from bracts to sepals and petals.
1. CAMELLIA. Numerous separate inner stamens within the ring or cup formed
by the united bases of the very numerous outer stamens. Style 3 - 5-cleft.
Seeds large, usually single in each cell "of the thick and woody pod. Leaves
evergreen, serrate.
2. THE A. Separate interior stamens only as many as the petals (5 or 6): other-
wise nearly like Camellia: flowers less showy; bracts under the calyx incon-
spicuous.
* * Natives of Southeastern States: stamens all united at the base.
3. GORDON I A. Stamens in 5 clusters, one attached to the base of each petal.
Style columnar: stigma 5-rayed. Seeds several, more or less winged. Leaves
coriaceous or thickish.
4. STUARTI A. Stamens uniformly united by a short ring at the base of the fila-
ments. Seeds 2 in each cell, wingless. Leaves thin and deciduous.
1. CAMELLIA. (Named for G. Camellus or Kamel, a missionary to China
in the 17th century.)
C. Jap6nica, JAPAN CAMELLIA, with oval or oblong pointed and shining
leaves, and terminal or nearly terminal flowers, simple or double, red, white, or
variegated, of very many varieties, is the well-known and only common species ;
fl. through the winter, hardy only S.
2. THE A, TEA-PLANT. (The Chinese name.) Genus too slightly dif-
ferent from Camellia. Shrubs, natives of China and Japan, sparingly cult.
for ornament.
T. viridis, GREEN or COMMON T. Leaves oblong or broadly lanceolate,
much longer than wide ; the white flowers (!' or more broad) nodding on short
stalks in their axils.
T. Boh6a, BOHEA T. Leaves smaller and broader in proportion ; proba-
bly a mere variety of the other.
3. GORJDONIA. (Named for Dr. Gordon and another Scotchman of the
same name. )
G. Lasianthus, LOBLOLLY BAY. A handsome shrub or small tree, in
swamps near the coast from Virginia S., with evergreen and smooth lance-
oblong leaves tapering to the base and minutely serrate, and showy white flow-
ers 2' - 3' across, in spring and summer, on a slender peduncle ;* the stamens
short, on a 5-lobed cup.
G. pllb^SCens, also called FRANKLINIA, after Dr. Franklin. Grows only
in Georgia and Florida ; a tall, ornamental shrub or small tree, with thinner
and deciduous leaves whitish doAvny beneath, as are the sepals and (white)
petals, and longer style and filaments, the latter in 5 distinct parcels one on the
base of each petal.
4. STUARTIA. (Named for John Stuart, the Lord Bute at the time of the
American Revolution.) Ornamental shrubs, with thin leaves and handsome
white flowers 2' or 3' across, in late spring or early summer, wild in shady
woods of Southern States.
S. Virginica, grows in the low country from Virginia S. ; shrub 8°- 12°
high, with finely serrate leaves soft-downy underneath, pure white petals, purple
stamens, one style, and a roundish pod.
S. pentagyna, belongs to the mountains S. of Virginia, and in cult, is
hardy N. ; has smoother leaves and rather larger very handsome flowers, their
petals jagged-edged and tinged with cream-color, the sepals often reddish out-
side, 5 separate styles, and a 5-angled pointed pod.
GERANIUM FAMILY. 77
26. LINAGES, FLAX FAMILY.
A small family, represented here only by the main genus,
1. LINTJM, FLAX. ( The classical Greek and Latin name. ) Flowers (see
Lessons, p. 89, fig. 174, 175, and p. 93, fig. 191) usually opening for only-
one day, and in sunshine, regular and symmetrical ; the persistent sepals,
deciduous petals, slightly monadelphous stamens, and mostly the styles 5, but
the latter are sometimes fewer, occasionally partly united : ovary and pod
with as many 2-seeded cells as there are styles, or mostly twice as many and
one-seeded, each cell being divided more or less by a false partition. Seeds
with a mucilaginous coat and a large straight oily embryo. Leaves simple,
nearly sessile, and entire. Fl. all summer.
# Wild species, annuals or scarcely perennials, ivith small yellow flowers.
L. Virginianum, the commonest WILD FLAX, in dry woods, 2° high,
with spreading or recurving terete branches at the summit of the stem ; the
leaves oblong or lanceolate, only the lower spatulate and opposite ; flowers
scattered ; styles separate ; pod little larger than a pin's head.
L. Striatum, also common, mostly in boggy grounds, like the first; but
has the branches shorter, scattered along the stem, and sharply 4-angled with
intermediate grooves (whence the name) ; most of the stem-leaves opposite and
oblong ; flowers more crowded.
L. SUlcatum, much less common, in dry soil, also has grooved (upright)
branches, but the leaves are linear and scattered ; flowers and pods twice as
large; sepals sharp-pointed, 3-nerved and with rough glandular margins ; styles
united half-way up.
* * Cultivated, hardy, herbaceous, with 5 styles and largish handsome flowers.
L. usitatissimum, COMMON FLAX. Cult, from Old World, and inclined
to run wild in fields ; with narrow lanceolate leaves, corymbose rich blue flow-
ers, and pointed sepals. (T)
L. perenne, PERENNIAL FLAX. Cult, from Eu. in some varieties, for
ornament, wild beyond the Mississippi ; less tall than the foregoing, narrower-
leaved ; sepals blunt ; petals sky-blue, sometimes pale, at least towards the
base. 11
L. grandiflbrum, LARGE-FL. RED FLAX. Cult, as an annual, from
North Africa ; 1° high, with linear or lanceolate leaves, and showy crimson-red
flowers. © 11
* * * Cultivated in conservatories, shrubby, with 3 styles and large flowers.
L. trigynum, of India, has rather large elliptical leaves, and a succession
of large and showy bright-yellow flowers.
27. GERANIACE^I, GERANIUM FAMILY.
As now received a large and multifarious order, not to be char-
acterized as a whole in any short and easy way, including as it does
Geraniums, Nasturtiums, Wood-Sorrels, Balsams, &c., which have
to be separately described.
§1. Flowers regular and symmetrical: sepals persistent. Herbs.
1. OXALIS. Sepals and petals 5, the former imbricated, the latter convolute in
the bud. Stamens 10, monadelphous at base, the alternate ones shorter.
Styles 5, separate on a, 5-celled ovary, which becomes a membranaceous
several-seeded pod. Juice sour and watery. Leaves commonly of three
obcordate or two-lobed leaflets, which droop at nightfall. Flowers usually
open only in sunshine.
2. LIMNANf HES. Sepals and petals 5, the former valvate, the latter convolute
in the bud. Glands on the receptacle 5. Stamens 10, separate at the base.
Style 1, five-lobed at the apex, rising from the centre of a deeply five-lobed
ovary, which in fruit become? 5 separate thickish and wrinkled akenes.
Leaves pinnate ; the leaflets cut or cleft.
78 GKRANIUM FAMILY.
3. FLCERKEA. Sepals, small petals, stigmas, and lobes of the ovary 3 ; and
stamens 6 : otherwise like Limnanthes.
4. GERANIUM. Sepals and petals 5, the former imbricated, the latter commonly
convolute in the bud. Glands on the receptacle 5, alternate with the petals.
Stamens 10, monadelphous at the base, the alternate filaments shorter, but
usually bearing an her?. Style 6-cleft. Ovary 5-celled, 5-lobed, the lobes
separating when ripe into 5 two-ovuled but one-seeded carpels or little pods
which remain hanging by their long naked recurving styles as these split off,
from below upwards, from a long central beak or axis. (Lessons, p. 125,
fig. 277, 278.) Leaves with stipules Herbage scented.
6. EROD1UM. Stamens with anthers only 5. Styles when they split off from
the beak bearded inside, often twisting spirally : otherwise as Geranium.
^ 2. Floioers somewhat irregular, Geranium-like. Shrubby or fleshy-stemmed.
6. PELARGONIUM. Sepals and petals 5 ; the base of one sepal extends down-
ward on one side the pedicel forming a narrow tube or adherent spur, and
the two petals on that side of the flower differ from the rest more or less in
size or shape. Stamens with anthers fewer than 10, commonly 7. Pistil, &c.
as in Geranium. Herbage scented. Leaves' with stipules.
§ 3. Flowers very irregular, spurred, also unsymmetrical. Tender herbs.
7- TROP^EOLUM. Sepals 5, united at the base, and in the upper side of the
flower extended into a long descending spur. Petals 5, or sometimes fewer,
usually with claws : the two upper more or less different from the others
and inserted at the mouth of the spur. Stamens 8, unequal or dissimilar ;
filaments usually turned downwards and curving. Ovary of 3 lobes sur-
rounding the base of a single style, in fruit becoming 3 thick and fleshy
closed separate carpels, each containing a single large seed. Herbs, climbing
by their long leafstalks ; the watery juice with the pungent odor and taste
of Cress. Leaves alternate : stipules none or minute. Peduncles axillary,
one-flowered.
8. IMPATIENS. Sepals and petals similarly colored, the parts belonging to each
not readily distinguished. There are 3 small outer pieces, plainly sepals, on
one side of the flower ; then, on the other side, a large hanging sac contracted
at the bottom into a spur or little tail; within are two small unequally 2-lobed
petals, one each side of the sac. Stamens 5, short, conniving or lightly
cohering around and covering the 5-celled ovary, which in fruit becomes a
several-seeded pod : this bursts elastically, flying in pieces at the touch,
scattering the seeds, separating into 5 twisting valves and a thickish axis.
Style none. Seeds rather large. Erect, branching, succulent-stemmed herbs,
with simple leaves and no stipules.
1. 6XALIS, WOOD-SO RIIEL. (Name from. Greek words meaning sour-
salt, from the oxalates or " salt-of-sorrel " contained in the juice.)
* Native species, flowering through the summer : leaflets broadly obcordate.
O. Strieta, YELLOW W. Extremely common in waste or cultivated soil
and open woodlands ; stems 3'- 12' high, leafy ; slender peduncles bearing an
umbel of 2-6 small yellow flowers, followed by slender pods. © ^
O. Acetosella, TRUE W. Common in mossy woods N. ; the leafstalks
and 1 -flowered scapes 2' -4' high from a creeping scaly- toothed roots tock ;
flower rather large, white with delicate reddish veins. 2/
O. Violacea, VIOLET W. Common S., rarer N., in rocky or sandy soil ;
leafstalks and slender scape from a scaly bulb, the flowers several in an umbel,
middle-sized, violet. ^
* # Cultivated in conservatories, from Cape of Good Hope.
O. B6wiei, a stemless species, with a small bulb on a spindle-shaped root ;
leafstalks and few-flowered scapes 6' -10' high; broad obcordate leaflets almost
2' long ; petals deep rose-color, 1' long. ....
O. specibsa is more hairy ; leaflets obovate and scarcely notched, com-
monly crimson underneath, only 1'long; scapes short, 1 -flowered ; petals 1^'
long, pink-red with a yellowish base.
O. flava, from a strong bulb sends up to the surface a short scaly stem,
bearing thick flattish leafstalks and short 1-flowered scapes ; the leaflets 6-10
and linear ; petals nearly 1 ' long, yellow, often edged with reddish.
GERANIUM FAMILY. 79
O. versicolor, the commoner and prettiest species, from small bulbs sends
up slender stems, 2' -3' high, bearing at summit leaves of 3 almost linear leaf-
lets notched at the end, and slender 1 -flowered peduncles ; petals 1' long, white
or tinged with rose, with bright pink-red margins underneath, so that the blos-
som is red when rolled up in the bud or closed in shade, but white above when
it opens in sunshine.
* * * Cultivated from South America for the edible tubers.
O. crenata, the OCA of Peru, rather common in France, bears abundance
of potato-like tubers as large as pullet's-eggs ; stem leafy, 2° high ; leaflets
obcordate ; peduncles several-flowered ; petals yellow, rather large, crenate or
several-notched at the end.
2. LIMNANTHES. (Name from Greek words for marsh flower: but in
fact the plant flourishes in merely moist soil.) ®
L. Douglasii. Cult, for ornament from California ; a low and spreading,
mostly smooth, and slightly succulent garden annual, with leaves of 5-7 oblong
or lanceolate and often 3 - 5-cleft leaflets, and rather neat tiowers (in summer),
solitary on slender axillary peduncles ; the petals white with a yellow base,
wedge-oblong, notched at the end, twice the length of the calyx, about £' long.
3. FLCERKEA, FALSE MERMAID. (Named for Floerke, a German
botanist.) ©
IP. proserpinacoides, in marshes and wet alluvial soil ; a small and in-
significant plant, with the 3-5 leaflets lanceolate and entire, or rarely 2-3-
cleft ; the axillary and peduncled flower inconspicuous (in spring and summer),
the oblong petals shorter than the calyx and entire.
4. GERANIUM, CRANE SBILL. (From old Greek name for the Crane,
alluding probably to the long beak in fruit.) The following are wild species
of the country : the so-called Geraniums of cultivation belong to Pelargonium.
Sepals usually slender-pointed. Fl. spring and summer.
G. maculatum, WILD or SPOTTED CRANESBILL. Common in wood-
lands and open grounds ; stem erect from a stout root or rootstock, about 2°
high, hairy, branching and terminating in long peduncles bearing a pair of
flowers ; leaves palmately parted into 5-7 wedge-shaped divisions cut and cleft
at the end, sometimes whitish-blotched ; petals wedge-obovate, light purple,
£' long, bearded on the short claw. 2/
G. Carolinianum, CAROLINA C. In open and mostly barren soil ;
stems erect or soon diffusely branched from the base, only 6'- 18' high ; leaves
palmately parted into 5 much cleft and cut divisions ; peduncles and pedicels
short ; flowers barely half as large as in the foregoing, the pale rose-colored pet-
als notched at the end. (T> @
G. Robertianum, HERB ROBERT. Common N. in shady rocky places ;
very strong-scented, loosely hairy, diffusely spreading ; leaves finely cut, being
divided into 3 twice-pinnatifid divisions ; flowers small ; petals pink or red
purple. (D
5. ERODIUM, STORKSBILL. (From Greek name for a Heron.)
E. cicut&rium, COMMON S. Nat. from Eu., in sterile soil, but not com-
mon, except in Texas and California, where it greatly abounds ; low, hairy and
rather viscid ; the leaves mostly from the root, pinnate, and the leaflets finely
once or twice pinnatifid ; peduncle bearing an umbel of several small pinkish
flowers, in summer. (I) ®
Q. PELARGONIUM, the GERANIUM, so-called, of house and sum-
mer-garden culture. (Name from Greek word for the Stork, from the beak of
the fruit, which is like that of Geranium. ) All are perennials, and most of the
common ones more or less shrubby, natives of the Cape of Good Hope ; in
cultivation so mixed up by crossing that students will hardly be able to make
out the species. The following are the types or originals of the commonest
Sorts.
60 GERANIUM FAMILY.
§ 1 . Leaves peltate and fleshy, the 5 lobes entire : stems trailing.
P. peltatum, IVY-LEAVED P. Generally smooth, the leaf fixed towards
the middle, with or without a darkish zone ; flowers pink or varying to white.
§ 2. Leaves round and crenate, very obscurely many-lobed and with a deep narrow
sinus: petals all of one color (scarlet, pink, or varying to white), the two
upper a little narrower than the others : steins erect, shrubby and succulent.
The two -species greatly mixed.
P. ZOnale, HORSE-SHOE P. So called from the dark horse-shoe mark or
zone, which however is not always present ; smoothish ; petals narrowish.
P. inquinans, STAINING or SCARLET P. In the unmixed state is soft-
downy and clammy, the leaves without the zone ; petals broadly obovate, origi-
nally intense scarlet.
§ 3. Leaves rounded, moderately if at all lolied : branches scarcely succulent: pet-
als never scarlet, the two upper more or less larger than the three lower.
# Leaves sweet-scented, velvety or soft-downy : flowers small : stems or branches
herbaceous or half herbaceous, spreading or straggling.
P. capitatum, ROSE-SCENTED P. Softly hairy, with the rose-scented
leaves moderately lobed, the lobes short and broad ; peduncle bearing many
sessile flowers in a head ; petals rose-purple, barely ^' long.
P. toment6sum, PEPPERMINT P. Densely soft-hairy ; branches long
and thickish ; leaves rather large, round-heart-shaped and with 5-7 open lobes,
velvety-hairy both sides ; flowers on long pedicels in panicled umbels, insignifi-
cant ; petals white, the 3 lower a little longer than the calyx.
P. odoratissimum, NUTMEG-SCENTED P. Branches slender and strag-
gling, from a very short scaly stem or base ; leaves rounded and crenate, soft-
velvety, small ; flowers on short pedicels, very small ; petals Avhite, scarcely
exceeding the calyx.
# # Leaves not sweet-scented: flowers large, pink, purple, white, $*c., the two
upper petals longer and broader than the three lower and streaked or spotted:
shrubby and erect. (All much mixed.)
P. CUCUllatum, COWLED P. Soft-hairy, the rounded kidney-shaped leaves
cupped, soft-downy.
P. COrdatum, HEART-LEAVED P. Like the last or less hairy, with flat
ovate-heart-shaped leaves.
P. anguldsum, MAPLE-LEAVED P. Harsher-hairy; the leaves rigid, in-
clined to be lobed, truncate or even wedge-shaped at the base (scarcely ever
heart-shaped), sharply toothed.
§ 4. Leaves decidedly lotted or cut, in some species compound or decompound,
# Smooth and pale or glaucous, rounded, palmately 5 - 7 -cleft.
P. grandifldrum, GREAT-FLOWERED P. Shrubby; peduncles bearing
about 3 large flowers, with white petals l£' long, the two upper larger and ele-
gantly veined or variegated with pink or rose-color.
* * Silky-hoary, pinnately veined and somewhat pinnatifid.
P. tricolor, THREE-COLORED P. Low, rather shrubby ; the long-petioled
small leaves lance-oblong ; peduncles bearing 2 or 3 showy flowers ; the three
lower petals white, the two upper crimson, with a dark spot at their base, and
rather smaller, £' long : not common.
* * * Soft-hoary or velvety, palmately 3-parted, small: no obvious stipules.
P. exstipulatum, PENNY-ROYAL P. Low, rather shrubby ; leaves with
the sweet scent of Penny-Royal or Bergamot, £' wide, the lobes wedge-shaped
and cut-toothed ; flowers small and insignificant, white.
# * * * Hairy, roughish, or downy : leaves more or less pinnatifid or pinnately
compound or the main lobes or divisions pinnatifid, balsamic or strong-
scented : stipules present.
P. quercifolium, OAK-LEAVED P. Shrubby, hairy and glandular ;
leaves deeply sinuate-pinnatitid, with wavy-toothed blunt lobes (the lowest
RUE FAMILY. 81
ones largest, making a triangular-heart-shaped outline), often dark-colored
along the middle, unpleasantly scented ; petals purple or pink, the two upper
(!' long) much longest.
P. graveolens, HEAVY-SCENTED P. Shrubby and hairy like the last ;
leaves palmately 5 - 7-lobed or parted and the oblong lobes sinuate-pinnatifid ;
petals shorter.
P. Radula, ROUGH P. Shrubby, rough and hairy above with short bris-
tles ; the balsamic or mint-scented leaves palmately parted and the divisions
pinnately parted or again cut into narrow linear lobes, with revolutc margins ;
peduncles short, bearing few small flowers ; petals rose-color striped or veined
with pink or purple.
P. fulgidum, BRILLIANT P. Shrubby and succulent-stemmed, downy ;
leaves mostly 3-parted, with the lateral divisions Avedge-shapcd and 3-lobed, the
middle one oblong and cut-pinnatin'd ; calyx broad in the throat ; petals
obovate, scarlet, often with dark lines, £' long.
P. triste, SAD or NIGHT-SCENTED P. Stem succulent and very short
from a tuberous rootstock, or none ; leaves pinnately decompound, hairy ; pet-
als dull brownish-yellow with darker spots, sweet-scented at night.
7. TROP^EOLUM, NASTURTIUM or INDIAN CRESS. (Name
from a Greek word for a trophy, the foliage of the common sort likened to a
group of shields.) Cult, from South America, chiefly Peru, for ornament,
and the pickled fruits used as a substitute for capers, having a similar flavor
and pungency : fl. all summer, showy.
T. majus, COMMON N. Climbing high, also low and scarcely climbing ;
leaves roundish and about 6-angled, peltate towards the middle ; petals much
longer than calyx, varying from orange to scarlet and crimson, pointless, entire
or a little jagged at the end, and the 3 lower and longer-clawed ones fringed at
the base : also a full double variety, (f)
T. minus, SMALLER N. Smaller ; petals paler yellow and with a pointed
tip. Now less common than the preceding, but mixed with it. (T)
T. tuberdsum, TUBEROUS N. Less common ; leaves with 5 rather
deep lobes ; petals entire, orange, scarcely longer than the heavy-spurred orange-
red calyx ; tubers edible. 11
T. peregrinum, CANARY-BIRD FLOWER. Climbing high ; leaves deeply
5 - 7-lobed and cut ; spur hooked, or curved ; petals light yellow, the 2 upper
lobed, the 3 lower small and fringed. (f)
8. IMPATIENS, TOUCH-ME-NOT, JEWEL -WEED, BALSAM.
(Name from the sudden bursting of the pod when touched.) Ours are all
tender and succulent-stemmed annuals : fl. all summer.
I. pallida, PALE T. Wet ground and moist shady places, commonest N.,
l°-4° high, branched; leaves alternate, oval; flowers panicled, pale yellow
dotted with brownish-red (rarely spotless), the sac broader than long and tipped
with a short incurved spur.
I. flilva, SPOTTED T. Commoner S. ; has smaller orange-colored flowers
spotted with reddish-brown, sac longer than broad and tapering into an inflexed
spur (spots and spur rarely wanting).
I. Balsamina, GARDEN BALSAM, from India. Low, with crowded lan-
ceolate leaves, the lower opposite, a cluster of large and showy short-spurred
flowers in their axils, on short stalks, of very various shades (from white to red
and purple) ; the finer sorts full double.
28. RUTACE^E, RUE FAMILY.
Known by the transparent dots or glands (resembling punctures)
in the simple or compound leaves, containing a pungent or acrid
bitter-aromatic volatile oil ; and stamens only as many or twice as
many (or in Orange and Lemon more numerous), inserted on the
base of a receptacle (or a glandular disk surrounding it) which
82 RUE FAMILY.
sometimes elevates more or less the single compound pistil or the
2 — 5 more or less separate carpels. Leaves either opposite or alter-
nate, in ours mostly alternate, without stipules. Flowers only in
No. 2 irregular. Many species are medicinal.
§ 1. Perennial, strong-scented, hardy (exotic) herbs: flowers perfect : stamens 8 or
10: ovary 4-5-lubtd, 1-b-celled: seeds several.
1. RUT A. Sepals and petals 4 or 5, short, the latter roundish and arching. Sta-
mens twice as many as the petals. Style 1. Pod globular and many-seeded.
Leaves decompound.
2. DICTAMNUS. Sepals and petals 5; the latter long and lanceolate, on short
claws, the lower one declining, the others ascending. Stamens 10; the long
filaments declining and curved, partly glandular. Styles 5, nearly separate.
Ovary a little elevated, deeply 5-lobed, in fruit becoming 5 flattened rough-
§landular 2-3-seeded pods, each splitting when ripe into 2 valves, which
ivide into an outer and an inner layer. Leaves pinnate.
$ 2. Shrubs or trees, hardy, with polygamous, dioecious, or sometimes perfect, small
(greenish or whitish) flowers: stamens 4 or 5, as many as the petals: seeds
single or in pairs.
* Indigenous : leaves pinnate or of & leaflets, deciduous.
3. Z ANTHOXYLUM. Flowers dioecious. Pistils 2 - 5 ; their styles slightly co-
hering ; the ovaries separate, ripening into rather fleshy at length dry and
2-valved little pods. Seed black, smooth and shining. Prickly trees or
shrubs: leaves pinnate.
4. PTKLEA. Flowers polygamous. Pistil a 2-celied ovary tipped with a short
style, forming a 2-celled 2-seeded and rounded wing-fruit or samara, in shape
like that of the Elm. Not prickly: leaflets 3.
* * Exotic : leaves simple and entire, evergreen.
5. SKIMMIA. Flowers polygamous or perfect. Ovary 2 -5-celled, with a single
ovule from the top of each cell, in fruit becoming "a red berry or drupe.
§ 3. Shmbs or trees, exotic, not hardy, with sweet-scented foliage and perfect flowers,
having numerous (20-60) stamens.
6. CITRUS. Petals 4-8, usually 5, thickish. Filaments irregularly united more
or less. Ovary many-celled, encircled at the base by a conspicuous disk (see
Lessons, p. 125, fig. 281), in fruit becoming a thick-rinded many -seeded large
berry. Branches usually spiny. Leave* evergreen, apparently simple, but
with a joint between the blade and the (commonly winged or margined)
petiole, showing that the leaf is a compound one reduced to the end-leaflet.
1. RUT A, RUE. (The ancient name.) Natives of the Old World. ^
R. grav6olens, COMMON Run. Cult, in country gardens ; a bushy herb,
woody or almost shrubby at the base, with bluish-green and strongly dotted
oblong or obovate small leaflets, the terminal one broader and notched at the
end, and corymbs of greenish-yellow flowers, produced all summer ; the earliest
blossom has the parts in fives, the rest in fours. Plant very acrid, sometimes
even blistering the skin.
2. DICTAMNUS, FRAXINELLA. (Ancient Greek name.) Native of
Southern Europe. Jj.
D. Fraxin^lla. Cult, for ornament ; herb with an almost woody base,
viscid-glandular, and with a strong aromatic scent ; the leaves likened to those
of Ash on a smaller scale (whence the common name) of 9 - 13 ovate and ser-
rate leaflets ; the large flowers in a terminal raceme, in summer, in one variety
pale purple with redder veins, another white.
3. ZANTHOXYLUM, PRICKLY ASH. (Name composed of two
Greek words, meaning yellow wood.) Bark, leaves, and little fleshy pods very
pungent and aromatic.
Z. Americanum, NORTHERN P. or TOOTHACHE-TREE. Rocky woods
and banks N. ; a prickly shrub or small tree, with leaves downy when young,
of 9 - 1 1 ovate or oblong leaflets ; the greenish flowers in axillary clusters, in
QUASSIA FAMILY. 83
spring, preceding the leaves, either the sepals or petals wanting ; pistils 3-5
with slender styles ; the little pods about the size and shape of pepper-corns,
lemon-scented, 'raised from the receptacle on thickish stalks.
Z. Carolinianum, SOUTHERN P. Sandy coast S. ; a small tree, the
bark armed with warty and the leafstalks with very slender prickles, smooth,
with 7-9 ovate or lance-ovate leaflets, and whitish flowers in a terminal cyme,
in early summer, later than the leaves, with the petals and sepals both present,
3 or 2 short-styled pistils, and pods not stalked.
4. PTELEA, HOP-TREE. (The ancient Greek name for the Elm, from
the resemblance in the winged fruit.)
P. trifoliata, THREE-LEAVED H. Rocky woods from Penn. S. & W. ;
a tall shrub or small tree, with ovate pointed leaflets, and a terminal cyme of
small greenish-white unpleasantly scented flowers, in early summer ; the orbic-
ular winged fruit bitter, used as a substitute for hops.
5. SKIMMIA. (Skimmi is the name in Japan, from which country the
common species was recently introduced into ornamental cultivation.)
S. Japonica, a low quite hardy shrub, smooth, with oblong and entire
bright-green evergreen leaves croAvded on the end of the branches, which in
spring are terminated with close panicle or cluster of small and white sweet-
scented flowers, of no beauty, but followed by bright red berries which last over
winter.
6. CITRUS, CITRON, ORANGE, &c. (Ancient name for Citron.) Na-
tives of India, &c., cultivated with us only for ornament. Flowers white,
very sweet-scented, rather showy. The species or varieties are much con-
fused or mixed.
C. VUlgaris, BITTER ORANGE, with broadly winged petiole ; fruit with a
thin roughish rind and acrid bitter pulp.
C. Aurantium, SWEET ORANGE, with a very narrow wing or slight
margin to the petiole ; fruit globose, with a smooth and thin separable rind
and a sweet pulp.
Var. myrtifblia, MYRTLE-LEAVED or CHINESE ORANGE, dwarf, with
small leaves (!' - 1^' long) and small fruit, depressed or sunken at the apex.
C. Limoniuni, LEMON, with a narrow wing or margin to the petiole,
oblong and acute toothed leaves, petals commonly purplish outside, and fruit
ovoid-oblong, with adherent rind and a very acid pulp.
C. Limetta, LIME, with wingless petiole, roundish or oval serrate leaves,
and globular fruit with a firm rind and sweetish pulp.
C. Medica, CITRON (named from the country, Media), with wingless
petiole, oblong or oval acute leaves, petals purplish outside, and a large oblong
sweet-scented fruit with a very thick roughish adherent rind, and slightly acid
pulp.
29. SIMARUBACE^I, QUASSIA FAMILY.
May be regarded as Rutaceae without transparent dots in the
leaves ; here represented by a single tree, the
1. AILANTHUS, CHINESE SUMACH or TREE-OF-HEAVEN.
(Aitanto, a native name.) Flowers polygamous, small, greenish, in terminal
branched panicles, with 5 short sepals and 5 petals, 10 stamens in the sterile
flowers and feAv or none in the fertile ; the latter with 2 to 5 ovaries (their
styles lateral, united or soon separate), which in fruit become linear-oblong
thin and membranaceous veiny samaras or keys, like those of Ash on a
smaller scale, but 1 -seeded in the middle.
A. glandulbsus, the only species known here, from China, is a common
shade-tree, tall, of rapid growth, with hard wood, very long pinnate leaves, and
many obliquely lanceolate entire or sparingly sinuate leaflets ; flowers in early
summer, the staminate very ill-scented.
84 CASHEW FAMILY.
30. MELIACEJE, MELIA FAMILY.
Trees, chiefly with pinnately compound dotless leaves, stamens
twice as many as the petals and united up to or beyond the anthers
into a tube, and a several-celled ovary with a single style ; almost
all tropical, — represented in Florida and farther south by SWIETE-
NIA MAHOGANI, the MAHOGANY-TREE, and by an exotic shade-
tree at the South, viz.
1. MELIA. (Old Greek name of the Ash, transferred to a widely different
tree.) Calyx 5 - 6-parted. Petals 5 or 6, linear-spatulate. Filaments united
into a cylindrical tube with a 10- 12-cleft mouth, enclosing as many anthers.
Fruit a globose berry-like drupe, with a bony 5-celled stone, and a single seed
in each cell. Flowers in large compound panicles.
M. Azedarach, PRIDE-OF-INDIA or CHINA-TREE. A favorite shade-
tree at the S., 30° -40° high, with twice pinnate smooth leaves, ovate and
pointed toothed leaflets, of a deep green color, and numerous fragrant lilac-col-
ored flowers, in spring, succeeded by the yellowish fruil?
31. ANACARDIACEJE, CASHEW FAMILY.
Trees or shrubs, with resinous or acid, sometimes poisonous, often
colored or milky juice ; alternate leaves without stipules ; small
flowers with sepals, petals, and stamens 5 ; and a 1-celled 1-ovuled
ovary bearing 3 styles or stigmas, — represented by the genus
1. RHUS, SUMACH. (Ancient name.) Flowers polygamous or dioe-
cious, sometimes perfect, whitish or greenish, in terminal or axillary panicles.
Stamens inserted under the edge or between the lobes of a flattened disk in
the bottom of the calyx. Fruit a small dry or berry-like drupe, the solitary
seed on a curved stalk rising from the bottom of the cell. (The astringent
leaves of some species are used for dyeing and tanning, those of R. CORIA-
RIA in S. Europe for morocco leather. The juice of some Japanese species
yield their famous lacquer; the fruit of another a sort of wax.)
§ 1 . Cultivated from Europe, with simple entire leaves : not poisonous.
R. Cotinus, SMOKE-TREE or VENETIAN SUMACH. Shrub 5° - 9° high,
smooth, with obovate leaves on slender petioles, loose panicles of flowers in early
Bummer, followed rarely by little half-heart-shaped fruits : usually most of the
flowers are abortive, while their pedicels lengthen, branch, and bear long plumy
hairs, making large and light, feathery or cloud-like bunches, either greenish or
tinged with red, which are very ornamental. The same or one very like it is
wild in Alabama.
§ 2. Native species, with compound leaves of 3-31 leaflets.
# Poisonous to the touch for most people, the juice resinous : flowers in slender axil-
lary panicles, in summer : fruit smooth, white or dun-color.
R. Toxicod6ndron, POISON IVY or POISON OAK. Common in low
grounds, climbing by rootlets over rocks, &c., or ascending trees ; leaflets 3,
rhombic-ovate, often sinuate or cut-lobed, rather downy beneath. A vile pest.
fi.. venenata, POISON SCMACH, P. ELDER, or P. DOGWOOD. In swampy
ground; shrub 6° -18° high, smooth, with pinnate leaves of 7-13 obovate
entire leaflets, and very slender panicles. More virulent than the foregoing.
* * Not poisonous : fruit red and beset ivith reddish hairs, very acid.
•*- Leaves pinnate : flowers whitish, in large and very compact terminal panicles,
in early summer, succeeded by a compact mass of crimson fruit.
R. tjrphina, STAGHORN SUMACH. Shrub or tree, on hillsides, &c., 10° -
30° high, with resinous-milky juice, brownish-yellow wood, velvety-hairy
VINE FAMILY. 85
branches and stalks, and large leaves of 11 -31 lance-oblong pointed and serrate
leaflets. Worthy to be planted for ornament.
R. glabra, SMOOTH S. Shrub 2° -12° high, in rocky places, like the
last, but smooth, the leaflets whitened beneath. — Var. LACINIATA, in Penn.,
has the leaflets cut into narrow irregular lobes : planted for ornament.
R. copallina, DWARF S. Shrub l°-5° high, in rocky or sandy ground,
spreading by subterranean snoots ; with downy stalks or branches, petioles
winged or broadly margined between the 9-21 oblong or lance-ovate oblique
leaflets, which are thickish and shining above ; juice resinous.
t- f- Leaves of 3 cut-lobed leaflets: flowers light yellow, in spring before the leaves
appear, dioecious, in small scaly-bracted and catkin-like spikes.
R. aromatica, FRAGRANT S. A straggling bush in rocky places, from
Vermont W. & S., with the small rhombic-ovate leaflets pubescent when young,
aromatic-scented.
32. VITACE-3E, VINE FAMILY.
Woody plants, climbing by tendrils, with watery and often acid
juice, alternate leaves, deciduous stipules, and small greenish flow-
ers in a cyme or thyrsus ; witli a minutely 4 - 5-toothed or almost
obsolete calyx ; petals valvate in the bud and very deciduous ; the
stamens as many as the petals and opposite them ; a 2-celled ovary
with a pair of ovules rising from the base of each cell, becoming
a berry containing 1-4 bony seeds. Tendrils and flower-clusters
opposite the leaves.
1. V1TIS. Calyx ver}r short, a fleshy disk connecting it with the base of the
ovary and bearing the petals and stamens.
2. AMPKLOPSIS Calyx minutely 6-toothed : no disk. Petals expanditg
before they fall. Leaflets 5.
1. VITIS, GRAPE-VINE. (The classical Latin name.) Fl. in late spring.
§ 1. TRUE GRAPES. Petals and stamens 5, the former lightly cohering at the
top and thrown off without expanding : the base of the very short and trun-
cate calyx jilted with the disk, which rises into 5 thick lobes or glands between
the stamens : leaves simple, rounded and heart-shaped, usually 3 — 5-lobed.
* Flowers all perfect, somewhat fragrant : exotic.
V. Vinifera, EUROPEAN GRAPE. Cult, from immemorial time, from the
East, furnishing the principal grapes of our greenhouses, &c. ; some varieties
nearly hardy N. : leaves green, cottony only when very young.
* * Flowers more or less polygamous (some plants inclined to produce only stami-
nate flowers), exhaling a fragrance like that of Mignonette : native species.
•*- Bark of stem early separating in loose strips : panicles compound and loose.
V. Labrtisca, NORTHERN FOX-GRAPE, the original of the CATAWBA,
ISABELLA, and furnishing most of the American table and wine grapes ; com-
mon in moist grounds N. & W. : leaves and young shoots very cottony, even
the adult leaves retaining the cottony wool underneath, the lobes separated by
roundish sinuses ; fruit large, with a tough musky pulp when wild, dark
purple or amber-color, in compact clusters.
v. SBStivalis, SUMMER GRAPE. Common N. & S. ; leaves green above,
and with loose cobwebby down underneath, the lobes with roundish open
sinuses ; clusters slender ; fruit smaller and earlier than in the foregoing, black
with a bloom, pleasant. Original of the CLINTON GRAPE, &c.
V. COrdif61ia, WINTER or FROST GRAPE. Common on banks of streams •.
leaves never cottony, green both sides, thin, heart-shaped, little lobed, but coarse-
ly and sharply toothed ; clusters loose ; fruit small, bluish or black with a
bloom, very sour, ripe after frosts. Var. RIP\RIA, the common form along
river-banks W. has broader and more cut or lobed leaves.
86 BUCKTHORN FAMILY.
•»- t- Bark of stem close and smooth, pale.
V. yulpina, MUSCADINE, BULLACE, or FOX-GRAPE of the South. River-
banks from Maryland and Kentucky S. : leaves rather small, round in outline,
seldom and slightly lobed, glossy and mostly smooth both sides, the margin cut
into coarse and broad teeth ; clusters small ; fruit large, £' - 1' in diameter,
purple, thick-skinned, musky, or pleasant-flavored, ripe in early autumn : the
original of the SCCPPERNONO GRAPE, &c.
§ 2. Cissus. Petals and stamens 4 or 5, the former opening regularly: disk
thick and broad, 4 — 5-lobed : Jlowers mostly perfect : berries not larger than
peas, not eatable.
* Wild species S. 8f W., smooth, usually with 5 stamens and petals.
V. indivisa, a species with simple leaves like those of a true Grape, heart-
shaped or ovate, pointed, coarsely-toothed, but not lobed ; flower-clusters small
and loose ; style slender.
V. bipinnata, a bushy or low-climbing plant, with few tendrils, and de-
compound leaves, tne small leaflets cut-toothed.
* * Exotic species, with mostly 4 stamens and petals.
V. heterophyila, from Japan, a form with the leaves blotched or varie-
gated with white (small, thin, variously 3-5-lobed), and small blue berries, is
hardy in gardens ; cult, for the variegated foliage.
V. discolor, from Java, cult, in hothouses, for its splendid foliage ; leaves
lance-oblong with a heart-shaped base, crimson underneath, velvety -lustrous
and dark-green shaded with purple or violet, or often mottled with white, on the
upper surface, the shoots reddish.
2. AMPELOPSIS, VIRGINIA-CREEPER. (Name from Greek words,
meaning like the Vine : indeed, it is hardly distinct enough from the second
section of Vitis.)
A. quinquefdlia, the only genuine species : in all low grounds, climbing
extensively, sometimes by rootlets as well as by the tendrils, the latter specially
fitted for ascending walls and trunks, to which' they attach themselves firmly by
sucker-like disks at the tip of their branches (Lessons, p. 38, figs. 62, 63) ; leaf-
lets 5, digitate, lance-oblong, cut-toothed, changing to crimson in autumn ;
flowers cymose, in summer ; berries small, black or bluish.
33. RHAMNACE^E, BUCKTHORN FAMILY.
Shrubs or trees, of bitterish and astringent properties, with simpk
chiefly alternate leaves and small flowers ; well marked by the sta-
mens of the number of the valvate sepals (4 or 5) and alternate
with them, i. e. opposite the petals, inserted on a disk which lines
the calyx-tube and often unites it with the base of the ovary, this
having a single erect ovule in each of the (2 - 5) cells. Branches
often thorny : stipules minute or none : flowers often apetalous or
polygamous. Petals commonly hooded or involute around the sta-
rnen before it. (Lessons, p. 126, fig. 282, 283.)
* Calyx free from the ovary.
1. BERCHEMIA. Twining climbers, with straight-veined leaves. Petals 5, with-
out claws, rather longer than the stamens. Disk thick, nearly filling the bot-
tom of the calyx. Ovary 2-celled, becoming a 2-celled small stone-fruit, with
Surple and thin pulp.
AMNUS. Erect shrubs or trees, with loosely-veined leaves. Petals 4 or 5
with short claws. Stamens short. Ovary 2-4-celled, bjcotning a black
berry-like fruit, containing 2-4 cartilaginous seed-like nutlets, which are
grooved on the back, as is the contained seed. Cotyledons foliaceou?.
3. FRANGULA. Like Rhamnus, but with straight- veined leaves ; the nutlet*
not grooved but convex on the back : cotyledons thick.
STAFF-TREE FAMILY. 87
* « Calyx with the disk coherent with the. bate of the ovary and fruit.
4. CEANOTHUS. Erect or depressed shrubs or undershrubs. Petals 5, hood-
shaped, spreading, their claws and the filaments slender. Ovary 3-celled,
when ripe becoming a cartilaginous or crustaceous 3-seeded pod.
1. BERCHEMIA, SUPPLE-JACK. (Probably named for some botanist
of the name of Berchem. )
B. VOltlbilis. Common in low grounds S., climbing high trees, smooth,
with very tough and lithe stems (whence the popular name), small oblong-
ovate ami simply parallel-veined leaves, and greenish-white flowers in small
panicles terminating the branchlets, in early summer.
2. RHAMNUS, BUCKTHORN. (The ancient name.) Flowers green-
ish, axillary, mostly in small clusters, commonly polygamous or dioecious, in
early summer. Berry-like fruit mawkish.
* Flowers with petals, the parts in fours : leaves minutely serrate.
R. catharticus, COMMON BUCKTHORN. Cult, from Eu., for hedges,
run wild in a few places ; forms a small tree, with thorny branchlets, ovate or
oblong leaves, and 3 - 4-seeded fruit.
R. lanceolatus, NARROAV-LEAVED B. Wild from Penn. S. & W. ; shrub
not thorny, with lanceolate or oblong leaves, and 2-seeded fruit.
* * Flowers without petals : stamens and lobes of the calyx 5.
R. alnifdlius, ALDER-LEAVED B. Wild in cold swamps N. ; a low shrub,
with oval acute serrate leaves, and 3-seeded berry-like fruit.
3. FRANGULA, ALDER-BUCKTHORN. (From/ra^o, to break, the
stems brittle.) Flowers greenish, generally perfect, and the parts in fives.
F. Caroliniana. Wild in wet grounds, from New Jersey and Kentucky
S. ; a thornless shrub or low tree, with oblong and almost entire rather large
leaves ; flowers solitary or in small clusters in the axils, in early summer ; the
3-seeded fruit black.
4. CEANOTHUS. (An ancient name, of unknown meaning, applied to
these N. American plants.) Flowers in little umbels or fascicles, usually
clustered in dense bunches or panicles, handsome, the calyx and even the
pedicels colored like the petals and stamens. Ours are low undershrubby
plants, with Avhite flowers. In and beyond the Rocky Mountains, especially
in California, are many species, some of them tall shrubs or small trees,
loaded with showy blossoms.
C. Americanus, NEW -JERSEY TEA or RED-ROOT. Wild in dry grounds,
l°-2° high from a dark red root; leaves ovate or oblong ovate, finely serrate,
downy beneath, 3-ribbed and veiny, deciduous (used as a substitute for tea in
early times, the use lately revived) ; flowers crowded in a dense slender-pedun-
cled cluster, in summer.
C. ovalis. Wild on rocks N. from Vermont to Wisconsin : lower than the
preceding and smoother, with smaller narrow-oval or lance-oblong leaves, and
larger flowers on a shorter peduncle, in spring.
C. microph^llus, SMALL-LEAVED C. Dry barrens S. : low and spread-
ing, much branched ; leaves evergreen, very small, obovate, 3-ribbed ; flower-
clusters small and simple, in spring.
34. CELASTRACE-2E, STAFF-TREE FAMILY.
Shrubs, sometimes twining, with simple leaves, minute and decid-
uous stipules or none, and small flowers with sepals and petals
both imbricated in the bu;l, and stamens of the number of the latter,
alternate with them, and in-erted on a disk which fills the bottom
of the calyx and often covers the 2-5-celled few-ovuled ovary ; the
seeds usually furnished with or enclosed in a fleshy or pulpy aril.
88 SOAPBERRY FAMILY.
Represented both as to native and cultivated plants by two
genera :
1. CELASTRUS. Flowers polygamous or dioecious. Petals and stamens 5, on the
edge of a concave disk which lines the bottom of the calyx. Filaments and
style rather slender. Pod globular, berry-like, but dry. "Leaves alternate.
2. EUONYMUS. Flowers perfect, flat; the calyx-lobes and petals (4 or 5) widely
spreading. Stamens mostly with short filaments or almost sessile anthers,
borne on the surface of a flat disk which more or less conceals or covers
the ovary. Pod 3-5-lobed, generally bright-colored. Leaves opposite:
branchlets 4-sided.
1. CELASTRUS, STAFF-TREE. (Old Greek name, of obscure mean-
ing and application.)
C. scandens, CLIMBING BITTER-SWEET or WAX-WORK. A twining
high-climbing shrub, smooth, with thin ovate-oblong and pointed finely serrate
leaves, racemes of greenish-white flowers (in early summer) terminating the
branches, the petals serrate or crenate-toothed, and orange-colored berry-like
pods in autumn, which open apd display the seeds enclosed in their scarlet
pulpy aril : wild in low grounds, and planted for the showy fruit.
2. EUONYMUS, SPINDLE-TREE. (Old Greek name, means of good
repute.) Shrubs not twining, with dull-colored inconspicuous flowers, in small
cymes on axillary peduncles, produced in early summer ; the pods in autumn
ornamental, especially when they open and display the seeds enveloped in
their scarlet pulpy aril.
# Leaves deciduous, finely serrate: style short or nearly none.
•*- North American species : anthers sessile or nearly so.
E. atropurpureus, BURNING-BUSH or SPINDLE-TREE. Tall shrub, wild
from New York W. & S., and commonly planted ; with oval or oblong petioled
leaves, flowers with rounded dark dull-purple petals (generally 4), and smooth
deeply 4-lobed red fruit, hanging on slender peduncles.
E. Americanus, AMERICAN STRAWBERRY-BUSH. Low shrub, wild
from New York W. & S., and sometimes cult. ; with thickish ovate or lance-
ovate almost sessile leaves, usually 5 greenish-purple rounded petals, and rough-
warty somewhat 3-lobed fruit, crimson when ripe. Var. OBOVATUS, with
thinner and dull obovate or oblong leaves, has long and spreading or trailing
and rooting branches.
•*- •+- Exotic : anthers rais
E. Europaeus, EUROPEAN SPINDLE-TREE. Occasionally planted, but
inferior to the foregoing ; a rather low shrub, with lance-ovate or oblong short-
petioled leaves, about 3-flowered peduncles, 4 greenish oblong petals, and a
smooth 4-lobed red fruit, the aril orange-color.
* * Leaves evergreen, serrulate : filaments and style rather slender.
E. Jap6nicus, JAPAN S. Planted S. under the name of CHINESE Box,
there hardy, but is a greenhouse plant N. ; has obovate shining and bright
green leaves (also a form with white or yellowish variegation), several-flowered
peduncles, 4 obovate whitish petals, and smooth globular pods.
35. SAPINDACE^l, SOAPBERRY FAMILY.
Trees, shrubs, or one or two herbaceous climbers, mostly with
compound or lobed leaves, and unsymmetrical flowers, the stamens
sometimes twice as many as the petals or lobes of the calyx, but
commonly rather fewer, when of equal number alternate with the
petals ; these imbricated in the bud, inserted on a disk in the bottom
of the calyx and often coherent with it : ovary 2 - 3-celled, sometimes
2 -3-lobed, with 1-3 (or in Staphylea several) ovules in each cell*
The common plants belong to the three following suborders.
SOAPBERRY FAMILY. 89
I. BLADDER-NUT FAMILY ; has perfect and regular
flowers, stamens as many as the petals, several bony seeds with
a straight embryo in scanty albumen, and opposite compound leaves
both stipulate and stipellate.
1. STAPHYLEA. Erect sepals, petals, and stamens 5; the latter borne on the
margin of a fleshy disk which lines the bottom of the calyx. Styles 3, slen-
der, separate or lightly cohering: ovary strongly 3-lobed, in fruit becoming
a bladdery 3-lobed 3-celled and several-seeded large pod. Shrubs, with pin-
nately compound leaves of 3 or 5 leaflets.
II. SOAPBERRY FAMILY PROPER; has flowers often
polygamous or dioecious, and more or less irregular or unsymmetri-
cal. only 1 or 2 ovules, ripening but a single seed in each cell of
the ovary, the embryo coiled or curved, without albumen. No
stipules.
* Leaves alternate. Pod bladdery-inflated, except in No. 4.
2. CARDIOSPKRMUM. Herbs, with twice ternate and cut-toothed leaves, climb-
ing by hook-like tendrils in the flower-clusters. Sepals 4, the inner pair
larger. Petals 4, each with an appendage on the inner face, that of the two
upper large and petal-like, of the two lower crest-like and with a deflexed
spur or process, raised on a claw. Disk irregular, enlarged into two glands,
one before each lower petal. Stamens 8, turned towards the upper side of
the flower away from the glands, the filaments next to them shorter. Styles
or stigmas 3, short: ovary triangular, 3-celled, with a. single ovule rising from
the middle of each cell. Fruit a large and thin bladdery 3-lobed pod: seeds
bony, globose, with a scale-like heart-shaped aril adherent to the base.
3. KCELRKIJTKRIA. Small tree, with pinnate leaves. Sepals 5. Petals 3 or 4
(the place of the others vacant), each with a small 2-parted scale-like appen-
dage attached to its claw. Disk enlarging into a lobe before each petal.
Stamens 5 - 8. declined: filaments hairy. Style single, slender: ovary trian-
gular, 3-celled, with a pair of ovules in each cell. Pod bladdery, 3-lobed,
3-celled.
4. SAPIXDUS. Trees, with abruptly pinnate leaves. Sepals and petals each 5,
or rarely 4; the latter commonly with a little scale or appendage adhering to
the short claw. Stamens mostly 8, equal. Style single: ovary 3-lobed,
3-celled, with a single ovule in each cell. Fruit mostly a globular and fleshy
1-celled berry (the other cells abortive), filled with a large globular seed, its
coat crustaceous : cotyledons thick and fleshy.
# * Leases opfwsite, o/"5 - 9 digitate leaflets. Pod leathery, not inflated.
6. ^ESCULUS. Trees oj- shrubs. Calyx 5-lobed or 5-toothed. Petals 4 or 5,
more or less unequal, on claws enclosed in the calyx, not appendaged. Sta-
mens 7, rarely 6 or 8: filaments slender, often unequal. Style single, as
also the minute stigma: ovary 3-celled, with a pair of ovules in each cell.
Fruit a leathery pod, splitting' at maturity into 3 valves, ripening 1 -3 very
large, chestnut-like, hard-coated seeds : the kernel of these consists of the very
thick cotyledons firmly joined together, and a small incurved radicle.
III. MAPLE FAMILY ; has flowers generally polygamous
or dioecious, and sometimes apetalous, a mostly 2-lobed and 2-celled
ovary, with a pair of ovules in each cell, ripening a single seed
in each cell of the winged fruit. Embryo with long and thin coty-
ledons, coiled or crumpled. (See Lessons, p. o, fig. 1—3, &c.)
Leaves opposite : no stipules.
6. ACER. Trees, or a few only shrubs, with palmately-lobed or even parted leaves.
Calyx mostly 5-cleft. Petals as many or none, and stamens 3 - 8 or rarely
more, borne 'on the edge of the disk." Styles or stigmas 2, slender. Fruit
a pair of samaras or key-fruits, united at the base or inner face and winged
from the back. Occasionally the ovary is 3-celled and the fruit 3-winged.
7. NEGUNDO. Trees, with pinnate leaves of 3 - 7 leaflets, and dio3cious very
small flowers, without petals or disk; the calyx minute: ijtamens 4 or 5-
Fruit, &c. of Acer. CT ie
90 SOAPBERRY FAMILY.
1. STAPHYLEA, BLADDER-NUT. (Name from a Greek word for a
bunch of grapes, little applicable.)
S. trifdlia, AMERICAN B. Shrub 8° -10° high, with greenish striped
branches, 3 ovate pointed serrate leaflets, deciduous stipules, and hanging
raceme-like clusters of white flowers at the end of the branchlets of the season,
in spring, followed by the large bladdery pods. Low ground, common N. & W.
S. pinnata, EUROPEAN B., occasionally planted, is very similar, but has
five leaflets.
2. CARDIOSPERMUM, BALLOON- VINE, HEART-SEED. (The
latter is a translation of the Greek name.)
C. Halicacabum, the common species, wild in the S. W. States, is cult.
in gardens, for the curious inflated pods ; it is a delicate herb, climbing over
low plants or spreading on the ground, with small white flowers, in summer.
3. KCELREUTERIA. (Named for Kcelreuter, a German botanist.)
K. paniculata, a small tree from China, planted in ornamental grounds ;
has pinnate leaves of iiumerous thin and coarsely toothed or cut leaflets, and a
terminal ample branched panicle of small yellow flowers, in summer, followed
by the bladdery pods.
4. SAPINDUS, SOAPBERRY.' (Sapo Indus, i. e. Indian soap, the berries
used as a substitute for soap.)
S. marginatUS, wild S. & W. : a small tree, with 8-20 broadly lanceolate
falcate leaflets on a wingless but often margined common staik, and small white
flow.ers in panicles, in summer, the whitish berries as large as bullets.
5. ^ESCULUS, HORSE-CHESTNUT, BUCKEYE. (Ancient name
of an Oak or other mast-bearing tree, applied to these trees on account of
their large chestnut-like seeds. These, although loaded with farinaceous
nourishment, are usually rendered uneatable, and even poisonous, by a bitter
narcotic principle.) Flowers in a terminal crowded panicle, in late spring or
early summer.
§ 1. TRUE HORSE-CHESTNUTS : natives of Asia, with broad and spreading
petals on short claws, and fruit more or less beset with prickhj jtoints.
JB. Hippocastanum, COJIMON H. Tall fine tree, with 7 leaflets, and
large flowers of 5 petals, white, and spotted with some purple and yellowish ;
stamens 7, declined : of late there is a double-flowered variety. •
.3D. rubiciinda, RED H. Less tall, flowering even as a shrub, with
brighter green leaves of 5-7 leaflets, flowers with 4 rose-red petals not so
spreading, and mostly 8 stamens less declined. Probably a hybrid between
Horse-Chestnut and some red Buckeye.
§ 2. Califomian, with 4 broad spreading petals on rather slendej' claws.
7R. Californica, CALIFORNIAN H. Low tree, of 5 slender-stalked leaf-
lets, and a long very compact raceme-like panicle of small white or rosy-tinged
flowers ; stamens 5-7, slender ; fruit large, with some rough points.
§ 3. BUCKEYES : of Atlantic U. S., with 4 erect and smaller petals on slender claws.
JE. parvifl6ra, SMALL BUCKEYE. Wild in the upper country S., and
planted N. ; shrub 3° - 9° high, with 5-7 leaflets soft downy underneath, slen-
der raceme-like panicle 1° long, and capillary stamens very much longer than
the narrow white petals ; flowering N. as late as midsummer ; fruit smooth ;
seeds small, almost eatable.
7R1. glabra, FETID or OHIO BUCKEYE. W. of the Alleghanies ; tall
tree, with 5 nearly smooth leaflets, a short panicle, stamens moderately longer
than the somewhat uniform pale yellow petals, and fruit prickly roughened like
that of Horse-Chestnut.
&j. flava, YELLOW or SWEET BUCKEYE. W. & S. ; tree or shrub, with
5-7 smooth or smoothish leaflets, a short dense panicle, oblong calyx, and
SOAPBERRY FAMILY. 91
stamens not exceeding the connivent light yellow petals, these of two dissimilar
pairs, the longer pair with very small blade ; fruit smooth.
Var. purpurascens, PURPLISH B., has both calyx and corolla tinged
with purple or reddish, and leaflets generally downy underneath.
JE. Pavia, RED BUCKEYE. S. & W. ; shrub or low tree, like the last,
but leaves generally smooth ; the longer and tubular calyx and the petals bright
red : showy in cultivation.
6. ACER, MAPLE. (The classical Latin name.) Mostly fine trees.
* Flowers in fate spring or early summer, appearing more or less later than the
leaves, in usually drooping racemes or corymbs, commonly terminating a
2 - 4-leaved shoot of the season, greenish or yellowish, with petals : stamens
more than 5, generally 8.
•*- EUROPEAN MAPLES, planted for ornament and shade.
A. Pseudo-PlatanilS, SYCAMORE M. A fine tree, with spreading
branches, ample 5-lobed leaves whitish and rather downy beneath, on long
reddish petioles, the lobes toothed, long racemes, and moderately spreading
wings to the pubescent fruit.
A. platanoides, NORWAY M., here so called. A handsome, round-
headed tree, with thin and broad smooth leaves, bright green both sides, their
5 short lobes set with 2-5 coarse and taper-pointed teeth, a small corymb of
flowers, and flat smooth fruit with wings 2' long, diverging in a straight line.
Juice milky • leaves holding green later than the others.
•*- •«- OREGON and CALIFORNIAN MAPLES, beginning to be planted East.
A. circinatum, ROUND-LEAVED or VINE M. Tall, spreading shrub with
thin and rounded moderately 7 - 9-lobed leaves, their lobes serrate, small corymbs
of purplish flowers, and wings of fruit diverging in a straight line.
A. macroph^Hum, LARGE-LEAVED M. Small timber-tree, with thick-
ish leaves 6'- 12' across and deeply 5 - 7-lobed, the lobes with one or two sinuate
lobes or coarse teeth, many yellowish flowers in a compact raceme, and hairy
fruit with ascending wings.
•*-•»- -i- NATIVE STRIPED and MOUNTAIN MAPLES.
A. spicatum, MOUNTAIN M. Tall shrub, common N., with slightly 3-
lobed and coarsely toothed leaves downy beneath, and upright dense racemes of
small flowers, followed by small fruits with diverging narrow wings. The latest-
flowering species.
A. Pennsylvanicum, STRIPED M., also called MOOSE-WOOD and
STRIPED DOGWOOD. Small tree, common N., with light-green bark striped
with darker lines, large thin leaves finely sharply serrate all round, and at the
end with 3 short and very taper-pointed lobes, slender hanging racemes of rather
large green flowei-s, and fruit with diverging wings.
* # SUGAR MAPLES. Flowers appearing with the leaves in spring, in umbel-
like clusters, on long drooping pedicels, greenish-yellow, icithout petals : sta-
mens 7 or 8.
A. saccharinum, ROCK or SUGAR M. Large tree, common especially
N., valuable for timber and for the sugar of its sap ; with rather deeply 3 - 5-
lobed leaves pale or whitish beneath, the sinuses open and rounded, and the lobes
with one or two sinuate coarse teeth ; calyx bell-shaped and hairy-fringed ;
wings of fruit ascending, barely 1' long.
Var. nigrum, BLACK SUGAR M., a form with leaves green or greener
and more or less downy beneath, even when old, the sinus at the base apt to be
deep and narrow.
* * * SOFT MAPLES. Flmvers. in earliest spring, much preceding the leaves, in
umbel-like clusters from separate lateral buds : pedicels at first short, the
fruiting ones lengthening and drooping : stamens 3 — 6 : fruit ripe and fall-
ing in early summer.
A. dasycarpum, WHITB or SILVER M. A handsome tree in low
grounds, with long and spreading or drooping branches, soft white wood, very
92 POLYGALA FAMILY.
deeply 5-lobed leaves silvery-white and when young downy beneath, the narrow
lolx'S coarsely cut and toothed ; flowers greenish, in earliest spring, without
petals ; fruit -woolly when young, but soon smooth, 2' - 3' long including the
great diverging wings.
A. rubrum, RED or SWAMP M. Rather small tree, in Avet grounds,
with soft white wood, reddish twigs, moderately 3 - 5-lobed leaves whitish be-
neath, the middle lobe longest, ail irregularly serrate ; flowers scarlet, crimson,
or sometimes yellowish (later than in the foregoing species) ; fruit smooth, with
the slightly spreading wings lf or less in length, often reddish.
7. NEGUNDO, ASH-LEAVED MAPLE, BOX-ELDER. (Obscure
or unmeaning name.)
N. aceroides. A handsome, rather small tree, common from Penn. S.
& W., with light green twigs, and drooping clusters of small greenish flowers,
in spring, rather earlier than the leaves, the fertile ones in drooping racemes,
the oblong fruits half the length of the very veiny wing; leaflets ovate, pointed,
coarsely toothed, very veiny. A variety with white-variegated leaves is lately
cult, for ornament.
36. POLYGALACE./E, POLYGALA FAMILY.
Bitter, some of them medicinal plants, represented mainly, and
here wholly, by the genus
1. POLYGALA, MILK WORT. ( Name from Greek words, meaning much
milk; but the plants have no milky juice at all; they arc thought to have
been so named from a notion that in pasturage they increased the milk of
cows.) Flowers remarkably irregular, in outward appearance as if papiliona-
ceous like those of the next family, but really of a quite different structure.
Calyx persistent, of 5 sepals ; three of them small, viz. Avo on the lower, and
one on the upper, side of the blossom ; and one on each side called wings which
are larger, colored, and would be taken for petals. Within these, on the
lower side, are three petals united into one body, the middle one keel-shaped
and often bearing a crest or appendage. Stamens 8 or sometimes 6 ; their
filaments united b?lo\v into a" split sheath, separating above usually in two
equal sets, concealed in the hooded middle petal : anthers 1 -celled, opening bv
a hole at the top. Style curved and commonly enlarged above or variously
irregular. Ovary 2-celled, with a single ovule hanging from the top of each
cell, becoming a small flattish 2-seeded pod. Seed with an appendage at the
attachment (caruncle) : embryo straight, with flat cotyledons in a little albu-
men. Leaves simple, entire, without stipules. Our native species are nu-
merous, mostly with small or even minute flowers, and are rather difficult to
study. The following are the commonest.
§ 1. Native species, low herbs, mostly smooth.
# Flowers yellow, some turning green in drying, in dense spikes or heads : leaves
alternate. Growing in low or wet places in pine-barrens, S. E. Fl. summer.
•»- Numerous short spikes or heads in a corymb.
P. cym6sa. Stem l°-3° high, branching at top into a compound corymb
of spikes ; leaves linear, acute, the uppermost small ; no caruncle to the seed.
From North Carolina S.
P. ram6sa. Stem 6' - 12' high, more branched ; lowest leaves obovate or
spatulate, upper ones lanceolate ; a caruncle at base of seed. Delaware and S.
t- H- Short and thick spike or head single : root-leaves clustered.
P. liltea, YELLOW BACHELOR'S-BUTTON of S. Stem 5' - 12' high ; lower
leaves spatulate or obovate, upper lanceolate ; flowers bright orange.
P. nana. Stems 2' - 4' high, in a cluster from the spatulate or linear root-
leaves ; flowers lighter yellow.
* * Flowers purple or rose-color, in a singJe dense spike terminating the stem or
branches: no subterranean Jlowers. Fl. all summer. ®
POLYGALA FAMILY. 93
•*- Leaves all alternate, narrow.
P. inearnata. From Pcnn. W. £ S. ; stem slender, 6'- 12' high ; leaves
minute and awl-shaped ; the three united petals extended below into a long and
.slender tube, the crest of the middle one conspicuous.
P. sanguinea. Sandy damp ground : stem 4' - 8' high, leafy to the top ;
leaves oblong-linear; flowers bright rose-purple (sometimes pale or even white),
in a thick globular at length oblong head or spike, without pedicels.
P. fastigiata. Pine-barrens from New Jersey S. ; slender, 4' - 10' high,
with smaller narrow-linear leaves, and oblong dense spike of smaller rose-purple
flowers, on pedicels as long as the pod ; bracts falling off.
P. Nuttallii. Sandy soil, from coast of Mass. S. ; lower than the fore-
going ; flowers rather looser in more cylindrical spikes, greenish-purple ; awl-
shaped bracts remaining on the axis after the flowers or fruits have fallen.
•*- -»— Leaves all or all the lower ones in whorls of four.
P. cruciata. Low grounds : stems 3' - 10' high, 4-angled, and with spread-
ing branches ; leaves linear or spatulate, mostly in fours ; spike thick and short,
nearly sessile, its axis rough with persistent bracts where the flowers have fallen ;
wings of the floAver broad-ovate or heart-shaped, bristly-pointed.
P. brevifblia. Sandy bogs from Rhode Island S. : differs from the last
only in more slender stems, narrower leaves, those on the branches alternate,
the spike stalked, and wings of the floAver lance-ovate and nearly pointless.
* *- * Flowers (all summer) greenish-white or scarcely tinged with purple, very
small, in slender spikes, none subterranean : leaves linear, the lower in
whorls of four or jive. (T)
P. verticillata. Very common in diy sterile soil; stem 5' -10' high,
much branched ; all the leaves of the main stem whorled.
P. ambigua. In similar places and very like the last, chiefly S. & W.,
more slender; only the lowest leaves whorled; flowers more scattered and often
purplish-tinged, in long-peduncled spikes.
* # * * Flowers white, small (in late spring) in a close spike terminating simple
tit/led stems which rise from a perennial root, none subterranean : leaves
numerous, all alternate. 11
P. S6nega, SENECA SXAKEROOT. A medicinal plant, commoner W.,
5'- 12' high, with lanceolate or oblong, or even lance-ovate short leaves, cylin-
drical spike, round obovate Avings, and small crest.
P. alba. Common only far W. & S. W. ; more slender than the last, with
narroAv-linear leaves, more tapering long-peduncled spike, and oval Avings.
***** Flowers rose-purple in a raceme, or single, largish : leaves alternate.
P. grandifl6ra. Dry soil S. ; pubescent, Avith branching stems 1° high,
lanceolate leaves, crestless floAvers scattered in a loose raceme (in late summer),
bright purple turning greenish. 2/
P. polygama. Sandy barrens, Avith tufted and very leafy stems 5' -8'
high, linear-oblong or oblanceolate leaves, and many-floAvered racemes of hand-
some rose-purple floAvers, their crest conspicuous ; also on short underground
runners are some Avhitish very fertile floAvers Avith no evident corolla. Fl. all
summer. @
P. paucif61ia, FRIXGED POLYGALA, sometimes called FLOWERING Wix-
TERGREEX. Light soil in Avoods, chiefly N. : a delicate little plant, with stems
3' — 4' high, rising from long and slender runners or subterranean shoots, on
Avhich are concealed inconspicuous fertile floAvers ; leaves few and croAvded at
the summit, ovate, petioled, some of them Avith a slender-peduncled showy
floAver from the axil, of delicate rose-red color (rarely a Avhite variety), almost an
inch long, Avith a conspicuous fringed crest and only 6 stamens ; in spring. ^
§ 2. Shrubby species of the conservatory, from the Cape of Good Hope.
P. oppositifdlia, Avith opposite sessile heart-shaped and mucronate leaves,
of a pale hue, and large and shoAAry purple floAvers, with a tufted crest.
P. myrtifblia, has croAvded alternate oblong or obovate leaves, on short
petioles, and shoAvy purple floAvers 1 ' long, Avith a tufted crest.
94 PULSE FAMILY.
37. LEGUMINOS^E, PULSE FAMILY.
Distinguished by the papilionaceous corolla (Lessons, p. 105, fig.
217, 218), usually accompanied by 10 monadelphous or diadelphous
or rarely distinct stamens (Lessons, p. 112, fig. 227, 228), and the
legume (Lessons, p. 131, fig. 303, 304). These characters are com-
bined in the proper Pulse Family. In the two other great divisions
the corolla becomes less papilionaceous or wholly regular. Alternate
leaves, chiefly compound, entire leaflets, and stipules are almost uni-
versal in this great order.
I. PULSE FAMILY PROPER. Flower (always on the plan
of 5, and stamens not exceeding 10) truly papilionaceous, i. e. the
standard outside of and in the bud enwrapping the other petals, or
only the standard present in Amorpha. (For the terms used to
denote the parts of this sort of corolla see Lessons, p. 105.) Sepals
united more or less into a tube or cup. Leaves never twice com-
pound.
A» Stamens monadelphous or diadelphous.
§ 1. Herbs, shrubs, or one a small tree, never twining, trailing, nor tendril-bearing,
witft leaves simple or of 3 or more digitate leaflets, monadelphous stamens, and
the alternate Jive anthers differing in size and shape from the other Jive: pod
usually several-seeded.
1. LUPINUS. Leaves of several leaflets, in one species simple : stipules adherent
to the base of the petiole. Flowers in a long thick raceme. Calyx deeply
2-lipped. Corolla of peculiar shape, the sides of the rounded standard being
rolled backwards, and the wings lightly cohering over and enclosing the nar-
row and incurved scythe-shaped or sickle-shaped keel. Pod flat. Mostly
herbs.
2. CROTALARIA. Leaves in our species simple, and with foliaceous stipules
free from the petiole but running down on the stem. Calyx 5-lobed. Keel
scythe-shaped, pointed. Stamens with the tube of filaments split down on
the upper side. Pod inflated. Ours herbs.
3. GENISTA. Leaves simple and entire: stipules very minute or none. Calyx
5-cleft. Keel oblong, nearly straight, blunt, turned down when the flower
opens. Pod mostly Hat. Low shrubby plants.
4. CY1ISUS. Leaves of one or three leaflets, or the green branches sometimes
leafless: stipules minute or wanting. Calyx 2-lipped or 5-toothed. Keel
straight or somewhat curved, blunt, soon turned down. Style incurved or
even coiled up after the flower opens. Pod flat. Seeds with a fleshy or
scale-like appendage (strophiole) at the scar. Low shrubby plants.
6. LABURNUM. Leaves of three leaflets: stipules inconspicuous or wanting.
Calyx with 2 short lips, the upper lip notched. Keel incurved, not pointed.
Ovary and flat pod somewhat stalked in the calyx. Seeds naked at the scar.
Trees or shrubs, with golden yellow flowers in long hanging racemes.
$ 2. Herbs, never twining nor tendril-bearing, with leaves of 3 lenjlets (rarely more
but then digitate), their margins commmly more or less toothed (uiiich is
remarkable in this family): stipules conspicuous and united with the base of the
petiole (Lessons, p. 69, rig. 136): stamens diadelphous: pod I -few-seeded,
never divided across into joints.
* Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate, as is seen by the end leaflet being jointed with the com-
mon petiole above 'the side leaflets.
6. TRIGONELLA. Herbage odorous. Flowers (in the common cult, species)
single and nearly sessile in the axil of the leaves. Pod elongated, oblong or
linear, tapering into a long-pointed apex.
7. MED1CAGO. Flowers small, in spikes, heads, &c. Corolla short, not united
with the tube of stamens. Pod curved or coiled up, at least kidney-shaped.
8. MEL1LOTUS. Herbage sweet-scented. Flowers small, in slender racemes.
Corolla as in Medicago. Pod small, but exceeding the calyx, globular,
wrinkled, closed, 1 - 2-seeded.
PULSE FAMILY. 95
* * Leaves mostly digitate or pnlmately 3-foliolate, all (with one exception) borne
direttly on the apex of the common petiole.
9. TRIFOLIUM. Flowers in heads, spikes, or head-like umbels. Calyx with
slender or bristle-form teetli or lobes. Corolla slowly withering or becoming
dry and permanent after flowering; the claws of all the petals (except some-
times the standard) more or less united below with the tube of stamens or
also with each other. Pod small and thin single - few-seeded, generally in-
cluded in the calyx or the persistent corolla.
$ 3. Serbs or tcoody plants, sometimes twining, never tendril bearing, with the leaves
not digitate, or even diyitately 3-foliolate (except in Psoralea), and the leaflets
not tovtfied. (For Cicer see the next section.) Stipules except in No. 15, 20,|,
and 27, not united witii the petiole.
* Flowers (small, in spikes or heads) indistinctly or imperfectly papilionaceous. Pod
very small and usually remaining cfostd, only 1 - 2-seeded. Calyx 5-tootlied,
persistent. Leaves odd-pinnate, -iwnstty dotted witfi dark spots or y Lands.
•*- Petals 5, on very slender claws : stamens monadelphous in a split tube.
10. PETALOSTEMON. Herbs, with crowded leaves. Four petals similar, spread-
ing, borne on the top of the tube of the stamens; the fifth (answering to the
standard) rising from the bottom of the calyx, and heart-shaped or oblong.
Stamens only 5.
11. DALEA. Herbs, as to our species. Flowers as in the last, but rather more
papilionaceous, four of the petals borne on the middle of the tube of 10
stamens.
•«- •*- Petal only one ! Stamens monadelphous only at the very base.
12. AMORPHA. Shrubs, with leaves of many leaflets. Standard (the other pet-
als wholly wanting) wrapped around the 10 filaments and style. Flowers
violet or purple, in single or clustered terminal spikes.
* # Flowers (large, andshowy, in racemes) incompletely papilionaceous from the icings
or the keel also being small and inconspicuous. Pod several-seeded.
30. ERYTHRINA. See p. 108.
* * # Flowers obviously papilionaceous, all the parts conspicuously present. Stamens
mostly diadelphous.
•«- Ovary \-ovuled, becoming a 1-seeded indehiscent akene-like fruit. Herbs.
13. PSORALEA. Leaves of 3 or 5 leaflets, often glandular-dotted. Flowers (never
yellow) in spikes or racemes, often 2 or 3 under each bract. Pod ovate,
thick, included or partly so in the 5-cleft persistent calyx, often wrinkled.
14. ONOBRYCHIS. Leaves" odd-pinnate, of numerous leaflets. Flowers racetned,
rose-purple. Pod flattish, wrinkled and spiny-roughened or crested.
16. STYLOSANTHES. Leaves pinnately 3-foliofate. Flowers yellow, in heads
or short spikes, leafy-bracted. Calyx with a slender stalk-like tube, and
4 lobes in the upper lip, one for the lower. Stamens monadelphous: 5 longer
anthers fixed by their base, 5 alternate ones by their middle. Pod Hat, retic-
ulated, sometimes raised on a stalk-like empty lower joint. Stipules united
with the petiole.
16. LESPEDEZA. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate. Stipules small and free, or fall-
ing early. Flowers purple, rose-color, or white, in spikes, clusters, or pani-
cles, or scattered. Stamens diadelphous: anthers uniform. Pod flat and
thin, ovate or orbicular, reticulated, sometimes raised on a stalk-like empty
lower joint.
•+- 4— Ovary vnth at least 2 ovules.
•*-*• Pod separating into 2 or more small and closed I-seeded joints in a row.
17. DESMODIUM. Leaflets 3 (rarely only 1), stipellate. Pod of very flat joints
(Lessons, p. 131, fig. 304), usually roughish and adhesive by minute hooked
pubescence. Herbs, with small purple, whitish, orpurplish flowers, in racemes,
which are often panicled.
18. uESCHYNOMENE. Leaflets several, odd-pinnate, small. Pod of very flat
joints. Herbs, with small yellow flowers (sometimes purplish externally),
few or several on axillary peduncles.
19. CORONILLA. Leaflets several, odd-pinnate, small. Pod of thickish oblong
or linear joints. Herbs or shrubs, with flowers in head-like umbels raised on
slender axillary peduncles.
96 PULSE FAMILY.
-M.-t-4- Pod indefiiscent, very thick, 1-3-seeded. Calyx with a long, thread-shaped
or stalk-like tube. Leaves abruptly pinnate : stipules united with the petiole
at base.
20. ARACHIS. Annual. Leaflets 4, straight-veined. Flowers small, yellow, in
axillarv heads or spikes. Calyx with one narrow lobe making a lower lip,
the upper lip broad and 4-toothed. Keel incurved and pointed. Stamens
monadelphous, 5 anthers longer and fixed by near their base, the alternate
ones short and fixed by their middle. Ovary at the bottom of the very long
and stalk-like tube of the calyx, containing 2 or 3 ovules : when the long style
and the calyx with the rest of the flower falls away, the forming pod is pro-
truded on a rigid deflexed stalk which then appears, and is pushed into the
soil where it ripens into the oblong, reticulated, thick, coriaceous fruit, which
contains the 1-3. large and edible seeds; the embryo compo>ed of a pair
of very thick and fleshy cotyledons and an extremely short nearly straight
radicle.
.w *+ -w. Pod continuous, i. e. not in joints, at length opening, 2 - several-seeded.
a. Leaves abruptly pinnate : plants not tinning. (Flowers in ours yellow.)
21. SESBANIA. Herbs, with many pairs of leaflets, and minute or early decidiious
stipules. Flowers in axillary racemes, or sometimes solitary. Calyx short,
6-toothed. Standard rounded, spreading: keel and style incurved. 1'od usu-
ally intercepted internally with cellular matter or membrane between the
see'ds.
92. CARAGANA. Shrubs, with mostly fascicled leaves of several pairs of leaflets,
and a little spiny tip in place of an end leaflet: stipules minute or spiny.
Flower? solitary or 2 - 3 together on short peduncles. Calyx bell-shaped or
short-tubular, 5-toothed. Standard nearly erect with the sides turned back:
the blunt keel and the style nearly straight. Pod linear, several-seeded.
b. Leaves odd-pinnate : stems not tivining.
1. Anthers tipped with a little gland or blunt point.
23. INDIGOFERA. Herbs, or sometimes shrubby, when pubescent the close-
pressed hairs are fixed by the middle. Flowers rose-color, purple, or white,
in axillary racemes or spikes, mostly small. Calyx 5-cleft. Standard round-
ish, often'persistent after the rest o'f the petals have fallen: keel with a pro-
jection or spur on each side. Pod oblong, linear, or of various shapes, com-
monly with membranous partitions between the seeds.
2. Anthers blunt and pointless.
24. TEPHROSIA. Herbs, with obliquely parallel-veined leaflets often silky be-
neath, and white or purple flowers (2 or more in a cluster) in racemes; the
peduncles terminal or opposite the leaves Calyx 5-cleft or 5-toothed. Stand-
ard rounded, silky outside. Style incurved,' rigid: stigma with a tuft of
hairs. Pod linear, flat, several-seeded.
25. ROBINIA. Trees or shrubs, with netted-veined leaflets furnished with stipels,
and often with sharp spines or prickles for stipules. Flowers large ami
showy, white or rose-color, in axillary racemes. Base of the leafstalk hollow
and covering the axillary bud of the next year. Calyx 5-toothed, the two
upper teeth partly united. Standard large, turned back: keel incurved,
blunt. Ovary stalked in the calyx. Pod broadly linear, flat, several-seeded,
margined on the seed-bearing edge, the valves thin.
26. COLUTEA. Shrubs, not prickly, and no stipels to the leaflets: the flowers
rather large, yellow or reddish, in short axillary racemes. Calyx 5-toothed.
Standard rounded, spreading: keel strongly incurved, bhint, on long united
claws. Style incurved, bearded down one side. Pod raised out of the calyx
on a stalk of its own, thin and bladdery-inflated, flattish on the seed-bearing
side, several-seeded.
27. ASTRAGALUS. Herbs, without stipels, and with white, purple, or yellowish
rather small flowers in spikes, heads, or racemes : peduncles axillary. Co-
rolla narrow : standard erect, mostly oblong. Style and stigma smooth and
beardless. Pod commonly turgid or inflated and 'within more or less divided
lengthwise by intrusion of the back or a false partition from it.
(SWAINSONA, SUTHERLANDIA, and CLIANTHUS, plants from Australia,
New Zealand, and South Africa, with showy flowers and bladdery-inflated
pods (like Colutea), are sometimes cult, in conservatories, but are not com-
mon enough to find a place here.)
PULSE FAMILY. 97
c. Leaves odd-pinnate : stems vmning : stipels obscure : stipules small
28. WISTARIA. Woody, high-climbing, with numerous leaflets, and large showy
bluish flowers, in hanging terminal dense racemes. Calyx with 2 short teeth
on the upper and longer ones on the lower side. Standard large, roundish,
turned back: keel merely incurved, blunt. Pod knobby, several-seeded.
29- APIOS. Herbs, twining over bushes, with 6-7 leaflets, and sweet-scented
chocolate-purple flowers, in dense and short racemes: peduncles axillarv.
Calyx with 2 upper very short teeth, and one longer lower one, the side teeth
nearly wanting. Standard very broad, turned back : keel long and scy*he-
shaped, strongly incurved, or at length coiled. Pod linear, flat, almost
straight, several-seeded.
d. Leaves of 3 leaflets (pinnately 3-foliolate) or rarely one, commonly stipellate.
1. Shrubby, or from, a woody base: wings and sometimes keel small and inconspicuous.
30. ERYTHRINA. Stem, branches, and even the leafstalks usually prickly.
Flowers large and showy, usually red, in racemes. Calyx without teeth.
Standard elongated: wings often wanting or so small as to be concealed in
the calyx; keel much shorter than the standard, sometimes very small.
Pod stalked in the calyx, linear, knobby, usually opening only down the
seed-bearing suture. Seeds scarlet.
2. Herbs, mostly twiners, with wings and keel in ordinary proportion.
= Flowers not yellow: seeds or at least the ovules several: leaflets stipellate.
31. PHASEOLUS. Keel of the corolla coiling into a ring or spiral, usually with
a tapering blunt apex: standard rounded, turned back or spreading. Style
coiled with the keel, bearded down the inner side: stigma oblique or lateral.
Pod linear or scimetar-shaped. Flowers usually clustered on the knotty
joints of the raceme. Stipules striate, persistent.
32. DOLICHOS. Keel of the corolla narrow and bent inwards at a right angle,
but not coiling. Style bearded under the terminal stigma. Stipules small.
Otherwise nearly as Phaseolus.
33. GALACTIA. Keel straightish, blunt, as long as the wings: standard turned
back. Style naked. Calyx of 4 pointed lobes, upper one broadest. Pod flat-
tened, mostly linear. Flowers clustered on the knotty joints of the raceme:
flower-buds taper-pointed. Stipules and bracts smalf or deciduous.
34. AMPHICARP^EA. Keel and very similar wings nearly straight, blunt: the
erect standard partly folded around them. Style naked. Calyx tubular,
4-toothed. Flowers small; those in loose racemes above often sterile, their
pods when formed scimetar-shaped and few-seeded ; those at or near the
ground or on creeping branches very small and without manifest corolla, but
very fertile, making small and fleshy, obovate or pear-shaped, mostly sub-
terranean pods, ripening one or two large saids. Bracts rounded and per-
sistent, striate, as are the stipules.
35. CENTROSEMA. Keel broad, incurved, nearly equalling the wings: standard
large and rounded, spreading, and with a spur-like projection behind. Calyx
short, 5-cleft. Style bearded only at the tip around the stigma. Pod long,
linear, with thickened edges borde'red by a raised line on each side. Flowers
showy. Stipules, bracts, and bractlets striate, persistent.
36. CLITORIA. Keel small, shorter than the wings, incurved, acute: standard
much larger than the rest of the flower, notched at tbe end, erect. Calyx
tubular, 5-toothed. Style bearded down the inner side. Pod oblong-linear,
flattish, not bordered. 'Flowers large and showy, 1 -3 on a peduncle. Stip-
ules, bracts, and bractlets persistent, striate.
37. HARDENBERGIA. Keel small, much shorter than the wings, incurved,
blunt : standard large in proportion, rounded, spreading. Calyx short,
5-toothed, the 2 upper teeth united. Style short, naked. Pod linear, not
bordered. Flowers rather small, in racemes. Stipules and bracts small,
striate. mostly deciduous. Leaflets mostly single.
88. KEXNEDYA. Keel incurved, blunt or acute, mostly equalling or exceeding
the wings:. standard broad, spreading. Calyx 5-lobed: 2 upper lobes partly
united. Style naked. Pod lint ar, not borde'red. Flowers showy, red, single
or few on the peduncle. Bracts and stipules striate.
= = Flowers yellow (sometimes jmrple-tinged outside) : ovules only 2 : pod 1 - 2-seeded.
39. RHYNCHOSIA. Keel of the corolla incurved at the apex: standard spreading.
Calyx- 4 - 5-parted or lobed. Pod short and flat. Flowers small. Leaves
mostly soft-downy and resinous-dotted, sometimes of a single leaflet.
98 PULSE FAMILY.
§ 4. Herbs, irith abruptly pinnate leaves, the common petiole terminated by a tendril,
by which t/ie plant climbs or supports itstlf, or in many loio species the tendril
reduced to a mere bristle or tip. or in Cicer, which has toothed leaflets, an odd
leajlet commonly tikes its place : peduncles axillary : stamens almost always
diadelphous. Cotyledons veiy thick, so that they remain underground in germi-
nation, as in the Pea.
* Leaflets entire or sometimes toothed at the apex : radicle bent on the cotyledons :
style mflexed: podjtat or flattish.
40. PISITM. Lobes of the calyx leafy. Style rigid, dilated above and the margins
reflexed and joined together so that it becomes flattened laterally, bearded
down the inner edge. Pod several-seeded: seeds globose. Flowers large.
Leaflets only 1-3 pairs.
41. LATHYRUS. Lobes of the calyx not leafy. Style flattened above on the
back and front, bearded down one face. Pod several-seeded. Seeds some-
times flattish. Leaflets few or several pairs.
42. VI CIA. Style slender, bearded or hairy only at the apex or all round the upper
part. Pod 2 - several-seeded. Seeds globular or flattish. Leaflets few or
many pairs.
43. LENS. Lobes of the calyx slender. Style flattish on the back, and minutely
bearded down the inner face. Pod 1 - 2-seeded. Seeds flattened, lenticular.
Flowers small.
* * Leaflets toothed all round, and usually an odd one at the end in place of a ten-
dril: style incurved, naked: radicle of the embryo almost straight.
44. CICER. Calyx 5-parted. Pod turgid oblong, not flattened, 2-seeded. Seeds
large, irreguiarly rounded-obovate, pointed. Peduncle mostly 1-flowered.
B. Stamens separate to the base. (Plants not twining nor climbing.)
§ 1. Leaves simple or of 3 digitate leaflets.
45. CHORIZEMA. Somewhat shrubby, with simple and spiny-toothed leaves,
scarcely any stipules, and orange or copper-red flowers. Standard rounded
kidney-shaped: keel straight, much shorter than the wings. Pod ovoid,
turgid, several-seeded.
46. BAPTISI A. Herbs, with simple entire sessile leaves and no stipules, or mostly
of 3 leaflets with deciduous or persistent stipules. Flowers yellow, blue, or
white. Standard erect, with the sides turned back, about equalled by the
oblong and straightish wings and keel. Pod inflated, coriaceous, stalked iu
the calyx, many-seeded.
47. THERMOPSIS. ' Pod scarcely stalked, linear, flat. Otherwise as Baptisia.
§ 2. Leaves odd-pinnate.
48. CLADRASTIS. Trees,J*ith large leaflets, no obvious stipules, and hanging
terminal panicles of white flowers. Standard turned back: the nearly sep-
arate straightish keel-petals and wings oblong, obtuse. Pod short-stalked in
the calyx, linear, very flat, thin, marginless, 4 - 6-seeded. Base of the petioles
hollow and covering the axillary leaf-buds of the next year.
49. SOPHORA. Trees, shrubs, or herbs, with numerous leaflets, and mostly
white or yellow flowers in terminal racemes or panicles. Keel-petals and
wings oblong, obtuse, usually longer than the broad standard. Pod com-
monly stalked in the calyx, terete, several-seeded, fleshy or almost woody,
hardly ever opening, but constricted across into mostly 1-seeded portions.
II. BRASILETTO FAMILY. Flowers more or less irregu-
lar, but not papilionaceous : when they seem to be so the petal
answering to the standard will be found to be within instead of out-
side of the other petals. Stamens 10 or fewer, separate. The
leaves are sometimes twice pinnate, which is not the case in the
true Pulse Family. Embryo of the seed straight, the radicle not
turned against the edge of the cotyledons.
§ 1. Leaves simple and entire. Corolla appearing as if papilionaceous.
60. CERC1S. Trees, with rounded heart-shaped leaves, minute early deciduous
stipules, and small but handsome red-purple flowers in umbel-like clusters on
old wood, earlier than the leaves, rather &cid to the taste. Calyx short,
PULSE FAMILY. 99
6-toothed. Petals 5, the one answering to the standard smaller than the
wing-petals and covered by them; the keel-petals larger, conniving but dii-
tinct. Stamens 10, declining with the style. Pod linear-oblong, flat, thin,
several-seeded, one edge wing-margined.
§ 2. Leaves simply abruptly pinnate. Calyx and corolla almost regular.
61. CASSIA. Flowers commonly yellow. Calyx of 5 nearly separate sepals.
Petals 5, spreading, unequal (the lower larger) or almost equal. Stamens 10
or 5, some of the upper anthers often imperfect or smaller, their cells opening
by a hole or chink at the apex. Pod many-seeded.
§ 3. Leaves, or at least some of them, twice-pinnate.
62. (LESALPINIA. Trees or shrubs, chiefly tropical, with mostly showy red or
yellow perfect flowers. Calyx deeply 5-cleft. Petals 5, broad, spreading,
more or less unequal. Stamens 10, declining, along with the thread-shaped
style. Pod flat.
53. GYMNOCLADUS. Tall, thornless tree, with large compound leaves, no stip-
ules, and dioecious or polygamous whitish regular flowers, in corymb-like
clusters or short racemes terminating the branches of the season. Calyx
tubular below, and with 5 spreading lobes, the throat bearing 5 oblong petals
and 10 short stamens, those of the fertile flowers generallv imperfect. Pod
oblong, flat, very hard, tardily opening, with a little pulp or sweetish matter
inside, containing few or several large and thick hard seeds (over ^' in diam-
eter); the fleshy cotyledons remaining underground in germination.
64. GLED1TSCHIA. Thorny trees, with abruptly twice pinnate or some of them
once pinnate leaves, the leaflets often crenate-toothed, inconspicuous stipules,
and small greenish polygamous flowers in narrow racemes. Calyx 3 -5-cleft,
the lobes and the 3-5 nearly similar petals narrow and spreading. Stumens
3 - 10. Pod flat, very tardily opening, often with some sweetish matter around
the 1 - several flat seeds. Cotyledons thin.
III. MIMOSA FAMILY. Flowers perfectly regular, small,
crowded in heads or spikes ; both calyx and corolla. valvate in the
bud ; and the 4 or 5 sepals usually and petals frequently united
more or less below into a tube or cup. Stamens 4, 5, or more,
often very many, usually more conspicuous than the corolla and
brightly colored, the long capillary filaments inserted on the recep-
tacle or base of the corolla. Embryo of the seed straight. Leaves
almost always twice pinnate and with sma^L leaflets, or apparently
simple and parallel-veined when they have phyllodia in place of
true leaves. The foliage and the pods only show the leguminous
character.
$ 1. Stamens once or ticice as many ns the petals, 4-10. Ours herbs or nearly so,
with rose-colored or whitish flowers, and leaves of many small leaflets.
65. MIMOSA. Calyx commonly minute or inconspicuous. Corolla of 4 or 5 more
or less united petals. Pod flat, oblong or linear: when ripe the valves fall out
of a persistent slender margin or frame and also usually break up into one-
seeded joints.
66. SCHPiANKlA. Calyx minute. Corolla funnel-form, the 5 petals being united
up to the middle. Stamens 10. Pod rough-prickiy all over, long and nar-
row, splitting lengthwise when ripe into 4 parts.
67. DESMANTHUS. Calyx 6-toothed. Corolla of 5 separate petals. Stamens
5 or 10. Pod flat, smooth, linear or oblong, 2-valved, no persistent margin.
§ 2. Stamens numerous, or more than 10. Ours all shrubs or trees.
58. ALB1ZZIA. Mowers flesh-color, rose-color, or nearly white; the long stamens
monadelphous at the base. Corolla funnel-form, the 5 petals united beyond
the middle. Pod flat and thin, broadly linear, not opening elastically.
Leaves twice pinnate.
69. ACACIA. Flowers yellow or straw-color: the stamens separate and very
numerous. Corolla of 4 or 6 separate or partly united small petals. Pod
various.
100 PULSE FAMILY.
1. LUPINUS, LUPINE. (Old Latin name, from lupus, a wolf, because
Lupines were thought to destroy the fertility of the soil.)
* Wild species of Atlantic States, m sandy soil: JJ. in spring. If.
L. perdnnis, WILD L. Somewhat hairy ; with erect stem l°-l£° high,
7 — 11 spatulate oblong or oblanceolate green leaflets, and a long raceme of
showy purplish-blue (rarely pale) flowers, in late spring.
L. yillbsus, ONE-LEAVED L. Silky-downy, with short spreading or
ascending stems, oblong or lance-oblong simple leaves, and a dense raceme of
blue, purple, or rose-colored flowers. Near the coast, from North Carolina S.
* * Cultivated for ornament : fl. summer.
L. polyphyllus, MANY LEAVED L., is the principal hardy perennial
species of the gardens, from Oregon and California, 3° - 4° high, rather hairy,
with 13-15 lanceolate or oblanceolate leaflets, and a very long dense raceme
of blue, sometimes purple, variegated, or even white flowers, in June. If.
L. mutabilis, cult, as an annual, from South America, is tall, very smooth
throughout, with about 9 narrow-oblong blunt leaflets, and very large sweet-
scented violet-purple flowers (or a white variety), with yellow and a little red
on the standard.
L. densiflorus, of California (where there are many fine Lupines), l°-2°
high, is well marked by the numerous white flowers forming distinct and sep-
arate whorls in the long raceme. ©
L. albus, of Eu., which the ancients cultivated as pulse, has the several
obovate-oblong leaflets smooth above, but hairy beneath, white flowers alternate
in the raceme, and large smooth pods. ©
L. hirsutUS, cult, in old gardens, from Eu., is clothed with soft white
hairs ; the leaflets spatulate-oblong ; flowers in loose whorls in the raceme, blue,
with rose-color and white varieties ; pods very hairy. ©
L. luteus, .the old YELLOW L. of the gardens, from Eu., silky-hairy,
rather low ; with yellow flowers in whorls crowded in a dense spike. ©
2. GROT AL ARIA, RATTLEBOX. (From Greek word for a rattle, the
seeds rattling in the coriaceous inflated pod.) Native, in sandy soil : fl. yel-
low, in summer.
C. sagittalis. Low, 3' - 6' high, branching, beset with rusty-colored
spreading hairs, with nearly sessile oval or lance-oblong leaves, and 2 or 3 flowers
on the peduncle. ©
C. ovalis. Spreadingjjjpugh with appressed hairs ; leaves short-petioled,
oval, oblong, or lanceolate ]^eduncle with 3-6 scattered flowers. 2/
3. GENISTA, WOAD- WAXEN, WHIN. (Celtic word: little bush.)
G. tinctdria, DYER'S W. or GREEN-WEED. Nat. from Eu. in sterile
soil E., especially in Mass. : low and undershrubby, not thorny, with lanceolate
leaves, and bright yellow rather small flowers somewhat racemed at the end of
the striate-angled green branches, in early summer.
4. CYTISITS. (Ancient Greek name, after an island where it grows.)
The following are the only species generally cultivated.
C. (or Sarothamnus) scoparius, SCOTCH BROOM. Shrub, from
Europe, 3° -5° high, smooth, with long and tough erect angled and green
branches, bearing sin-ill leaves, the lower short-petioled and with 3 obovate
leaflets, the upper of a single sessile leaflet, and in the axils large and showy
golden yellow flowers on slender pedicels ; calvx with 2 .short and broad lips ;
style and stamens slender, held in the keel, but disengaged and suddenlv start-
ing upward wli-jn touched (as when bees alight on the dettexed keel), the style
coiling spirally ; pod hairy on the edges. Hardy in gardens N. ; running wild
in Virginia : fl. early summer.
IRISH BROOM, so called, but is from Portugal, is another species, not hardy
here. SPANISH BROOM is SPARTIUM JUNCEUM, of another genus.
C. Canariensis, from the Canary Islands, is cultivated in conservatories;
a shrub with crowded slender branches, soft-hoary leaves of 3 very small obovate
leaflets, and small yellow sweet-scented flowers, produced all winter.
PULSE FAMILY. 101
5. LABURNUM. (Ancient Latin name. Genus separated from Cytisus
from the different appearance, and the seeds destitute of strophiole or append-
age at the sear.)
L. Vlllgare, COMMON LABURNUM, GOLDEN-CHAIN, or BEAN-TREFOIL-
TREE of Europe. Planted for ornament, a low tree, with smooth green hark,
slender-petioled leaves of 3 oblong leaflets (2' -3' long), and pretty large showy
golden-yellow flowers hanging in long racemes, in late spring ; pods with one
thicker edge.
6. TRIGONELLA. (Old name, from Greek word for triangular, from tho
shape of the corolla or the seeds.) Low herbs. T. C.ERULEA is the plant
used in Switzerland for imparting the flavor like that of Melilot to certain
kinds of cheese.)
T. FGBnum-Graecum, FENUGREEK. Occasionally cult, in gardens, in
Europe a forage and popular medicinal plant, strong-scented ; with wedge-
oblong leaflets, one or two nearly sessile small flowers in the axils, yellowish or
whitish corolla, and a linear long-pointed and somewhat curved pod 2' -4' long,
with veiny sides. ©
7. MEDIC AGO, MEDICK. (The old name of Lucerne, because it came
to the Greeks from Media.) All natives of the Old World : a few have run
wild here. El. all summer.
* Flowers violet-purple or bluish. 2/
M. saliva, LUCERNE or SPANISH TREFOIL. Cultivated for green fodder,
especially S. : stems erect, l°-2° high, from a long deep root; leaflets obovate-
oblong ; racemes oblong ; pod several-seeded, linear, coiled about 2 turns.
* * Flowers yellow. (T) ®
M. lupulina, BLACK MEDICK, NONESUCH. A weed or pasture plant, in
dry or sandy fields, &c. : low, spreading, downy, with wedge-obovate leaflets,
roundish or at length oblong heads or spikes of small flowers, and little kidney-
shaped 1 -seeded pods turning black when ripe.
M. maculata, SPOTTED M. Waste sandy places, S. & E. : spreading or
trailing ; with broadly inversely heart-shaped leaflets marked with a dark spot,
3 - 5-flowered peduncles, and a flat pod compactly coiled three or more turns,
its thickish ed^e beset with a double row of curved prickles.
M. denticulata, like the last, but rarer, with pod of looser coils, sharp
edge, and mostly shorter prickles.
M. SCUtellata, SNAIL MEDICK, BEEHIVE. Cult, occasionally in gardens
for its curious pods, which are pretty large, coiled up like a snail-shell, in many
turns, smooth and even.
8. MELILOTUS, MELILOT, SWEET CLOVER. (From Greek
words for honey and Lotus, i. e. Sweet Lotus : foliage sweet-scented, especially
in drying.) Natives of the Old World ; somewhat cult, in gardens, &c., and
running wild in waste or cultivated ground : fl. all summer. (T) @
M. alba, WHITE M., BOKHARA or TREE CLOVER. Tall, 3° - 6° high,
branching, vnth obovate or oblong leaflets truncately notched at the end, and
loose racemes of white flowers. Has been cult, for green fodder.
M. offieinalis, YELLOW M. Less tall, 2° -3° high, with merely blunt
leaflets and yellow flowers.
9. TRIFOLIUM, CLOVER, TREFOIL. (Latin name: three leaflets.]
# Low, insignificant weeds, not. from Europe in dry waste fields, $*c. (J)
H- Flowers yellow, in round Itntds, produced through late summer and autumn,
rejlexed and turning chestnut-brown, dry and papery with age.
T. agrarium, YELLOW Hop-C. Smoothish, 6' -12' high, with obovatc-
oblong leaflets all nearly sessile on the end of the petiole; heads rather large.
T. procumbens, Low Hop-C. Smaller, spreading, rather downy, the
wedge-obovate leaflets notched at the end, the middle one at a littlo distance
from the others.
102 PULSE FAMILY.
•*- •*- Flowers flesh-color or whitish with a purplish spot, in a very soft silky head.
T. arv^nse, RABBIT-FOOT or STONE C. Erect, silky-downy, especially
the oblong or at length cylindrical grayish heads or spikes, the corollas almost
concealed by the plumose-silky calyx ; leaflets narrow.
# * Larger, rose-red-flowered Clovers, cult, from Europe for fodder, or running
wild : heads thick and dense : corolla tubular, withering away after flower-
ing : flowers sweet-scented, in summer. 2/
T. prat6nse, RED C. Stems ascending ; leaflets obovate or oval, often
notched at the end and with a pale spot on the face ; head closely surrounded
by the uppermost leaves.
* T. medium, ZIGZAG C., with a zigzag stem, more oblong entire and
spotless leaves, and head usually stalked, is rare, but has run wild E., and
passes into the last.
* * * Low, wild Clovers, or one cult, from Europe, ivith spreading or running
stems, and mostly pale or white flowers (remaining and turning brownish in
fading) on pedicels, in round umbels or heads, on slender naked peduncles :
fl. spring and summer.
T. reflexum, BUFFALO C. Wild S. and especially "W. : somewhat
downy, with ascending stems 6' -12' high, obovate-oblong finely-toothed leaf-
lets, heads and rose-red and whitish flowers fully as large as in Red Clover,
calyx-teeth hairy, and pods 3 - 5-seeded. • © ®
T. Stolonifemm, RUNNING BUFFALO C. Prairies and oak-openings
W. : like the last, or a variety of it, but some of the stems forming runners,
leaflets broadly obovate or inversely heart-shaped, flowers barely tinged with
purple, and pods 2-sesded. © ^
T. Carplinianum, CAROLINA C. Fields and pastures S. : a little downy,
spreading in tufts 5' - 10' high; with small inversely heart-shaped leaflets, broad
stipules, and small heads, the purplish corolla hardly longer than the lanceolate
calyx-teeth. ^
T. ripens, WHITE C. Fields, &c. everywhere, invaluable for pasturage :
smooth, with creeping stems, inversely heart-shaped leaflets, long and slender
petioles and peduncles, narrow stipules, loose umbel-like heads, and white
corolla much longer than the slender calyx-teeth. 2/
10. PETALOSTEMON, PRAIRIE CLOVER. (Name composed of
the Greek words for petal and stamen combined. ) In prairies, pine-barrens, &c.
W. and S. : flowers never yellow. ^
* Heads crowded in a corymb, leafy-bracted : fl. late in autumn.
P. COrymbbsus. In southern pine-barrens ; 2° high, with leaves of 3-7
filiform leaflets, and white flowers, the slender teeth of calyx becoming plumose.
* * Heads or mostly spikes single terminating stems : fl. summer.
P. violaceus. Prairies W. : smoothish or pubescent, 1° - 2° high, with
mostly 5 narrow-linear leaflets, a short spike even when old, rose-purple flowers,
and hoary calyx.
P. carnetlS. Dry barrens S. : smooth, with branching stems, 5-7 linear
leaflets, long-peduncled short spikes, flesh-color or pale rose flowers, and gla-
brous calyx.
P. Candidas. Prairies W. & S. : smooth, 2° -3° high, with 7-9 lan-
ceolate or linear-oblong leaflets, long-peduncled spikes, with awn-pointed bracts,
and white flowers.
There are besides one or two rarer species W., and several more far W. & S.
11. DALE A. (Named for an English botanist, Thomas Dale.} There are
many species S. W. beyond the Mississippi.
D. alopecuroides. Alluvial river banks W. & S. ; with erect stem
1° - 2° high, smooth leaves of many linear-oblong leaflets, and whitish small
flowers in a dense silky spike, in summer. 0
PULSE FAMILY. 103
12. AMORPHA, FALSE INDIGO. (Name, amorplions, wanting the
ordinary form, from the absence of four of the petals.) There are usually
little stipels to the leaflets. Fl. summer.
A. fruticosa, COMMON A. River-banks from Penn. S. & AT. ; a tall or
middle-sized shrub, smoothish, with petiolcd leaves of 15 — 25 oval or oblong leaf-
lets, violet or purple flowers in early summer, and mostly 2-seeded pods.
A. herbacea (but it is not an herb) of low pine-barrens S., 2° -4° high,
often downy, has the leaflets more rigid, dotted, and crowded, villous calyx-
teeth, later blue or white flowers, and 1-seeded pods.
A. can^SCens, called LEAD-PLANT ; in prairies and on rocky banks W.
and S. W. ; l°-3° high, hoary Avith soft down, Avith sessile leaves of 29 -51
elliptical leaflets, smoothish above Avhen old, violet-purple flowers in late summer,
and 1-seeded pods.
13. PSOHALE A. ( Greek Avord for scurfy, from the roughish dots or glands
on the leaves, calyx, &c.) Wild S. & W. : fl. early summer, violet, bluish,
or almost Avhite. " 2/
# Leaves pinnately 3-folioIate, i. fe. the side-leaflets a little beloiv the apex of the
common petiole, or the uppermost of a single leaflet.
P. On6brychis. River-banks, Ohio to Illinois and S. : 3° - 5° high,
nearly smooth, Avith lance-ovate taper-pointed leaflets 3' long, small floAvers in
short-peduncled racemes 3' - 6' long ; pods rough and wrinkled.
P. melilotqides. Dry places, W. & S. : l°-2° high, somewhat pubes-
cent, slender, Avith lanceolate or lance-oblong leaflets, oblong spikes on long
peduncles, and strongly Avrinkled pods.
* * Leaves digitate, of 3 - 7 leaflets.
P. Lupinellus. Dry pine-barrens S. : smooth and slender, with 5-7 very
narroAV or thread-shaped leaflets, small flowers in loose racemes, and obliquely
Avrinkled pods.
P. floribunda. Prairies from Illinois S. W. : bushy-branched and slen-
der, 2° - 4° high, somcAvhat hoary when young, Avith 3-5 linear or obovate-
ob!ong much dotted leaflets, small flowers in short panicled racemes, and glan-
dular-roughened pods.
P. canescens. Dry barrens S. E. Bushy-branched, 2° high, hoary-
pubescent, Avith 3 (or upper leaves of single) obovate leaflets, loose racemes of
teAV floAvers, and a smooth pod.
P. argoph^lla. Prairies N. W., mostly across the Mississippi, widely
branched, 1° - 3° high, silvery Avhite all over with silky hairs, with 3-5 broad-
lanceolate leaflets and spikes of rather feAV largish flowers.
P. escul^nta, POMME BLANCHE of the N. W. Voyageurs ; the turnip-
shaped or tuberous mealy root furnishing a desirable food to the Indians N. W. :
IOAV and stout, 5' -15' high, roughish hairy, Avith 5 lance-oblong or obovate
leaflets, a dense oblong spike of pretty large (^' long) floAvers, and a hairy
•jointed pod.
.4. ONOBRYCHIS, SAINFOIN. (Name from Greek, means Asses-
food.)
O. satiya, COMMON S. Sparingly cult, from Europe as a fodder plant,
but not quite hardy N. ; herb l°-2° high, with numerous oblong small leaf-
lets, broAvn and thin pointed stipules, and spikes of light pink floAvers on long
axillary peduncles, in summer, the little semicircular pod bordered with short
prickles or teeth. 2/
15. STYLOS ANTHES, PENCIL-FLOWER. (Name from Greek
Avords for column and flower, the calyx being raised on its stalk-like base.
The application of the popular name is not obvious.)
S. elatior, of pine-barrens from NCAV Jersey and Illinois S., is an incon-
spicuous IOAV herb, in tufts ; the Aviry stems downy on one side ; leaflets lan-
ceolate, Avith strong straight veins ; flowers orange-yelloAV, small, in little
clusters or heads, in late summer. ^
104 PULSE FAMILY.
16. LESPEDEZA, BUSH-CLOVER. (Named for Lespedez, a Spanish
Governor of Florida.) All grow in sandy or sterile soil; fl. late summer
and autumn. 2/
# Native species : stipules and bracts minute.
•*- Flowers in close spikes or heads on upright (2° — 4° high) simple rigid stems:
corolla cream-color or white with a purple spot, about the len
-33. viscidula. Stems clammy-pubescent, slender, spreading on the ground ;
leaflets 7-9, obovate ; joints of the bristly pod 2 or 3, half-orbicular. Sandy
shores S. Q)
106 PULSE FAMILY.
19. CORONILLA. (Latin, diminutive of corona, a crown.) Cult, from
Europe for ornament. If.
C. varia, PURPLE CORONILLA. Hardy herb, spreading from underground
running shoots, smooth, 2° high, with 15 — 21 obovate-oval or oblong small
leaflets, and head-like umbels of handsome pink-purple and white or white and
lilac flowers, all summer.
C. glau'ja, YELLOW SWEET-SCENTED C. Green-house shrubby plant,
with 5-9 glaucous obovate or obcordate leaflets, the terminal largest, and head-
like umbels of sweet-scented yellow flowers ; the claws of the petals not
lengthened.
20. All ACHIS, PEANUT, GROUND-NUT. (Meaning of name obscure.)
A. hypogsea, the only common species, originally from South America,
cult. S. : the nut-like pods familiar, the oily fleshy seeds being largely eaten by
children, either raw or roasted. @
21. SESBANIA. (Arabic name Sesban, a little altered. ) Fl. late summer.
S. macrocarpa, wild in swamps S., is tall, smooth, with linear-oblong
leaflets, few flowers on a peduncle shorter than the leaves, the corolla yellow
with some reddish or purple, followed by linear narrow hanging pods 8' - 12'
long, containing many seeds. ©
S. vesicaria (or GLOTTfniUM FLORIDA.NUM), in low grounds S., resem-
bles the preceding in foliage and small yellow flowers, but has a broadly oblong
turgid pod, only 1' or 2' long, pointed, raised above the calyx on a slender stalk
of its own, only 2-seeded, the seeds remaining enclosed in the bladdery white
lining of the pod when the outer valves have fallen. ©
S. grandiflbra (or AG\TI GRANDIFLORA), a shrub or tree-like plant of
India, run wild in Florida, occasionally cult, for ornament S., has very large
flowers, 3' -4' long, white or red, and slender hanging pods 1° or so long.
22. CARAGANA, PEA-TREE. (Tartar name.) Natives of Siberia
and China : planted for ornament, but uncommon, scarcely hardy N.
C. arbor6scens. SIBERIAN P. Shrub or low tree, with spiny stipules,
4-6 pairs of oval-oblong downy leaflets, a soft tip to the common petiole, and
solitary yellow flowers, in spring.
C. frut^SCens, has soft stipules, and only 2 pairs of obovate leaflets
crowded at the summit of the petiole, which is tipped with a spiny point.
C. ChamlagU, CHINESE P., a low or spreading shrub, has 2 rather dis-
tant pairs of smooth oval or obovate leaflets, the stipules and tip of the petiole
spiny.
23. INDIGOFERA, INDIGO-PLANT. (Name means producer of in-
digo.) Ours are tail perennials, sometimes with woody base, and numerous
small flowers in racemes, of S. States, in dry soil : fl. summer.
I. Caroliniana. Wild from North Carolina S. : smoothish, with 10-15
obovate or oblong pale leaflets, racemes longer than the leaves, flowers soon
brownish, and oblong veiny pods only 2-seeded.
I. tinctbria. This and the next furnish the indigo of commerce, were
cult, for that purpose S., and have run wild in waste places : woody at base,
with 7-15 oval leaflets, racemes shorter than the leaves, the deflexed knobby
tereteN pods curved and several-seeded.
I. Anil differs mainly in its flattish and even pods thickened at both edges.
24. TEPHROSIA, HOARY PEA. (From Greek word meaning hoary.)
Native plants, of dry, sandy or barren soil, chiefly S. : fl. summer.
* Stem very leafy up to the terminal and sessile dense raceme or panicle.
T. Virginiana. Called CATGUT, from the very tough, long and slender
roots; white silky -downy, with erect and simple stem l°-2° high, 17-29
linear-oblong leaflets, pretty large and numerous flowers yellowish-white with
purple, and downy pods. Common N. & S.
PULSE FAMILY. 107
# # Stems branching, often spreading or decumbent : leaves scattered : racemes op-
posite the leaves, long-peduncled : flowers fewer and smaller : pubescence
mostly yellowish or rusty.
T. spicata. From Delaware S. : l°-2° high, loosely soft-hairy, with
9-15 wedge-oblong or obovate leaflets, and 6-10 rather large scattered white
and purple llowers in the raceme or spike.
T. hispidula. From Virginia 8. : low, closely pubescent or smoothish,
with 11-15 oblong small leaflets, the lowest pair above the base of the petiole,
and 2-4 small reddish-purple flowers.
T. chrysophylla. From Georgia S. & W. : nearly prostrate, with 5-7
wcdge-obovate leaflets, smooth above and yellowish silky beneath, the lowest
pair close to the stem ; Howers as in the last.
25. BOBINIA, LOCUST-TREE. (Dedicated to two early French bota-
nists, Robin.) Natives of Atlantic, Middle, and Southern State's, planted, and
the common Locust running wild N. Fl. late spring and early summer.
B. Pseudaeacia, COMMON L. or FALSE ACACIA. Tree of valuable
timber, with naked branchlets, slender and loose hanging racemes of fragrant
white flowers, and smooth pods.
B. visc6sa, CLAMMY L. Smaller tree, with clammy branches and stalks,
very short prickles, short and dense racemes of faintly rose-colored scentless
flowers, and rough clammy pods.
B. hispida, BRISTLY L. or ROSE-ACACIA. Ornamental shrub, with
branches and stalks bristly, broad leaflets tipped with a long bristle, large and
showy bright rose-colored flowers in close or loose racemes, and clammy-bristly
pods.
26. COLUTEA, BLADDER-SENNA. (Derivation of name obscure :
the English name refers to the bladdery pods and to the leaves having been
used as a substitute for those of Senna. )
C. arbor^SCens, COMMON B. European shrub, planted in gardens, with
7-11 oval and rather truncate leaflets, a raceme of 5-10 yellow flowers, in
summer, succeeded by the large very thin-walled closed pods.
C. cmenta, ORIENTAL B., with obovate notched leaflets, fewer flowers
saffron-colored or reddish, and pods opening by a little slit before they arc ripe,
is scarcely hardy X.
27. ASTBAGALUS, MILK- VETCH. (Old Greek name of the ankle-
bone and of some leguminous plant; application and meaning uncertain.)
Very many native species west of the Mississippi.
A. Canadensis. River-banks, the only widely common species ; rather
coarse, l°-4° high, slightly pubescent, with^leaves of numerous leaflets, long
dense spikes of greenish cream-colored flowers, in summer, followed by small
and coriaceous ovoid pods, completely divided by a longitudinal partition. ^/
A. Co6peri. Gravelly shores N. & W. : resembles the foregoing, but
smoother, l°-2° high, with small white flowers in a short spike, and inflated
ovoid pods about 1' long, thin-Availed, and not divided internally ; fl. in early
summer. 1}.
A. glaber. Pine-barrens S. : nearly smooth, 2° high, with very many
oblong-linear small leaflets, loosely many-flowered spikes of white flowers, in
spring, succeeded by oblong curved and flattish 2-celled pods. ^
A. caryocarpus, GROUND PLUM of the Western voyageurs, so called from
the fruit, which is of the size and shape of a small plum, and fleshy, but becom-
ing dry and corky, very thick- walled, 2-celled ; the plant low, smoothish, with
many small narrow oblong leaflets, and short racemes or spikes of violet-purple
or nearly white flowers, in spring : common along the Upper Mississippi and
W. and^S. on the plains. 2/
A. villosus. Pine-barrens S. : low and spreading, loosely hoary-hairy,
with about 13 oblong leaflets notched at the end, a short and dense raceme or
spike of small yellowish flowers, in spring, and an oblong 3-angled curved and
soft-hairy pod/ its cavity not divided. 1£
108 PULSE FAMILY.
28. WISTAKIA. (Named for Prof. Wistar of Philadelphia.) Veryorna,
mental woody twiners : fl. spring.
W. frut^scens, AMERICAN W. Wild along streams W. and S., and
cult, for ornament; soft-downy when young, with 9-15 lance-ovate leaflets,
a dense raceme of showy blue-jmrple flowers, the calyx narrowish, wing-petals
each with one short and one very Jong appendage at the base of the blade, and
a smooth ovary.
W. Sindnsis, CHINESE W. Cult, from China or Japan, barely hardy in
New England, faster growing (sometimes 20° in a season) and higher climbing
than the other, Avith longer and more pendent racemes, wing-petals appendaged
on one side only, and a downy ovary. Often flowering twice in the season.
29. APIOS, GROUND-NUT, WILD BEAN. (Name from Greek word
for pear, from the shape of the tubers.) 11
A. tuberdsa. Wild in low grounds ; subterranean shoots bearing strings
of edible farinaceous tubers l'-2' long; stems slender, rather hairy ; leaflets
ovate-lanceolate ; flowers brownish-purple, violet-scented, crowded in short and
thick racemes, in late summer and autumn.
30. ERYTHBINA. (From Greek word for red, which is the usual color
of the flowers. )
E. herbacea. Wild in sandy soil near the coast S. ; sending up herba-
ceous stems 2° - 4° high from a thick woody root or base, some leafy, the leaf-
lets broadly triangular-ovate ; others nearly leafless, terminating in a* long erect
raceme of narrow scarlet flowers, of which the straight and folded lanceolate
standard (2' long) is the only conspicuous part ; seeds scarlet : fl. spring.
E. Crista-galli. Cult, in conservatories, from Brazil ; with a tree-like
trunk, oval or oblong leaflets, and loose racemes of crimson large flowers, the
keel as well as the broad spreading standard conspicuous, the rudimentary Avings
hidden in the calyx.
31. PHASEOLTTS, BEAN, KIDNEY BEAN. (An ancient name of
the Bean.) Fl. summer and autumn.
* Native species, small-flowered.
P. perennis. From Connecticut and Illinois S. in Avoody places ; slender
stems climbing high ; leaflets roundish-ovate, short-pointed ; racemes long and
loose, often panicled ; floAvers small, purple ; pods drooping, scimitar-shaped,
few-seeded. 1J.
P. diyersifdlius. Sandy shores, &c. : spreading on the ground, with
roiigh hairy stems, OA'ate entire or commonly 3-lobed or angled leaflets, pedun-
cles tAvice the length of the leaves, bearing a small cluster of purplish or at length
greenish flowers, and linear nearly terete straight pods. (I)
P. helvolus. Sandy soil, from NCAV Jersey and Illinois S. : more slen-
der than the preceding, sometimes tAvining a little, Avith the ovate or oblong
leaflets entire or obscurely angled, peduncles several times surpassing the leaves,
floAvers pale purple, and pods narroAver. 2/
P. paucifl6rus. River-banks W. & S. : spreading over the ground, also
twining more or less, slender, pubescent, Avith small oblong-lanceolate or linear
leaflets, feAv and small purplish floAvers on a short peduncle, the keel merely
incurved, and the straight flat pod only 1' long. ©
* * Exotic species, cultivated mainly for food, all with ovate pointed leaflets. (\)
P. VUlgaris, COMMON KIDNEY, STRING, 'and POLK BEAN. Twining,
Avith racemes of Avhite or sometimes dull purplish or variegated floAvers shorter
than the leaf, linear straight pods, and tumid seeds. Many varieties, among
Avhich may be reckoned the next.
P. nanus, DAVARF or FIELD BEAN ; IOAV and bushy, not twining ; seeds
very tumid.
P. lunatllS, LIMA BEAN, SIEVA B., &c. TAvining, Avith racemes of
small greenish-Avhite floAvers shorter than the leaf, and broad and curved or
t>cimitar-shaped pods, containing feAv large and flat seeds.
PULSE FAMILY. 109
P. multifl6rus, SPANISH BEAN, SCARLET RUNNER when red-flowered ;
twining high, with the showy flowers bright scarlet, or wliite, or mixed, in
peduneled racemes surpassing the leaves ; pods broadly linear, straight or
a little curved ; seeds large, tumid, white or colored.
# # # Exotic species, cultivated in greenhouses for ornament. 2/
P. Caracalla, SNAIL-FLOWER. Stem twining extensively, rather woody
below, from a tuberous root ; leaflets rhombic-ovate, taper-pointed ; raceme's
longer than the leaf; flowers showy, 2' long, white and purple, the standard as
well as the very long-snouted keel spirally coiled, giving somewhat the appear-
ance of a snail-shell.
32. DOLICHOS, BLACK BEAN, &c. (Old Greek name of a Bean,
meaning elongated, perhaps from the tall-climbing stems.)
D. Lablab, EGYPTIAN or BLACK BEAN, cult, from India, for ornament
and sometimes for food, is a smooth twiner, with elongated racemes of showy
violet, purple, or white flowers, 1' long, and thick and broadly oblong pointed
pods ; seeds black or tawny with a white scar. (T)
D. Sinensis, CHINA BEAN, var. melanophthalmus, BLACK-EYED
BEAX, with long peduncles bearing only 2 or 3 (white or pale) flowers at the
end, the beans (which are good) white "with a black circle round the scar, is
occasionally met with.
33. GALACTIA, MILK-PEA. (From a Greek word for milky, which
these plants are not.) There are several other species in the Southern At-
lantic States ; a rare one has pinnate leaves. Fl. summer. 11
G. glabella. Sandy soil from New Jersey S. : prostrate, nearly smooth,
with rather rigid ovate-oblong leaflets, their upper surface shining, a few rather
large rose-purple flowers on a peduncle not exceeding the leaves, and a 4 - 6-
seeded at length smoothish pod. •
G. mollis. Sandy barrens, from Maryland S. : spreading, seldom twining,
soft-downy and hoary, even to the 8- 10-seeded pod ; racemes long-peduncled,
many-flowered ; leaflets oval.
34. AMPHICARPJEA, HOG-PEA-NUT. (Name from Greek words
meaning double-fruited, alluding to the two kinds of pod. ) 11
A. monoica. A slender much-branched twiner, with brownish-hairy
stems, leaves of 3 rhombic-ovate thin leaflets, and numerous small purplish
flowers in clustered drooping racemes, besides the more fertile subterranean
ones ; the turgid pods of the latter hairy : herbage greedily fed upon by cattle :
fl. late summer and autumn.
35. CENTROSEMA, SPURRED BUTTERFLY-PEA. (Name from
Greek words meaning spurred standard. ) 11
C. Virginianum. Sandy woods, chiefly S. : trailing and low twining,
slender, roiiirhish with minute hairs ; leaflets varying from ovate-oblong to
linear, very veiny, shining ; the 1 — 4-flowered peduncles shorter than the leaves ;
the showy violet-purple flowers 1' or l£' long, in summer.
36. CLITORIA, BUTTERFLY-PEA. (Derivation obscure.) %
C. Mariana, our only species, in dry ground from New Jersey S. : smooth,
with erect or slightly twining stem (l°-3° high), ovate-oblong leaflets pale
beneath, very showy light blue flowers 2' long, single or 2-3 together on a
short peduncle, and a few-seeded straight pod : fl. summer.
37. HARDENBERGIA. (Named for an Austrian botanist.) Austra-
lian plants. 11
H. monoph^lla, a choice greenhouse plant, has leaves of a single ovate
or lanceolate leaflet 2' or 3' long, and slender racemes of small violet-purple
flowers ; whole plant smooth.
110 PULSE FAMILY.
38. KENNEDYA. (Named for a distinguished English florist.) Aus-
tralian plants, of choice cultivation in conservatories. 2/
K. rubiciinda, is hairy, free-climbing, with 3 ovate leaflets, and 2-4-
flowered peduncles, the dark red or crimson flowers over 1 ' long.
39. RHYNCHOSIA. (Name from the Greek, means beaked, of no ob-
vious application.) Chiefly Southern : fl. summer. 2/
R. toment6sa. Low, soft-downy, in several varieties, erect, spreading, or
the taller forms twining more or less, with one or three round or sometimes
oblong-oval leaflets, and clusters or racemes of small yellow flowers. Dry sandy
soil, from Maryland S.
R. galactbides. Bushy-branched, 2° - 4° high, not at all disposed to
twine, minutely pubescent, with 3 small and rigid oval leaflets, hardly any
common petiole, and scattered flowers in the upper axils, the standard reddish
outside. Dry sand-ridges, from Alabama S.
40. PISUM, PEA. (The old Greek and Latin name of the Pea.) ©
P. sativum, COIMMON PEA. Cult, from the Old World : smooth and
glaucous, with very large leafy stipules, commonly 2 pairs of leaflets, branching
tendrils, and peduncles bearing 2 or more large flowers ; corolla white, bluish,
purple, or party-colored ; pods rather fleshy.
41. LATHYRUS, VETCHLING. (Old Greek name.) Some species
closely resemble the Pea, others are more like Vetches. Fl. summer.
# Cult, from Eu., for ornament : stem and petioles wing-margined : leajlets one pair.
L. odoratUS, SWEET PEA. Stem more or less roughish-hairy ; leaflets
oval or oblong ; flowers 2 or 3 on a long peduncle, sweet-scented, white with
the standard rose-color, or purple, with varieties variously colored. (T)
L. latifblius, EVERLASTING PEA. Smooth, climbing high ; stems broadly
winged ; leaflets oval, with parallel veins very conspicuous beneath ; flowers
numerous in a long-peduncled raceme, pink-purple, also a white variety, scent-
less. ^[
* * Native species : stems wingless or merely margined : lea/lets 2-8 pairs. ^J
L. maritimus, BEACH PEA. Sea-shore of New England especially N.,
and along the Great Lakes : about 1° high, leafy, smooth, with stipules nearly
as large as the 8-16 oval crowded leaflets, and the peduncle bearing 6-10 rather
large purple flowers.
L. ven6sus. Shady banks W. & S. : climbing, with 10-17 more scattered
ovate or oblong leaflets, often downy beneath, small and slender stipules, and
peduncles bearing many purple flowers.
L. ochroleilCUS. Hillsides and banks N. & W. : slender stems l°-3°
high; the leaflets 6-8, glaucous, thin, ovate or oval, larger than the leafy
stipules ; peduncles bearing several rather small yellowish-white flowers.
L. palustris. Swamps and wet grounds N. & W. : low, l°-2° high,
with margined or slightly winged stems, small lanceolate stipules, 4-8 leaflets
varying from linear to oblong, and peduncles bearing 3-5 rather small purple
flowers.
Var. myrtifdlius, common W. & S., usually appears very distinct, climb-
ing 2° - 4° high, with oblong or oval leaflets, larger and more leaf-like upper
stipules, and paler flowers.
42. VICIA, VETCH, TARE. (The old Latin name of the genus.)
§ 1. Flowers several or many on a slender peduncle, in spring or summer: pod
several-seeded: wild species in low ground, l°-4°high. %
# Peduncle 4 — 8-Jlowered : plant smooth.
V. Americana. Common N. & W. ; with 10 - 14 oblong and very blunt
veiny leaflets, and purplish flowers over £' long.
V. acutifblia. Near the coast S. ; with about 4 linear or oblong leaflets,
and small blue or purplish flowers.
PULSE FAMILY. Ill
* * Peduncle bearing very many small soon reflexed flowers.
V. Caroliniana. Smoothish ; with 8-24 oblong blunt leaflets, and small
white or purplish-tipped flowers rather loose or scattered in the slender raceme.
V. Cracca. Only N. & W., rather downy; with 20-24 lance-oblong
mucronate-pointed leaflets, and a dense spike of blue flowers (nearly £' long)
turning purple.
§ 2. Flowers 1 — 5 on a slender peduncle, in summer or spring, very small : leaf-
lets oblonq-linear, 4-8 pairs : pod oblong, only 2 - 4-seeded : slender and
delicate European plants, run wild in fields and waste places. ©
V. tetrasperma. Leaflets blunt ; corolla whitish ; pod 4-seeded, smooth.
V. hirsuta. Leaflets truncate ; corolla bluish ; pod 2-seeded, hairy.
§ 3. Flowers single or few and sessile or short-pedunded in the axil of the haves,
pretty large : pod several-seeded : stem simple, low, not climbing. ©
V. sativa, COMMON VETCH or TARE. Sometimes cult, for fodder, from
the Old World, run wild in some fields : somewhat hairy, with 10- 14 leaflets
varying from oblong or obovate to linear, and notched and mucronate at the
apex ; flowers mostly in pairs and sessile, violet-purple ; seeds tumid.
V. Faba, BEAN of England, WINDSOR or HORSE-BEAN. Cult, from the
Old World for the edible beans (which are not much fancied in this country,
where we have better) : smooth, with stout erect stem l°-2° high, crowded
leaves of 2 - 6 oblong leaflets ( l^' - 3' long), a mere rudiment of a tendril, and
axillary clusters of white flowers having a black spot on each wing ; pod thick
and fleshy, 2' - 3' long ; seeds oval, flattened, large.
43. LENS, LENTIL. (Classical Latin name. The shape of the seed gave
the name to the glass lens for magnifying.) ©
L. esculenta, COMMON LENTIL, of Europe, cult, for fodder and for the
seeds, but rarely with us : slender plant, barely 1° high, resembling a Vetch,
with several pairs of oblong leaflets (£ long), 2 or 3 small white or purplish
flowers on a slender peduncle, and a small broad pod, containing 2 orbicular
sharp-edged (lens-shaped) seeds, which are generally yellowish or brownish,
a sorry substitute for beans, but good for soup.
44. CICER, CHICK-PEA. (An old Latin name for the Vetch.) ©
C. arietimim, COMMON C., of the Old World, called COFFEE-PEA at the
West, there cult, for its seeds, which are used for coffee : their shape gave the
specific name, being likened to the head of a sheep : plant 9' - 20' high, covered
with soft glandular acid hairs ; leaves of 8-12 wedge-obovate sen-ate leaflets ;
peduncle bearing one small whitish flower, succeeded by the turgid small pod.
45. CHORIZEMA. (A fanciful name of Greek derivation.) 11
C. ilicifdlia, HOLLY-LEAVED C. Greenhouse-plant from Australia, bushy,
with lance-oblong leaves cut into strong spiny teeth or lobes, and racemes of
small copper-colored flowers, the wings redder.
46. BAPTIST A, FALSE INDIGO. (From Greek word meaning to dye,
these plants yielding a poor sort of indigo.) Foliage of most species turning
blackish in drying : nearly all grow in sandy or gravelly dry soil : fl. spring
and early summer. If.
* Flowers yellow.
B. perfoliata. Low and spreading, smooth and glaucous, with simple
round-ovate leaves surrounding the stem (perfoliate, probably answering to
united stipules), and single small flowers in their axils ; pod small and globular.
Carolina and Georgia.
B. tinct6ria, COMMON or WILD FALSE-!NDIGO. Pale or glaucous,
smooth, bushy, 2° high, with 3 small wedge-obovate leaflets, hardly any com-
mon petiole, minute deciduous stipules, few-flowered racemes terminating the
branches, and small globular pods.
112 PULSE FAMILY.
B. lanceolata. Downy when young, spreading, with 3 thickish blunt leaf-
lets varying from lanceolate to obovate, a very short common petiole, small de-
ciduous stipules, and rather large flowers solitary in the axils and in short ter-
minal racemes, the pod globular and slender-pointed. Common S. & S. W.
B. villbsa. Minutely downy, with stout stems 2° high, 3 spatulate-oblong
or wedge-obovate leaflets, becoming smooth above, a very short common petiole,
stipules more or less persistent, and many-flowered racemes of large flowers
on slender pedicels ; the pod minutely downy, oblong, taper-pointed. From
Carolina S. W.
* * Flowers ivhite, in the first cream-color : leaves all of 3 leaflets varying from
wedqe-obovate to oblanceolate, and flowers in long racemes terminating tlte
branches.
B. leucophaea. Low and spreading, 1° high, soft-hairy, with persistent
large and leaf-like bracts and stipules, reclined one-sided racemes of cream-
colored large (!' long) flowers on slender pedicels, and hoary ovate pods. Open
woods, chiefly W.
B. alba/ Smooth, 2° - 3° high, with slender widely spreading branches,
slender petioles, minute deciduous stipules and bracts, loose erect or spreading
long-peduncled racemes of small flowers (£'-£' long), and cylindrical pods.
From Virginia S.
B. leucantha. Smooth and glaucous, stout, 3° - 5° high, with spreading
branches, rather short petioles, the lanceolate stipules and bracts deciduous,
erect long racemes of large (!' long) flowers, and oval-oblong pods 2' long,
raised on a stalk fully twice the length of the calyx. Alluvial soil, from Ohio
W. & S.
* * * Flowers blue : leaves of 3 leaflets as in the foregoing.
B. australis. Smooth and stout, pale, erect, 2° - 5° high, with oblong-
wedge-shaped leaflets, lanceolate and rather persistent stipules as long as the
short petiole, erect racemes of pretty large (nearly 1' long) flowers on short
pedicels, and oval-oblong pods 2' -3' long, on a stalk of the length of the
calyx.
47. THERMOPSIS. (From Greek words meaning that the plants resem-
ble the Lupine.) Flowers yellow. 2/
T. m611lS. Wild in open woods from N. Carolina S. : downy, l°-2° high,
with spreading branches, 3 obovate-oblong leaflets, oblong-ovate leafy stipules,
some of them as long as the short petioles, and long narrow-linear 'spreading
pods short-stalked in the calyx: fl. spring. (There are two other species in the
Southern Alleghanies.)
T. fabacea, which is erect with oval leaflets and upright pods, is sparingly
cult, from Siberia, and wild in N. W. America.
48. CLADRASTIS, YELLOW-WOOD. (Meaning of name obscure,
perhaps from Greek for brittle branches.)
C. tinct6ria (also named VinofLiA L^TEA), native of rich woods from
E. Kentucky S., planted for ornament, one of the very handsomest and neatest
of ornamental trees ; with light yellow wood, a close bark like that of Beech,
leaves of 7-11 parallel-veined oval or ovate leaflets (3' -4' long and smooth, as
is the whole plant), and ample hanging panicles (1° or more long) of pretty,
delicately fragrant, cream-white flowers, terminating the branchlets of the season,
in May or June.
49. SOPHORA. (An Arabic name altered.) There is a wild herbaceous
species beyond the Mississippi, a low shrubby one on the coast of Florida,
and a tree in Arkansas and Texas which in its fleshy jointed pod and in ap-
pearance much resembles the following : —
S. Japonica, JAPAN S. Planted for ornament, hardy to New England ;
tree 20° - 50° high, with greenish bark, 11-13 oval or oblong acute smooth
leaflets, and loose panicles of cream-white flowers, terminating the branches at
the end of summer, the fruit a string of fleshy 1 -seeded joints.
PULSE FAMILY. 113
50. CERCIS, RED-BUD, JUDAS-TREE. (Ancient name of the ori-
ental species : the English name from the old notion that this was the tree
whereon Judas hanged himself.)
C. Canadensis, AMERICAN* RED-BUD. Wild from New York S. (hut
probably not in Canada as the name implies) : a small, handsome tree, orna-
mental in spring, when the naked branches are covered with the small but very
numerous flowers, of the color of peach-blossoms or redder ; the rounded leaves
are somewhat pointed, and the pods scarcely stalked in the calyx.
C. Siliqu£strum, EUROPEAN R. or JUDAS-TREE. Barely hardy N.,
except as a shrub ; has larger flowers, pod raised out of the calyx on a short
stalk, and almost kidney-shaped leaves. A seeming variety of this inhabits
Texas and California.
61. CASSIA, SENNA. (Ancient name, of obscure meaning.) The follow-
ing all wild species, the first sometimes cult, in country gardens, and the
leaves used in place of true, oriental Senna. Fl. summer, in all ours yellow.
§ 1. Smooth he>-b, scarlet-red
when ripe. Trees often planted for ornament, especially for the clusters of
showy fruit in autumn.
P. Americana, AMERICAN MOUNTAIN-ASH. Slender tree or tall shrub,
wild in the cooler districts ; smooth or soon becoming so, with lanceolate
taper-pointed and sharply serrate bright-green leaflets on a reddish stalk, pointed
and smooth glutinous leaf-buds, and berries not larger than peas.
P. sambucif61ia, ELDER-LEAVED R. or M. Wild along the northern
frontiers ; smooth or nearly so, with oblong or lance-ovate and blunt or ab-
ruptly short-pointed leaflets, coarsely sen-ate with more spreading teeth, spar-
ingly hairy leaf-buds, and larger berries.
P. aucuparia, EUROPEAN R. or M. Planted from Eu. ; forms a good-
sized tree, with oblong and obtuse paler leaflets, their lower surface, stalks, and
the leaf-buds downy; and the berries larger (^' in diameter).
20. CYDONIA, QUINCE. (Named from a city in Crete.)
C. Vlllgaris, COMMON QUINCE. Cult, from the Levant ; small tree,
nearly thornless, with oval or ovate entire leaves (Lessons, p. 55, fig. 83) cot-
tony beneath ; flowers solitary at the end of the leafy branches of the season, in
late spring, with leafy calyx-lobes, white or pale-rose petals, and stamens in a
single row ; the large and hard fruit pear-shaped, or in one variety apple-shaped,
fragrant ; seeds mucilaginous.
C. Jap6nica, JAPAN QUINCE (also named PYRUS JAPONICA). Thorny,
smooth, widely branched shrub, from Japan ; cult, for the large showy flowers,
which are produced in spring, earlier than the oval or wedge-oblong leaves, on
side spurs, in great abundance, single or more or less double, scarlet-red, or
sometimes with rose-colored or even almost white varieties ; calyx with short
and rounded lobes ; fruit green, very hard, resembling a small apple, but totally
uneatable.
39. CALYCANTHACRaE, CALYCANTHUS FAMILY.
Shrubs with opposite entire leaves, no stipules, sepals and petals
imbricated and indefinite in number and passing one into the other,
stamens few or many with anthers turned outwards, all these parts
on a hollow receptacle or calyx-cup in the manner of a rose-hip,
SAXIFRAGE FAMILY. 131
enclosing numerous pistils which ripen into akenes. Cotyledons
rolled up from one margin. Flowers rather large, mostly aromatic,
as is the wood also.
1. CALYCANTHUS. Flowers livid-purple or dull red, solitary in the axils or
terminating leat'y branches, with loose bracts passing to colored lanceolate
sepals, and these into similar thickish petals, which are borne on the sum-
mit of the closed calyx-tube: within these are numerous short stamens; the
outer 12 or more having anthers ending in a tip; the inner smaller and with
imperfect anthers or none. Pistils enclosed in the fleshy cup; ovary with 2
ovules; styles slender. Akenes oval, coriaceous, enclosed in the leathery hip,
which becomes about 2' long.
2. CHLMONANTHUS. Flowers yellow and purplish, along naked shoots, sessile
in axils of fallen leaves. Bracts and sepals scale-like, ovate, purplish or
brownish. Petals honey-yellow, or the innermost red. Stamens with an-
thers only 5.
1. CALYCANTHUS, CAROLINA ALLSPICE or SWEET-SCENT-
ED SHRUB. (Name from Greek for cup and flower.} All wild in U. S.,
and cult., especially the first, which has the more fragrant strawberry -seen ted
blossoms, fl. spring and all summer.
C. floridus. Wild S. of Virginia in rich woods : leaves soft-downy be-
neath, 1 ' - 3' long, oval or oblong.
C. IsevigatUS. Wild from S. Penn. S. : smooth and green, with oval or
oblong leaves l'-3' long, and rather small flowers (!£' across).
C. glaUGUS. Wild from Virginia S. : like the foregoing, but with mostly
larger and taper-pointed leaves, glaucous beneath. %
C. OCCidentalis, WESTERN C. Cult, from California : smooth, with
ovate or ovate-oblong and slightly heart-shaped larger leaves (o'-6' long),
green both sides, the upper surface roughish ; the brick-red flowers 3' across,
scentless ; akenes hairy.
2. CHIMONANTHUS, JAPAN ALLSPICE. (Name in Greek means
irinter-flou'er ; it flowers in the winter in a mild temperate climate.)
C. fragrans. Shrub with long branches, which may be trained like a
climber, smooth lance-ovate pointed leaves, and rather small fragrant flowers,
hardy S. of Penn.
40. SAXIPRAGACE^I, SAXIFRAGE FAMILY.
A large family not readily defined by any single characters ;
distinguished generally from Rosaces by having albumen in the
seeds, ovaries partly or wholly united, and seldom any stipules ;
the herbs and most of the shrubs of the family have only as many
or twice as many stamens, and fewer styles or stigmas, than there
are petals or sepals. Flowers mostly perfect. — Besides the plants
described, there may be met with in choice conservatories :
CUNONIA CAPENSIS, a small tree from Cape of Good Hope, with
opposite odd-pinnate leaves and a large stipule between their peti-
oles on each side :
BAUERA RUBIOIDES, from Australia, a slender bushy shrub, with
opposite leaves of 3 almost sessile narrow leaflets, looking like 6
simple leaves in a whorl, and pretty rose-colored widely open flow-
ers in their axils.
I. Shrubs, with simple leaves (includes plants which have been
ranked in two or three different families). None of the following
have stipules, except Ribes. Seeds numerous.
132 SAXIFRAGE FAMILY.
§ 1. Leaves alternate.
1. RIBES. Leaves palmately veined and lobed ; sometimes with narrow stipules
united with the base of "the petiole. Calyx with its tube cohering with the
ovary, and often extended beyond it, the 5 lobes usually colored like the
petals. Petals and stamens each 5, on the throat of the" calyx, the former
small and mostly erect. Styles 2 or partly united into one ; "ovary 1-celled
with 2 parietal placentae, in fruit becoming a juicy berry, crowned with the
shrivelled remains of the rest of the flower.
2. ITEA. Leaves pinnately veined, not lobed. Flowers in a raceme. Calyx
nearly free from the 2-celled ovary, 5-cleft. Petals lanceolate, much longer
than the calyx, and inserted along with the 5 stamens near its base. Pod
slender, 2-celled, splitting through the style and the partition.
§ 2. Leaves opposite. Calyx-tube wholly coherent unth the top-shaped or hemispherical
ovary, but not at aU extended beyond it.
# Stamens indefinite, 20 - 40.
3. DECUMARIA. Flowers small, in a compound terminal cyme. Calyx mi-
nutely 7-10 toothed. Style thick. Petals 7 - 10, valvate in the bud". Pod
small, top-shaped, many-ribbed, bursting at the sides between the ribs.
4. PHILADELPHIA. Flowers showy, often corymbed or panicled. Calyx with
4 or 5 valvate lobes. Petals 4 or 5, broad, convolute in the bud. " Styles
3-5, usually somewhat united below. Ovary 3-5-celled, becoming a pod,
which splits at length into as many pieces.
* # Stamens only twice as many as the petals. 8 or 10.
5. DEUTZIA. Flowers all alike and perfect, more or less panicled, showy.
Lobes of the calyx 5. Petals 5, valvate with the edges turned inwards.
Filaments flat, the 5 alternate ones longer, commonly with a tooth or fork on
each side next the top. Styles 3-5, slender. Pod 3-5-celled.
6. HYDRANGEA. Flowers in'cym'es, commonly of two sorts, the marginal ones
(or in high-cultivated plants almost all) enlarged and neutral, consisting of
corolla-like calyx only (Lessons, p. 84, fig. 167) : the others perfect, with a
4-5-toothed calyx, as many small petals valvate in the bud, and twice as
many stamens with slender filaments. Style 2 - 5, diverging. Ovary 2-5-
celled, becoming a small pod which opens at the top between the styles.
II. Herbs, forming the SAXIFRAGE FAMILY proper. Stipules
none or confluent with the base of the petiole. Seeds usually many.
* Stamens as many as the petals and alternate with them, usually 5, and a cluster of
gland-tipped sterile filaments before each petal: stigmas mostly 4, directly over
as many parietal placentae.
7. PARNASSIA. Flower solitary, terminating a scape-like stem ; the leaves
mostly from the root, rounded, smooth, and entire. Calyx free from the
ovary, of 5 sepals. Petals 5, veiny, imbricated in the bud. Styles none.
Pod 1-celled, many-seeded.
* * Stamens only as many as the petals, 4 or 5 : no sterile Jilaments : styles 2 and
alternate with the placentae or partition.
8. HEUCHERA. Flowers small, in a long panicle, mostly on a scape. Calyx
bell-shaped, the tube cohering below with the 1-celled* ovary, and continued
beyond it, above 5-cleft, and bearing 5 small spatulate" erect petals at
the sinuses. Styles slender. Pod 1-celled, 2-beaked at the apex, opening
between the beaks.
9. BOYKINIA. Flowers in a corymb-like cyme. Calyx 5-lobed, the tube
cohering with the 2-celled ovary" Petals 5, convolute in the bud, deciduous.
Styles 2, short. Pod 2-celled, opening between the two beaks.
* * * Stamens twice the number of the petals or the lobes of the calyx, mostly 10 j
pod commonly 2-lobed, beaked, or 2, rarely 3-4, nearly separate pods.
•»- Petals entire, mostly 5.
10. SAXIFRAGA. Flowers in cymes or panicles, or rarely solitary, perfect.
•Leaves simple or palmately cut. Petals imbricated in the bud. Pod 2-
celled below, or 2 (rarely more) separate pistils and pods, many-seeded.
11. ASTILBE. Flowers in spikes or racemes collected in an ample compound
panicle, sometimes polygamous or dioacious. Leaves ample, decompound.
SAXIFRAGE FAMILY. 133
Petals small, spatulate or linear. Little pods 2 or 3, nearly separate, opening
down the inner suture, several-seeded.
12. TIARKLLA. Flowers in a raceme. Calyx colored (white), 6-parted, and
in the sinuses bearing 5 very narrow slender-clawed petals. Filaments and
styles long and slender. Ovary 1-celled, with several ovules towards the base
of the 2 parietal placentse, 2-beaked; one of the beaks or carpels growing
much more than the other and making the larger part of the lance-shaped
membranaceous pod, which is few-seeded towards the bottom.
•*- *- Petals 5, pinnatifid, very delicate.
13. MITELLA. Flowers in a simple raceme or spike, small. Petals colored like
the short open calyx (white or green). Stamens short. Styles 2, verv short.
Ovary and pod globular, 1-celled, with 2 parietal placentae at the base," many-
seeded, opening across the top.
i- •»- «- Petals none.
14. CHRYSOSPLENIUM. Flowers yellowish-green, solitary or in a leafy cyme.
Calyx-tube coherent with the ovary, the tube or expanded border with 4 or
6 blunt lobes. Stamens 8 or 10, very short. Styles 2, short, recurved. Pod
cbcordate, thin, its notched summit rising above the calyx-tube, 1-celled
with 2 parietal placentae, several -many-seeded.
1. RIBES, CURRANT, GOOSEBERRY. (An Arabic name.) Leaves
plaited in the bud, except the last species, often clustered in the axils of
those of previous season. Fl. spring. Fruit mostly eatable.
§ 1. GOOSEBERRY. Stems commonly with I or 2 thorns below the leafstalks or
the clusters of leaves, often with, numerous scattered prickles besides, these
sometimes on the berry also.
* Cultivated species.
R. specidsum, SHOWY FLOWERING-GOOSEBERRY, of California : cult,
for ornament, especially in England, likely to succeed in Southern Middle
States, is trained like a climber ; has small and shining leaves, 1-3 very hand-
some flowers on a hanging peduncle, the short-tubular calyx, petals, and long-
projecting stamens deep red, so that the blossom resembles that of a Fuchsia ;
berry prickly, few-seeded.
R. Grossularia, GARDEN or ENGLISH GOOSEBERRY. Cult, from Eu.
for the well-known fruit; thorny and prickly, with small obtusely 3 - 5-lobed
leaves, green flowers 1 - 3 on short pedicels, bell-shaped calyx, and large berry.
* * Native species (chiefly N. $* W.), passing under the general name o/WiLD
GOOSEBERRY, with greenish or dull-purplish blossoms, only 1-3 on each
peduncle.
R. hirt611um, the commonest E., is seldom downy, with very short thorns
or none, very short peduncles, stamens and 2-cleft style scarcely longer than
the bell-shaped calyx ; and the smooth berry purple, small, and sweet.
R. rotundifblium, commoner W., is often downy-leaved ; peduncles
slender, the slender stamens and 2-parted style longer than the narrow calyx ;
berry smooth.
R. Cyn6sbati, of rocky woods N., is downy-leaved, with slender pedun-
cles, stamens and undivided style not exceeding the broad calyx, and large
berry usually prickly.
* * * Native species with the prickly stems of a Gooseberry, but with a raceme of
Jiowers like those of a Currant.
R. laciistre, LAKE or SWAMP G. Cold bogs and wet woods N. : low,
with 3 - 5-parted leaves, their lobes deeply cut, very small flowers with broad
and flat calyx, short stamens and style, and small bristly berries of unpleasant
flavor.
§ 2. CURRANT. No thorns nor prickles, and the Jiowers numerous in the racemes.
* Wild, or cultivated for the fruit : Jiowers greenish or whitish.
•»- Leaves without resinous dots : calyx flat and open : berries red (01- ivhite).
R. prostratum, FETID C. Cold woods N. ; with reclining stems, deeply
heart-shaped and acutely 5 - 7-lobed leaves, erect racemes, pedicels and pale-red
134 SAXIFRAGE FAMILY.
berries glandular-bristly ; these and the bruised herbage exhale an unpleasant,
skunk-like odor.
R. rtibrum, RED C. Cult from Eu., also wild on our northern borders ;
with straggling or reclining stems, somewhat heart-shaped moderately 3 - 5-
lobed leaves, the lobes roundish, and drooping racemes from lateral buds dis-
tinct from the leaf-buds ; edible berries red, or a white variety.
•<- -*- Leaves sprinkled with resinous dots : flowers larger, with oblong-bell-shaped
calyx : berries larger, black, aromatic and spicy, glandular-dotted.
R. floridum, WILD BLACK C. Woods N. . leaves slightly heart-shaped,
sharply 3-5-lobed and doubly serrate; racemes drooping, downy, bearing
many whitish flowers, with conspicuous bracts longer than the pedicels.
R. nigrum, GARDEN BLACK C. Cult, from Eu. : like the preceding,
but has greener and fewer flowers in the raceme, minute bracts, and a shorter
calyx.
* * Cultivated for ornament from far W. • the flowers highly colored.
R. sanguineum, RED-FL. C., from Oregon and California : glandular
and somewhat clammy, with 3 - 5-lobed leaves whitish-downy beneath, nodding
racemes of rose-red flowers, the calyx-tube oblong-bell-shaped, the berries gland-
ular and insipid.
R. atireum, GOLDEN, BUFFALO, or MISSOURI C. : from W. Missouri
to Oregon ; abundantly cult, for its spicy-scented bright-yellow flowers in early
spring ; smooth, with rounded 3-lobed and cut-toothed leaves (which are rolled
up in the bud), short racemes with leafy bracts, and tube of the yellow calyx
very much longer than the spreading lobes ; the berries blackish, insipid.
2. ITEA. (Greek name of Willow, applied to something widely different.)
I. Virginica, a tall shrub, in low pine-barrens from N. Jersey S., smooth,
with oblong minutely serrate leaves, and racemes of pretty white flowers, in
early summer.
3. DECUMARIA. (Name probably meaning that the parts of the flower
are in tens, which is only occasionally the case. )
D. barbara. Along streams S. : a tall, mostly smooth shrub, with long
branches disposed to climb, ovate or oblong shining leaves, and a compound
terminal cyme of small white odorous flowers, in late spring.
4. PHILADELPHIA'S, MOCK-ORANGE, STRING A (which is the
botanical name of the Lilac. The generic name is an ancient one, afterwards
applied to these shnibs for no particular reason). Ornamental shrubs; na-
tives of the S. Atlantic and Pacific States, Japan, &c. ; the species mixed or
much varied in cultivation. The following are the principal types.
P. coronarius, COMMON MOCK-ORANGE. Cult, probably from Japan.
Shrub with erect branches, smoothish oblong-ovate leaves having the taste and
smell of cucumbers, and crowded clusters of handsome and odorous cream-white
flowers, in late spring.
P. latifblius, BROAD-LEAVED M. Cult., unknown wild, has the erect
stems of the first, is robust, 6° - 12° high, with the ovate and toothed 5-ribbed
leaves hairy beneath, and large pure-white and nearly scentless flowers clus-
tered, in early summer.
P. inod6rus, SCENTLESS M. Wild in upper districts S. : shrub smooth,
with spreading slender branches, mostly entire ovate-oblong leaves, rather small
flowers scattered at the end of the diverging branchlets, and calyx-lobes not
longer than the ovary.
P. grandiflbrus, LARGE-FL. M. Wild along streams from Virginia S.,
and planted in several varieties : tall shrub, with long recurving branches, ovate
and pointed usually toothed smoothish or slightly downy leaves, and very large
pure-white scentless flowers, in early summer, either single or in loose clusters
at the end of the branches, the slender-pointed calyx -lobes much longer than the
ovary.
SAXIFRAGE FAMILY. 135
P. GordonianilS, cult, from Oregon, is seemingly a variety of the last,
very tall, and the large flowers appearing at midsummer.
P. hirstltUS, HAIRY M. Wild in N. Car. and Tenn., sparingly cult. :
slender, with recurving branches, the small ovate and acute sharply-toothed
leaves hairy, and beneath even hoary ; the small white flowers solitary or
2-3 together at the end of short racemose side branchlets.
5. DETJTZIA. (Named for one Dciitz, an amateur botanist of Amsterdam. )
Fine flowering shrubs of Japan and China, with numerous panicles of white
blossoms, in late spring and earlv summer ; the lower side of the leaves, the
calyx, &c. beset with minute starry clusters of hairs or scurf.
D. grctcilis, the smallest species, is 2° high, with lance-ovate sharply ser-
rate leaves bright green and smooth, and rather small snow-white floAvers, earlier
than the rest, often forced in greenhouses ; filaments forked at the top.
D. crenata. Commonly planted ; a tall shrub, rough with the fine pube-
scence, with pale ovate or oblong-ovate minutely crenate-serrate leaves, and
rather dull white blossoms in summer ; the filaments broadest upwards and
with a blunt, lobe on each side just below the anther. This is generally cult,
under the name of the next, viz.
D. scabra, Avith more rugose and rougher finely sharp-serrate leaves, and
entire taper-pointed filaments : seldom cult. here.
6. HYDRANGEA. (Name of two Greek words meaning water and vase;
the application obscure.) Fl. summer.
# Cultivated from China and Japan : house-plants N., turned out for summer.
H. Hortensia, COMMON HYDRANGEA, is very smooth, with large and
oval, coarsely toothed, bright-green leaves, and the flowers of the cyme nearly
all neutral and enlarged, blue, purple, pink, or white.
# * Wild species, on shady banks of rivers, frc., but often planted for ornament.
Styles mostly only 2 : flowers white, the sterile enlarged ones turning green-
ish or purplish ivith age, persistent.
H. QUercif61ia, OAK-LEAVED H. Stout shrub 3° - 6° high, very leafy,
downy, with oval 5-lobed large leaves, and cymes clustered in oblong panicle,
with numerous sterile flowers. Wild from Georgia S., hardy N. in cult.
H. radiata, called more fittingly H. N^VEA, having the ovate or some-
what heart-shaped pointed leaves very white-woolly beneath, but smooth and
green above ; the flat cyme with a few enlarged sterile flowers round the mar-
gin. Wild S. of Virginia.
H. arborescens, wild from Penn. and 111. S., rarely planted, is smooth,
with ovate or slightly heart-shaped serrate pointed leaves green both sides, the
flat cyme often without any enlarged sterile flowers, but sometimes with a full
row round the margin.
7. PARNASSIA, GRASS-OF-PARNASSUS. Wild on wet banks;
the large white flower handsome, in summer and autumn. ^
P. Caroliniana, the only common species, both N. & S., has the scape or
stem l°-2° high, bearing one clasping leaf low down, and terminated with a
flower over 1' broad, the many-veined petals sessile, with 3 stout small sterile
filaments before each.
P. paliistris, scarce on northern borders, is small throughout, with several
slender filaments before each few-veined petal.
P. asarifblia, along the Alleghanies S., has rather kidney-shaped leaves,
and petals narrowed at base into a short claw ; otherwise like the first.
8. HETJCHERA, ALUM-ROOT, the rootstock being astringent. (Named
for a German botanist, TJeucher.) Wild plants of rocky woods, chiefly W.
and S. along the middle country ; the leaves rounded heart-shaped and more
or less lobed or cut, mostly from the rootstock, often one or two on, the tall
stalk of the panicle. Flowers mostly greenish, in summer. %
136 SAXIFRAGE FAMILY.
* Flowers very small : stamens and styles protruding.
H. Americana, COMMON A. : the only one N. and E. of Penn., has
scapes and loose panicle (2° -3° high) clammy-glandular and often hairy,
leaves with rounded lobes, and greenish flowers in early summer.
H. villbsa, from Maryland and Kentucky S. along the upper country, is
lower, beset with soft often rusty hairs, has deepcr-lobed leaves, and very small
white or whitish flowers, later in summer.
# # Flowers larger (the calyx fully 4' long), in a narrower panicle, greenish, with
stamens little if at all protruding : leaves round and slightly 5 - 9-lobed.
H. hispida. Mountains of Virginia and N. W. Tall (scape 2° -4°
high), usually with spreading hairs ; stamens a little protruding.
H. pubdscens. From S. Penn. S. Scapes (l°-3° high) and petioles
roughish-glandular rather than pubescent ; stamens shorter than the lobes of
the calyx.
9. BOYKINIA. (Named for the late Dr. Boykin, of Georgia.) %
B. aconitifolia, occurs only along the Alleghanies from Virginia S. :
stem clammy-glandular, bearing 3 or 4 alternate palmately 5 - 7-cleft and cut
leaves and a cyme of rather small white flowers, in summer. There is one very
like it in Oregon and California.
10. SAXIFRAGA, SAXIFRAGE. (Latin name, means rock-breaker;
many species rooting in the clefts of rocks.) Besides the following, there are
a number of rare or local wild species.
# Wild species, with leaves all clustered at the perennial root, the naked scape
clammy above and bearing many small flowers in a panicle or cyme, the two
ovaries united barely at the base, making at length a pair of nearly separate
divergent pods.
S. Virginidnsis, EARLY S. On rocks and moist banks ; with obovate
or wedge-spatulate thickish more or less toothed leaves in an open cluster, scape
3' -9' high, bearing in early spring white flowers in a dense cluster, which
at length opens into a loose panicled cyme ; calyx not half the length of the
petals ; pods turning purple.
S. Pennsylvanica, SWAMP S. In low wet ground N. ; with lance-
oblong or oblanceolate obtuse leaves (4' -8' long) obscurely toothed and nar-
rowed into a very short broad petiole, scape l°-2° high, bearing small
greenish flowers in an oblong cluster, opening with age into a looser panicle (in
spring) ; the reflexed lobes of the calyx as long as the lance-linear petals.
S. er6sa, LETTUCE S. Cold brooks, from Penn. S. along the Alle-
ghanies ; the lance-oblong obtuse leaves (8'- 12' long) sharply erosely toothed ;
scape l°-3° high, bearing a loose panicle of slender-pedicelled small white
flowers (in summer) ; with reflexed sepals as long as the oval petals, and club-
shaped fl laments.
# # Exotic species, cult, for ornament : leaves all clustered at the perennial root :
ovaries 2, or sometimes 3-4, almost separate, becoming as many nearly dis-
tinct pods.
S. crassifdlia, THICK-LEAVED S. Cult, from Siberia, very smooth, with
fleshy and creeping or prostrate rootstocks, sending up thick roundish-obovate
nearly evergreen leaves, 6' - 9' long, and scapes bearing an ample at first com-
pact cyme of large bright rose-colored flowers, in early spring.
S. sarment6sa, BEEFSTEAK S., also called STRAWBERRY GERANIUM.
Cult, from China and Japan as a house-plant, not quite hardy N., rather hairy,
with rounded heart-shaped or kidney-shaped and doubly toothed leaves of fleshy
texture, purple underneath, green-veined or mottled with white above, on shaggy
petioles, from their axils sending off slender strawberry-like runners, by which
the plant is multiplied, and scapes bearing a light verv open panicle of irregular
flowers, with 3 of the petals small rose-pink and yellow-spotted, and 2 much
longer and nearly white ones lanceolate and hanging.
ORPINE FAMILY. 137
11. ASTILBE. (Name means not shining.) Also called HOTE!A, after a
Japanese botanist. Fl. summer. ^
A. decandra. Rich woods aloned leaves pubescent with soft hairs : fruit-stalk
5-ridged, prominently enlarged where it joins the fruit, the central pulp
hardly thready.
C. moschata, MUSKY, CHINA, or BARBARY SQUASH, &c. Cult, for
the edible fruit, which perfects only S., and is club-shaped, pear-shaped, or
long-cylindrical, Avith a glaucous-whitish surface.
§ 3. Stalks and almost kidmy-sliaped slightly or obtusely 5-lob on the stem and of 4 or 5 on the branchlets : flowers
numerous.
G. trifidum, SM\LL B. Swamps and low grounds, 6' -2° high, roughish
or sometimes nearly smooth ; leaves varying from linear to oblong, 4 - 6 in the
whoils ; flowers rather few, their parts often 3.
* # Fruit smooth or slightly bristly : leaves 3-nerved : flowers while, in a narrow
and long terminal panicle. ^
G. boreale, NORTHERN B. Rocky banks of streams N. ; l°-2° high,
smooth, erect, with lance-linear leaves in fours.
* * * Fruit a little bur, being covered with hooked prickles.
•«- Leaves mostly 6 or 8 in a whorl, with midrib and no side nerves : /lowers whitish
or greenish : stems reclining or prostrate, bristly-rough backwards on th^ingles.
G. Aparine, CLEAVERS or GOOSE-GRASS. Low grounds : leaves in
eights, lanceolate, rough-edged, 1 ' - 2' long ; peduncles axillary, 1 - 2-flowered ;
fruit large. ©
G. trifldrum, SWEET-SCENTED BEDSTRAW. Woodlands, especially N. :
leaves mostly in sixes, lance-oblong, bristle-pointed ; peduncles terminating the
branches, 3-flowered. Sweet-scented in drying. J/.
•«- •*- Leaves all in fours, more or less 3-ncrved : /lowers not white : stems ascending,
about 1° high, rather simple, not prickly -roughened. ^
G. pi!6sum. Commonest S., in dry thickets : leaves oval, dotted, downy,
1 ' long ; flowers brown-purple or cream-colored, all pedicelled, the peduncle
2-3-times forked. Var. PUNCTicoL6suM is a smooth form S.
G. circsezans, WILD LIQUORICE, the root being sweetish : common in
thickets ; leaves oval or oblong, obtuse, ciliate ; peduncles once forked, their
long branches bearing short-pedicelled dull or brownish flowers along the sides,
the fruit reflexed.
G. lanceolatum, like the preceding, common N. ; but with lanceolate or
lance-ovate tapering leaves, 2' long.
3. DIODIA, BUTTON- WEED. (Name from Greek for a thoroughfare,
being humble weeds, often growing by the wayside.) Fl. all summer, white
or whitish.
D. Virginica. Sandy banks from Maryland S. ; with spreading stems
l°-2° long, broadly lanceolate sessile leaves, salver-shaped corolla |' long,
2-parted style, and oblong fruit crowned with 2 calyx-teeth. ^
D. t6res. Sandy fields from N. Jersey and Illinois S. ; with slender stems
3' - 9' long, linear and rigid leaves, small corolla rather shorter than the long
bristles of the stipules, undivided style, and obovate little fruit crowned with
the 4 short calyx-teeth. ©
4. MITCHELLA, PARTRIDGE-BERRY. (Named for Dr. J. Mitchell,
who corresponded from Virginia with Linnaeus.) Fl. in early summer, y.
M. r6pens, the only species, common in woods ; a little herb, creeping over
the ground, with the small evergreen leaves round-ovate, very smooth and
glossy, bright green, sometimes with whitish lines, short-petioled ; the flowers
pretty and sweet-scented ; the scarlet fruit remaining over winter, eatable, but
dry and almost tasteless.
5. CEPHALANTHUS, BUTTON-BUSH. (Name from Greek words
for head 'And/lower.) Fl. summer and autumn.
C. OCCidentalis, the only species, is a tall shrub, common along the bor-
176 MADDER FAMILY.
ders of ponds and streams, with lance-oblong or ovate-pointed leaves, on petioles,
either in pairs or threes, and with short stipules between them ; the head of
white flowers about 1' in diameter-
6. COFFEA, COFFEE-TREE. (The Arabic name somewhat altered.)
C. Arabica, the species which produces Coffee, is a shrub or small tree,
sometimes cult, in conservatories, with smooth and glossy oblong leaves, bearing
fragrant white flowers in their axils, followed by the red berries, containing the
pair of seeds.
7. PINCKNEYA, GEORGIA BARK or FEVER-TREE. (Named
by Michaux in honor of Gen. Pinckney.)
P. pilbens, the only species, is a rather downy small tree or shrub, in wet
pine barrens, S. Car. to Georgia, with large oval leaves, slender stipules, and
purplish flowers of little beauty, but the great calyx-leaf commonly produced is
striking. This plant is of the same tribe with the CINCHONA or PERUVIAN
BARK, and has similar medicinal (tonic) properties. Fl. early summer.
*
8. GARDENIA, CAPE JESSAMINE. Not an appropriate name, as the
species so called does not belong to the Cape of Good Hope. (Named for
Dr. Garden of South Carolina, Avho corresponded with Linnasus.)
G. florida, CAPE JESSAMINE. A favorite house-plant from China, 2° -4°
high, with smooth and bright-green oblong leaves acute at both ends, large and
showy very fragrant flowers, the white corolla 5 - 9-lobed, or full double, and
large oblong orange-colored berry 5 - 6-angled and tapering at the base.
9. BOUVARDIA. (Named for Dr. Bouvard, director of the Paris Gar-
den of Plants over a century ago.)
B. triphylla. Shrubby or half-shrubby house-plants, blossoming through
the winter, and in grounds in summer, from Mexico, with ovate or oblong-
ovate smoothish leaves, in threes or the upper in pairs, and scarlet corolla,
minutely downy outside, nearly 1' long.
B. leiantha, now commoner and winter-blooming, has more downy leaves
and smooth deep-scarlet corolla.
10. HOUSTONIA. (Named by Linnaeus for a Dr. Houston, an English
physician, who botanized on the coast of Mexico, where he died early. )
# Delicate little plants, with I -flowered peduncles, flowering from early spring to
summer : corolla salver-form : pod somewhat 2-lobed, its upper half free :
seeds with a deep hole occupying the face.
H. cserulea, COMMON H. or BLUETS. Moist banks and grassy places,
3'- 5' high, smooth and slender, erect, with oblong or spatulate leaves only 3" or
4" long, very slender peduncle, and light blue, purplish, or almost white and
yellowish-eyed corolla, its tube much longer than the lobes. @
H. minima. Dry hills from 111. S. W. : roughish, l'-4' high, at length
much branched and spreading ; with leaves ovate, spatulate, or the upper linear,
earlier peduncles slender, the rest short, and tube of the purplish corolla not
longer than its lobes and those of the calyx. (T) (2)
H. rotundif61ia. Sandy soil from North Carolina S. : with prostrate and
creeping leafy stems, peduncles shorter than the roundish leaves and recurved
in fruit ; corolla white. 2/
* * Erect, leafy-stemmed, 5- - 20' high, with floivers in terminal clusters or cymes,
in summer : corolla funnel -form : seeds rather saucer-shaped. 2/
H. purptirea. Wooded or rocky banks, commoner W. : smooth or slightly
downy, with ovate or lanceolate. 3 - 5-ribbed leaves, pale purple flowers, and
upper half of globular pod free from the calyx.
VALERIAN FAMILY. 177
Var. longifdlia, the common one N. ; slender or low, with 1 -ribbed leaves,
those of the stem varying from lance-oblong to linear.
H. angustifolia. Dry banks from 111. S. & W., with tufted erect stems,
narrow-linear and acute 1 -ribbed leaves, crowded short-pedicelled floAvers, lobes
of the white corolla densely bearded inside, and only the top of the obovate pod
rising above the calyx.
59. VALERIANACE^I, VALERIAN FAMILY.
Herbs, with opposite leaves, no stipules, calyx coherent with the
ovary, which has only one fertile one-ovuled cell but two abortive or
empty ones, and stamens always fewer than the lobes of the corolla
(1-3, distinct), and inserted on its tube. Style slender: stigmas
1 — 3. Fruit small and dry, indehiscent ; the single hanging seed
with a large embryo and no albumen. Flowers small, in clusters
or cymes.
* Lobes of the calyx many and slender, but hardly seen when in flower, be.ing rolled
up inwards around the base vf the corolla; in fruit they unroll and appear
a$ long plumose bristles, resembliny a pappus, like thistle-down.
1. VALERIANA. Corolla with narrow or funnel-form tube usually gibbous at
the base on one side, but not spurred, its 5 spreading lobes almost equal.
Stamens ?. Akene 1-celled, the minute empty cells early disappearing.
Root strong-scented.
2. CENTRANTHUS. Corolla as in the preceding, but with a spur at the base.
Stamen only one.
* » Lobes of the calyx of a few short teeth or mostly hardly any.
3. FEDIA. Corolla funnel-form, with 5 equal or rather unequal spreading lobes.
Stamens mostly 3. Akene-like fruit with one fertile and two empty cells, or
the latter confluent into one.
1. VALERIANA, VALERIAN. (Name from valere, to be well, alluding
to medical properties, the peculiar-scented root of some species used in medi-
cine.) Fl. early summer, often dioacious, white or purplish. ^
# Garden species from Europe, producing the medicinal Valerian-root.
V. officinalis, the commonest in gardens, 2° -3° high, a little downy, with
leaves of 11 to 21 lanceolate or oblong cut-toothed leaflets, and rootstocks not
running.
V. 3?hu, is smoother, with root-leaves simple, stem-leaves of 5 - 7 entire
leaflets or lobes, and rootstock horizontal.
# # Wild species N. and chiefly W. : all rather rare or local.
V. pauciflora. Woodlands, Penn. to Illinois and S. W. ; l°-2° high,
smooth, with thin ovate and heart-shaped toothed root-leaves, stem-leaves of
3-7 ovate leaflets, rather few flowers in the crowded panicled cyme, and long
slender corolla.
V. sylvatica. Cedar swamps from Vermont W. & N. ; with root-leaves
mostly ovate or oblong and entire, stem-leaves with 5 — 11 lance-oblong or ovate
almost entire leaflets ; corolla funnel-form.
V. edulis. Alluvial ground from Ohio W. ; l°-4°high, with a large
spindle-shaped root (eaten by the Indians W.), thickish leaves mostly from the
root and minutely woolly on the edges, those of the root lanceolate or spatulate,
of the stem cut into 3-7 long and narrow divisions.
2. CENTRANTHUS, SPURRED VALERIAN. (From Greek words
for spur and flower.} Fl. summer. ^
C. rtlber, RED S. or JUPITER'S-BEARD. Cult, for ornament, from S.
Eu. : a very smooth rather glaucous herb, 1° - 2° high, with lance-ovate nearly
entire leaves, all the upper ones sessile, and cymes of small flowers in a narrow
panicle, the corolla very slender, £' long, red, rarely a white variety.
12
178 TEASEL FAMILY.
3. FEDIA, CORN SALAD, LAMB-LETTUCE. (Origin of the name
obscure.) Our species are all very much alike in appearance, smooth, with
forking stems 6' - 20' high, tender oblong leaves either entire or cut-lobcd
towards the base, and small flowers in clusters or close cymes, with leafy
bracts, and a short white or whitish corolla, in early summer. They
belong to the section (by most botanists regarded as a separate genus)
VALERIANELLA. © ®
F. olitbria, COMMON CORN SALAD of Eu., sparingly naturalized in
the Middle States, has fruit broader than long, and a thick corky mass at the
back of the fertile cell.
F. Fagppyrum, from New York W. in low grounds, has ovate- triangular
smooth fruit shaped like a grain of buckwheat when dry (whence the specific
name), the confluent empty cells occupying one angle, and much smaller than
the broad and flat seed.
F. radiata, common from Penn. and Michigan S., has fruit mostly downy
and somewhat 4-angled, the parallel narrow empty cells contiguous but with
a deep groove between them.
60. DIPSACE.ZE, TEASEL FAMILY.
Differs from the preceding family by having the flowers strictly
in heads, surrounded by an involucre, as in the next family, — from
which it differs in the separate stamens, hanging seed, &c. All
are natives of the Old World.
1. DIPSACUS. Coarse and stout herbs, with stems and midrib of leaves often
prickly, and the heads with rigid prickly-pointed bracts or chaff under each
flower, under the whole a conspicuous leafy involucre. Each flower more-
over has an involved in the form of a little calyx-like body enclosing the
ovary and akene. Calyx continued beyond the ovary into a mere truncate
short cup-like border. Corolla slendeV, with 4 short lobes. Stamens 4.
Style slender.
2. SCABIOSA. Less coarse, not prickly; the short heads surrounded by a softer
green involucre; a short scale or soft bristle for a bract under each flower.
Corolla funnel-form, 4 - 5-cleft, oblique or irregular ; the outer ones often
enlarged. Stamens 4. Style slender. Involucel enclosing the ovary and
the calyx various.
1. DIPSACUS, TEASEL. (Name from Greek word meaning to thirst ; the
united bases of the leaves in the common species catch some rain-water.)
Fl. summer.
D. sylv6stris, WILD T. Run wild along roadsides, 4° -5° high, prickly,
with lance-oblong leaves, the upper ones united round the stem, large oblong
heads, purplish or lilac corollas, and slender-pointed straight chaff under each
flower. ©
D. full6num, FULLER'S T. Less prickly than the other, with involucre
hardly longer than the flowers, the awn-like tips of the rigid chaff hooked at
the end, which makes the teasel useful for carding woollen cloth : cultivated in
fields for this purpose, sometimes escaping into waste places and roadsides. ®
2. SCABIOSA, SCABIOUS. (From Latin word for scurfy, perhaps from
use of the plants to cure skin-diseases.) Fl. summer. One European species
is commonly cultivated for ornament, viz.
S. atropurptirea, SWEET S., or when with dark purple or crimson
flowers called MOURNING BRIDE ; the flowers are sometimes rose-colored or even
white: plant l°-2° high, with obovate or spatulate and toothed root-leaves,
pinnately-parted stem-leaves, the cup or involucel enclosing the ovary 8-grooved,
calyx proper with 5 long bristles surmounting the akene ; the outer corollas
enlarged. Q
COMPOSITE FAMILY. 179
61. COMPOSITE, COMPOSITE FAMILY.
Herbs, or a very few shrubs, known at once by the " compound
flower," as it was termed by the older botanists, this consisting of
several or many flowers in a head, surrounded by a set of bracts
(formerly likened to a calyx) forming an involucre, the stamens as
many as the lobes of the corolla (almost always 5) and inserted on
its tube, their anthers synyenesious, i. e. united in a ring or tube
through which the style passes. Calyx with its tube incorporated
with the surface of the ovary, its limb or border (named the pappus}
consisting of bristles, either rigid or downy, or of teeth, awns, scales,
&c., or of a cup or crown, or often none at all. Corollas either
tubular, funnel-form, &c. and lobed, or strap-shaped (ligulate), or
sometimes both sorts in the same head, when the outermost or mar-
ginal row has the strap-shaped corollas, forming rays (which an-
swered to the corolla of the supposed compound flower), the separate
flowers therefore called ray-flowers ; those of the rest of the head, or
disk, called disk-flowers. The end of the stalk or branch upon
which the flowers are borne is called the receptacle. The bracts, if
there are any, on the receptacle (one behind each flower) are called
the chaff of the receptacle ; the bracts or leaves of the involucre
outside the flowers are commonly called scales. Style 2-cleft at
the apex. Ovary 1-celled, containing a single ovule, erect from
its base, in fruit becoming an akene. Seed filled by the embryo
alone. For the flowers and fruit, and the particular terms used in
describing them, see Lessons, p. 106-108, fig. 219-221, p. 112,
fig. 229, 230 ; p. 130, fig. 291 - 296.
The largest family of Flowering Plants, generally too difficult for
the beginner ; but most of the common kinds, both wild and culti-
vated, are here briefly sketched. For fuller details as to the wild
ones, with all the species, the student will consult the Manual, and
Chapman's Southern Flora. There are two great divisions which
include all the common kinds.
I. Head with only the outermost flowers strap-shaped, and these
never perfect, i. e. they are either pistillate or neutral, always with-
out stamens, or else with strap-shaped corollas entirely wanting.
Plants destitute of milky or colored juice.
A. No strap-shaped corollas or true rays.
§ 1. Thistles or Thistle-like, the heads with very many flowers, all alike and mostly
perfect. Branches of the style short or united, even to the tip. Scales of the
inwlucre many-ranked, these or the leaves commonly tipptd with prickly or
bristly points.
* Pappus of many long-plumed bristles: receptacle with bristles between the flowers.
1. CYNARA. Scales of the involucre of the great heads thickened and fleshy
towards the base, commonly notched at the end, with or without a prickle.
Akenes slightly ribbed. Otherwise much as in the next.
2. CIRSIUM. Scales of the involucre not fleshy-thickened, prickly-tipped or
else merely pointed. Akenes flattish, not ribbed. Filaments of the stamens
separate.
180 COMPOSITE FAMILY.
# * Pappus of naked, rough or short-barbed bristles, or none.
-t- Filaments of the stamens united into a tube. Leaves white-variegated.
3. SILYBUM. Scales of the involucre with the upper part leaf-like and spread-
ing, spiny. Receptacle beset with bristles. Akenes flattened: pappus of
many rather short and rigid bristles minutely bearded on their edges.
•* — \~ Filaments separate.
4. ONOPORDON. Heads and flowers as in true Thistles, No. 2. Receptacle naked
and honeycombed. Akenes 4-angled, wrinkled: pappus of many slender
bristles united at base into a horny ring. Stems strongly leaf-winged.
6. LAPPA. Scales of the globular involucre abruptly tipped with a spreading
slender awl-shaped appendage, mostly hooked at its point. Receptacle bristly.
Akenes flattened, wrinkled: pappus of many short and rough bristles, their
bases not united, deciduous. Leaves and stalks not prickly.
6. CARTHAMUS. Outer scales of the involucre leaf-like and" spreading, middle
ones with ovate appendage fringed with spiny teeth or little spines, innermost
entire and sharp-pointed. Receptacle beset with linear chaff. Akenes very
smooth, 4-ribbed: pappus none. Leaves with rigid or short spiny teeth.
7. CNICUS and 8. CENTAUREA; see next division.
§ 2. Thistle-like or Scabious-like, with many-ranked imbricated scales to the involucre,
many-flowers, and the two branches of the style united into one body almost or
quite to the tip, as in § 1 : but the outer flowers of the head different from the
rest and sterile, except in a few species of Centdurea. Receptacle beset with
bristles.
7. CNICUS. Outer flowers smaller than the rest, slender-tubular, sterile. Scales
of the involucre tipped with a long spine-like appendage which is spiny-fringed
down the sides. Akenes short-cylindrical, many-ribbed and grooved, crowned
with 10 short and horny teeth, within which is a pappus of 10 long and rigid
and 10 short naked bristles. Leaves prickly-toothed.
8. CENTAUREA. Outer flowers sterile and with corolla larger than the rest,
often funnel-shaped and with long sometimes irregular lobes, forming a kind
of false ray; but these are wanting in a few species. Involucre various, but
the scales commonly with fringed, sometimes with spiny tips. Akenes flat or
flattish : pappus of several or many bristles or narrow scales, or none.
§ 3. Bur-like or achenium-like in the fruit, which is a completely closed involucre
containing only one or two flowers, consisting of a pistil only, ivith barely a-
rudiment of corolla , therefore very different from most plants of the family ;
but the staminate flowers are several and in a flat or top-shaped involucre.
Heads therefore, monoecious, or rarely dioecious: no pappus. Coarse and
homely weeds.
9. XANTHIUM. Heads of staminate flowers in short racemes or spikes, their
involucre of several scales in one row: fertile flowers below them, clustered
in the axils, two together in a 2-celled hooked-prickly bur.
10. AMBROSIA. Heads of staminate flowers in racemes or spikes terminating the
stem or branches, their involucre of several scales united in flattish or top-
shaped cup; fertile flowers clustered below the staminate, only one enclosed
in each small achenium-like involucre, which is naked, or with a few tubercle*
or strong points near the top in a single row.
§ 4. Plants not thistle-like nor bur-like.
# Two kinds of flowers in the same head, the outer ones with pistils only.
t- Pappus none or a minute border or cup : no chaff among the flowers : scalet of the,
involucre dry, often with scarious margins, imbricated. Bitter-aromatic or
rather acrid plants.
11. TANACETUM. Heads of many yellow flowers ; the marginal ones with pistil
only and a 3-5-toothed corolla. Akenes angled or ribbed, with a flat top,
crowned with a cup-like toothed or lobed pappus. Very strong-scented
herbs, with heads in a corymb.
12. ARTEMISIA. Heads small, of few or many yellow or dull purplish flowers,
some of the marginal ones pistillate and fertile, the others perfect, but some-
times not maturing the ovary. Akenes obovate or club-shaped, small at the
top, destitute of pappus. Bitter-aromatic, and strong-scented plants, with
heads in panicles.
COMPOSITE FAMILY. 181
•i- •»- Pappus none, at all to the outer pistillate and fertile flowers, but of some slender
bristles in the central and perfect yet ttUlom fruit-bearing floviers : scales of
the involucre woolly.
13. FILAGO. Heads small crowded in close clusters, of many inconspicuous
flowers, each fertile pistillate flower in the axil of a thin and dry chaffy scale,
and with a very slender thread-like corolla; the central flowers with a more
expanded 4 -5-toothed corolla. Low herbs, clothed with cottony wool: leaves
entire.
••- ••- •»- Pappus of all the flowers composed of bristles : no chaff among the flowers.
14. ERECHTHITES. Heads of many whitish flowers, with a cylindrical involucre
of many narrow and naked scales in a single row : outer flowers with very
slender corolla: inner with more open tubular corolla. Akenes narrow:
pappus of copious very fine and soft naked white hairs. Rank coarse herb.
37. ERIGERON. One species has such short and inconspicuous rays that it may be
looked for here.
15. GNAPHALIUM. Heads of very many whitish or yellowish flowers, surrounded
by an involucre of many ranks of dry and white or otherwise colored (not
green) scarious and persistent scales woolly at base; the flowers all fertile,
the outer ones with pistil and very slender 'corolla, the central ones perfect
and with more expanded 5-toothed corolla. Pappus a row of very slender
and rough ish bristles. Cottony herbs.
16. AN'l 'ENNARIA. Like Gnaphalium, but the plants nearly or quite dioecious :
the staminate flowers with a simple style, but the ovary sterile, and their
pappus of stouter bristles which are thickened at the summit and there more
or less barbed or plumed.
* # Only one kind of flowers in the head.
•*- Scales of the involucre dry and papery or scarious, often colored (i. e. not green},
not withering. (Everlastings.)
*+ Many flowers in the head : scales of the involucre in many ranks.
16. ANTENNARI A. Flowers dioecious, in one plant all pistillate, with very slender
corollas and a pappus of long and very fine hair-like naked bristles; in the other
staminate (with a simple imperfect style), and the pappus of thicker bristles
enlarging and somewhat plumed or 'barbed at their summit. Leaves and
stems cottony.
17. RHODANTHE. Flowers perfect, with open 5-toothed yellowish corollas. In-
volucre (silvery or rose-colored), smooth, obovate or top-shaped. Akenes
woolly: pappus of numerous plumose bristles. Leaves and stems smooth
and naked.
18. AMMOBIUM. Flowers perfect, with yellow 5-lobed corollas, surrounded by a
silvery-white involucre.
Akenes flattish-4-sided :
bristle. Leaves and stems
++ ^-f Only 3 or 4t flowers in each head.
19. HUMEA. Flowers perfect, purplish, surrounded by a few dry and scarious
scales of the involucre: no chaff on the small receptacle. Akenes smooth:
no pappus. Herbage green, not cottony: the small heads drooping in an
ample compound panicle.
•i— «- Scales oftiie involucre not dry and scarious or papery : flowers all perfect.
+* Flowers yellow, with chaff between them : akenesflat, bearing 2-4 awns or bnstles.
53. BIDENS, and 52. COREOPSIS: a few species have no ray-flowers.
•4-v t-v Flowers yellow : no chaff: nkenes not flat : pappus of copious very soft andflne
down-like bristles.
30. SEXECIO, one or two species which are destitute of ray-flowers.
•M- +-v -M- Flowers not yellow nor orange : no chaff among them.
a* Branches of the style slender and rough all over with minute bristles.
20. VERNONIA. Heads corymbed, with an involucre of many imbricated scales,
and 15 to 30 or more rose-purple flowers. Lobes ofthe corolla slender. Akenes
cylindrical, several-ribbed: pappus of copious hair-like bristles, surrounded
at base by an outer set of very short and fine scales or scale-like bristles.
Leave? alternate.
perfect, with yellow 5-lobed corollas, surrounded by a
. Chaffy scales on the receptacle among the flowers.
: pappus of 4 teeth, two of them prolonged into a
:ms white-cottony, the latter with leaf-like wings.
182 COMPOSITE FAMILY.
b. Branches of the style long and slender or mostly rather club-shaped, smooth or
very minutely puberulent under a lens.
21. LIATRIS. Heads of several or many rose-purple flowers, surrounded by a
more or less imbricated involucre. Lobes of the corolla rather long. Akenes
slender, about 10-ribbed : pappus of many long and slender bristles, which are
plumose or else beset with a short beard" or roughness for their whole length.
Leaves alternate, entire.
22. KUHNIA. Heads small, of 10-25 dull cream-colored flowers, surrounded by a
few lanceolate scales of the involucre. Corolla slender, barely 5-toothed.
Akenes cylindrical, many-striate : pappus a row of white plumose bristles.
Leaves mostly alternate.
23. MIKANIA. Heads of 4 flesh-colored flowers, with an involucre of only 4
scales. Corolla 5-toothed. Akenes 5-angled: pappus a row of hair-like
naked (barely roughish) bristles. Leaves opposite; stem twining.
24. EUPATORIU5.1. Heads of 3 or more flowers, and an involucre of several or
many scales. Corolla 5-toothed. Receptacle flat or merely convex. Akenes
5-angled: pappus a row of hair-like naked (barely rough)* bristles.
25. CONOCLINIUM. Heads, &c. as in the preceding, but the receptacle conical.
Flowers many, blue or blue-purple. Leaves opposite.
26. AGERATUM. " Like the preceding; but the receptacle flattish, and the pappus
of a few chaffy scales, mostly tapering into a slender stiff rough bristle.
Leaves opposite.
17. PIQUERIA. Heads very small, of 3-5 white flowers, and involucre of 4 or 5
scales. Akenes 5-angled : pappus none. Leaves opposite, 3-ribbed.
C. Branches of the style smooth, with a conical orjlat unusally minutely hairy tip.
28. CACALIA. Heads corymbed, with 5-30 white or whitish flowers. Scales of
the involucre a single row, with a few small bractlets at base. Corolla
5-cleft. Akenes oblong, smooth : pappus of very many fine and soft down-
like naked bristles. Leaves alternate.
40. BELLIS. A cultivated state of the Daisy, with quilled (monstrous) flowers
may be sought here.
B. With strap-shaped corollas or rays at the margin of the head.
§ 1. Herbage not spotted with large translucent or colored strong-scented glands.
* Pappus of copious hair-like bristles: no chaff on the receptacle among the flowers.
•*- Rays yellow, except in one or tico species o/*Senecio and one Solidago, pistillate.
29. TUSSILAGO. Ray-flowers very numerous and in many rows, fertile, with
narrow ligules ; trie tubular disk-flowers few in the centre, and not fertile.
Scale of the involucre nearly in one row. Pappus fine and soft. Head soli-
tary on a scaly-bracted scape.
30. SENECIO. Ray-flowers several in a single row, or sometimes none: the disk-
flowers (as in all the following) perfect and fertile. Scales of the involucre in
a single row, or often with small bractlets at the base. Pappus very fine and
soft. Heads mostly in corymbs. Leaves alternate, simple or compound.
31. ARNICA. Ray-flowers several or many in a single row. Scales of the invo-
lucre nearly *equal in 2 rows. Pappus a single row of rough rather rigid
bristles. Akenes slender. Heads few and rather large. Leaves opposite.
32. INULA. Ray-flowers very numerous in one row, with narrow ligules. Outer
scales of the involucre leaf-like. Pappus of many slender roughish bristles.
Akenes narrow. Heads large and broad, the tubular perfect flowers very
numerous, their anthers with two tails at the base. Leaves alternate.
33. CHRYSOPSIS. Ray-flowers numerous in one row, scales of the involucre
narrow, not leaf-like. Pappus of many roughish slender bristles, with also an
outer row of very short and stout or chaff-like bristles. Akenes flattened,
hairy. Heads single or corvmbed. Leaves alternate.
34. SOLIDAGO. Ray-flowers 1 - 8, or rarely 10 - 16, the tubular disk-flowers sev-
eral, rarely many. Involucre oblong, its scales imbricated and appressed, of
unequal lengths. Pappus a row of slender roughish bristles. Akenes nar-
row, terete, many-ribbed. Heads in panicled racemes, corymbs, or clusters,
mostly small. Leaves alternate.
H- H- Rays white, purple, blue, $c. never yellow, the flowers of the disk mostly yellow.
ASTERS and the like. Leaves alternate, simple. Akenes flattened or flattish.
86. CALLISTEPHUS. Ray-flowers very numerous, usually in more than one row,
or in cultivated varieties in several rows. Involucre in several rows, more or
COMPOSITE FAMILY. 183
less leafy. Pappns of many slender and roughish bristles, surrounded at bane
by a little cup or crown, consisting of many little scales or short stiff bristles
more or less united. Heads solitary terminating leafy stems or branches,
large and broad. Leaves sessile, coarsely toothed. Root annual.
<56. ASTER. Ray-flowers more or less numerous in one row. Involucre imbricated
Pappus of very numerous slender roughish bristles ; no cup or crown of
short bristles outside. Heads usually panicled or corymbed. Root usually
perennial.
37. ERIGERON. Ray-flowers numerous, narrow, and commonly occupying more
than one row. 'involucre more simple than in Aster, the scales narrower,
appressed, mostly of equal length and occupying only one or two rows, with-
out any leaf-like tips; and the pappus more 'scanty, often some minute short
and sometimes chaff-like bristles at the base of the' long ones.
* * Pappus not of long hair-like bristles, either a little cup or crown, or of a few
scales, teeth, awns, cf c., or none at all.
•*- No choffon the receptacle among the flowers, except in 41 - 43 and some cultivated
and altered forms of 44. Leaves mostly alternate.
++ Akenes flat : rays pistillate, not yellow, at least in our species.
38. BOLTONIA. Flowers resembling those of 36 and 37. Receptacle conical or
hemispherical. Akenes very flat, obovate or obcordate with a callous margin
or wing: pappus of several'minute and short bristles, and commonly 2 or 3
short awns. Leafy-stemmed, tall, branching herbs, with pale-grecu t'hickish
and chieflv entire leaves often turned edgewise.
39. BRACK YCOME. Flowers like those of 36 or 37. Receptacle conical. Akenes
flat, wingless : pappus a ring of minute short bristles or narrow scales united
into a short crown.
40. BELLIS. Heads with numerous white, reddish, or purple ravs. Receptacle
high conical. Akenes flat, obovate, wingless: no pappus. Low nerbs, with
solitary peduncled heads, and entire or merelv toothed leaves.
41. ACHILLEA. Heads mostly with few and wfiite (rarely rose-red or yellow)
rays. Receptacle small, flattish, chaffy. Akenes oblong, margined: no
pappus.
•w- -w- Akenes not fiat, nor boat-shaped: pappus a short crown or none : rays pistillate
and fertile, except in 42.
42. MARUTA. Rays neutral, white; otherwise almost exactly as in the next.
43. ANTHEMIS. Rays pistillate and fertile, numerous, white or sometimes vellow.
Involucre of many small close-pressed scales. Receptacle convex, with some
slender chaff, at least at the centre. Akenes terete, mostly ribbed. Leaves
once to thrice pinnatelv divided.
44. CHRYSANTHEMUM, including LEUCANTHEMUM and PYRETHRUM.
Rays pistillate and fertile, numerous. Receptacle convex or flat, without
chaff, except in some double-flowered varieties. Disk-flowers mostly with a
flattened tube. Pappus none. Otherwise nearly as in Anthemis.
++•«-». .»-«. A kenes top-shaped or oblong, not jlnltened nor incurved: pnppits of 5-10
conspicuous thin chaffy scales 'ivith midrib nurre or leas extended info a bristle
or aicn: rays in one row, not very numerous, wtdge-shnped, 3 - 5-cleft or lubed,
yelloio or partly reddish or brownish-purple, never white: involucre of separate
scales.
45. HELENIUM. Rays pistillate. Involucre of a few small and narrow spreading
or reflexed scales. Receptacle globular or conical. Heads mostly corymbed.
(Akene and pappus, Lessons, p. 130, fig. 294.)
46. GAILLARDIA. Rays neutral, often partycolored. Involucre of two or more
rows of loose leafy-tipped scales. Receptacle convex. Disk-flowers often
purple : the styles with very slender hispid branches. Heads solitary on slen-
der terminal peduncles.
.w -w- -w- -w- Akenes short, not incurved, covered with extremely long soft-silky hairs
(ichich must not be confounded with pappus), hiding the minute pnpjms of many
delicate little scales: rays numerous in one rmv, neutral, yellow with dark-
colored tjwt fit base, nearly entire : involucre of 2 or 3 rows of short scales
united in a cup.
47. GAZANIA. Head solitary on a long terminal peduncle, large and showy, _the
rays expanding only in sunshine or bright davlight. Receptacle flat. Disk-
flowers yellow : their style abruptly thickened below the two short branches.
184 COMPOSITE FAMILY.
.„..»_,. 4H- -w. •*-»• Akene.s incurved or boat-shaped, rough-tub ercled on the back : no pap-
pus : rays numerous in more than one row : flowers all yellow or orange.
48. CALENDULA. Heads showy, solitary terminating the branches, with the very
numerous rays pistillate and fertile, expanding in sunshine or bright daylight;
the disk-flowers sometimes few in the centre and sterile. Involucre of nu-
merous short green scales. Receptacle flat. Akenes all that mature belong-
ing to the ray-flowers, strongly incurved, some of them even horse-shoe-
shaped, or coiled into a ring, and (especially the outer ones) with thickened
margins.
H- H- A chaff on the receptacle behind each flower.
•*-)• Only the ray-flowers fertile or maturing their akenes ; those of the disk, even if
apparently perfect, always sterile: ftoioers all yellow. Coarse tall herbs.
49. POLYMNIA. Heads rather small or middle-sized, with about 5 leaf-like scales
to the involucre, and some thin and small inner ones, few or several ray-
flowers producing turgid obovate or partly triangular akenes with no pappus.
Herbage clammy-pubescent and rather strong-scented: all but the upper-
most leaves opposite, and their petioles winged or dilated and stipule-like at
the clasping base.
50. SILPHIUM. Heads mostly large, with numerous somewhat leafy-tipped or
green scales to the involucre imbricated in 2 or more rows, numerous ray-
flowers producing very broad and flat akenes (parallel with the scales of the
involucre), which have commonly a wing-like margin and 2 teeth or a notch
at the top. Juice resinous.
H-V •»-*. Disk-flowers perfect and fertile, those of the ray pistillate and fertile or neutral.
a. Aktms flattened parallel with the scales of the involucre and chaff of the recep-
tacle, or in 53 sometimes very slender. Leaves generally opposite : involucre
double, the outer mostly leaf-like, the inner of erect scales.
51. DAHLIA. Rays in the natural flowers neutral or in the common specres more
or less pistillate, but in the gardens most or all of the flowers are changed into
rays. Inner involucre of numerous more or less united scales. Akenes
oblong, obscurely 2-horned or notched at the apex.
52. COREOPSIS. Rays usually 8, neutral, mostly yellow, or brown-purple at base.
Involucre commonly of about 8 outer loose or leaf-like scales and as many
erect inner ones. Chaff slender, deciduous with the flat akenes, which have
mostly a pappus of 2 teeth or awns, the latter not barbed downwards.
63. BIDEXS. Like Coreopsis, but several without rays, and some with slender or
needle-shaped akenes; all bear 2 or more rigia persistent awns, which are
barbed downwards!
b. Akenes flattened if at all contrary to the scales of the involucre and the chaff" of
the receptacle, having the latter usually embracing or folded round their outer
margin.
= Rays deciduous after flowering, yellow, sometimes brown-purple at base in 60, 61,
or white in one oj 55. Leaves either opposite or alternate in same genus, in
54-56.
64. ACTINOMERIS. Rays neutral, few or several. Involucre of several nearly
equal scales. Receptacle convex or conical. Akenes flat, oval, wing-mar-
gined: pappus of 2 persistent smooth awns. Leaves simple, serrate, often
Recurrent into wings on the stem.
65. VERBESINA. Rays few (in ours 1-5), pistillate. Involucre of few erect
scales. Receptacle rather flat. Akenes flat, winged or wingless : pappus of
2 persistent awns. Leaves simple, decurrent into wings on the stem.
58. XIMENESIA. Rays numerous, pistillate. Scales of the involucre spreading.
Receptacle flattish or convex. Akenes of the ray wrinkled and wingless ;
those of the disk flat and wing-margined, with two slender awns united to
the wing. Leaves mostly with winged petioles which are dilated and clasp-
ing at the base.
67. HELIANTHUS. Rays several or many, neutral. Scales of the involucre im-
bricated. Receptacle flat or convex. Akenes flattish, more or less 4-angIed
or lenticular, marginless: pappus of 2 thin chaffy scales corresponding with
the outer and inner angle of the akene, and sometimes with minute inter-
mediate ones, all deciduous from the ripe fruit. (Lessons, p. 130, fig. 293.)
Leaves simple, entire or serrate: stems not winged.
68. HELIOPSIS. Rays 10 or more, pistillate. Scales of the involucre in 2 or 3
rows, the inner shorter than the disk. Receptacle conical. Akenes 4-angled,
somewhat cubical : no pappus. Leaves opposite, petioled, triple-ribbed.
COMPOSITE FAMILY. 185
69. RUDBECKIA. Rays several or numerous, neutral. Scales of the involucre
in about 2 rows, spreading. Receptacle conical or columnar. Chaff soft.
Akenes short, 4-angular, marginless, flat at the top: pappus none or a short
even cup-border or border. Leaves alternate.
60. LEPACHVS. Like 59, but akenes flattened, wing-margined on the inner and
sometimes on the outer edge, 1 -2-toothed at summit. "Disk grayish. Chaff
short and truncate. Leaves alternate, pinnately compound.
61. DRACOPIS. Like 60, but involucre Of some very small linear scales, and
akenes terete, tapering to base, minutely striate, blunt at top, and the attach-
ment at one side of the base. Leaves alternate, mostly entire, clasping.
= = Rays rather persistent, long, drooping, pistillate bufsterile, rose-purple.
62. ECHINACEA. Rays numerous. Scales of the involucre narrow and spread-
ing. Receptacle conical ; the persistent and rigid spiny-tipped chaff longer
than the purplish disk-corollas. Akenes thick and short, 4-sided, and with a
toothed border for a pappus. Leaves chiefly alternate, 3 - 5-ribbed.
= = = Rays persistent an tlte fruit, becoming dry and papery, broad, pistillate and
fertile,
COMPOSITE FAMILY. 201
49. POLYMNIA, LEAF-CUP. (These coarse and inelegant plants are
oddly dedicated to one of the Mnses.) Fl. summer and autumn. ^
P. Canad6nsis, common in shaded ravines N., is 3° - 5° high, clammy-
hairy, with thin leaves, the lower pinnatifid, the upper 3 - 5-lobed or angled,
and the few pale-yellow and broad rays of the small heads shorter than the
involucre.
P. Uvedalia, in rich soil from New York to 111. and S., is roughish-hairy,
stout, 4°- 10° high, with large ovate and angled or lobed leaves, the upper
ones sessile, and rays of the pretty large head 10-15, bright yellow, longer than
the involucre.
50. SIIiPHIUM, EOSIN-PLANT. (Ancient Greek name of some very
different plant.) Fl. summer and autumn. JJ.
§ 1. Leaves alternate, large, most of them petiokd.
* The stout and rough flowering stems (3° - 6° high ) leafy up to the few large, heads :
scales of involucre ovate, with tapering and spreading rigid tips.
S. laciniatum, ROSIN- WEED or COMPASS-PLANT, of prairies, from Michi-
gan W. & S., so called because the rough-hairy deeply pinnatitid root-leaves (of
ovate outline) incline to present their edges N. & S.
* * The slender smooth flowering stems (4° - 10° high) leafy only near the base,
dividing above into a panicle of many smaller heads.
S. terebinthinaceum, PRAIRIE-DOCK, so called from the appearance
of the large root-leaves, which are ovate or heart-oblong and 1° - 2° long, besides
the slender petiole, the margins somewhat toothed : common W.
S. compositum, from North Carolina S., is more slender and smaller, with
round heart-shaped leaves either toothed or cut, or divided.
§ 2. Leaves or many of them in whorls of 3 or 4 along the terete stems, rather small,
entire or coarsely toothed.
S. trifoliatum, of S. & W., has the smooth stem 4° -6° high, lanceolate
roughish leaves, and small heads.
S. AsteriscilS, of dry soil S., is rough-hairy, with fewer and larger heads.
§ 3. Leaves opposite and clasping or connate : stems leafy to the top.
S. integrifdlium, in prairies from Michigan W. £ S. ; roughish, 2° - 4°
high, with lance-ovate partly heart-shaped and entire distinct leaves.
S. perfoliatum, CUP-PLANT, of rich soil W. & S. : with very smooth
square stems 4° - 9° high, around which the ovate coarsely toothed leaves are
connate into cup which holds water from the rains.
51. DAHLIA. (Named for a Swedish professor, Dahl, contemporary with
Linnaeus.) ^ Two or three Mexican species, of which the most familiar is
D. variabilis, COMMON DAHLIA of the gardens, with pinnate leaves, ovate
serrate leaflets, and large heads, much increased in size and altered, of all colors :
roots fascicled and tuberous (Lessons, p. 32, fig. 60).
52. COREOPSIS, TICKSEED. (Named from Greek word for bug, from
the shape of the akenes. ) Many wild species : several cult, for ornament : these
are the commonest Fl. summer. (See Lessons, p. 106, 107, fig. 219, 220.)
§ 1 . Rays broad, coarsely 3 - ^-toothed : outer involucre not longer than the inner :
akenes orbicular or oval, incurved when mature. Chiefly cultivated.
* © © Disk-flowers and lower part of the rays dark-colored or brown-purple :
akenes in these species wingless and nearly naked at top : leaves compound.
C. tinctdria, of Arkansas, &c., the commonest COREOPSIS or CALLIOPSIS
of all country gardens ; smooth, with lower leaves twicc-pinnately divided into
narrow leaflets, numerous heads, and lower half or sometimes almost the wholo
of rays brown-purple : in one variety they are changed to tubes.
202 COMPOSITE FAMILY.
C. Drumm6ndii, of Texas, is low and spreading, rather hairy, with leaves
of 3-7 oval leaflets, or some of them simple, heads on long peduncles, and very
broad rays golden yellow with small dark spot at base.
* * (T) Disk-flowers yellow : rays yellow with a darker and purplish-streaked spot
near the base : akenes winged and 2-toot/Led.
C. COronata, of Texas, is low, with slender-petioled leaves oblong or spatu-
late, or some of them 3 - 5-parted, and very long peduncle ; rays broad and
handsome.
* # * If. Disk-flowers and rays (V long) entirely yellow ; akenrs orbicular, much
incurved and broadly winged when ripe, crowned with 2 little teeth or scales.
C. lanceolata. WM W. & S., and cult, in gardens ; 1° -2° high, smooth
or sometimes downy, in tufts, with lanceolate or oblanceolate entire leaves
mostly crowded at 'the base, and long slender peduncles : flowers in early
summer.
C. auriculata. Wild W. & S., and in some gardens; taller, sometimes
with runners or suckers at base, leafy to near the top ; upper leaves oblong,
lower roundish and sometimes auricled at base or with 3-5 lobes or leaflets.
§ 2. Rays entire or nearly so, oblong or lanceolate: akenes oblong, with a very
narrow wing or border, not incurved, and ol)scurely if at all 2-toothed at the
apex : scales of outer involucre narrow and entire : heads rather small, the
flowers all yellow. ^
* Low, l°-3° high, leafy to the top: leaves really opposite and sessile, but divided
into 3 leaflets, thus seeming to be 6 in a whorl. Wild chiefly in S. States,
all but the first are cult in gardens.
C. senifolia, has seemingly 6 lance-ovate and entire leaflets in a whorl,
'\ e. two, but each 3-divided) smooth or downy.
C. Verticillata, ha.s the pair cut into once or twice pinnate almost thread-
shaped divisions, smooth.
C. delphinifblia, very like the last, but with fewer lance-linear divisions.
* * Tall, leafy to the top, with evidently opposite petioled leaves.
C. tripteris. Rich ground W. £ S., wkh simple stems 4° -9° high, leaves
of 3 - 5 lanceolate entire leaflets, corymbed heads, very short outer involucre,
and blunt rays.
§ 3. Rays oval or oblong, golden yellow, slightly notched : akenes wingless, not in-
curved, bearing 2 awns or teeth for a pappus : outer involucre conspicuous
and resembling leaves : branching plants of wet grounds, with thin leaves
mostly of 3-7 pinnate toothed or cut veiny leaflets ; resembling the next
genus, but the awns not downwardly barbed. ® @
C. trichosp^rma. Swamps mostly near the coast, 1° - 2° high, with 3 - 7 •
lanceolate or linear cut-toothed leaflets or divisions, numerous heads, and nar-
row-oblong or linear wedge-shaped marginless akenes with 2 stout teeth.
C. aurea, only S., has upper leaves often simple, lower nearly as in the fore-
going, and shorter wedge-obovate akenes with 2 or 4 short chaff-like teeth.
C. aristosa, from Illinois S., has more compound leaves with oblong or
lanceolate often pinnatifid leaflets, and broad-obovate very flat akenes slightly
margined and bristly ciliate, the pappus of 2 long and slender awns, or some-
times 3 or 4, or in one variety none at all.
53. BIDENS, BUR-MARIGOLD, BEGGAR-TICKS. (Latin for two-
toothed, from the usually 2 awns of the pappus.) Our species © or © ;
fl. summer and autumn. " The akenes adhering to the dress or to the fleece
of animals by their barbed awns.
§ 1 . Akenes broad and flat, with bristly ciliate margins.
* Coarse and very homely weeds, commonly without any rays.
B. frondosa, COMMON BEGGAR-TICKS. Coarse weed in low or manured
grounds, 2° - 6° high, branched, with pinnate leaves of 3 - 5 broad lanceolate
COMPOSITE FAMILY. 203
coarsely toothed leaflets, outer involucre much longer than the head, nml wcdge-
obovate akenes ciliate with upturned bristles, and 2-awned.
B. connata, SWAMP B. Low grounds; smooth, l°-2° high, with simple
lanceolate and taper-pointed leaves, or the lower 3-divided and decurrent on tho
petiole, smaller heads, narrow wedge-shaped akenes minutely and downwardly
ciliate and bearing about 3 awns.
* * Low smooth herbs, with showy golden yellow rays 1 ' long.
B. chrysanthemoides, LARGER BUR-MARIGOLD. Shallow water or
wet places, 6' -30' high, with simple lanceolate sessile serrate leaves, outer
involucre shorter than the rays, and wedge-shaped akenes with almost prickly
downwardly barbed margins and 2-4 awns.
§ 2. Akenes linear or needle-shaped.
B. B6ckii, WATER B. Immersed in water, N. and W., the single short-
peduncled heads rising above the surface, and with showy rays ; leaves cut into
very numerous fine hair-like divisions ; awns of the stout akenes 4-6, barbed
near the tip.
B. bipinnata. Dry soil, from Conn, to 111. and S., 1° - 3° high, branched,
with 1 - 3-pinnately parted petioled leaves, ovate-lanceolate leaflets, small heads,
short pale-yellow rays, and slender akenes with 3-4 barbed awns.
64. ACTINOMERIS. (Greek-made name, alluding to the irregularity
of the rays in the commonest species. ) ^
A. squarrbsa, common in low rich soil from W. New York S. & W. ; with
branching stems 4° - 8° high, lance-oblong leaves tapering to both ends, nu-
merous rather corymbed heads, spreading involucre, 4-10 irregular rays, and
broadly winged akenes : fl. Sept.
A. helianthoides, in open grounds W. & S., resembles a Sunflower as
the name denotes, l°-3° high, with more hairy lance-ovate sessile leaves, few
and larger heads, erect involucre, 8-15 regular rays, and slightly winged
akenes : fl. summer.
55. VERBESINA, CROWNBEARD. (Origin of name obscure.) Ours
are tall (4° -7° high) branching herbs in rich soil, with compound corymbs
of small heads : fl. summer. 2/
V. Siegesbeckia, from S. Penn. to 111. £ S., has 4-winged stems, smooth-
ish, large and thin ovate and opposite leaves pointed at both ends, yellow flow-
ers, and wingless akenes.
V. Virginica, of same range, has stem, less winged, smaller lance-ovate alter-
nate leaves soft-downy beneath, white flowers, and narrowly winged akenes.
66. XIMINESIA. (Named for J. Ximines, a Spanish apothecary.)
X. encelioides, of Texas and Mexico, and cult, for ornament, 2° high,
spreading, rather hoary, at least the lower face of the oblong or heart-shaped
clasping serrate leaves ; the bright yellow heads somewhat corymbed, showy,
the rays deeply 3-toothcd : fl. all summer. ©
67. HELIANTHUS, SUNFLOWER (which the name means in Greek).
The following are the commonest of the numerous species, many of which are
difficult.
§ 1 . © Receptacle flat and very broad : disk brownish : leaves alternate, broad
and triple-rilled, petioled : fl. summer. Cult, for ornament : wild only far
S. }V. : fl. nil summer.
H. annuus, the GREAT COMMON SUNFLOWER of the gardens, with huge
heads ; leaves green, roughish, not hoary.
H. argophyllus, of Texas, cult, for its hoary-white foliage ; heads smaller.
§ 2. }/ Receptacle and disk convex : heads middle-sized or rather small : flower-
ing throughout (ate summer and autumn.
204 COMPOSITE FAMILT.
* Disk dark purple, contrasting with the yellow rays.
•*- Leaves long and linear, l-nerved, entire, sessile: heads small and mostly
corymbed: involucre of leaf-like spreading scales.
H. angUStifblius, of pine-barrens from New Jersey S., has slender rough
stems 2° - 6° high, lower leaves opposite and rough.
H. orgyalis, of Kansas and Arkansas, cult., has stems (6°- 10° high), and
crowded veiy narrow alternate leaves smooth : fl. late.
•+- •*— Leaves oval or lanceolate, opposite: sterna 1° — 3° high, fearing solitary or
few /ong-peduncled rather large heads: involucre of short close scales.
H. heterophyllus, of low pine-barrens S. ; rather hairy, with lowest
leaves oval or oblong, upper ones lance-linear and few ; scales of involucre
lanceolate.
H. rigidus, of dry prairies W. & S. ; rough, with thick firm leaves lance-
oblong or the lower oval ; scales of the involucre ovate or oblong, blunt.
* * Disk yellow as well as the rays, or hardly dingy-brownish.
•*- Scales of the involucre short and broadly lanceolate, regularly imbricated, without
leaf-like tips: leaves nearly alt opposite and nearly entire.
H. OCCidentalis, of dry barrens from Ohio W. & S. : somewhat hairy,
with slender simple stems l°-3° high, sending off runners from base, naked
above, bearing 1-5 heads ; lowest leaves ovate or lance-ovate ; upper ones
narrow, small and distant.
H. mollis, of same situations, is soft white-woolly all over, 2° - 4° high,
leafy to the top, the leaves heart-ovate and partly clasping.
•»— •*- Scales of the involucre looser and leafy-tipped : stems leafy to the top.
*+ Leaves chiefly alternate and not triple-rilled.
H. gigant&US, common in low grounds N. ; rough and rather hairy, 3° -
10° high, with lanceolate serrate nearly sessile leaves, and pale yellow rays.
•*-*• -M- Leaves mainly opposite, except in the last, 3-ribbed at base or triple-ribbed.
H. divaricatUS, common in dry sterile soil, has smooth stem l°-3° high,
rough ovate-lanceolate leaves tapering to a point and 3-nerved at the rounded
sessile base.
H. hirstltUS, only W., differs from the preceding in its rough-hairy stem
1° - 2° high, and leaves with narrower base more or less petioled.
H. Strumbsus, common in low grounds, has mostly smooth stems 3° - 4°
high, broadly lanceolate or lance-ovate leaves rough above and whitish or white-
downy beneath, their margins beset with fine appressed teeth, and petioles short
and margined.
H. decapetalus, so named because (like the preceding) it commonly has
10 rays; common along streams, has branching stems 3° -6° high, thin and
bright-green smoothish ovate leaves coarsely toothed and abruptly contracted
into margined petioles ; scales of the involucre long and loose.
H. tuberosus, JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE (i. e. Girasole or Sunflower in
Italian, corrupted in England ijito Jerusalem) : cult, for the tubers and run
wild in fence-rows, probably a state of a wild S. W. species ; 5° -7° high, with
triple-ribbed ovate petioled leaves, rough-hairy as well as the stems, all the
upper ones alternate, the running rootstocks ending in ovate or oblong edible
tubers.
58. HELI6PSIS, OX-EYE. (Greek-made name, from the likeness to
Sunflower.)
H. ISBVis, our only species, common in rich or low grounds, resembles
a Sunflower of the last section, but has pistillate rays and 4-sided akenes with-
out pappus : l°-4° high, smooth; leaves ovate or lance-ovate, triple-ribbed,
petioled, serrate ; head of golden-yellow flowers terminating the branches, in
COMPOSITE FAMILY. 205
69. RIJDB^CKIA, CONE-FLOWER. ( Named for Rudbeck, father and
son, Swedish botanists.) The following are the commonest species, all
natives of this country : fl. summer.
§ 1. Disk broadly conical, dark-colored, the so/I chaff not pointed: rough-hairy
plants 1° - 2° high, leaf;) belotv, the naked summit of the stems or branches
bearing single showy heads : leaves simple. ^
R. specibsa, from Penn. W. & S., and cult, in some gardens ; leaves lan-
ceolate or ovate-lanceolate, pointed at both ends, 3 - 5-nerved, petioled, coarsely
toothed or cut.
R. hirta, common in open ground W. & S., introduced into meadows E.
with clover-seed ; stems stout and mostly simple ; leaves nearly entire, triple-
ribbed, oblong-lanceolate or the lowest spatulate, the upper sessile.
§ 2. Disk conical, dark-purple, the chaff awn-pointed : lower leaves often pinnately
parted or 3-cleJi. ®
R. triloba, from Penn. to 111. & S. ; hairy, 2° - 5° high, much branched,
with upper leaves lance-ovate and toothed, and the numerous small heads with
only about 8 rays.
§ 3. Disk globular, pale dull brownish (receptacle sweet-scented], the chaff blunt
and downy at the end ; lower leaves 3-parted. ^
R. SUbtomentbsa, of the prairies and plains W. ; somewhat downy, with
leafy stems 3° - 5° high, ovate or lance-ovate serrate upper leaves and short-
peduncled heads.
§ 4. Disk oblong, or in f rait cylindrical and 1' long, greenish yellow, the chaff very
blunt and downy at the end : leaves all compound or cleft. ^
R. laciniata, COJUMON CONE-FLOWER, in low thickets ; 3° - 7° high,
smooth, branching above ; lowest leaves pinnate with 5 — 7 cut or cleft leaflets,
upper ones 3 - 5-parted, or the uppermost undivided ; heads long-peduncled,
with linear drooping rays l'-2' long.
60. LEPACHYS. (Supposed to be formed from Greek words for thick
and scale.) Receptacle anise-scented when crushed. Fl. summer.
L. pinnata, in dry soil from W. New York W. & S. : minutely roughish
and slightly hoary ; the slender leafy stems 3° - 5° high, bearing leaves of 3 - 7
lanceolate leaflets, and somewhat corvmbed heads with the oval or oblong disk
much shorter than the oblong drooping yellow rays ; akenes scarcely 2-toothed,
flattish, the inner edge hardly wing-margined. ^
L. columnaris, of the plains W. of the Mississippi ; cult, for ornament ;
1° -2° high, with single or few long-peduncled heads, their cylindrical disk often
becoming 2' long, and longer than the 5-8 broad drooping rays, these either
yellow, orvar. PULCHERRI.MA, with the base or lower half brown-purple ; akenes
I - 2-toothed at top and winged down one edge. "^
61. DRACOPIS. ( Name refers in some obscure way to a Dragon:) ©
D. amplexicaMis, wild far S. W., sometimes cult, for ornament ; smooth,
l°-2° high, with clasping heart-shaped pale leaves, and long-peduncled heads,
like those of the preceding, the broad rays mostly shorter than the cylindrical
disk, and either yellow or the lower part brown-purple.
62. ECHINACEA, HEDGEHOG CONE-FLOWER. (Name means like
a hedge/iog, viz. receptacle with prickly pointed chaff.) Fl. summer. 2J.
E. purptirea, in prairies and open grounds from W. Penn. W. & S. :
stems l°-2° high from a thick and black pungent-tasted root (called Black
Sampson by quack-doctors), bearing ovate or lanceolate 5-nerved and veiny
leaves, the lower long-petioled, and terminated by a large head; rays 15-20,
dull rose-purple.
E. angUStifblia, from Wisconsin S., is a more slender form, with narrow
lanceolate 3-nerved entire leaves, and 12-15 brighter-colored rays.
206 COMPOSITE FAMILY.
63. ZINNIA. (Named for a German professor, Zinn.) Commonly cul-
tivated for ornament : fl. all summer.
Z. Slogans, the favorite GARDEN ZINNIA, from Mexico, with ovate heart-
shaped half-clasping leaves, and very large heads of rose-colored, purple, violet,
red, or white flowers, 2 -3' in diameter, of late also full-double like a small
Dahlia ; chaff of receptacle crested-toothed at tip ; akenes barely 2-toothed at
summit. (?)
Z. multiflbra, from Mexico, &c., now not common in gardens, being less
showy, has ovate-lanceolate leaves, hollow peduncle much enlarged under the
head, obovate red-purple rays, blunt entire chaff, and 1-awned akenes. (I)
Z. anglistifblia, cult, as Z. A^JREA, from Mexico, is widely and copiously
branched, rough-hairy, with lanceolate leaves, many small heads, oval orange-
yellow rays, and conspicuously pointed chaff.
64. TAGETES, FRENCH or AFRICAN MARIGOLD, but from South
America and Mexico. (Mythological name.) El. all summer. (I)
* Plant anise-scented, with entire leaves, small corymbtd heads, and few rays.
T. Iticida, now rather uncommon in gardens, has glossy lanceolate serrate
leaves, and orange flowers.
* * Plant strong-scented: leaves pinnate : leaflets cut-toothed : head large.
T. er6cta, LARGE AFRICAN M., with lanceolate leaflets, inflated club-
shaped peduncles, and heads of orange or lemon-colored flowers, often full double.
T. patula, FRENCH M., with finer lance-linear leaflets, cylindrical pedun-
cles, and narrower heads, the rays orange or with darker stripes.
T. Signata is a more delicate low much-branched species, with finely cut
leaves, slender peduncles, and smaller heads, the 5 rays purple-spotted or spotted
and striped with darker orange at base.
65. DYSODIA, FETID MARIGOLD. (Name, in Greek, denotes the
ill-scent of the plant.) Fl. late summer and autumn.
D. chrysanthemoides. Roadsides and river-banks W. & S. W. : a low
weed, nearly smooth, with spreading branches, opposite pinnately parted and
finely cut leaves, and few yellow rays scarcely exceeding the involucre, (i)
66. CICHORIUM, SUCCORY, CICHORY, or CHICORY. (Arabic
name of the plant. ) Fl. all summer.
C. Intybus, COMMON C. Nat. from En. by roadsides, &c. mainly E. :
leaves runcinate, rough-hairy on the midrib, or the upper ones on flowering
stems small and bract-like, entire ; showy blue flowers opening only in the
morning and in cloudy weather ; deep root used as substitute for coffee. 2/
C. Endivia, ENDIVE, cult, from East Indies, for autumn salad; leaves
smooth, slightly or deeply toothed, or much cut and crisped, flowering stems
short and leafy. ® ©
67. TRAGOPOGON, SALSIFY. (Greek name for goafs-beard, from
the pappus.) FL early summer.
T. porrifolius, COMMON S. or OYSTER-PLANT. Cult, from Eu. for the
edible tap-root, sometimes running wild: smooth and pale, 2° -4° high, branch-
ing, with long leaves tapering from a clasping base to a slender apex, very large
heads on hollow peduncle much thickened upwards, and deep violet-purple
flowers. (D
68. LEONTODON, HAWKBIT. (Greek name for lion-tooth, from the
runcinate leaves of some species.)
L. autumnale, FALL, DANDELION or HAWKBIT. Nat. from Europe in
meadows and lawns E. : leaves pinnatifid or laciniate; scapes slender, 8'- 12*
high, branching ; peduncles thickish and scaly-bracted next the small head :
fl. summer and autumn.
COMPOSITE FAMILY. 207
69. HIERACIUM, HAWKWEED (which the name means in Greek).
Wild plants of the country, in dry ground : fl. summer and autumn. ^
H. Canad&nse, chiefly N., has simple stems l°-3° high and leafy up to
the corymbed summit ; lanceolate or oblong acute leaves with a few coarse teeth,
and rather large heads with loose imbricated involucre.
H. panici^atum, in woods, has slender and branching leafy stems 2° -3°
high, lanceolate scarcely toothed leaves, a loose panicle of very small 12-20-
flowered heads on slender peduncles, the involucre very simple.
H. SCabrum, in more open grounds, is roughish-hairy, with rather stout
simple stem (2° -3° high), bearing obovate or oval nearly entire leaves, and
a narrow panicle of many small heads, the 40 - 50-flowered involucre and stiff
peduncles thickly beset with dark glandular bristles ; akenes not tapering.
H. lougipilum, in prairies W., is so named from the exceedingly long
(often 1') straight bristly hairs of the stem; has narrow oblong entire leaves,
panicle and 20 - 30-flowered involucre between the last and the next, and akenes
spindle-shaped .
H. Gronbvii, common in sterile soil, with slender stems leafy and very
hairy below, leaves oblong or obovate, panicle narrow, small heads, slender
peduncles and 20 - 30-flowered involucre sparingly glandular-bristly, and spindle-
shaped akenes with very tapering summit.
H. venbsum, RATTLESNAKE- WEED ; common in dry sandy ground, very
smooth or with a few hairs ; with leaves chiefly at the root, obovate 'or oblong,
thin, purple-tinged beneath and purple-veiny above ; scape slender, 1° - 2° high,
forking into 2-7 slender peduncles bearing small about 20-flowered heads ;
akenes linear, not tapering.
70. NABALUS, RATTLESNAKE-ROOT. (Name from Greek word
for a harp, alluding probably to the lyrate leaves of some species. ) Roots
tuberous or spindle-shaped, bitter. Fl. late summer and autumn. ^(
* Peduncles and 5 - 12-Jlowered heads smooth : leaves very variable.
N. altissimus, TALL R. or WHITE-LETTUCE. Rich woods' N., 3° -6°
high, with long and narrow leafy panicle, petioled leaves inclined to be ovate-
triangular ; heads 5 — 6-flowered ; pappus dirty white.
W. albus, COMMON WHITE-LETTUCE, in open woods, chiefly N. and W.,
is glaucous, with more corymbed panicles of 8 - 1 2-flowered heads, usually more
cut or divided leaves, and cinnamon-colored pappus.
N. Fraseri, LION'S-FOOT, or GALL-OF-THE-EARTH, is commonest in dry
soil E. and S., l°-4° high, with narrow-corymbed panicles of 8- 12-flowered
heads, and pappus dull straw-color.
* * Peduncles and 12 - 40-jioicered heads hairy. Chiefly West, on plains, frc.
N. racembsUS has smooth wand-like stem 2° - 5° high, lance-oblong
slightly toothed leaves, the upper ones partly clasping, and a narrow spiked
panicle of about 12-flowered heads.
N. asper is similar, but rough-pubescent, the 12- 14-flowered heads mostly
erect and larger.
N. crepedinius, only W., is smoother, with stout stem 5° - 8° high,
wide corymbed panicles of 20 - 40-flowered heads, brown pappus, and broad
leaves 6' - 12' long on winged petioles.
71. PYRRHOPAPPUS, FALSE DANDELION. (Name means in
Greek flame-colored pappus ; this and the leafy stems obviously distinguish
this genus from the next.) (T) ©
P. CarolinianilS, in sandy fields from Maryland S. : l°-2° high, with
oblong or lanceolate leaves often pinnatifid or cut, the upper partly clasping ;
fl. spring and summer.
72. TARAXACUM, DANDELION. (Greek name referring to medici-
nal properties of the root. ) © .2/
T. Dens-lebnis, COMMON D., in all fields, &c., from spring to autumn.
Inner involucre closes after blossoming till the akenes mature and the beak
208 LOBELIA FAMILY.
lengthens and elevates the pappus ; then the involucre is reflexed, the pappus
spreads, and with the fruit is blown away by the wind.
73. LACTUCA, LETTUCE. (Ancient Latin name, from the milky juice.)
L. sativa, GARDEN LETTUCE. Cultivated from Europe, the broad and
tender root-leaves used for salad ; stem-leaves heart-shaped* and clasping ;
flowers yellow. © ®
Ii. Canad6nsis, WILD LETTUCE. Open grounds, 3° -9° high, with
lanceolate or oblong leaves often pinnatifid, sometimes entire ; flowers pale
yellow, sometimes purple or reddish. (2)
74. MULGEDIUM, FALSE or BLUE LETTUCE. (Name from
Latin mulgeo, to milk.) Fl. summer, in thicket-borders, &c.
M. acuminatum, from New York to 111. & S. ; 3° - 6° high, with ovate
or lance-ovate barely serrate leaves on winged petioles, blue flowers, and bright
white pappus. ®
M. Ploridanum, from Penn. W. & S. ; like the first, but with all the
leaves or the lower ones lyratc or runcinate, uppermost partly clasping. ©
M. leucophaeum, 'in low grounds : resembles Wild Lettuce, and with
equally variable lanceolate or oblong often irregularly pinnatifid leaves, very
compound panicle of pale blue or bluish-white flowers, and tawny pappus. ©
75. SONCHUS, SOW-THISTLE. (Ancient Greek name.) Coarse
weeds, with soft-spiny-toothed runcinate-pinnatifid leaves : nat. from Eu. :
fl. summer.
S. oleraoeus, COMMON S. ; in manured soil and damp waste places ; 1° -
5° high, acute auricles to the clasping base of the leaves, pale yellow flowers,
and akenes wrinkled transversely. ©
S. asper, like the last, but the leaves less divided and more spiny-toothed,
the auricles of their clasping base rounded, and akenes smooth with 3 nerves on
each side. (T)
S. arv^nsis, FIELD S. Less common E. ; 1° - 2° high from creeping
root-stocks, with larger heads of bright yellow flowers, and bristly peduncles
and involucre. 2/
62. LOBELIACE^l, LOBELIA FAMILY.
Plants with milky acrid juice, alternate simple leaves, and scat-
tered racemed or panieled flowers ; the calyx-tube adherent to the
many-seeded ovary and pod ; the corolla irregularly 5-lobed and
mostly split down as it were on the upper side ; the 5 stamens
united into a tube commonly by their filaments and always by their
anthers ; style only one.
Downingia 61egans, under the older name of CLINT&NIA ELEGANS, and
D. pulchella, formerly CLINT6NIA PULCHELLA, are delicate little annu-
als from California, sparingly cultivated. They resemble small Lobelias, with
very bright blue flowers, but are known by the very long and slender 1 -celled
pod, and short tube of corolla not much split down. The first has the 2 narrow
lobes approaching each other opposite the 3-lobed lip which has a whitish centre.
The second has a larger corolla, with centre of the 3-lobed lip vellow and white,
and the 2 other lobes widely diverging. — The other common plants of the
order belong to
1. LOBELIA (named after the herbalist Z>e VOltd or Lobel). Tube of the
calyx and 2-celled pod short. Corolla split down on one side, the 5 lobes
more or less irregular or unequal. Two or all 5 anthers bearded at top.
CAMPANULA FAMILY. 209
# Exotic, cultivated for ornament.
Ii. ErilLUS, from Cape of Good Hope, the common low and spreading little
Lobelia of conservatories and summer gardens, with abundant small flowers
azure-blue, usually white in the throat, and narrow toothed upper leaves : (T) or
continued bv cuttings.
L. laxiflbra, from Mexico, cultivated in conservatories under the name of
SIPHOCAMPYLUS sfcoLOR ; tall, with curved and large red and yellow flowers,
hanging on long slender peduncles from the axils of the oblong or lanceolate
toothed leaves. ^
# # Wild species of the country, one or two of them sometimes cultivated for orna-
ment ; fl. summer : growing in wet <>r low grounds, except two of them.
•«- Corolla deep red : stems tall and simple.
L. cardinalis, CARDINAL-FLOWER, with lance-oblong leaves and erect
raceme of large and showy flowers, which are very rarely rose-colored or even
white. © ^
•*- -•- Flowt-rs blue or with some white in the throat.
L. inflata, INDIAN TOPACCO. Somewhat hairy, 9' -18' high, much
branched, with ovate toothed leaves, and spike-like leafy racemes of small
flowers, the pale blue corolla only 2" long, and pod inflated. , difficult to define as a whole ;
the leaves are simple and mostly alternate ; the flowers almost all
regular, and with as many or twice as many stamens as there are
petals or lobes of the corolla ; their anthers 2-celled, each cell more
commonly opening by a pore or hole at the end ; ovary mostly
with as many cells as there are lobes to the corolla ; style only one,
and seeds small.
EPACRIS is a genii* and the type of a family or sub-order of
Heath-like shrubs, of Australia, some of them cult, in conservatories
HEATH FAMILY. 211
Epacrises and the like differ from Heaths in their stamens (often
inserted on the tube of the corolla) having one-celled anthers. The
Heath Family comprises the following subordinate families: —
I. WHORTLEBERRY FAMILY, known by having the tube
of the calyx adherent to the ovary, on which the monopetalous
corolla and the stamens are therefore mounted. All are shrubs,
with scaly buds. Fruit a berry or berry-like.
1. GAYLUSSACIA. Stamens 10: anthers with the cells opening by a chink at
the blunt or tapering top. Ovary 10-celled with one ovule in each cell, form-
ing a berry-like fruit containing' 10 apparent seeds/or properlv little stones.
Flowers in lateral racemes; branchlets and leaves beset with resinous or
clammy dots or atoms.
2. VACQDuUH. Stamens 10 or 8: anthers tapering up into a tube with a hole
at the top. Ovary with several or many ovules in each cell, forming a pulpy
many-seeded (rarely rather few-seeded) berry.
3. CHIOGENES. Stamens 8: anthers with short cells minutely 2-pointed, and
opening by a large chink down to the middle. Ovary 4-celled, in fruit a white
many-seeded berry.
II. HEATH FAMILY PROPER ; shrubs or small trees with
calyx free from the ovary.
§ 1. HEATHS: the corolla persisting dry and scarious long after the flowers open,
enclosing the pod; the evergreen leaves needle-shaped or minute. Lobes of
calyx and corolla 4 : stamens 8. No scaly leaf-buds.
4. ERICA. Corolla of various shapes, 4-toothed or 4-cleft, longer than the calyx.
Pod loculicidal. Leaves needle-shaped or linear with margins revolute.
5. CALLUNA. Corolla bell-shaped, 4-parted, much shorter and less conspicuous
than the 4 colored and scarious-persistent sepals; below these 2 or 3 pairs of
bracts, the inner ones scale-like. Pod septicidal. Leaves very short and
small, opposite, crowded, and imbricated.
^ 2. Corolla deciduous (not remaining dry after flowering).
* Monopetalous (or in No. 16 with two of the petals nearly separate).
«- Fruit berry-like, containing 5-10 seeds or very small stones: calyx dry underneath.
6. ARCTOSTAPHYLOS. Corolla urn-shaped, 5-toothed, enclosing the 10 sta-
mens ; their anthers opening at the top, and 2-awned on the back. Leaves
alternate.
•«- •»— Fruit a dry and many-seeded pod,
•w- But enclosed in the calyx which becomes thick and fleshy, so that the fruit imitates
a bei~ry, but has a dry pod inside.
7. GAULTHERIA. Corolla oblong or short-cylindrical, 5-toothed. Anthers 10,
4-awned or 4-pointed at top, opening only there. Leaves alternate, broad,
often spicy-aromatic, evergreen.
++ *+ Calyx dry and separate from the pod.
a* Corolla salver-shaped, 5-lobed ; anthers opening lengthwise, not appendaged.
8. EPIGJ£ A. Sepals 5. thin and scale-like, ovate-lanceolate, style slender. Leave*
evergreen, reticulated, roundish.
b. Corolla cylindrical, urn-shaped, nrate, or globular, very rarely bell-shaped, the
orifice 5-toothed ; anthers opening wholly or mainly at the top. All belonged to
ANDROMEDA of Linnceus, now divided as follows.
9. CASSANDRA. Calyx of 5 ovate and acute rigid sepals overlapping hi the
bud, and a pair of 'similar bractlets at its base. Corolla almost cylindrical.
Anthers with tubular tips to the cells, and no awns on the back. P'od flattish
from above, when ripe splitting into an outer layer of 6 valves and an
inner cartilaginous one of 10 valves. Shrub, with leaves rather scurfy.
10. LEUCOTHOE. Calyx of 5 almost separate sepals a little overlapping' in the
bud. Corolla ovate-oblong or almost cylindrical. Anthers without tubular
tips. Pod flattish from above, 5-ralved, loculicidal. Shrubs.
212 HEATH FAMILY.
11. ANDROMEDA. Calyx valvate in the early bud : no bractlets. Corolla various.
Pod globular or short-ovate, 5-valved, loculicidal. Shrubs.
12. OXYDENDRUM. Calyx valvate in the bud; no bractlets. Corolla ovate.
Anthers awnless. Pod conical or pyramidal, 5-valved, loculicidal. Tree.
C. Corolla (usually large) open-bell-shaped, saucer-shaped, funnel-form, cfr., 5-lobed
or cleft : anthers short, without awns or other app&utagti, opening only by
holes at the top : Jilaments long and slender, as is also the style : pod septicidal t
leaves entire.
— No scaly buds : bracts green, firm, and persistent.
13. KALMIA. Corolla broadly open, slightly 5-lobed, and with 10 pouches in
which the 10 anthers are lodged until extricated by insects, when the bent
elastic filaments fly up and discharge the pollen. Pod globular. Leaves
evergreen. Flowers in umbels or corymb-like clusters.
= = Flowers in umbel-like clusters from large scnly terminal buds, their thin scnle-
like bracts or bud-scales falling as the blossoms are developed. Calyx often
minute or obsolete.
14. RHODODENDRON. Corolla bell-shaped, funnel-form, or various. Stamens
10, often curved to the lower side. Leaves evergreen, or rarely deciduous.
Pod mostly oblong.
15. AZALEA. Stamens 5, or rarely more, and leaves deciduous: otherwise nearly
as in Rhododendron. And the characters run together, so that Azaleas would
hardly be kept distinct, except that they are so familiar in cultivation.
16. BHODOBA. Like Azalea, but the corolla strongly irregular, the upper part
3-lobed, the lower of 2 almost or quite separate petals; and stamens 10.
* # Polypetalous or nearly so: the (white) corolla of 5 equal petals,
•»- Widely spreading, oval or obovate : leaves evergreen : flowers in a terminal umbel.
17. LEIOPHYLLUM. Stamens 10 : anthers opening lengthwise. Pod 2-3-celled.
Leaves small, smooth both sides, glossy, mostly opposite.
18. LED CM. Stamens 5-10: anthers opening by holes at top. Pod 5-celled.
Leaves alternate, thinnish, rusty-woolly underneath. Flowers from scaly
terminal buds, as in Azalea.
•»- H- Petals less spreading : leaves deciduous : flowers in hoary racemes.
19. CLETHRA. Sepals and obovate-oblong petals 5. Stamens 10: anthers arrow-
shaped and reflexed in the bud, the hole at the top of each cell then at the
bottom. Style 3-cleft at the apex. Pod 3-valved, 3-celled, enclosed in the
calyx. Leaves alternate, serrate, feather-veined, deciduous.
III. PYROLA FAMILY ; evergreen herbs or nearly so, with
calyx free from the ovary, corolla of separate petals, anthers turned
outwards in the bud, soon inverted, when the holes by which they
open are at top. Seeds innumerable, with a loose cellular coat.
20. PYROLA. Flowers in a raceme on a scape which bears rounded leaves at
base. Petals roundish, more or less concave. Stamens 10, with awl-shaped
filaments. Style long. Valves of pod cobwebby on the edges.
21. MONESES. Flower solitary, with orbicular widely spreading (sometimes only
4) petals, conspicuously 2-horned anthers, large 5-rayed stigma on a straight
style, and pod as in the next genus: otherwise like Pyrola.
22. CHIM APHILA. Flowers several in a corymb or umbel, with orbicular widely-
spreading petals, 2-horned anthers on 'filaments enlai-ged and hairy in the
middle. Very short top-shaped style covered bv a broad orbicular stigma,
and valves of pod smooth on the edges. Steins leafy below: leaves narrow,
smooth and glossy.
IV. INDIAN PIPE FAMILY ; herbs destitute of green foil-
age, parasitic on roots of other plants ; commonly represented by
one common genus, viz.
23. MONOTROPA. Calyx or 2 or more deciduous bract-like scales. Corolla of
4 or 5 erect spatulate or wedge-shaped petals, resembling the scales of the
stem. Stamens 8 or 10: anthers kidney-shaped, opening across the top,
style stout: stigma depressed. Pod 4 - 6-celled, seeds innumerable, minute,
resembling fine sawdust.
HEATH FAMILY. 215
1. GAYLUSSlCIA, HUCKLEBERRY or AMERICAN WHORTLE-
BERRY. (Named for the French chemist Gay-Luasac.) Flowers white
tinged with reddish, in late spring : the edible fruit ripe late in summer, that
of the first species largely gathered for tke market.
G. resinbsa, COMMON or BLACK H. Low or rocky ground, common ex-
cept S. W., l°-3° high, clammy-resinous when young, with rigid branches,
oval leaves, short one-sided racemes in clusters, rather cylindrical corolla, and
black fruit without a bloom.
G. frondbsa, BLUE-TANGLE or DANGLEBERRY. Low grounds from New
England S., with diverging slender branches, pale leaves white beneath, slen-
der racemes and pedicels, short corolla, and sweet blue-black fruit with a bloom.
G. dumbsa, DWARF H. Sandy soil near the coast, rather hairy or bristly,
with thickish rather shining oblong leaves, long racemes, leaf-like oval bracts
to the pedicels, bell-shaped corolla, and ftisipid black fruit.
2. VACCINITJM, CRANBERRY, BLUEBERRY, &c. (Ancient Latin
name, of obscure meaning.) Berry edible. (Lessons, p. 104, fig. 216.)
§ 1. BLUEBERRIES, beyond New England commonly called HUCKLEBERRIES ;
with leaves deciduous at least in the Northern States ; flowers in s/>ring i*
clusters from scaly buds se/tarate from and rather earlier than the leaves ;
corolla oblony or short cylindrical, 5-toothed, enclosing the 10 anthers, berries
ripe in summer, sweet, blue or black ivith a bloom, each of the 5 many-seeded
cells divided into two.
V. Pennsylvanicum, DWARF EARLY BLUEBERRY. Dry or barely
moist grounds N. and E. : 6' -15' high, with green angular branches, mostly
lance-oblong leaves bristly-serrulate and smooth and shining both sides, the
sweet berries earliest to ripen.
V. Canad6nse, CANADA B. Low grounds only N., is taller, l°-2° high,
the broader entire leaves and branchlets downy.
V. vacillans, Low PALE B. Dry woodlands, less northern ; l°-3° high,
with yellowish branches, smooth and pale or glaucous leaves obovate or oval
and entire, and berries ripening later than the first.
V. ten611um, SOUTHERN B. Low grounds from Virginia S.'; 1° - 3° high,
with greenish branches rather pubescent, obovate-oblong or oblanceolate leaves
scarcely serrulate and often pubescent, \' - V long.
V. corymbbsum, COMMON SWAMP B. N. & S. in wet or low grounds :
3°- 10° high, with oval or oblong leaves, either smooth or downy, pale or green,
and sweetish berries ripening in late summer ; in one downy-leaved variety pure
black without a bloom.
§ 2. EVERGREEN BLUEBERRIES of the South, in low pine barrens, procumbent
or only 1° - 2° high, with 5-toothed corolla and 10 stamens.
V. myrsinites, with stems 6' - 20' high, lanceolate or lance-obovate leaves
£' - I' long and mostly pale beneath, and black or blue berries.
V. crassifblium, with procumbent slender stems, thick and shining oval
or oblong leaves £' or less in length, their margins revolute, globular-bell-shaped
corolla, and black berries.
§ 3. FARKLEBERRY and DEERBERRY ; erect shrubs iviih single axillary or
racemed flowers on slender pedicels, in early summer, open-bell-shaped
corolla, 10 stamens, anthers with very slender tubes and 2 awns on the back,
and insipid berries ripening late, each of their 5 cells divided into two, and
maturing few seeds.
V. arbbreum, FARKLEBERRY. Open woods from Virg. and S. 111. S. :
8°- 15° high, evergreen far S., with oval glossy leaves, anthers included in the
5-toothed white corolla, and black mealy berries.
V. Stamineum, DEERBERRY or SQUAW-HUCKLEBERRY. Dry woods,
N. & S. : 2° - 3° high, rather downy, with dull and pale ovate or oval leaves,
anthers much longer than the greenish or whitish 5-cleft corolla, and large
greenish berries.
214 HEATH FAMILY.
§ 4. CRANBERRY ; creeping or trailing very slender hardly woody plants, with
small evergreen leaves whitish beneath, single flowers in summer, borne on
slender erect pedicels, pale rose corolla deeply parted into 4 narrow re flexed
divisions, 8 anthers with very long tubes but no awns on the back, and acid
red berry 4-ceUed, ripe in autumn.
V. Oxyc6ccus, SMALL C. Cold peat-bogs N. & E. : a delicate little plant,
flowering at the end of the stems, the ovate acute leaves (only 4' long) with
strongly revohite margins, berry only half as large as in the next, often speckled
with white, seldom gathered for market.
V. macrocarpon, LARGE or AMERICAN C. Bogs from Virginia N. ;
with stems 1° to 3° long, growing on so that the flowers become lateral, ob-
long obtuse leaves sometimes £' long, and with less revolute margins, and
berries £' or more long ; largely cultivated for the market E.
3. CHIOGENES. ( Greek-made name, alluding to the snow-white berries. )
C. hispidula, CREEPING SNOWBERRY. Cool peat-bogs and low mossy
woods N. ; with nearly herbaceous slender creeping stems, very small ovate
pointed evergreen leaves, their lower surface and the branchlets beset with rusty
bristles, minute axillary flowers in late spring, and white berries ripe in summer :
these and the foliage have the flavor of Aromatic Wintergreen.
4. ERICA, HEATH. (Ancient Greek name.) All belong to the Old
World. The Heaths of the conservatories, blooming in winter, belong to
various species from Cape of Good Hope. Of the European species one bears
the winter well at the North, and is planted, viz.
E. carnea (in the form called E. HERB\CEA), of the Alps ; a low under-
shrub, with linear blunt leaves whorled in fours, and rosy or bright flesh-colored
flowers, with narrow corolla rather longer than calyx, in early spring.
5. CALLITNA, HEATHER, LING. (Name from Greek, to sweep, brooms
being made from its twigs in Europe. )
C. Vlllg£ris, COMMON H. of North Europe, seldom planted, very sparingly
found wild in E. New England and Nova Scotia, £c. : fl. summer.
6. ARCTOSTAPHYLOS, BEARBERRY (the name in Greek).
A. Uva-TJrsi, COMMON B. ; trailing over rocks and bare hills N., forming
mats, with thick smooth and entire obovate or spatulate evergreen leaves, and
small scaly-bracted nearly white flowers in a short raceme, in early spring, fol-
lowed by the red austere berries. Leaves used in medicine, astringent and
somewhat mucilaginous.
7. GAULTHERIA, AROMATIC WINTERGREEN, &c. (Named
for Dr. Gaulthier or Gaultier of Quebec, over 130 years ago.)
G. prociimbens, CREEPING W., BOXBERRY, CHECKERBERRY, &c. ;
common in evergreen and low woods, spreading by long and slender mostly
subterranean ninners, sending up stems 3' -5' high, bearing at summit a few
obovate or oval leaves and in summer one or two nodding white flowers in the
axils, the edible red "berries " lasting over winter : these and the foliage famil-
iar for their spicy flavor, yielding the oil of winter green
G. Shallon, in the shade of evergreen woods of Oregon, &c., and sparingly
planted, a shrub spreading over the ground, with glossy ovate slightly heart-
shaped leaves about 3' long, and flowers in racemes.
8. EPIG^EA. (Name in Greek means on the ground,* from the growth.)
E. ripens, TRAILING ARBUTUS, GROUND LAUREL, or, in New England,
MAYFLOWER. Sandy or some rocky woods, chiefly E., under pines, &c. ; pros-
HEATH FAMILY. 215
trate, with rusty-bristly shoots, somewhat heart-shaped leaves slender-petioled,
and small clusters of rose-colored or almost white spicy-fragrant flowers in early
spring.
9. CASSANDRA, LEATHER-LEAF. (A mythological name.)
C. calyculata. Wet hogs N. and mostly E. ; low much branched shrub,
with small and nearly evergreen dull oblong leaves sprinkled with some fine
scurf or scaly atoms, and small white flowers in the axils of the upper leaves
forming one-sided leafy racemes, in early spring.
10. LEUCOTHOB. (Mythological name.) Flowers white, in nakecf
scaly-bracted racemes or spikes, which are formed in summer and open the
next year.
§ 1. Evergreens on moist banks of streams, with very smooth and glossy finely
and sharply serrate Leaves ; the rattier catkin-like dfnse racemes sessile in
their axils ; bractlets at the base of the short pedicels ; flowers in spring,
exhaling the scent of Chestnut-lilossoms.
L. Catesbsei, abounds from Virginia S. along and near the mountains,
with long recurving branches, ovate-lanceolate and very taper-pointed leaves on
conspicuous petioles, and narrowish sepals.
L. axillaris, belongs to the low country S., flowers very early, has broader
less pointed leaves on very short petioles, and broad-ovate sepals.
§ 2. Deciduous-leaved, with one-sided looser racemes at the ends of the branches,
flowering in late spring or summer after the membranaceous leaves are
developed ; bractlets dose to the calyx, acute.
L. racembsa. Low grounds E. & S. ; erect, 4° - 8° high, with oblong
acute serrulate leaves a little downy beneath, long and upright racemes, and
4-awned anthers.
11. ANDROMEDA. (Mythological name.) Flowers white, rarely tinged
with rose, mostly in spring.
§ 1. Flowers in naked one-sided racemes crowded at the end of the branches, formed
in summer and opening early the next spring : leaves evergreen.
A. floribtinda. Along the Alleghanies S. and planted for ornament ;
3° - 10° high, very leafy, the lance-oblong acute leaves serrulate with very fine
bristly teeth, abundance of handsome flowers, the ovate-urnshaped corolla
strongly 5-angled ; anthers 2-awned low on the back.
§ 2. F/owers in umbel-like clusters: leaves evergreen : stamens 2-awned.
A. polifblia. Cold wet bogs N. ; 6' - 1 8' high, smooth and glaucous ;
with lanceolate entire revolute leaves white beneath, flowers in a simple termi-
nal umbel, the corolla almost globular.
A. nitida. Low pine-barrens from North Carolina S. ; 2° - 6° high, very
smooth, with 3-angled branchlets, ovate or oblong and entire glossy leaves,
abundant honey-scented flowers in numerous axillary clusters, and ovate-
cylindrical corolla.
§ 3. Flowers in umbel-like clusters on wood of the previous year, in late spring or
ftirfy summer: leaves mostly deciduous, but often thickish or coriaceous : pods
5-le, shut, from the 2-ralved pod. )
D. brachiata, of low banks S. is nearly smooth, with 6-angled stem bear-
ing many branches, thin ovate-oblong pointed leaves on slender petiole, and
interrupted spike-like clusters of small purple flowers, each with a pair of con-
spicuous flat bracts. 2/
VERVAIN FAMILY. 241
6. DIANTHERA. (From Greek for double anther, alluding to the two
separated cells on each filament.) Fl. all summer. JJ.
~D. OVata. Muddy banks of streams S. : 4' -8' high, smooth, with lance-
ovate short-petioled leaves longer than the 3-4-flowered peduncles in their
axils, and small pale purple flowers.
D. Americana. Wet borders of streams : 2° high, smooth, with long
linear-lanceolate leaves, and long peduncles (4' -6' long) bearing an oblong
spike of pale purple flowers.
78. VERBENACE-ffil, VERVAIN FAMILY.
Plants with opposite (or sometimes whorled) leaves, differing
from the other orders with irregular monopetalous and didynamous
or tetrandrous flowers by the ovary not 4-lobed and with a single
ovule in each of its (1-4) cells, the fruit either fleshy or when
dry at length splitting into as many 1-celled indehiscent nutlets.
Besides the following some species of CLERODENDRON are culti-
vated, in choice conservatories.
$ 1. Flowers in heads, spikes, or racemes, the flowers expanding from below upwards.
1. PHRYMA. Flowers in slender loose spikes. Calyx cylindrical, 2-lipped, the
upper lip of 3 slender-pointed teeth, the lower short and 2-toothed. Corolla
tubular, 2-lipped, the upper lip notched, lower larger and 3-lobed. Stamens
included. Ovary 1-celled, forming a simple akene in the calyx. Herb.
2. VERBENA. Flowers in spikes or heads. Calyx tubular or prismatic, 5-ribbed
and plaited. Corolla salver-form, the tube often curved, the border rather
unequally 5-cleft. Stamens included: upper pair sometimes wanting the
anthers. Ovary 4-celled, at maturity splitting into 4 dry akenes or nutlets.
Herbs.
3. LIP PI A. Flowers in heads, spikes, or racemes. Calyx tubular, 2-5-toothed.
Corolla tubular, with 5-lobed 2-lipped border, the lower 3-lobed lip larger.
Stamens included. Ovary and dry fruit 2-celled, 2-seeded.
4. LANTANA. Flowers in heads or short spikes. Calyx minute, obscurely
4-toothed. Corolla with an unequal 4-cleft spreading border, the upper lobe
sometimes notched. Stamens included. Ovary 2-celled, becoming berry-
like, and containing 2 little stones or nutlets. Shrubs or herbs.
§ 2. Flowers nearly regular, in cymes from the axils of the simple leaves : shrubs.
6. GALLIC ARPA. Calyx 4 - 5-toothed, short. Corolla tubular-bell-shaped, short,
4 -5-lobed. Stame'ns 4, protruded, nearly equal. Ovary 4-celled, in fruit
berry-like, with 4 little stones.
§ 3. Flowers irregular, in cymes or clusters in the axils of the compound digitate
leaves or of the upper leaves reduced to bracts: shrubs or trees.
6. VITEX. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla tubular, with a spreading 2-lipped border,
the lower lip 3-parted and rather larger than the 2-lobed upper lip. Stamens
4, protruded, as is the style. Ovary 4-celled, becoming berry-like in the
fruit, which contains a single 4-celled' stone.
1. PHRiTMA, LOPSEED. (Name of unknown meaning.) One species.
P. Leptostachya. Copses, &c. ; 2° -3° high, with coarsely-toothed ovate
thin leaves, and branches terminated by the slender spikes of very small purplish
flowers, in summer, the pedicels reflexed in fruit. ^
2. VERBENA, VERVAIN. (Latin name of some sacred herbs.) Fl. all
summer. — Genus of difficult analysis on account of numerous hybrids, both
wild and in cultivation.
§ 1. VERVAINS native to the country, or growing as wild weeds, mostly in waste
or cultivated ground ; the flowers insignificant, in slender spikes : no appen-
dage at tip of the anthers. All but the last with upright stems. 2/
V. angustifdlia, NARROW-LEAVED V. Stems 6' - 1 8' high ; leaves nar-
16
242 VERVAIN FAMILY.
row lanceolate, sessile, roughish, slightly toothed ; spikes few, thickish, crowded
with purple flowers.
V. Stricta, HOARY V. Barrens W. & S. : whitish-hairy, l°-2° high;
leaves obovate or oblong, serrate, sessile ; spikes thick and dense ; flowers blue,
larger than in the others.
V. kastata, BLUE V. Stem 4° - 6° high ; leaves lance-oblong, some of
the larger with short side lobes at base, cut-serrate, petioled ; spikes densely-
flowered, corymbed or panicled ; flowers blue.
V. urticifdlia, NETTLE-LEAVED or WHITE V. Stem 4° -6° high;
leaves oval or oblong-ovate, coarsely serrate, petioled ; spikes of small white
flowers slender and loose.
V. officinalis, EUROPEAN V. Nat. by roadsides, at least S. Stems
1° - 3° high, branched ; leaves sessile, 3-cleft and mostly pinnatifid into narrow
cut-toothed lobes ; small purplish flowers in very slender panicled spikes.
V. bractebsa. From Wisconsin S. ; hairy, spreading or procumbent ;
leaves wedge-shaped or lance-oblong, cut-pinnatifid or 3-cleft, short-petioled ;
small purple flowers in solitary loose spikes, the lower ones leafy-bracted.
§ 2. VERBENAS of the garden sort, with creeping or spreading stems, and dense
spikes of larger or showy flowers : anthers of the longer stamens with a
gland-like tip. 1£ ©
V. Aubtetia. Wild from 111. and Carolina W. & S. : has cut-pinnatifid
leaves, and a long-peduncled spike of purple flowers, minutely bearded in the
throat. — This and the several following species from South Brazil, Buenos
Ayres, &c., variously and greatly mixed, make up the Verbenas which adorn
our gardens in summer.
V. Chamsedrifolia, the original SCARLET V., with oblong-lanceolate
coarsely serrate leaves, nearly all sessile, and most intense red or scarlet flowers,
in a flat cluster.
V. phlogiflbra, also named TWEEDIANA. More upright; the leaves
decidedly petioled ; the flowers inclined to form an oblong spike, and crimson,
varying to rose, but not to scarlet.
V. incisa, differs from the last in the pinnatifid-incised leaves, the petioled
ones with a heart-shaped base ; flowers in a flat cluster, rose-color or purple.
V. teucroides. Erect or spreading, with ovate-oblong and incised sessile
leaves, and a lengthened spike of white or pale rosy flowers, sweet-scented,
especially at nightfall.
V. erinoides, or MULT^FIDA. Dwarf and much creeping, rough-hairy,
with leaves pinnatifid into linear divisions, and originally with violet purple
flowers, and
V. pulch^lla or TENERA, with equally finely cut leaves, and rather larger
originally rose-violet flowers, are part parents of the smaller races.
3. IilPPIA. (Named for A. Lippi, an Italian botanist.) Fl. late summer.
L. lanceplata, FOG-FRUIT. A creeping weedy herb, along river-banks
from Penn. S. & W., with wedge-spatulate or oblanceolate leaves serrate above
the middle, and slender peduncles from the axils bearing a head of bluish
small flowers.
L. citrioddra (or ALGESIA), the LEMON-SCENTED or SWEET VERBENA
of the gardens ; shrub from Chili, with whorls of linear-lanceolate fragrant
leaves, roughish with glandular dots, and small whitish and bluish flowers in
slender spikes.
4. L ANT AN A. (Origin of name obscure.) Tropical or subtropical,
mostly shrubby plants, planted out in summer, when they flower freely until
frost comes ; stems often rough-prickly ; herbage and flowers odorous, in
some pleasant, others not so. The species are much mixed.
L. Camara, from Tropical America, has flowers deep yellow, turning first
to orange, then to red.
L. mixta, from Brazil, has flowers opening white, soon changing to yel-
low, orange, and finally to red.
MINT FAMILY. 243
TJ. niyea, from Brazil, has the pleasant-scented flowers white and unchang-
ing; or, in var. MUTABILIS, changing to bluish.
Ii. involucrata, of West Indies, has small obovate and prominently veiny
leaves, more or less downy beneath, and heads of lilac-purple flowers, involucrate
by the outer bracts.
L. Sellowiana, of Southern Brazil, is low and spreading, with wedge-
oblong or ovate strongly veined leaves, long peduncles, and heads of reddish-
purple flowers lengthening somewhat with age.
5. CALLICARPA. (From Greek for beautiful fruit.) Fl. early summer.
C. Americana, FRENCH MULBERRY. Rich soil from Virginia S. : shrub
3° - 8° high, with some scurfy down, especially on the lower face of the ovate-
oblong toothed leaves, and the clusters of bluish flowers ; fruits violet-blue and
showy.
6. VITEX, CHASTE-TREE. (The ancient Latin^name.)
V. Agnus-castus, CHASTE-TREE, of Mediterranean region, has 5 - 7 lan-
ceolate entire leaflets whitened underneath, and bluish flowers in sessile clusters
forming an interrupted spike at the end of the branches ; hardy only S.
V. incisa, of Northern China, barely hardy in gardens N., has 5-7 leaflets
lanceolate and cut-pinnatifid, and the clusters of bluish flowers peduncled.
79. LABIATE, MINT FAMILY.
Chiefly herbs, with aromatic herbage, square stems, opposite
simple leaves, more or less 2-lipped corolla (whence the name of
the order), either 4 didynamous or only 2 stamens, 2-lobed stigma,
and at once distinguished from all the related families by the deeply
4-parted ovary (as if 4 ovaries around the base of a common style),
ripening into as many seed-like nutlets, or akenes, each containing
a single seed. Embryo usually filling the seed. As in all these
i'amilies, there are 2 lobes belonging to the upper and 3 to the lower
lip of the corolla. Flowers from the axils of the leaves or bracts,
usually in cymose clusters, or running into terminal racemes or
spikes.
$ 1. Stamens 4, parallel and ascending, and projecting from a notch on the tipper
side of the corolla. Nutlets reticulated and pitted, obliquely fixed by the inner
side near the base.
* Lobes of the corolla nearly equal and oblong, turned forward so that there seemt
to be no upper lip, Hie filaments conspicuously projecting from the upper side.
1. TEUCRIUM. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla with a deep cleft between the two
upper Jobes. Cells of the anther confluent.
2. TRICHOSTEMA. Calyx 5-cleft in 2 lips, oblique. Filaments very long and
slender, curved, coiled up in the bud.
* * Lobes of the corolla equally apt-ending : filaments slightly projecting from the,
notch between the 2 upper lubes.
3. ISANTHUS. Calyx bell-shaped, equally 5-lobed, enlarging after flowering.
Corolla only little longer than the calyx, bell-shaped, with 5 equal spreading
lobes.
§ 2. Stamens 4, reclining on the lower lobe of the corolla, the outer or lower pair
longer : anthers 2-celled. Corolla usually turned down or declining. Nutlets
smooth or smoothish, fixed by their base, as in all the following divisions.
4. OCIMUM. Calyx deflexed in fruit, 5-toothed, the upper tooth or lobe much
broadest and sometimes wing-margined. Corolla short, the upper lip as it
were of 4 lobes, the lower of one entire flat or flattish declined lobe scarcely
kmger than the upper. Filaments separate.
244 MINT FAMILY.
6. COLEUS. Calyx as in No. 4. Corolla similar, but the lower lobe longer and
concave or boat-shaped, enclosing the stamens and style: filaments monadel-
phous.
6. HYPTIS. Calyx with 5 less unequal or equal teeth. Corolla of 4 short simi-
lar upper lobes, and a longer abruptly deflexed saccate lower one; filaments
separate.
7. LAVANDULA. Calyx not deflexed, 13-15-nerved, 5-toothed, the upper tooth
mostly larger. Corolla with tube longer than the calyx, regularly 2-lipped,
i. e. upper lip 2-lobed, lower 3-lobed, the lobes all equally spreading. Sta-
mens included, but declined towards the lower lobe of the' corolla.
§ 3. Stamens 4 (and the lower or outer pair longest) or 2, straight and distant or
diverging : anthers plainly 2-celled, not conniving in p lirs. Lobes of the
corolla flat and spreading, or ike upper erect but not arched.
# Corolla short and rather bell-shnped, hardly if at all 2-lipped, the 4 or rarely 5
lobes nearly equal and all spreading.
S. PERILLA. Calyx in flower 5-cleft, in fruit nodding and enlarging, becoming
2-lipped. Corolla 5-cleft, the lower lobe a little longer. Stamens 4, nearly
equal. Style deeply 2-cleft.
9. MENTHA. Calyx equally 5-toothed. Corolla with a 4-cleft border, the upper
lobe a little broader and sometimes notched at the end. Stamens 4, nearly
equal, similar.
10. LYCOPUS. Calyx 4 -5-toothed. Corolla with 4 about equal lobes. Stamens
2 : the upper pair, if any, without anthers.
* * Corolla evidently 2-lipped, but all the lobes of nearly equal length, the upper lip
erect and mostly notched, the lower spreading and 3-cleft, the tube not bearded
within : stamens with anthers only 2.
11. CUNILA. Calyx equally 5-toothed, striate, very hairy in the throat, one half
shorter than the corolla. Stamens 2, long and protruding: no rudiments of
the other pair.
12. HEDEOMA. Calyx 2-lipped, gibbous on the lower side near the base, hairy
in the throat. Corolla short. Stamens 2, with anthers scarcely protruded,
and 2 sterile short filaments tipped with a little head in place of anther.
* * * Corolla elongated and irregular : the lower lobe or Up much the larger, pen-
dent, cut-toothed or fringed, tlie 4 others nearly equal and alike: tube witfi a
bearded ring inside at the bottom of the enlarged throat : stamens 2 with
anthers or rarely 4.
13. COLLINSONIA. Calyx ovate, enlarging and turned down after flowering,
2-lipped, the upper lip flat and 3-toothed, the lower 2-cleft. Cells of the an-
ther diverging.
# # * * Corolla evidently 2-lipped, short, the upper lip erect or somewhat spread-
ing and nearly entire or notched, the lower spreading or 3-cleft : stamens with
anthers 4.
14. HYSSOPUS. Calyx tubular, 15-nerved, equally 5-toothed, naked in the throat.
Corolla with the middle lobe of the lower ifp larger and 2-cleft. Stamens
verv long and protruding.
15. PYCNAN THEMUM. Calyx oblong or short-tubular, about 13-nerved, equally
5-toothed or somewhat 2-lipped, naked in the throat. Corolla with the lobes
of the lower lip ovate and entire. Flowers crowded in heads or close cymes.
16. ORIGANUM. Calyx hairy in the throat, about 13-nerved. Lower lip of the
corolla of 3 similar lobes. Flowers crowded into spike-like clusters and fur-
nished with imbricated often colored bracts.
17. THYMUS. Calyx ovate, hairy in the throat, 13-nerved, 2-lipped; the upper
lip 3-toothed and spreading, the lower cleft into 2 awl-shaped ciliate lobes.
Corolla not strongly 2-lipped, the upper lip resembling the 3 lobes of the lower
lip but notched at the apex. Stamens mostly protruding.
18. SATUREIA. Calyx bell-shaped, naked in the throat, 10-nerved, equally
5-toothed. Corolla with lower lip of 3 nearly equal entire lobes. Stamens
somewhat ascending. Leaves narrow.
§ 4. Stamens 4 (the lower or outer pair longer), ascending or curved and with the
plainly 2-celled anthers approximate or conniving in pairs under the erect and
jlattisn but not arched upper lip. Calyx moi-e or less 2-lipped.
19. CALAMINTHA. Calyx not flattened. Corolla straight, with inflated throat,
and 2-lipped border,vthe spreading lower lip 3-parted, its middle lobe entire
or slightly notched.
MINT FAMILY. 245
20. MELISSA. Calyx with 3-toothed upper lip flat. Corolla more or less curved
and ascending. Filaments arching and bringing the anthers together in pairs.
Otherwise as in 19.
§ 6. Stamens only 2, parallel and ascending under tie erect or somewhat scythe-
shaped entire or barely notched upper lip of (he corolla: anthers l-ce//erf,
either strictly so or by confluence of the 2 cells end to end.
21. SALVIA. Calyx 2-lipped, the upper lip 3-toothed or entire, the lower 2-cleft,
throat not hairy. Corolla deeply 2-lipped ; the lower lip spreading or hanging,
3-lobed, the middle lobe larger and sometimes notched at the end. Filament
as it were compound, the proper filament short and bearing on its apex an
elongated thread-like or linear body (the connective, in fact) attached by its
middle, one end of which ascending under the upper lip bears a linear
1-celled anther, the other descending bears the other smaller and imperfect
cell, or a mere vestige of it, or is naked. Flowers usually large or showy.
22. ROSMARINUS. Calyx and corolla nearly as in Salvia, but the lateral lobes of
the lower lip of the corolla erect and somewhat contorted (as in some Sages
also). Stamens resembling those of Monarda and protruded, but with a short
tooth on the filament below the middle. Shrub.
23. MONARDA. Calyx tubular, elongated, manv-nerved, nearly equally 5-toothed,
mostly hairy in the throat. Corolla deeply 2-lipped, narrow in the throat,
the oblong or linear lips about equal in length, the lower 3-lobed at the apex,
its narrower middle lobe slightly notched. Stamens with long and simple
filament bearing directly on its apex a linear anther. Flowers rather large,
numerous in the whorle'd or terminal heads.
24. BLEPH1LIA. Calyx short-tubular, naked in the throat, 2-lipped, the upper
lip with 3 awned, the lower with 2 nearly blunt teeth. Corolla with a more
expanded throat, bluish. Otherwise like Monarda, but flowers smaller.
§ 6. Stamens 4, diverging or ascending : the upper or inner pair longer ! Upper
lip of the coroUa erect or a little arching, the lower spreading.
26. LOPHANTHUS. Calyx rather unequally 5-toothed. Upper lip of corolla
slightly 2-lobed, the lower moderately spreading, its middle lobe somewhat
crenate. Stamens not parallel, the lower and shorter ones more or less as-
cending, the upper and longer ones diverging and declining, so as to seem the
lower. Tall erect herbs, with small flowers clustered in panicled spikes.
26. NEPETA. Calyx obliquely 5-toothed. Stamens parallel and ascending, and
their anthers approaching in pairs under the upper lip of the corolla, their
cells diverging from each other. Middle lobe of lower lip of corolla con-
siderablv largest.
27. CEDRONELLA. Flowers nearly like those of Nepeta: but the cells of the
anthers parallel.
37. PHLOMIS, of the next section, might from the stamens be sought for here.
§ 7. Stamens 4, the lower or outer pair longer, ascending find parallel, their anthers
in pairs mostly under the concave or arched tipper lip of the corolla. Plants
not sweet-scented, some of them bitter-aromatic.
# Corolla inflated funnel-form and rather slightly 2-lipped : calyx thinnish, open
bell-shnped in fruit, the, 5 tee th equal and pointless : flowers simply spiked,
only one to each bract or floral leaf.
28. PHYSOSTEGIA. Upper lip of the corolla broad and a littte arched, entire;
lower of 3 broad and somewhat spreading short lobes. Smooth and scentless
herbs, with thickish and sessile lanceolate or oblong leaves.
# * Corolla decidedly 2-lipped: calyx also 2-lipped, irregular, closed in fruit.
29. BRUNELLA. Calyx tubular bell-shaped, reticulated, flattened on the up-
per side; the upper lip broad, flat, 3-toothed; the lower 2-cleft. Tube of
the corolla dilated on the lower side just below the rather nan-owed throat;
upper lip arched and entire; lower widely spreading, with lateral lobes ob-
long, the concave middle one rounded and crenulate. Filaments 2-toothed at
the apex, the lower tooth bearing the anther. Flowers in a terminal close
head or short spike.
SO. SCUTELLARIA. Calyx short, with the very short lips truncate and entire, and
a large hump on the upper side, the whole helmet-shaped ; the upper lip usu-
ally falling away when the fruit is ripe. Corolla with rather long ascending
tube, the lateral lobes of the lower lip small and somewhat connected with
the arched upper lip, the middle lobe larger and spreading or the sides reflexed :
anthers of the lower stamens 1-celled. Bitterish herbs, not aromatic, with
flowers single in the axil of each bract or leaf.
246 MINT FAMILY.
* * * Corolla decidedly 2-lipped: calyx 5-tootiied, regular, or sometimes obscurely
2-lipped, not closing in fruit : the teeth commonly awl-shaped 01- triangular,
often rigid or spiny-tipped.
H- Stamens included in the tube of the corotta : calyx 10-toothed.
81. MARRUBIUM. Teeth of the calyx awl-shaped or spiney-tipped, recurved
after flowering. Corolla small: upper lip erect. Bitter-aromatic plants:
flowers in axillary capitate whorls.
•*- •*- Stamens raised out of the tube of the corolla : calyx 5-toothed.
•*-*• Anthers opening crosswise by 2 unequal valves, the smaller one ciliate.
32. GALEOPSIS. Calyx tubular bell-shaped, 5-nerved, with spiny-tipped teeth.
Corolla enlarged in the throat, the ovate and entire upper lip arched, the
middle lobe of spreading lower lip obcordate. Flowers in axillary whorl-like
clusters.
•w. •*•+ Anthers opening lengthwise in the ordinary way.
33. LAMIUM. Calyx tubular bell-shaped, with 5 awl-shaped spreading teeth.
Corolla much enlarged in the throat, the upper lip arching and with a narrow
base, lateral lobes of lower lip very short, the middle one rounded and spread-
ing or turned down, its base much narrowed. (Lessons, p. 102, fig. 209.)
Stamens ascending under the upper lip. Nutlets truncate at the top.
34. LEONURUS. Calyx top-shaped, the awl-shaped teeth when old spreading and
spiny-pointed. Corolla like Stachys, but middle lobe of lower lip obcordate.
Stamens parallel. Nutlets truncate and sharply 3-angled. Stems erect.
Flowers in close whorls in the axils of cut-lobed leaves.
35. STACHYS. Calyx mostly tubular bell-shaped, the teeth triangular or awl-
shaped, sometimes rigid or even pungent. Corolla not enlarged in the throat,
the upper lip entire or nearly so, the lower 3-lobed with the middle lobe
nearly entire. Stamens ascending under the upper lip, but the outer pair
turned down after discharging their pollen ! Nutlets obtuse, but not trun-
cate. Flowers crowded in whorls, most of these commonly approximate in a
terminal raceme or spike.
36. BETONICA. Like Stachys, but calyx more tubular and with awn-like teeth,
tube of corolla longer and its uppeV lip sometimes notched, and the stamens
generally remaining parallel.
37. PHLOMI& Calyx tubular, with rigid narrow awl-shaped teeth from the
notch of as many very short and broad lobes. Corolla as in Stachys. Upper
pair of stamens (rather the longer) with an awl-shaped appendage"at the base
of the filaments.
38. MOLUCCELLA. Calyx membranaceous and greatly enlarged, funnel-form,
the border reticulated, veiny, entire, except 5 mucronate points. Corolla
much shorter than the calyx; the middle lobe of its lower lip obcordate.
Nutlets 3-sided.
1. TEUCRIUM, GERMANDER. ( Named for Teucer, king of Troy.) ^
T. Canad^nse, our only species, in low grounds, l°-3° high, downy,
with ovate-lanceolate serrate leaves downy beneath, and pale purple or rarely
•white flowers collected in a long spike, in late summer.
2. TBICHOSTEMA, BLUE CURLS. (Name from the Greek, means
hair-like stamens.) Ours are branching loosely-flowered rather clammy low
herbs, with entire leaves, and small flowers as it were panicled, blue, or
changing to purple, in summer and autumn. ©
T. dichdtomum, COMMON B. or BASTARD PENNYROYAL. Sandy fields
E. & S. : 6'- 12' high, with mostly lance-oblong short-petioled leaves.
T. lineare, from New Jersey S., has linear or lance-lineaf smoother leaves.
3. ISANTHUS, FALSE PENNYROYAL. (Name in Greek means equal
flower, i. e. parts of corolla regular.) ©
I. C86ruleus. Common in sandy or sterile soil ; bushy-branched, clammy-
pubescent, 6' - 12' high, with oblong 3-nerved entire leaves, and scattered small
Wue flowers on axillary peduncles : all summer.
MINT FAMILY. 247
4. 6CIMUM, SWEET BASIL. (Greek name, referring to the odor, the
herbage sweet-scented. )
O. Basilicum, SWEET BASIL. Low sweet-herb, of kitchen-gardens, from
India, with ovate somewhat toothed leaves, ciliate petioles and calyx, and bluish-
white racemed flowers, in summer. (I)
5. COLETJS. (Name from the Greek word for sheath, alluding to the mona-
delphous stamens.)
C. Blumei, of Java, especially its var. VERSCHAFFELTII, the showy spe-
cies of ornamental grounds in summer, planted for its richly-colored ovate pointed
and coarsely toothed leaves, either blotched with crimson or bronze-red, or almost
wholly colored ; the inconspicuous flowers blue or bluish and racemed.
6. HYPTIS. (From a Greek word meaning reversed.) Fl. late summer.
H. radiata. Low ground, North Carolina & S. : stems 2° -4° high;
leaves lance-ovate, toothed ; flowers white or purple-dotted, small, crowded in
peduncled whitish-involucrate heads. ^
7. LAVANDULA, LAVENDER. (From Latin lavo, to lave, for which
Lavender-water is used.)
L. V6ra, GARDEN L. Cult, from S. Europe : a low undershrub, barely
hardy N., hoary, with lance-linear leaves, and slender spikes of bluish small
flowers on long terminal peduncles, in summer.
8. PEEILLA. (Name unexplained.) Natives of China and Japan. ©
P. ocimoides, var. crispa, or P. NANKINENSIS of the gardens ; a bal-
samic-scented much-branched herb, cult, for its foliage, the ovate-petioled leaves
in this variety dark purple or violet-tinged beneath, bronze-purple above, the
margins wavy and deeply cut-toothed, the insignificant rose-colored or whitish
flowers in panicled spike-like racemes, in late summer.
9. MENTHA, MINT. (Ancient Greek and Latin name.) One native
and two very common naturalized European species, mostly spreading rap-
idly by running rootstocks ; leaves toothed ; the small flowers purplish-
bluish, or almost white, in summer. ^ The following common Mints
all in wet places.
M. viridis, SPEARMINT. Nearly smooth, with oblong or lance-ovate wrin-
kled-veiny sessile leaves, and flowers in narrow terminal spikes.
M. piperita, PEPPERMINT. Smooth, with ovate acute petioled leaves, and
whorled clusters of flowers forming loose interrupted spikes.
M. Canad6nsis, WILD MINT. Along shaded brooks ; pleasant-scented,
hairy or a smooth variety, with ovate or lance-oblong acute or pointed leaves on
short petioles, and whorls of flowers in the axils of some of the middle pairs.
10. LYCOPUS, WATER-HOREHOUND. (Name in Greek mean $ wolfs
foot.) Resembling the Wild Mint, but bitter, and not aromatic, commonly
producing slender sometimes tuber-bearing runners from the base, smooth, the
very small white flowers close-clustered in the axils of the leaves, in summer.
Wild in shady moist soil. ^
L. Virginicus, BUGLEWEED. Common N. ; stems blunt-angled, 6' - 18'
high ; leaves mostly lance-ovate and merely toothed ; calyx-teeth 4, ovate and
bluntish. Used in medicine.
L. EuropSBUS, under several varieties : common N. & S., is taller, with
sharply 4-angled stems, ovate-oblong or lanceolate leaves either toothed or pin-
natifid, many flowers in the clusters or whorls, and 5 calyx-teeth rigid and
sharp-pointed.
248 MINT FAMILY.
11. CUNILA, DITTANY. (An old Latin name of unknown meaning.)
C. Mariana, MARYLAND D. Dry hills through the Middle States; nearly
smooth, 1° high, corymbosely much branched, with ovate or heart-shaped almost
sessile serrate leaves (!' long), and peduncled loose cymes of purplish flowers, in
12. HEDEOMA. (Formed from a Greek name of a sort of Mint, refers to
the sweet scent. ) Low and fragrant-scented, growing in dry and open or sterile
grounds, with small flowers in loose axillary clusters, all summer.
H. pulegioides, AMERICAN PENNYROYAL, the pungent aromatic scent
and taste being like that of the English Pennyroyal or Mentha Pulegium of Eu. ;
very common, 5' - 8' high, hairy, branching, with oblong-ovate petioled leaves,
few flowered clusters, and bluish corolla scarcely exceeding the calyx. (T)
H. tlispida, is common from Western Illinois S. W. ; 2' - 5' high, hairy,
mth sessile linear entire leaves, and bristly-ciliate calyx, (f)
13. COLLINSONIA, HORSE-BALM. (Named for Peter Collinson of
London, who corresponded with Bartram and Linnaeus. ) Rather tall and
large-leaved strong-scented plants : fl. summer. ^
C. Canad&nsis, also called RICH-WEED and STONE-ROOT, the only com-
mon species, in rich moist woods ; smooth, 2° - 3° high, with ovate serrate
(eaves 3' - 6' long and on long petioles, and pale yellow lemon-scented flowers
on slender pedicels in panicled racemes.
14. HYSSOPUS, HYSSOP. (The ancient Greek name of the plant, from
the Hebrew.) #
H. officinalis, the only species, cult, in gardens from the Old World,
rarely running wild : smooth tufted simple stems or branches 2° high ; leaves
lance-linear and entire ; small clusters of blue flowers crowded in a terminal
spike, in summer.
15. PYCNANTHEMUM, MOUNTAIN MINT or BASIL. (Name
from Greek, means dense flower-clusters.) Several species, all aromatic-scented,
1° - 3° high, in open usually gravelly or sandy soil ; flowers Avith pale corolla
often purple-dotted, in late summer and autumn. ^j[ Only the following
widely common.
P. incanum. Leaves petioled, ovate or oblong, remotely toothed, finely
soft-downy above and white-hoary beneath, those next the open flat cymes
whitened both sides ; bracts and calyx-teeth somewhat awn-pointed.
P. milticum. Minutely soft-downy but hardly whitened, rather low,
bushy-branched ; leaves mostly lance-ovate and sessile, with rounded or slightly
heart-shaped base, minutely sharp-toothed, rather rigid ; flowers in heads or
dense clusters ; calyx-teeth and inner bracts rather blunt.
P. pildsum. Only from W. Penn. W., is downy with rather long soft
hairs ; the broadish lanceolate leaves acute at both ends and nearly entire ;
whorled heads at the end of the branches ; the calyx-teeth and bracts ovate-
lanceolate and acute.
P! aristatum. Only from New Jersey S., in pine-barrens : minutely soft-
pubescent; leaves lance-oblong or broadly linear, rigid, almost entire ; flowers
in heads, with the narrow and awn-pointed bracts and calyx-teeth as Jong as the
corolla.
P. lanceolatum. Smoothish, not hoary, very leafy, bushy branched ;
leaves small and clustered, narrow lanceolate or lance-linear, rigid, sessile, ob-
tuse at base ; flowers small, in numerous globular close heads which are crowded
in terminal corymbs ; calyx-teeth and bracts short, triangular ; lips of the
corolla very short.
P. linifdlium. Like the last, less common N. : smoother, with lance-
linear leaves, and narrower sharp-pointed bracts and calyx-teeth.
MINT FAMILY. 249
16. OKiGANUM, MARJORAM. (Old Greek name, said to mean delight
of mountains.) Natives of the Old World : sweet-herbs : fl. summer. If.
O. VUlgare, WILD MARJORAM. Old gardens, and wild on some road-
sides ; l°-2° high, with small ovate nearly entire leaves, on short petioles, and
purplish flowers in corymbed purple-bracted clusters or short spikes ; calyx
equally 5-toothed.
O. Majorana, SWEET MARJORAM. Cult, in kitchen -gardens (as an (T)) ;
leaves small and finely soft-downy ; the bracts not colored ; flowers whitish or
purplish, with calyx hardly toothed but cleft nearly down on the lower side.
17. THYMUS, THYME. (Ancient Greek and Latin name.) Low or
creeping slightly woody-stemmed sweet-aromatic plants of the Old World :
i fl. small, in summer. Leaves in the common species entire, small, from ^'
to near |' long, ovate, obovate or oblong with tapering base. ^
T. Serp^llum, CREEPING THYME. Cult, as a sweet herb, rarely a little
spontaneous ; creeping, forming broad flat perennial turfs ; leaves green ;
whorls of purplish or flesh-colored flowers crowded or somewhat spiked at the
ends of the flowering branches.
T. VUlgaris, COMMON THYME. Rarely cult,, more upright and bushy
than the other, pale and rather hoary ; flowers in shorter clusters.
18. SATUKfclA, SAVORY. (The ancient Latin name.) Aromatic :
fl. summer.
S. hort6nsis, SUMMEU SAVORY. Low and homely sweet herb of the gar-
dens, sparingly run wild W., with oblong-linear leaves tapering at base, and
pale or purplish small flowers clustered in their axils, or running into panicled
spikes at the end of the branches. ©
19. CALAMINTHA, CALAMINTH. (Greek for beautiful Mint.) FL
summer. ^
§ 1. Flowers loose in the axils, or above running into racemes or panicles.
C. glabella. A delicate native but uncommon species, only from Niagara
Falls W. : smooth, with weak stems 5' - 20' long, also with creeping runners,
oblong or almost linear leaves, or ovate on the runners, the loose purplish flow-
ers about $' long.
C. N6peta, BASIL-THYME. Nat. from Eu. from Virginia S. : soft-downy,
branching, l°-2° high, \vith round-ovate crenate leaves, small and loose purple
flowers, and calyx hairy in the throat.
§ 2. Flowers in terminal heads or head-like whorls, crowded with awl-shaped bracts.
C. Clinopodium, BASIL. Waste grounds and along thickets ; hairy,
with rather simple stems l°-2° long, ovate and nearly entire petioled leaves,
and pale purple small corollas.
20. MELISSA, BALM, BEE-BALM. (Old name from Greek for lee. )
Old- World sweet herbs. Fl. summer. 1J.
M. Officinalis, COMMON B. Gardens, sparingly running wild ; rather
hairy, loosely-branched, lemon-scented, with ovate or scarcely heart-shaped cre-
nate-toothed leaves, and yellowish or soon white flowers in small loose axillary
clusters.
21. SALVIA, SAGE. (From the Latin sal.iv, to save, from its reputed
healing qualities.)
§ 1. WILD SAGES of the country, all with blue or partly white corollas. %
* Upper lip of calyx 3-toothed: lower cell of the anther present but deformed.
S. lyrata. Sandy soil from New Jersey to 111. & S. : l°-2° high, rather
hairy, with leaves mostly at the root and obovate or lyre-shaped, and a smaller
pair on the stem ; whorls of flowers forming an interrupted raceme ; coroll?
hardly 1' long.
250 MINT FAMILY.
* * Upper lip of the calyx entire : lower cell of the anther wanting.
S. UTticifdlia. Woodlands from Maryland S. : l°-2° high, leafy, some-
what clammy-downy ; leaves rhombic-ovate ; racemes slender, the blue and
white corolla only J' long.
S. azurea. Sandy soil S. & S. W. : nearly smooth and green, with rather
simple stems, 2° -4° high; leaves lance-linear with tapering base, obtuse,
entire, or the lower serrate; the showy azure-blue flowers (less than I' long)
numerous in a spike-like raceme.
S. Pitcheri, from Kansas to Texas, is very like the foregoing, but minutely
soft-downy ; occasionally cultivated, as is also
S. farinbsa, of Texas, with more petioled oblong-lanceolate leaves, the
spikes, calyxes, &c. white-hoary, in contrast with the light blue corolla.
§ 2. GARDEN SAGES, cultivated for ornament, or the first s/jfdes for its savory
foliage. Perennials, but some cult, as annuals, several woody at base.
* Flowers blue.
S. officinalis, COMMON SAGE, from S. Eu. : low, minutely hoary-pubes-
cent, with obiong-lanceolate leaves finely reticulated-rugose and the margins
crenulate, spiked flower-whorls, and short corolla.
S. patens, from Mexico : 2° -3° high, rather hairy, with crenate triangular-
ovate or halberd-shaped leaves, or the uppermost sessile ones oval, loose-pedi-
celled flowers, showy deep blue corolla over 2' long, the lips widely gaping and
the stamens exserted.
* * Flowers scarlet-red.
S. splendens, SCARLET SAGE, of Brazil : smooth, with branching stems,
ovate pointed leaves, the floral ones and calyx as well as the corolla (2' or more
long and with short lower lip) bright scarlet.
S. fulgens, CARDINAL or MEXICAN RED S., from Mexico: tall, pubes-
cent, with crenate ovate or oval leaves heart-shaped at base and somewhat
rugose, green calyx, and long-tubed downy deep scarlet corolla over 2' long,
the style plumose.
S. COCCinea, from Tropical America: somewhat downy or soft-hairy,
with ovate and heart-shaped acute crenate leaves, deciduous bracts, green or
purplish calyx, and smooth red corolla 1' long, with lower lip much longer than
the upper one.
S. pSeudo-COCCinea, from Trop. Amer. : like the last, but with bristly-
hairy stems, less heart-shaped leaves, and corolla more or less pubescent.
* * * Flowers white.
S. ar gen tea, from the Mediterranean regions : cult, for its silvery-white
foliage, hardy ; the very large round-ovate root-leaves clothed with long white
wool ; flowering stem and its sessile leaves, as well as calyx, &c. clammy-hairy ;
the white corolla with scythe-shaped upper lip 1' long and a very short tube.
22. ROSMABlNITS, ROSEMARY. (Old Latin name, dew of the sea.)
R,. officinalis, from S. Eu. : not hardy N. : leaves evergreen. linear, entire,
with revolute margins, white hoary beneath, the upper with pale blue flowers in
their axils.
23. MONARDA, HORSE-MINT or BALM. (Named for an earlj
Spanish writer on the medicinal plants of the New World, Monardez.) Fl.
summer.
§ 1 . Stamens and style protruding bfyond the narrow acute upper lip of the corolla .
leaves oltlonq-ovate or lance-ovate, with roundish or slifjhtly heart-shaped base>
veiny, pleasant-scented.
M. didyma, OSWEGO TEA or BEE-BALM. Wet ground N., and cult. ;
feaves petioled ; the floral ones tinged with red ; calyx naked in the throat ;
corolla bright red.
M. fistlllbsa, WILD BERGAMOT. Rocky grounds ; soft-downy or smooth-
ish ; leaves petioled, the floral ones often whitish ; calyx very hairy in the
throat ; corolla rose-color, purple, or white.
MINT FAMILY. 251
M. Bradburiana. From Ohio W., differs from the preceding in the
sessile leaves soft-hairy beneath, calyx contracted above, and shorter corolla.
§ 2. Stamens not longer than the purple-spotted notched upper Up of the short
corolla, the tube of which is nearly enclosed in the calyx. (T) ©
M. punctata, HORSE-MINT. Dry sandy ground, from New York to
111. and 8. : strong-scented and pungent, slightly hoary ; leaves lanceolate,
the floral ones and bracts tinged yellow and purple ; calyx-teeth short and awn-
less ; corolla yellowish.
M. aristata. Plains from Missouri S. W., has its calyx strongly bearded
in the throat and with awn-like teeth, the floral leaves and bracts conspicuously'
awn-tipped.
24. BLEPHIIiIA. (From Greek for eyelash, the bracts strongly ciliate,
the outer ones ovate. ) Fl. summer. y
B. ciliata. Dry ground, from Penn. S. & W. : leaves almost sessile, ovate
or oblong, whitish-downy beneath ; outer bracts large, acute ; corolla hairy.
B. nepetoides. Low shady grounds N. & W. : hairy all over ; leaves
lance-ovate sometimes heart-shaped at base, on distinct petioles ; bracts smaller
and very slender-pointed ; corolla smoothish, purple-spotted.
25. LOPHANTHUS, GIANT HYSSOP. (Name from Greek for crest
and flower, not very appropriate. Wild in rich soil, chiefly N. & W., with
ovate and toothed leaves : fl. summer, y.
L. nepetoides. Smooth, coarse, not sweet-scented ; stem 4° - 6° high
and sharply 4-angled; calyx-teeth ovate, bluntish, almost equalling the dull
yellowish corolla.
L. scrophulariifblius. Resembles the preceding, but the obtusely an-
gled stem and sharper-toothed leaves rather pubescent, the lanceolate acute calyx-
teeth shorter than the purplish corolla.
L. anisatUS. Wild from Wisconsin far N. W. and rare in cultivation :
slender, with anise-scented leaves white beneath, and calyx much shorter than
the lavender-blue corolla.
26. NEPETA, CAT-MINT. (Latin name, from the city Nepete.) %
N. Cataria, CATNIP. Weed nat. from Eu. around dwellings and gardens :
soft-downy ; with oblong heart-shaped leaves deeply crenate, and whitish flow-
ers crowded in terminal clusters or spikes, in late summer.
N. Glechbma, GROUND IVY, GILL. Weed nat. from Eu. in waste or
cult, shaded grounds : creeping and spreading, with smoothish rounded kidney-
shaped crenate leaves on slender petioles, and light blue flowers in their axils,
each pair of anther cells approaching and forming a little cross : fl. all spring
and summer.
27. CEDRON^LLA. (From Greek name of oil of cedar, alluding to the
sweet aromatic scent of the foliage of the first species.) The cultivated species
not hardy N. : fl. summer. ^
C. triph^lla, BALM-OF-GILEAD of the English gardens, here rarely cult.,
from Madeira ; very sweet-scented leaves of 3 broadly lanceolate leaflets ; flowers
purplish.
C. Mexicana, from New Mexico, has simple lance-ovate leaves with heart-
shaped base, erect stems, and handsome rose-colored flowers in close clusters.
C. COrdata, wild in shady grounds from W. Penn. S., but rare : low,
hairy, with long leafy runners, heart-shaped leaves, and scattered flowers, the
purplish corolla l£' long, its throat inflated.
28. PHYSOSTEGIA, FALSE DRAGON-HEAD. (Name from Greek
words for inflated or bladdery covering.) Fl. all summer. 2/
P. Virginiana. Wet banks of streams, from New York W. & S., in sev-
eral varieties : l°-4°high; leaves mostly serrate; flowers either crowded or
rather distant in the spikes ; corolla pale rose-purple, 1 ' or more long.
252 MINT FAMILY.
29. BRUNELLA, SELF-HEAL or HEAL-ALL. (Latinized from the
old German name.) Fl. all summer. JJ.
B. vulgaris. Low fields and copses low, spreading, with ovate or oblong
petioled leaves, and 3 flowers under each of the broad and round purplish bracts
of the head ; corolla bluish-purple or rarely white.
3'0. SCUTELlARIA, SKULLCAP. (Name from Latin scutellum, a
dish.) Fl. in summer, in species ours blue or violet. ^
§ 1. Flowers in racemes or spikes terminating the stem and branches.
S. versicolor. River-banks, from Penn. W. & S. : stem stout, l°-3° high,
soft-pubescent, as are the heart-shaped very veiny and rugose crenate and blunt-
ish long-petioled leaves ; spike-like racemes clammy-pubescent ; corolla almost
1' long, the lower lip purple-spotted.
S. can^scens. From Penn. S. & W. : stems branching, 2° - 4° high ;
leaves petioled, ovate or lance-ovate, or some of them heart-shaped at base, the
lower surface as also the racemes and flowers whitish with very fine soft down,
otherwise smoothish ; corolla 1' long.
S. pilbsa. Pubescent with spreading hairs; stem nearly simple, l°-3°
high, bearing rather distant pairs of roundish or oblong-ovate veiny leaves, the
lower sometimes heart-shaped, upper on short-margined petioles ; racemes
short, the bracts spatulate ; corolla |' long.
S. integrifblia. Along thickets: minutely hoary, l°-2° high; leaves
lance-oblong or linear, obtuse, nearly entire, very short-petioled ; raceme short;
corolla 1' long, much enlarged upwards.
§ 2. Flowers short-pedunded in the axils of some of the sessile leaves.
S. nervbsa. Moist ground from New York S. W. : smooth, l°-2° high,
slender; leaves roundish or ovate, sparingly toothed, 1' long, those subtending
the flowers ovate-lanceolate and entire, the nerve-like main veins prominent
beneath ; flowers |' long.
S. parvula. Dry banks and shores, commoner W. & S. : low and spread-
ing, 3' - 6' high ; with round-ovate or lance-ovate and slightly heart-shaped
leaves ^' or more long, and flowers |' long.
S. galericulata. Wet ground N. : smoothish ; the slender simple stems
l°-2° high ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, sometimes with a heart-shaped base, acute,
serrate ; flowers f ' long, with arched upper lip.
§ 3. Flowers in axillary or some terminal one-sided racemes.
S. lateriflbra. Wet shady places : smooth, branching, 1° -2° high, with
lance-ovate or oblong acute coarsely serrate leaves on slender petioles ; racemes
rather leafy-bracted ; flowers £' long.
31. MARRUBIUM, HOREHOUND. (Late Latin name, from Hebrew-
word for bitter.) Fl. late summer, y.
M. vulgare, COMMON H., from Europe, in gardens and waste places >
branching, spreading, hoary-downy, with round-ovate crenate-rugose leaves on
petioles, and small white corolla.
BLACK HOREHOUND, BALLOT A N!GRA, of Europe, and naturalized in a
few places E., is not hoary, and'has purplish flowers with a spreading 5-toothed
border to the calyx.
32. GALEOPSIS, HEMP-NETTLE. (Name in Greek means like a
weasel ; the likeness not at all obvious.) Fl. summer, (f)
G. Tetrahit, COMMON H. Damp waste and cult, grounds, nat. from Eu. :
a common weed, rather bristly-hairy, with stem swollen below each joint, leaves
ovate and coarsely serrate, and corolla purplish or variegated.
33. LAMITTM, DEAD-NETTLE. (Name from Greek word for throat.)
Low spreading herbs from Old World : fl. spring and summer.
MINT FAMILY. 253
* Insignificant weeds in waste, or cultivated grounds, with few small and purple or
slender flowers in some of the axils. (T) ©
L. amplexicaule. Leaves rounded, deeply crenate-toothed and cut, the
upper ones clasping ; corolla with a long tube, its upper lip bearded, the
lower one spotted.
Ii. purptireum. Not so common : leaves more heart-shaped, and less
cut, all of them petioled.
* * Flowers larger, 1' long, in several axillary whorls: corolla ascending, the
lateral lobes bearing a sltnder awl-shaped appendage. 2/
L. album. Gardens and waste grounds : hairy ; leaves all petioled, ovate
and heart-shaped, rugose-veiny ; flowers white.
Ii. maculatum. Cult, in gardens ; hairy or nearly smooth ; leaves as in
the other, but with a white spot or blotch on the upper face ; flowers purple.
34. LEONURUS, MOTHER WORT. (Name in Greek means lion's taif,
but there is no obvious resemblance.) Fl. late summer.
L. Cardiaca, COMMON M. Nat. from Eu. in cult, and waste grounds ;
tall, with palmately cleft long-petioled leaves, the lower rounded, the upper
wedge-shaped at base ; upper lip of pale purple corolla bearded. If.
35. STACHYS, HEDGE-NETTLE. (Greek word for spike, from the
inflorescence.) Flowers in summer, in all ours 2/.
# Wild species in wet grounds, with small light reddish-purple corolla.
S. pallistris. Common in many and diverse varieties, rough-hairy or
smooth, or the angles of the stem bristly ; leaves oblong or lance-ovate, or the
lower heart-shaped at base, crenately toothed, the lower or nearly all petioled ;
calyx-teeth sharp-pointed or pungent.
S. hyssopitblia. Wet sandy soil, not common : smooth, low (1° high) ;
leaves linear or linear-oblong, almost entire, sessile ; calyx-teeth softer and less
pointed.
* # Cultivated for ornament • not very common.
S. lanata, from Europe : low, tufted ; the stems, oblong Mullein-like
leaves, and dense interrupted spike wholly covered with thick and silvery white
wool, and very short dull purple corollas.
S. coccinea, SCARLET S., from Mexico, with ovate-oblong and heart-
shaped pubescent leaves, and whorled flowers with bright red corolla, its tube
often 1' long.
36. BETONICA, BETONY. (The Latin name.) Cult, occasionally in
old gardens, from Old World. Stems low, erect: leaves coarsely crenate,
oblong, those on the stem few, of the root larger and heart-shaped on long
petioles. Fl. summer. ^
B. grandiflbra, GREAT B., from Northern Asia; with stem l°-2° high,
flowers in separated whorls, purple corollas l£' long.
B. officinallS, WOOD B., from Europe, has flowers many times smaller, in
a more crowded oblong spike.
37. PHLOMIS, JERUSALEM SAGE. (Old Greek name of some woolly
plant.) Fl. summer. 11
P. tuber6sa, from E. Eu. : cultivated in old gardens, sparingly run wild ;
stems 3° - 5° high ; leaves ovate or ovate-oblong and heart-shaped, crenate,
rugose, smoothish ; flowers in remote and dense whorls ; upper lip of the purple
corolla white-hairy inside.
38. MOLUCCELLA, MOLUCCA BALM, SHELL-FLOWER. (Name
from Molucca Islands.) Fl. summer. ®
M. leevis, from Asia : in some old gardens : low, much branched, smooth,
with roundish petioled leaves, flowers sessile in their axils accompanied by
spine-like bracts, the remarkable large cup-shaped calyx oblique and 1' long,
much exceeding the inconspicuous corolla.
254 BORAGE FAMILY.
80. BORBAGINACE.aE, BORAGE FAMILY.
Mostly rough or rough-hairy plants, known from all related
monopetalous orders by having a deeply 4-lobed ovary, or apparently
4 ovaries around the base of a common style, each 1-ovuled, ripen-
ing into akenes or nutlets, along with regular flowers (Echium
excepted), stamens as many as the lobes of the corolla (5) and
alternate with them, and alternate (mostly entire) leaves. In the
Heliotrope tribe, however, the ovary is not lobed, but the fruit at
maturity separates into 2 or 4 nutlets. Stigmas 1 or 2. Embryo
filling the seed : no albumen. Flowers disposed to be on one side of
the stem or branches, or of the branches of cymes, the raceme-like
clusters coiled at the end and straightening as the flowers expand.
Herbage not aromatic ; juice commonly bitterish, often somewhat
mucilaginous. Roots of several are red and used for dye.
I. BORAGE FAMILY PROPER, having the deeply 4-parted
ovary as above. Ours all herbs.
§ 1. Corolla irregular funnel-form, naked in the throat : stamens unequal!
1. ECHIUM. Two of the spreading lobes of the corolla shorter than the others.
Stamens ascending, more or less protruding: filaments and style long and
slender. Stigmas 2. Nutlets erect, leathery, rough-wrinkled.
§ 2. Corolla wheel-shaped, with no lube at all.
2. BORRAGO. Flowers, as in all the following, perfectly regular. A blunt scala
at the base of each lobe of the 5-parted corolla, alternating with the con-
niving stamens. Filaments very short, broad, and with a cartilaginous pro-
jection behind the linear pointed anther. Nutlets erect.
6. M YOSOTIS, and 7. OMPHALODES, from the short tube to the corolla may
be sought for here.
§ 3. Corolla tubular, funnel-form, or salver-shaped, sometimes almost wheel-shaped,
* Open in the throat, the folds or short scales, if any, not closing over the orifice.
3. MERTENSIA. Corolla tubular, trumpet-shaped, with the widely spreading
border scarcely at all lobed and its throat perfectly naked in the common
species; the slender filaments protruding. Fruit fle'shy, smooth or wrinkled.
Smooth plants, which is rare in this order.
4. ONOSMODIUM. Corolla tubular, with the 5 acute lobes erect or converging,
the throat perfectly naked, bearing the arrow-shaped or linear and mucronate
anthers: filaments hardly any. Style very slender and protruding. Nutlets
stony, smooth, fixed by their base. Very "rough-bristly homely plants.
5. LITHOSPERMIJM. Corolla funnel-form or salver-shaped, with' rounded lobes
imbricated in the bud, with or without evident short and broad scales or
folds in the throat. Anthers oblong, included: filaments hardly any. Nut-
lets stony, smooth or roughened, ovate, fixed by the base. Rough or hairy
plants, mostly with red roots.
6. M YOSOTIS. Corolla very short-salver-form, the tube only about the length of
the 5-toothed or 5-cleft calyx, the rounded lobes convolute in the bud, the
throat with 5 small and blunt arching appendages. Anthers short, included.
Nutlets smooth and hard, fixed by their base. Low and small, mostly soft-
hairy plants, the small racemed flowers commonly bractless.
» * Scales or appendages of the corolla, conspicuous one before the bate of each lobet
and closing or nearly closing the orijice.
-t- Corolla shorl-salver-shaped or nearly wheel-shaped: stamens included.
T. OMPHALODES. Corolla with tube shorter than the rounded lobes. Nutlets
smooth, depressed, and with a hollow basket-like top. Flowers loosely ra-
cemed: no bracts. Low smooth or smoothish herbs.
BORAGE FAMILY. 255
8 ECHINOSPERMUM. Corolla with tube as short as the rounded lobes, the
throat closed with short rounded scales. Nutlets erect, fixed to the central
column or base of the style, triangular, roughened, and bearing one or more
marginal rows of barb-tipped prickles, forming small burs. Coarse weeds,
with leafy-bracted racemed flowers.
9. CYNOGLOSSUM. Corolla between short funnel-form and wheel-shaped, the
tube about the length of the rounded lobes; throat closed by the blunt scales.
Nutlets bur-like, oblique on the expanded base of the style, to which they
are fixed by their apex, roughened all over with short barbed or hooked
prickles. Coarse and sti-ong-scented plants, with racemed flowers, the lower
sometimes bracted, otherwise bractless.
•*- •*- Corolla tubular and more or less funnel-shaped.
10. LYCOPSIS. Corolla with a curved tube, slightly oblique 5-lobed border, and
bristly-hairy scales in the throat. Stamens included in the tube. Nut-
lets rough-wrinkled, erect, fixed by a hollowed base. Coarse, rough-bristly
plants.
11. SYMPHYTUM. Corolla straight, tubular-funnel form, with short spreading
lobes which are somewhat longer than the large awl-shaped scales and
the linear or lanceolate anthers. Style slender, commonly protruding. Nut-
lets erect, smooth, coriaceous, fixed by a hollowed base. Coarse herbs, branch-
ing and leafy, with thickened or tuberous roots, the juice mucilaginous and
bitterish, used in popular medicine. Flowers nodding in raceme-like often
forked clusters, either naked or leafy-bracted at base.
II. HELIOTROPE FAMILY, the ovary not divided but
tipped with the simple style, the fruit when ripe separating into 2
or 4 closed pieces or nutlets.
12. HELIOTROPIUM. Corolla short funnel-form or salver-shaped, the open throat
more or less plaited. Anthers nearly sessile, included. Style short: stigma
conical or capitate. Ovary 4-celled, in fruit splitting into 4 nutlets. Flowers
small, in one-sided single or cymose-clustered spikes, mostly bractless.
13. HELIOPHYTUM. Corolla constricted at the throat. Style very short. Fruit
mitre-shaped, splitting at maturity into 2 nutlets each* 2-celled. Otherwise
as in Heliotropium.
1. ECHITJM, VIPEK'S BUGLOSS. (Name from Greek word for viper.)
E. Vlllg&re, COMMON V. or BLUE WEED. Cult, from Eu. in old gardens,
and a weed in fields, Penn. to Virginia : l°-2° high, very rough-bristlv, with
lanceolate sessile leaves, and showy flowers in racemed 'clusters, the "purple
corolla changing to bright blue, in summer. ©
2. BORRAGO, BORAGE. (Old name, supposed corruption of cor ago, from
imagined cordial properties. )
33. officin&lis, COMMON B. Cult, from Eu. in old gardens, spreading,
branched, beset with sharp and whitish spreading bristles ; leaves oval or
oblong-lanceolate ; flowers loosely racemed, handsome, blue or purplish, with
dark anthers, in summer. ©
3. MERTENSIA. (Named for a Prof. Martens, of Germany.) ^
M. Virginica, VIRGINIAN or SMOOTH LUNGWORT. Alluvial soil TV.
& S., and cult, for ornament : a very smooth and pale leafy plant, l°-2° high,
with obovate entire leaves, those of the root long-petioled, handsome flowers
spreading or hanging on slender pedicels in loose raceme-like clusters, the light
blue or at first purple corolla 1' long : fl. spring.
4. ONOSMODIUM, FALSE GROMWELL. (Name means like Onos-
ma, an European genus of this family.) Wild plants of the country, mostly
in rich soil, in dry or alluvial ground : flowers leafy-bracted, greenish or yel-
lowigh-white, in summer. 2/
256 BORAGE FAMILY.
O. Virginianum. Clothed with harsh but appressed short bristles, 1° - 2°
high, with oblong leaves, and lance-awl-shaped lobes of narrow corolla spar-
ingly bristly outside.
O. Carolinianum. From New York W. & S. : shaggy with rough and
spreading bristles, stout, 3° -4° high, with lance-ovate or oblong-acute leaves,
and lobes of rather broad corolla triangular and thickly hairy.
O. molle. Only W. : hoary with softer and whitish appressed hairs, the
oblong-ovate bluntish leaves strongly ribbed, and lobes of the triangular-pointed
lobes of the narrow corolla thickly hairy outside.
5. LITHOSPERMUM, GROMWELL, PUCCOON. (Name from
Greek, means stony seed.) Flowers in late spring and summer, at length
scattered or as if spiked, leafy-bracted.
§ 1. Corolla white or only yfl/owish in the wholly naked throat, scarcely longer than
the calyx : nutlets rough-wrinkled and pitted, gray and dull. (\) ®
L. arv6nse, CORN GROMWELL. Nat. from Eu. in waste dry soil, 6'- 12'
high, roughish-hoary, with lanceolate or linear leaves and inconspicuous flowers.
§ 2. Corolla dull whitish, rather short, with little downy scales or rather folds in
the throat : nutlets smooth or ivith a few pores, often ivory-white. 2/
L. angUStif61ium. River-banks from 111. S. & W. : minutely roughish-
hoary, branched, 6' - 15' high, with linear rigid leaves, short peduncles recurved
in fruit, and corolla not longer than calyx.
L. officinale, COMMON G. of Europe, a weed by some roadsides : l°-2°
high, branched above, with broadish-lanceolate acute leaves rough above but
soft-downy beneath, and corolla longer than calyx
L. Iatif61ium. From W. New York W. & S. : larger and rougher than
the last, ovate and lance-ovate pointed leaves 2' - 4' long and prominently
ribbed, those from the root larger and roundish ; corolla shorter than calyx.
§ 3. Corolla bright orange-yellow, showy, longer than calyx, almost salvt-r-shaped,
with little appendages in the throat evident : nutlets smooth, usually ivory-white.
L. hirtum, HAIRY PUCCOON. Dry ground, chiefly S. & W. : l°-2°
high, roughish-bristly, with lanceolate or linear leaves, or those next the flowers
ovate-oblong and bristly-ciliate, the crowded flowers peduncled, tube of the
corolla scarcely longer than the breadth of the border (|'-l'j and woolly-
bearded at base inside.
L. can^scens, HOARY P. Mostly N. & W. : softer-hairy and somewhat
hoary, 6' — 15' high, smaller-flowered than the preceding, and tube of corolla
smooth at base inside.
L. Iongifl6rum, only on prairies N. W., has linear leaves, and tube of
corolla 1' or more long, many times longer than the eroded-toothed lobes.
6. MYOSOTIS, FORGET-ME-NOT or SCORPION-GRASS. (Name
in Greek means mouse-ear, from the short soft leaves of some species.) Fl.
spring and summer.
M. pallistris, TRUE F., in gardens and some waste places, with loosely
branched stems ascending from a creeping base, rough-pubescent lance-oblong
leaves, moderately 5-cleft calyx shorter than the spreading pedicels, its hairs
not hooked nor gfandular, and its lobes open in fruit; corolla light blue with a
yellow eye. — Var. LAXA, wild in wet places N., has smaller flowers on still
longer pedicels. ^
M. arvensis. Not rare in fields, &c. : hirsute, with lance-oblong acutish
leaves, racemes naked at base and stalked, small blue corolla, pedicels spreading
in fruit and longer than the 5-cleft equal calyx, the lobes of which are closed in
fruit, and the tube beset with some hooked or glandular-tipped hairs. © ®
M. V^rna. Dry hills : bristly-hirsute, erect (4'- 10 high), branched from
base, with oblong and blunt leaves, racemes leafy at base, very small mostly
white corolla, pedicels in fruit erect and appressed at base, but abruptly bent
outwards near the apex, and rather shorter than the unequal very bristly calyx,
some of its bristles hooked or glandular at their tip. (j) (j)
BORAGE FAMILY. 257
7. OMPHAL6DES. (Name from the Greek, refers to the navel-shaped
depression on the upper face of the nutlets.) Cult, from Eu for ornament.
O. vdrna, BLUE or SPRING NAVELWORT. Spreading by leafy runners ;
leaves ovate or somewhat heart-shaped, 2' -3' long, pointed," green; flowers
azure-blue, in spring. 11
O. linifblia, WHITE N. Erect, 6' -12' high, loosely branched, very pale
or glaucous, with broadly lanceolate leaves sparingly ciliate, the upper sessile,
white or bluish flowers, and turgid nutlets toothed around the margin of the
cavity. ©
8. ECHINOSPERMUM, STICKSEED. (Name of two Greek words
for hedyeitog and seed, from the nutlets )
E. Lappula. Weed of waste grounds, especially N., roughish-hairy, erect,
l°-2° high, with lanceolate leaves, small blue flowers, and nutlets with rough-
tubercled back and thickly-prickled margins : fl. all summer. ©
9. CYNOGLOSSUM, HOUNDSTONGUE (which the name means in
Greek). Fl. summer. Nutlets form burs which adhere to fleece.
C. officinale, COMMON H. Coarse weed from Europe, common in pas-
tures and roadsides : leafy, soft-pubescent, with spatulate or lance-oblong
leaves, the upper ones closely sessile, crimson purple corolla, and flat somewhat
margined nutlets. @
C. Virginicum, WILD COMFREY. Rich woods: bristly-hairy; with
simple stem leafless above and bearing a few corymbed naked racemes of blue
flowers, the stem leaves lance-oblong with heart-shaped clasping base, the nut-
lets very convex. 11
C. Moris6ni, BEGGAR'S LICE. Thickets and open woods : a common
weed, 2° - 4° high, with slender widely spreading branches, thin oblong-ovate
leaves tapering to both ends, forking and diverging racemes of very small
whitish or bluish flowers on pedicels reflexed in fruit, and convex barbed-prickly
small nutlets. © ®
10. LYCOPSIS, BUGLOSS. (Name of Greek words for wolf&nd face or
aspect.) European weeds. Fl. summer. ©
L. arvensis, FIELD or SMALL BUGLOSS. Very rough-bristly weed, about
1° high, in sandy fields E. ; with lance-oblong leaves, and small blue corolla
little exceeding the calyx.
11. SYMPHYTUM, COMFREY. (From Greek word meaning to grow
toe/ether or unite, alluding probably to supposed healing properties.) Cult,
from Old World : fl. summer. 1±
S. officinale, COMMON C. Rather soft-hairy ; the branches winged by
the decurrent bases of the oblong-lanceolate leaves ; corolla yellowish-white.
Naturalized sparingly in moist grounds.
S. asperrimum, ROUGH C. Cult, in some gardens : stem and widely
spreading branches excessively rough with short and somewhat recurved little
prickles, not winged ; calyx-lobes short ; corolla reddish purple in bud changing
to blue.
12. HELIOTROPIUM, HELIOTROPE (i. e., in Greek, turning to the
sun). Fl. all summer.
* Spikes only in pairs, or the lateral ones solitary : flowers ivhite. ©
H. Curassavicum. Sandy shores and banks from Virginia and Illinois
S. : very smooth and pale ; leaves oblong, spatulate, or lance-linear, thickish,
veinless
H. Europseum. Old gardens and Avaste places S., introduced from Eu. ;
hoary -downy, 6' -18' high; leaves oval, long-petioled, veiny.
S & F— 22
258 WATERLEAF FAMILY.
* * Spikes collected in terminal, and several times forked cymes : woody-stemmed
or sJirubly house and bedding plants from Peru and Chill. 11
"FT. Peruvian urn, SWEET HELIOTROPE. Pubescent, with ovate-oblong
or lance-ovate very veiny rugose leaves, and vanilla-scented pale blue-purple
flowers.
H. COrymbbSUm. Cult, with the other, differs mainly in the larger and
deeper-blue flowers of much less fragrance.
13. HELIOPHYTUM. (Name of the Greek words for sun and plant,
indicating the resemblance to Heliotrope.)
EC. Indicum, INDIAN HELIOTROPE : hairy low plant, nat. from India as a
weed in waste ground S. ; with ovate heart-shaped- leaves, and solitary spikes of
small purplish flowers, in summer; a cavity before each seed-bearing" cell of the
2-lobed fruit. ©
81. HYDROPHYLLACE^E, WATERLEAF FAMILY.
Plants in some sort resembling both the foregoing and the following
families, in tbe arrangement of the flowers more commonly imitating
the former; differing from both in the 1 -celled ovary and pod with
2 parietal placenta?. In some the placentae unite in the axis, making
a two-celled ovary. Style 2-cleft or else 2 separate styles. Ovules
at least 2 to each placenta. Seeds with a small embryo in hard
albumen. Juice inert and watery. Leaves mostly alternate, simple
or compound. The following are all N. American plants, some
wild, the others cult for ornament from the West.
§ 1. Style 2-cleft: ovary and pod l-celled, with two parietal 2>lacentce,
* These fleshy and so bi'ortd that they line (he ovary, and enclose the (mostly 4) ovules
and seeds: corolla usually convolute in the bud, commonly with 5 or 10 folds,
scales, or other apptndayes doicn the inside of the tube.
1. HYDROPHYLLUM. Calyx 5-parted, sometimes with small appendages at the
sinuses, not enlarged in fruit. Corolla bell-shaped. Style and mostly hairy
filaments protruded : anthers linear. Pod small, globose, ripening 1 -4
spherical seeds. Flowers in crowded cymes or clusters. Leaves alternate,
slender-petioled.
2. NEMO PHIL A. Calyx 5-parted, and with a reflexed appendage in each sinus,
somewhat enlarging in fruit. Corolla open bell-shaped or wheel-shaped,
longer than the stamens. Flowers solitary and long-peduncled. Leaves
mostly opposite, at least the lower ones.
* * Placentae narrow, adherent directly to the walls, or else borne on an incomplete
partition and projecting into the cell, where they sometimes meet: lobes of the
corolla imbricated in the bud.
3. PHACELIA.
sinuses.
style often protruded. Pod 4 - many-seeded. Leaves alternate. Flowers in
one-sided raceme-like clusters or spikes.
4. WHITLAVIA. Corolla tubular-bell-shaped or slightly contracted at the throat,
the 5 short and broad lobes abruptly and widely spreading. (Pod many-
seeded.) Otherwise as the last section of Phacelia.
§ 2. Styles 2 (rarely 3), separate quite to the base: ovary and pod 2-celled : seeds
minute and very numerous.
6. HYDROLEA. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla open-bell-shaped or approaching wheel-
shaped, rather shorter than the stamens : filaments enlarged at base. Herbs,
or somewhat shrubby, with entire leaves and often spines in their axils.
Flowers in loose axillary clusters.
WIGANDIA, trom South America, with very large rounded leaves and sharp
or stinging bristles, is of late planted out as an ornamental leaf-plant, but is
as yet uncommon.
L Calyx 5-parted, the divisions narrow ; no appendages at the
Corolla open bell-shaped, approaching wheel-shaped. Stamens and
WATKRLEAF FAMILY. 259
1. HYDROPHYLLTJM, WATERLEAF, is a translation of the name
from the Greek, the application obscure. Plants of rich woods, &c. Flow-
ers white or bluish-tinged, in early summer. ^
* CaJyx with minute appendages if any : rootstocks creeping, scaly-toothed.
H. macroph^llum. From Ohio W. & S. W. : rough-hairy, Avith leaves
pinnately divided into 9-13 cut-toothed divisions or leaflets ; a globular cluster
of flowers on a very long peduncle.
H. Virginictim. Very common N. & W. : smooth or smoothish, with
5-7 main divisions to the pinnate leaves, the lowest pair 2-parted, and calyx-
lobes bristly-ciliate.
H. Cariad6nse. Chiefly N. : barely 1° high, nearly smooth, the roundish
leaves palmately 5-7-lobed and with heart-shaped base, or some minute leaflets
on the petioles, which are longer than the peduncles of the flower-cluster.
* * Calyx with a conspicuous reflexcd appendage in each sinus.
H. appendiculatum. From New York W. & S. : pubescent or hairy,
with rounded palmately 5-lobed leaves or some of them pinnatelv divided, rather
loose flower-clusters, and bristly-hairy calyx.
2. NEMOPHILA. (Name from the Greek, means lover of the grove.} Low
spreading plants cultivated for ornament ; all but the first from California :
fl. summer. ©
N. phacelioides. Wild from Arkansas S., and sparingly cult. ; with
ascending stems l°-2° long, alternate leaves pinnately parted into 3-9 oblong
entire divisions, and purplish-blue corolla l£' broad.
N. insignis. Slender, procumbent, with lobes of the pinnate leaves cut-
toothed, and pure blue corolla 1' broad.
N. maculata. Prostrate, with leaves all opposite and mostly sessile,
the lower lyrate-pinnatifid, upper sparingly cut-toothed, and white corolla with
violet patch on each lobe.
N. atomaria. Procumbent; leaves opposite, pinnatifid ; corolla smaller,
white sprinkled with chocolate-brown spots.
3. PHACELIA. (Name from Greek word for a cluster.) Several species
cult, for ornament : fl. spring or summer.
§ 1. TRUE PHACELIA, ivith only 4 ovules and seeds : lobes of corolla entire.
P. COngesta. Cult, from Texas, &c. : rather pubescent, with leaves pin-
nately divided or cleft into few oblong or ovate cut-toothed leaflets or lobes, and
small blue flowers in 3 or 4 spikes at the summit of a slender peduncle ; stamens
slightly protruding. ©
P. tanacetif61ia, from California : taller, bristly-hairy, with narrower
pinnatifid leaflets, larger flowers in lonirer dense spikes, and long stamens. ©
P. bipinnatifida. Wild from Ohio S. & W. in rich shady soil : l°-2°
high, branched, glandular-hairy, with leaves twice pinnately divided into ovate
cut-lobed leaflets, flowers slender pedicelled in long lo£>se 'racemes, viqlet-bilue
corolla £' or more broad. ®
§ 2. COSMANTHUS, with 4 ovules and seeds, and fringed lobes to corolla. © ®
P. Plirshii. Shady soil from Penn. W. £ S. and cult, under the name of
the next : slender, 8' - 12' high ; lobes of pinnatifid leaves several, lance-oblong,
acute ; flowers of the raceme numerous, on slender pedicels ; corolla light blue
or whitish, ^' broad ; filaments hairy below.
P. fimbriata, the true plant ^grows only in the high Alleghanies S., is
smaller, with .3-7 rounded or oblong blunt divisions to the leaves, few and
smaller white flowers.
§ 3. EtiTOCA, with seeds or at least ovules several or many : corolla-lobes entire.
P. parviflbra. Shaded banks from Penn. to N. Car. : scarce, delicate
little plant, 3' - 6' high, with pinnately divided or cleft leaves, a raceme of fev
flowers on slender pedicels, bluish corolla less than £' wide, and few seeds (j)
260 POLEMONIUM FAMILY.
P. viscida, cult, from California as EtrrocA vfsciDA : clammy all over
with dark glandular hairs, rather coarse ; leaves ovate, cut-toothed, short-
petioled; racemes single terminating the branches ; corolla deep blue, 1' or less
wide ; pod many-seeded. ©
4. WHITLAVIA. (Named by the lamented Professor Harvey for hia
friend Mr. Wkitla.) Fl. summer. ®
W. grandiflbra. Cult, for ornament, from California : resembles Pha-
celia viscidain growth and foliage, but only slightly clammy, the roundish-ovate
or slightly heart-shaped leaves coarsely toothed, on longer petioles ; racemes
loose; corolla 1' or more long, violet-blue (also a white variety) ; stamens and
style very slender and protruding.
5. HYDROLEA. (Named from Greek word for water ; the plants aquatic
or in wet places. ) Fl. summer. ^
H. quadrivalvis, of S. E. States, has hairy stems ; lanceolate acute leaves
tapering to the base, and lanceolate sepals nearly as long as the corolla.
H. aiffinis, of river-banks, from S. Illinois S., is smooth, with short-petioled
lanceolate leaves, and ovate sepals as long as the corolla.
H. ovata, of S. W. States, has soft-downy stems, ovate leaves, looser flow-
ers, and lanceolate villous sepals.
82. POLEMONIACE.3E, POLEMONIUM FAMILY.
Chiefly herbs, with regular flowers, persistent 5-cleft calyx, the 5
lobes of the monopetalous corolla convolute in the bud, 3-lobed
style, 3-eelled ovary and pod ; the single, few, or many seeds in each
cell borne on the thick axis. Embryo straight in the axis of
albumen. Insipid and innocent plants, the juice watery. Nearly
all are N. American plants, many cult, for ornament.
§ 1. Erect or diffuse herbs, not climbing, and with nothing resembling stipules.
1. PHLOX. Calyx narrow, prismatic or plaited, 5-toothed or 5-cleft. Corolla
salver-shaped, with a long tube (Lessons, p. 102, fig. 208), in which the 5
short and unequally inserted stamens are included. Ovary often with 2
ovules, but the short pod with only one seed in each cell. Leaves entire and
mostly sessile, the lower all opposite, upper often alternate.
2. G1LIA. Calyx tubular or bell-shaped, 5-cleft. Corolla of various shapes.
Stamens equally inserted and projecting from the throat of the corolla, not
declined. Ovules and seeds several in each cell. Leaves either entire, cut,
or divided.
3. POLEMONIUM. Calyx bell-shaped. Corolla open-bell-shaped or short-funnel
form. Stamens slender, like those of Gilia, but declined, hairy-appendaged
at the base. Leaves pinnate, alternate.
§ 2. Tall-climbing by compound tendrils on the pinnate leaves : lowest leajlets clots
to the stem, unlike the others, imitating stipules.
4. COBJEA. Calyx of 5 large leaf-like divisions, the margins of which, applied
each to each", appear like 5 winged angles. Corolla bell-shaped, with short
and broad spreading lobes. Stamens declined. A fleshy disk around the
base of the ovary. Seeds numerous in each cell of the pod, winged. Pe-
duncles axillary, l-flo\vered, leafy-bracted near the base, naked above.
Leaves alternate.
1. PHLOX. (Greek for flame, anciently applied to Lychnis, and transferred
to these North American plants.)
§ 1. ® Cultivated for ornament from Texas : fl. all summer.
P. Drumm6ndii. From this come all the annual Phloxes of the gardens :
rather low, branching and spreading, somewhat clammy-pubescent, with co-
rymbs of purple, crimson, rose-colored, or even white, showy flower3.
\
POLEMONIUM FAMILY. 261
§ 2. 2^ Wild in mostly dry or rocky ground, also common in gardens, where the
species are much crossed and varied.
* Stems erect : flowers in oblong or pyramidal, panicle, with short peduncles and
pedicels : lobes of corolla entire, pink-purple, and with white varieties.
Wild from Pennsylvania S. and W. : fl. summer.
P. paniculata. Smooth, or some varieties ronghish or soft hairy, 2° - 4°
high, stout ; leaves oblong or ovate-lanceolate and mostly with tapering base ;
panicle broad ; calyx-teeth sharp-pointed.
P. maculata. Smooth; stem slender, l°-2° high, purple-spotted lower
leaves lanceolate, upper lance-ovate from a rounded or somewhat heart-shaped
base ; panicle long and narrow, leafy below ; calyx-teeth hardly pointed.
* * Stems ascending or erect, but often with a prostrate base, 1° - 3° high : whole
plant smooth, not clammy nor glandular : flowers corymbed : lobes of corolla
round and entire. Wild chiefly W. and S., seldom cult. : fl. summer.
P. Carolina. Leaves varying from lanceolate to ovate, or the upper heart-
shaped ; flowers crowded, short-peduncled, pink ; calyx-teeth acute.
P. glab&rrima. Slender ; leaves often linear-lanceolate, 3' - 4' long ;
flowers fewer and loose, pink or whitish ; calyx-teeth sharp-pointed.
# # # Flowering stems ascending, or in the flrst erect, low, terminated by a loose
corymb, which is clammy-pubescent more or less, as well as the thinnish
leaves : flowers mostly peaicelled : calyx-teeth very slender : fl. late spring.
P. pilbsa. From N. Jersey to Wisconsin & S. : mostly hairy ; erect
stems 1° or so high ; leaves lanceolate or linear and tapering to a point (l'-2£f
long) ; flowers loose, with spreading awn-pointed calyx-teeth ; lobes of pink,
rose, or rarely white corolla obovate and entire.
P. amdena. Barrens from Virg. to 111. & S. : pubescent, spreading
from the base, 6'-l° high, leaves lanceolate, or broadly oblong or ovate on
sterile shoots, short ; flowers in a crowded leafy-bracted corymb, with straight
hardly awn-pointed calyx-teeth ; corolla purple, pink, or nearly white.
P. rdptans. Moist woods from Penn. and Kentucky S. : spreading by
long runners, which bear round-obovate often smoothish leaves, those of the low
flowering stems oblong or ovate (about £' long) ; flowers few but crowded ; lobes
of the deep pink-purple corolla round-obovate, large (!' broad).
P. divaricata. Moist woods from N. New York W. & S. : soft-pubescent ;
stems loosely spreading; leaves ovate-oblong or broad-lanceolate (l'-2' long) ;
flowers loosely corymbed and peduncled ; corolla large, pale lilac, bluish, or
lead-colored, the lobes wedge-obovate or commonly inversely heart-shaped and
as long as the tube.
# # # * Steins creeping and tufted, rising little above the ground, almost woody,
persistent, as are the rigid and crowded glandular-pubescent leaves : flowers
few in the depressed clusters, in early spring.
P. SUbulata, GROUND or Moss PINK. Wild on rocky hills W. & S. of
New England, and common in gardens, forming broad mats ; leaves awl-shaped
or lanceolate, at most ^' long ; corolla pink-purple, rose with a darker eye, or
varying to white, the wedge-obovate lobes generally notched at the end.
2. GILIA. (Named for one Gil, a Spanish botanist.) Species abound
from Texas and Kansas to California. Several are choice annuals of the
gardens : fl. summer.
G. COronopif61ia, or IPOMOPSIS, called CYPRESS GILIA from the
foliage resembling that of Cypress- Vine : wild S. and cult. ; has erect wand-
like stem 2° -3° high, thickly clothed with alternate crowded leaves pinnately
divided into thread-like leaflets, and very long and narrow strict leafy panicle
of showy flowers ; the corolla tubular-funnel form, light scarlet with whitish
specks on the lobes inside, l£' long. (Lessons, p. 101, fig. 201.) @
G. androsacea, or LEPTOS!PHON ANDROSACEUS, of California; low and
slender, with opposite leaves palmately cleft into 5-7 narrow linear divisions,
a head-like cluster of flowers with very long and slender but small salver-shaped
corolla, lilac or whitish with a dark eye. (T)
2C2 CONVOLVULUS FAMILY.
G. tricolor, of California: with branching stems, about 1° high, scattered
alternate leaves 2-3 times pinnately dissected into short linear divisions, flow-
ers panicled at the end of the branches, short funnel-form corolla with lilac-
purple or whitish lobes, brown-purple throat, and yellow tube. (T)
G. capitata, of California and Oregon; l°-2° high, with alternate leaves
twice pinnately divided into small linear or thread-like leaflets or lobes, and
numerous small blue flowers crowded in heads at the end of naked branches ;
the corolla narrow funnel-form with lanceolate lobes. ©
3. POLEMONIUM, GREEK VALERIAN, JACOB'S LADDER.
(Ancient name, from the Greek word for war, or in honor of a philosopher or
king named Polemon.) Fl. early summer. ^
P. r^ptans. Woods of Middle States, also cult. : smooth, with weak and
spreading (but never creeping) stems 6' -10' long, 7-11 lance-ovate or oblong
leaflets, small corymbs of nodding light blue flowers, and stamens and style not
longer than the corolla.
P. caeruleum. Cult, in gardens from Eu., also rarely wild N. : smooth
or sometimes hairy ; with erect stem l°-3° high, 9-21 mostly lanceolate and
crowded leaflets, clusters of bright blue flowers collected in a long panicle, and
stamens and style longer than the lobes of the corolla, which is 1' broad.
4. COBJEA. (Named for one Cobo, a Spanish priest in Mexico, from which
country the common species was introduced into cultivation.) ^
C. scandens. Smooth, tall-climbing by its much branching tendrils ;
leaflets ovate ; dull purple or greenish corolla 2' or more long, long filaments
coiling spirally when old : fl. all summer, usually cult, as an annual.
83. CONVOLVULACE^E, CONVOLVULUS FAMILY.
Twining, trailing, or rarely erect plants, (ours herbs,) commonly
with some milky juice, alternate leave*, no stipules ; regular mono-
petalous flowers with 5 (rarely 4,) imbricated sepals, as many
separate stamens, corolla convolute or twisted in the bud, a
2 - 4-celled ovary and pod with only 1 or 2 ovules erect from the
base of each cell, becoming large seeds, containing a curved or
coiled conspicuous embryo in some mucilaginous (or when dry,
harder) albumen.
I. CONVOLVULUS FAMILY PROPER ; with ordinary foli-
age, axillary peduncles bearing one or more usually showy flowers,
and embryo with broad leaf-like cotyledons folded and crumpled in
the seed. (Lessons, p. 14, fig. 25 - 28.) Calyx of 5 separate sepals.
§ 1. Style single and entire: stigmas 1-3.
* Calyx naked, i. e. not enclosed by a pair of leafy bracts.
1. QUAMOCLIT. Corolla nearly salver-shaped or trumpet-shaped, with a long
tube, the border not twisted in the bud. Stamens and style commonly pro-
truded. Stigma capitate, more or less 2-lobed. Pod 4-celled: cells 1-seeded.
(Lessons, p. 101, fig. 202, 203.)
2. IPOMCEA. Corolla various, more commonly funnel-form, the border twisted
in the bud. Stamens mostly included. Stigma capitate, commonly 2 - 3-lobed.
Pod 2 -4-celled.
3. CONVOLVULUS. Corolla open funnel-form or almost bell-shaped. Stamens
included. Stigmas 2, linear. Pod 2-celled : cells 2-seeded.
# * Calyx surrounded and enclosed by a pair of large leafy heart-shaped bracts.
4. CALYSTEGIA. Corolla open funnel-form, the wide-spreading border obscure-
ly lobed or entire. Stamens included. Style bearing 2 linear or oblong
stigmas. Pod 4-seeded. Peduncles 1-flowered.
CONVOLVULUS FAMILY. 263
§ 2. Style 2-cleft or 2 separate styles, rarely 3. Spreading or trailing, not twining.
5. BONAMIA. Like Convolvulus, but the styles 2 or sometimes 3, or in one
species 2-cleft, and stigmas capitate. Peduncles 1-7-flowered.
6. E VOLVULUS. Corolla short and open funnel-form, or almost wheel-shaped.
Styles 2, each 2-cleft: the 4 stigmas obtuse. Pod 2-celled: cells 2-seeded.
•
II. DODDER FAMILY ; slender parasitic twiners, without
green herbage and with only some minute scales in place of leaves ;
embryo slender and spirally coiled in the seed, destitute of coty-
ledons.
7. CUSCUTA. Calyx 4 - 5-cleft, or of 5 separate sepals. Corolla short, 4 - 5-cleft.
Stamens with a scale-like mostly fringed appendage at their base. Styles 2
in our species. Ovary 2-celled: cells 2-ovuled. Pod commonly 4-seeded.
1. QUAMOCIiIT. (Aboriginal Mexican name.) Twiners, with small
flowers red or crimson, and with pale or white cultivated varieties, ill summer,
open through the day. ©
Q. VUlgaris, CYPRESS- VINE. Cult, from Mexico : leaves pinnately parted
into slender almost thread-shaped divisions ; peduncles 1-floAvered ; border of
the narrow corolla 5-lobed.
Q. COCCinea. Run wild S. & W. : leaves heart-shaped, pointed ; sepals
awn-pointed; peduncles several-flowered; border of (!' long) corolla merely
5-angled.
2. IPOMCEA, MORNING GLORY. (Greek-made name.) FL summer.
§ 1. Ovary and pod 3-ceUed (or accidentally ^-celled), with 2 seeds in each cell:
stigma more or less 3-lobed : corolla funnel-form, opening in early morning
for a few hours : stems twining freely, hairy, the Iiairs more or less retrorse.
I. purpurea, COMMON M. Cult, from Trop. Amer. and wild around
dwellings ; with heart-shaped pointed entire leaves, 3-4-flowered peduncles, and
purple sometimes variegated or nearly white corolla, 2' long. ©
I. Nil. Cult, or run wild S. : with heart-shaped 3-lobed leaves, 1 -3-flow-
ered peduncles, slender-pointed sepals, and blue-purple or sometimes white
corolla 1'- 2' long. ©
I. limbata or albo-marginata, perhaps a var. of the preceding: a
tender species, with leaves little lobed, angled or entire, and larger corolla with
deep violet border, edged with white 2£' broad. ©
I. Learii, cult, from S. Amer. : tender, less hairy, with heart-shaped and
some deeply 3-lobed leaves, many flowers crowded on the summit of the
peduncle, and deep violet-blue corolla, 3' long and border 3' wide. ^
§ 2. Ovary and pod 2-celled, the cells 2-seeded, or sometimes each cell divided by a
partition making 4 one-seeded cells : lobes of the stigma if any only 2.
I. Bona-N6x, or CALONYCTION SPECIOSUM. Cult., also wild far S. :
tall-twining, very smooth, but stems often beset with soft almost prickly
projections; leaves heart-shaped, halberd-shaped, or angled; peduncles long,
1 - few-flowered ; corolla salver-form with a slender tube 3' - 4' long and the
border still broader, white, opening at evening.
I. Batatas, SWEET POTATO. Cult, from East Indies : creeping, seldom
twining, smooth, producing the large fleshy edible roots for which the plant is
cultivated ; leaves variously heart-shaped, halberd-shaped, or triangular, some-
times cut-lobed ; peduncles bearing 3 or 4 flowers ; corolla funnel-form, purple,
l£' long ; pod with 4 one-seeded cells. Jl
I. Michaiixii. Light soil along the coast S. : creeping or twining, with
heart-shaped or triangular sometimes lobed leaves downy beneath ; flowers
downy ; corolla purplish-white with purple eye, 3' - 4' long, opening at night ;
pod partly 4-celled, with silky seeds ; root extremely large and fleshy. %
1264 CONVOLVULUS FAMILY.
I. pandurata, WILD POTATO- VINE or MAN-OF-THE-EARTH. Sandy 01
gravelly soil, Conn, to 111. & S. : trailing or twining, stout, smooth, with heart-
shaped and sometimes fiddle-shaped or halberd-3-lobed leaves, 1 - 5-flowered
peduncles, small bracts, and open funnel-form white corolla with deep purple
eye, 2' - 3' long ; root very large and deep. If.
I. sagittiiolia. Salt-marshes, from North Carolina S. : smooth, with
stems twining 2° — 3° high, or trailing, narrow lanceolate or linear long-sagittate
leaves, 1 - 3-flowered club-shaped peduncles, and the bright purple funnel-form
corolla 2' - 3' long. ^
I. lacundsa. Low grounds, Penn. to 111. and S. : twining, nearly smooth,
with heart-shaped nearly entire leaves, short 1-3-floAvered peduncles, small
white 5-lobed corolla about £' long and twice the length of the pointed ciliate
sepals, and slightly hairy pod. (T)
1. COmmutata. Low grounds S. & W. : rather hairy, twining ; with thin
heart-shaped and sometimes angled or 3 -5-lobed leaves, 4-angled 1-5-flowered
peduncles about the length of the slender petioles ; purple corolla l'-2' long
and 4-5 times the length of the pointed ciliate sepals ; pod hairy.
3. CONVOLVULUS, BINDWEED. (From Latin convolvo, to roll
around or twine.) El. summer.
C. arvensis, FIELD BIXDWEED of Eu., is a weed on the coast E. : spread-
ing and low-twining, smoothish ; leaves ovate-oblong and narrow-shaped ; pe-
duncles 1-flowered ; corolla white tinged reddish, less than 1' long. %
C. tricolor. Cult, from S. Europe in gardens ; hairy, low, with ascending
branching stems, lance-obovate or spatulate almost sessile leaves, 1-flowered
peduncles, rather large and showy flowers opening in sunshine, the corolla blue
with pale or white throat and yellow tube. (f)
4. CALYSTEGIA, BR ACTED BINDWEED. (From Greek words
denoting the calyx covered, that is, by the bracts.) El. all summer.
C. sdpium, HEDGE B. Wild in low grounds, also planted : twining freely,
sometimes also trailing, spreading by running rootstocks ; smooth, also a downy
variety ; leaves triangular and halberd-shaped or arrow-shaped, with the lobes
at base obliquely truncate and sometimes toothed or sinuate ; peduncles 4-angled ;
corolla white or light rose-colored, 1^' - 2' long. ^
C. spithamaea. Dry sterile ground ; downy, not twining, 6' -12' high;
leaves oblong, some of them more or less auricled or heart-shaped at the base ;
corolla white, 2' long. y.
5. BONAMIA. (Named for F. Bonamy.) Low, small-flowered: corolla
more or less silky or hairy outside : fl. summer : chiefly S. ^
B. humistrata. Dry pine barrens from Virg. S. : sparsely hairy or
smoothish ; leaves varying from oblong with heart-shaped base to linear ; sepals
smooth ; corolla white, almost 1' long ; filaments hairy ; styles united at base.
B. aquatica. Along ponds S. : finely soft-downy ; leaves varying as in
the preceding ; sepals silky ; corolla pink or purple £' long ; filaments smooth ;
styles nearly separata
B. Pickeringii. Sandy barrens from N. Jersey S., scarce : leaves nearly
linear, narrow, tapering to a sessile base ; bracts leaf-like and longer than the
flowers; sepals hairy ; corolla white, hardly $ long ; styles united to above the
middle, and with stamens also protruding.
6. E VOLVULUS. (From Latin for unroll, that is, it does not twine.)
Low and diminutive small-flowered plants, only S. Fl. summer. 2/
E. argenteus. Dry ground from Missouri S. : tufted from a woody base,
5' -7' high, silky-woolly all over; broadly lanceolate leaves crowded, mostly
nearly sessile, as are the flowers in their axils; corolla purple; 4' broad.
E. sericeus. Damp ground S. & S. W. : slender-stemmed, silky with
fine apprcssed hairs, except the upper face of the scattered lance-linear leaves ,
corolla white or bluish, not £' broad.
NIGHTSHADE FAMILY. 265
7. CTJSCUT A, DODDER. (Old name, of uncertain derivation.) Plants
resemble threads of yarn, yellowish or reddish, spreading over herbs and low
bushes, coiling around their branches, which they adhere to and rob of their
juices. Flowers small, mostly white, clustered.
§ 1 . Stigmas slender ; pod opening by a transverse division all round near the base,
leaving the partition behind. Natives of Europe : fl. early summer.
C. Epilinum, FLAX DODDER. Growing on flax, which it injures ; occa-
sionally found in our flax-fields ; flowers globular, in scattered heads ; corolla
5-parted. '(T)
§ 2. Stigmas capitate : pods bursting irregularly if at all : wild species of the
country, mostly in rich or low ground : fl. summer and autumn. (\)
* Flowers in rather loose clusters, mostly short-pedicel/ed, the scaly bracts few and
scattered : calyx 4 - 5-cleft.
«- Corolla with cylindrical tube, in fruit covering the top of the pod.
C. tenuiflbra. On shrubs and tall herbs from N. Jersey W. & S., in
swamps : pale ; tube of the corolla twice the length of its ovate acute spreading
lobes and of the ovate blunt calyx-lobes.
C. infl6xa. On shrubs and tall herbs in prairies and barrens W. & S. :
corolla fleshy, mostly 4-cleft, its tube no longer than the- ovate acutish crenulate
erect or inflexed lobes of the corolla and the acute keeled calyx-lobes.
C. decora. Wet prairies S. W. : with larger flowers, the corolla broadly
bell-shaped, its 5 lobes lance-ovate and acute.
•*--*- Corolla bell-shaped, remaining at the base of the ripe pod.
C. arv^nsis. On low herbs, in fields and barrens from New York to 111.
& S. W. : flowers earliest (June, July) and smallest ; tube of corolla shorter than
its 5 lanceolate pointed spreading lobes, much longer than the stamens.
C. Chlorocarpa. On low herbs, in wet soil, from Delaware W. £ S.W. :
orange-colored ; open bell-shaped corolla with lobes about the length of the
mostly 4 acute lobes and the stamens ; pod large, depressed, greenish-yellow.
C. Gronbvii. The commonest E. & W. and the only one N. E. ; on coarse
herbs and low shrubs in wet places ; bell-shaped corolla with tube usually
longer than its 5 (rarely 4) ovate blunt spreading lobes ; its internal scales
large and copiously fringed.
# * Flowers sessile in compact mostly continuous clusters, making targe bunches or
close matted coils, when old resembling pieces of rope twisted around the stems
of coarse herbs or shrubs : calyx of separate sepals surrounded by similar
crowded bracts : remains of the corolla borne on the top of the ripe pod.
C. COmpacta. On shrubs, from N. York S. & W. : bracts (3-5) and
sepals round and appressed ; tube of corolla cylindrical.
C. glomerata. On Golden rods and other coarse Composites, from Ohio
W. & S. W. : the numerous oblong scarious bracts closely imbricated with
recurving tips ; sepals similar, shorter than the cylindraceous tube of the corolla,
84. SOLANACEJE, NIGHTSHADE FAMILY.
Plants with rank-scented herbage (this and the fruit more com-
monly narcotic-poisonous, colorless juice), alternate leaves (but apt
to be in pairs and unequal), regular flowers with the parts usually
in fives, but the ovary mostly 2-celled, the many-seeded placentae
in the axis. The seeds have a slender usually curved embryo in
fleshy albumen. (Lessons, p. 15, fig. 34, 35.) The order runs on
the one hand into Scrophulariaceae, which a few species approach
in a somewhat irregular corolla, but their stamens are as many as
the lobes. On the other hand the Nolana group is appended, which
differs from all in its separate ovaries around a common style.
266 NIGHTSHADE FAMILY.
I. NOLAN A FAMILY, with few or many separate ovaries
collected in a circle or heap around the base of a single style. Low
and spreading plants.
1. NOLAN A. Calyx 5-cleft, foliaceous. Corolla short and open funnel-form,
plaited in the "bud. Stamens 5. Style 1: stigma capitate or club-shaped.
Ovaries 3-40, becoming 1 - 4-celled drupelets or nutlets, each cell 1-seeded.
II. NIGHTSHADE FAMILY PROPER, with only one 2-celled
or sometimes 3 - 5-celled ovary as well as style, the many-seeded
placentae in the axis, usually much projecting into the cell.
§ 1. Corolla wheel-shaped, lobed or parted into 5 or sometimes more divisions, plaited
and valvate or the margins turned inwards in the bad : the tube, very short :
anthers conniving around the style : fruit a berry.
2. LYCOPERSICUM. Like Solanum, except that the anthers are united by a
membrane at their tips and the cells open lengthwise. Leaves pinnately
compound.
3. SOLANUM. Stamens with anthers equalling or mostly longer than the very
short filaments, usually not united, the cells opening by a hole at the apex.
(Lessons, p. 101, fig. 204, 205.) Leaves simple or pinnate.
4. CAPSICUM. Stamens with slender filaments much longer than the short and
separate commonly heart-shaped anthers, their cells opening lengthwise.
Berry sometimes dry and inflated, then becoming 1-celled.
§ 2. Corolla between wheel-shaped and funnel-form, plaited in the bud, the border very
moderately if at all lobed : anthers separate, opening lengthwise: calyx blad-
dery-inflated after flowering, enclosing the globular berry.
5. PHYSALIS. Calyx 5-cleft. Corolla mostly somewhat 5-lobed. (Lessons, p.
101, fig. 206.) Stamens erect. Fruit a juicy, often edible, 2-celled berry.
6. NICANDRA. Calyx 5-parted and angled, "the divisions somewhat arrow-
shaped. Corolla with widely-spreading border almost entire. Fruit a dry
3 - 5-celled berry.
§ 3. Corolla bell-shaped, funnel-form, tubular, or salver-shaped: anthers separate,
opening lengthwise : calyx not bladdery-inflated.
* Calyx urn-shaped in fruit, enclosing the pod: corolla considerably irregular.
7. HYOSCYAMUS. Calyx 5-lobed, the spreading border becoming reticulated,
enclosing the 2-celled pod, which opens by the top falling off as a lid. Co-
rolla short funnel-form, with the plaited border more or less oblique and
unequal. Stamens declined.
* Calyx 5-parted to near the base, the lobes foliaceous.
8. ATROPA. Calyx with ovate divisions, in fruit enlarging and spreading under
the globose purple berry. Corolla between bell-shaped and funnel-form, with
5 triangular-ovate lobes. Stamens and style somewhat declined, slender.
9. PETUNIA. Calyx with narrow somewhat spatulate lobes much longer than
the tube. Corolla funnel-form or somewhat salver-shaped, the 5-lobed border
commonly a little unequal. Stamens included in the tube, unequal. Pod
2-celled, 2-valved.
* * * Calyx tubular, prismatic, or bell-shaped,
•*- Covering the dry pod or nearly so : corolla salver-shaped or funnel-form, the lobes
plaited in the bud : seeds minute.
10. NIEREMBERGIA. Corolla with very slender thread-like tube ^'-1'long),
abruptly expanded at the narrow throat into a saucer-shaped or almost wheel-
shaped 5-lobed border. Stamens short, borne on the throat. Stigma kidney-
shaped and somewhat 2-lipped. Flowers scattered.
11. NICOTIANA. Corolla with a regular 5-lobed border. Stamens inserted on its
tube, included: filaments straight. Stigma capitate. Pod 2 - 4-valved from
the apex. Flowers more or less racemed or panicled.
t- •»- Calyx prismatic, falling away after flowering , leaving the 2 - 1-celled pod naked,
12. DATURA. Corolla funnel-form, strongly plaited in the bud, and with 5 or
more pointed teeth. (Lessons, p. 100, fig. 199; p. 110, fig. 225.) Filaments
NIGHTSHADE FAMILY. 267
slender. Stigma somewhat 2-lobed or 2-lipped. Pod globular, in the com-
mon species prickly and 4-celled, but the 2 placentas-bearing or false par-
titions often incomplete. Seeds large and flat, somewhat kidney-shaped.
Flowers terminal or in the forks.
•*-•«-•*- Calyx bell-shaped^ cup-shaped, or short-tubular, in fruit persistent under or
partly covering tiie 2-celled berry ; slirubs, with entire feather-veined leaves,
13. OESTRUM. Corolla tubular-funnel-form or club-shaped, the lobes folded or
plaited lengthwise in the bud. Stamens included. Stigma capitate. Ovary
with few ovules in each cell. Berry few-seeded. Flowers in clusters.
14. LYCIUM. Parts of the flower often in fours. Corolla funnel-form, bell-
shaped or tubular, the lobes imbricated in the bud. Stigma capitate. Berry
many-seeded, red or reddish. Flowers solitary or umbelled, lateral.
1. NOLANA. (From Latin no/a, a little bell.) Cult, for ornament, from
coast of Peru and Chili ; the following procumbent and spreading, rather
fleshy-leaved, smooth except some scattered hairs on the stalks, the showy
blue flowers solitary on axillary or lateral peduncles, opening in sunshine, all
summer.
N. atriplicifdlia, with obovate or broadly spatulate leaves (resembling
those of ISpiuach, whence the specific name) ; sky-blue corolla 2' wide with
white and yellowish centre ; ovaries numerous in a heap, each 1-celled and
1 -seeded. ©
N. prostrata, now less common, has more petioled rather narrower leaves,
smaller pale violet-blue flower striped with purple, and few ovaries each of 2-4
cells. ©
2. LYCOPERSICTJM, TOMATO. (Name in Greek means wolf-peach,
no obvious application.) Fl. summer.
L. eSCUldntum, TOMATO, cult, from trop. America, includes the manifold
varieties and forms ; hairy, rank-scented ; leaves interruptedly pinnate, larger
leaflets cut or pinnatifid ; flowers yellowish, by cultivation having their parts
often increased in number, the esculent red berry becoming several celled. ©
3. SOLANUM, NIGHTSHADE, &c. (Derivation uncertain.) Flowers
mostly in corymb or raceme-like clusters, in summer.
§ 1. More or less prickly herbs, with acute elongated-lanceolate anthers.
# Very prickly calyx enclosing the dry berry : anthers declined, unequal, one of
them much longer than the rest, leaves sinuately once to thrice pinnatifid. ©
S. rostratum. Wild on plains W. of Mississippi, and becoming a weed
in some gardens, has yellow flowers, 1'- l£' in diameter.
S. heterodbxum. Wild S. W. beyond the Mississippi, sometimes cult,
for ornament, has violet-blue flowers, and the more divided leaves resemble
those of Watermelon, but are very prickly-
* * Calyx mostly somewhat prickhj but not enclosing the fruit : anthers nearly equal.
S. Carolin^nse, HORSE-NETTLE. Wild weed in sandy soil from Conn.
S. : roughish-downy, 1° high, with ovate-oblong angled or sinuate-lobed leaves,
yellowish prickles, and pale blue or white flowers almost 1' wide. ^
S. aculeatissimum. Weed introduced into waste places S., l°-2°
high, bristly hairy, greener and more prickly than the foregoing, with smaller
white flowers. ©
S. Melong&na, EGG PLANT, AUBERGINE. Cult, for the large oblong
or ovate violet-colored or white esculent fruit (2' -6' long) ; leaves ovate, rather
downy, obscurely sinuate ; corolla violet with yellow eye. ©
§ 2. Plants not at all prickly : anthers blunt.
S. nigrum, BLACK or COMMON NIGHTSHADE. Low weed of shady
grounds, much branched, nearly smooth, with ovate wavy-toothed or sinuate
leaves, very small white flowers^ and globular black berries said to be poison-
ous. ©
268 NIGHTSHADE FAMILY.
S. tuberbsum, POTATO. Cult, from Chili for the esculent tubers ; leaves
pinnate, of several ovate leaflets and some minute ones intermixed ; flowers blue
or white ; berries round, green. ^
S. Dulcamara, BITTERSWEET. Nat. from Eu. in moist cult, and waste
grounds ; smoothish, with tall stems woody at base and disposed to climb, ovate
and heart-shaped leaves, some of the upper ones halberd-3-lobed, or with one or
two pairs of smaller leaflets or lobes at base, corolla violet-purple with a pair
of greenish spots on the base of each lobe, and oval red berries. If.
S. j asminoides. Woody-stemmed house-plant from Brazil, tall-climbing
by its petioles, very smooth, with oblong ovate or slightly heart-shaped entire
leaves, or some of them divided into 3 leaflets, and clusters of white or bluish
flowers. 2/
S. Pseudo-Capsicum, JERUSALEM CHERRY. Shrubby house-plant
from Madeira, cult, for the ornamental bright red berries, resembling cherries ;
smooth, with lance-oblong entire leaves and small white flowers. 2/
4. CAPSICUM, CAYENNE or RED PEPPER. (Said to come from
Greek word meaning to gobble or eat quickly.) Originally all South Ameri-
can. Fl. summer.
C. annuum, COMMON C. .Cult, for the large oblong or globular and often
angled dry berry (red or green), which is exceedingly pungent, and used as a
condiment ; leaves ovate, entire ; flowers white, with truncate calyx. (T)
C. cerasiforme, is cult, rarely as a pepper, more commonly for the orna-
mental cherry-like fruit, either bright red or yellow ; stem shrubby. 2/
5. PHYSALIS, GROUND CHERRY. (Greek name for bladdery, from
the inflated fruiting calyx. ) Fl. summer.
§ 1. Low stems (6' -20' high) from slender creeping rootstocks : anthers yellow :
fruiting calyx loosely inflated, 5-angled, much larger than the edible berry.
All but the first are urild secies of the country, in light or sandy soil. 2/
P. Alkekengi, STRAWBERRY TOMATO. Cult, from S. Eu., and running
wild E. : rather downy ; leaves triangular-ovate, pointed ; corolla greenish-
white, 5-lobed, not spotted ; fruiting calyx ovate, turning red ; berry red.
P. Pennsylvanica. Smooth or somewhat hairy, but not clammy ; leaves
varying from ovate to lanceolate (var. LANCEOiATA)/entire or sparingly wavy-
toothed ; corolla yellowish with a darker throat and slightly 5 - 10-toothed
border ; fruiting calyx sunken at the base ; berry red.
P. visc6sa. Clammy-pubescent, much branched, bushy ; leaves ovate or
heart-shaped and mostly toothed ; corolla light yellow with dark brown centre ;
fruiting calyx truncate or slightly concave at base, sharply 5-angled ; berry
orange or reddish, glutinous.
§ 2. Stems 1 ° - 3° high, from an annual root : flowers small, light greenish-yellow :
anthers tinged with blue or vio'et. Wild species in low or cult, grounds, (i)
P. pubescens. Clammy-hairy or downy ; stems much spreading ; leaves
ovate or heart-shaped, augulate-toothed ; corolla brown-spotted in the throat ;
sharply 5-angled fruiting calyx loosely enclosing the yellow or greenish berry.
P. angulata. Nearly smooth ; leaves more sharply cut-toothed ; peduncles
slender, very small corolla not spotted ; fruiting calyx 10-angled, loose, at length
filled by the greenish-yellow berry.
P. Philadelphia. Almost smooth, erect ; leaves ovate or oblong and
oblique at base, slightly toothed or angled ; corolla dark colored in the throat,
over I' wide ; fruiting calyx globose, completely filled by the large reddish or
purple edible berry, and open at the mouth.
6. NICANDRA, APPLE-OF-PERU. ( Named from the poet Nicander?)
Only one species : fl. summer. ©
N. physaloides. Tall smooth weed from Peru, wild in moist waste
grounds ; with ovate angled or sinuate-toothed leaves, and solitary peduncles,
bearing a rather large pale blue flower.
NIGHTSHADE FAMILY. 2G9
7. HYOSC~fc"AMUS, HENBANE. (Name of the Greek words for hog
andfean.) Fl. summer. (\) ®
H. niger, BLACK HENBANE, of Europe, cult, in old gardens, and a weed
in waste places : clammy-downy, strong-scented, narcotic-poisonous ; with clasp-
ing sinuate-toothed leaves, sessile flowers in one-sided leafy-bracted spikes, and
dull yellowish corolla netted-veiny with purple.
8. ATROPA, BELLADONNA. (Named after one of the Fates.) ^
A. Belladonna, the only species, sparingly cult, from Europe : low and
spreading, nearly smooth, with ovate entire pointed leaves, flowers single or in
pairs nodding on lateral peduncles, dull-purple corolla, and handsome purple
berry ; whole plant poisonous, used in medicine.
9. PETUNIA. (Petun is an aboriginal name of Tobacco.) Cultivated as
garden-annuals, from South America. The common Petunias are of the two
following species and their hybrids : herbage clammy-pubescent ; flowers large
and showy, in summer.
P. nyctaginifibra, with originally white corolla, the long narrow tube
3 or 4 times the length of the calyx.
P. Violacea, now much the more common, with weaker stems, and violet-
purple or rose-red corolla, the broader and ventricose tube hardly twice the
length of the calyx.
10. NIEREMBERGIA. (Named for J. Nieremberg, a priest and botani-
cal collector in Buenos Ayres, whence the common species comes.) ^ ©
N. gracilis. Cult, for ornament under many varieties, low, with slender
bushy branches, small linear or spatulate-linear leaves, and scattered flowers
produced all summer, white or veined or tinged with purple.
11. NICOTIANA, TOBACCO. (Named for John Nicot, one of the in-
troducers of Tobacco into Europe.) Rank, acrid-narcotic, mostly clammy-
pubescent plants, chiefly of America; leaves entire or merely wavy-margined.
Fl. summer.
N. Tabacum, COMMON T., the principal species cult, for the foliage: 4°-
6° high, with lance-ovate decurrent leaves l°-2° long, or the upper lanceolate,
panicled flowers, and rose-purple funnel-form corolla 2' long, with somewhat in-
flated throat and short lobes. (T)
N. riistica, a weed in some places, is a low homely plant, with ovate and
petioled leaves 2' -5' long, and green funnel-form corolla (!' long) contracted
under the short round lobes. (T)
N. longiflbra, is slender, 2° - 3° high, cult, for its handsome white flow-
ers, which open toward evening ; corolla salver-shaped, the green tube 4' and
the lance-ovate acute lobes £' long ; leaves lanceolate, undulate. (T)
N. noctiflbra, its handsome white flowers also opening at evening (as the
name denotes), is similar to last, but with ovate-lanceolate petioled leaves, tube
of corolla only 2' - 3' long, and its roundish lobes notched at the end. ®
12. DATURA, THORN-APPLE, STRAMONIUM, &c. (Name altered
from the Arabic.) Rank-scented, mostly large-flowered, narcotic-poisonous
weeds, or some ornamental in cultivation : fl. summer.
§ 1. Flower and the iisna/fy prickly 4-valved pod erect, the latter resting on a plate
or saucer-shaped body which is the persistent base of the calyx, the whole
upper part of which falls off" entire after flowering : corolla with a 5-toothed
border. (T)
D. Stramonium, COMMON T. or JAMESTOWN- WEED. Waste grounds :
smooth, with green stems and white flowers (3' long) ; leaves ovate, angled, or
sinuate-toothed.
D. Tatula, PURPLE T. A weed very like the other, but rather taller, with
purple stem and pale violet-purple flowers.
270 GENTIAN FAMILY.
§ 2. Pod nodding on the short recurved peduncle, rather fl< shy, bursting irregular-
ly, otherwise as in the foregoing section : flowers large, sliowy. Cult, from
warm regions for ornament. © 1}.
D. Metel. Clammy-pubescent ; leaves ovate, entire or obscurely angled-
toothed ; corolla white, the 10-toothed border 4' wide.
D. ineteloides. Cult, from New Mexico (sometimes under the name of
D. WRlfiHTii ) ; like the other, but pale, almost smooth, the flower sweet-scented,
and the corolla with more expanded 5-toothed border 5' -6' wide, white or pale
violet.
§ 3- Flower and smooth 2-cetfed pod hanging, the former very large, 6' — 10' long :
calyx splitting down lengthwise after flowering. Tropical American tree-
like shrubs, cult, in conservatories : flowers sometimes double.
D. arborea, has ovate or lance-oblong entire or angled pubescent leaves,
long teeth to the corolla, and unconnected anthers.
D. Sliaveolens, has mostly entire and smooth leaves, short teeth to the
corolla and the anthers sticking together.
13. OESTRUM. (Name given by the Greeks to some different plant,
the derivation obscure. ) Shrubs of warm climates, chiefly American ; a few
cult, in conservatories.
C. elegans, or HABROTHAMNUS ELEGANS, from Mexico, has the branches
and lower face of the ovate-lanceolate or oblong pointed leaves downy-pubescent,
terminal corymbs, and rose-purple club-shaped corollas less than 1' long.
C. nocturnum, from W. Ind. ; with smooth ovate leaves, and axillary
clusters of yellowish green slender flowers, very sweet-scented at night.
C. Parqui, from Chili ; has lanceolate smooth leaves very acute at both
ends, and a terminal panicle of crowded spikes or racemes of tubular-funnel-
form or partly club-shaped dull-yellow flowers, fragrant at night.
14. LYCITJM. (Named from the country of the original species, Lycia.)
Trailing, climbing, or low spreading shrubs, usually spiny, with small leaves
often clustered on lateral spurs, and small flowers, in spring and summer.
L. vulgare, MATRIMONY VINE. From the Mediterranean region : planted,
and sparingly running wild in some places, slightly thorny, with very long and
lithe recurved or almost climbing branches, oblong-spatulate leaves, slender
stalked flowers clustered in the axils, and pale greenish-purple 5-cleft corolla
about equalling the 5 stamens.
L. Carolinianum. Wild in salt marshes S. : low, spiny, with fleshy
thickened almost club-shaped leaves, scattered small flowers, and 4-cleft purple
corolla shorter than the 4 stamens.
85. GENTIANACE^E, GENTIAN FAMILY.
Known generally from the other monopetalous plants with free
ovary by the 1-celled ovary and pod with 2 parietal placentas
covered with small seeds, along with regular flowers, their stamens
as many as the lobes of the corolla and alternate with them, and
the leaves opposite, simple, entire, and sessile, without stipules. The
exceptions are that in some cases the ovules cover the whole inner
face of the ovary, and in one group the leaves are alternate and
even compound. They are nearly all very smooth and bitter-tonic
plants, with colorless juice, the calyx persistent. Ours herbs, none
in common cultivation.
§ 1. Leaves opposite or tchorled and entire, sessile. Corolla with the lobes mostly
convolute in the bud, sometimes also plaited in tfie sinuses.
t~ Style slender, deciduous from the pod : anthers soon curving.
1. S ABBATIA. Calyx 5 - 12-part«d, the divisions slender. Corolla wheel-shaped.
5 - 12-parted. Style 2-parted. Pod globular, many-seeded. Slender herbs.
GENTIAN FAMILY. 271
•*- -t- Style (if any) and stigmas persistent on the pod: anthert straight.
2. FRASERA. Calyx and corolla deeply 4-parted, wheel-shaped ;*divisions of the
latter with a glandular and fringed spot or pit on their middle. Pod oval,
flattened, rather few-seeded: seeds large and flat, wing-margined. Large
thick-rooted herbs, with whorled leaves and panicled flowers.
3. GENTIANA. Calyx 4 - 5-cleft. Corolla 4 - 5-lobed, often with teeth or salient
folds at the sinuses, usually withering-persistent. Style short or none ; stig-
mas 2, persistent. Pod oblong, containing innumerable small seeds with loose
cellular or winged coat. Flowers solitary or clustered, mostly showy.
4. BARTONIA. Calyx 4-parted. Corolla deeply 4-cleft. Style none. Pod ob-
long, flattish, the minute innumerable seeds covering its whole inner face.
Flowers very small. Leaves reduced to little awl-shaped scales.
§ 2. Leaves alternate, long petioled. Corolla with the lobes valvale and the edges
turned inwards in the bud. Seeds many or few, vrith a hard or bony coat.
5. MENYANTHES. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla very short-funnel-form, 6-lobed,
white-bearded over the whole upper face. Style slender, persistent : stigma
2-lobed. Pod globular, writh many smooth and shining seeds. Flowers
racemed on a stout scape; one or more long petioles sneathing its base,
and bearing 3 oval or oblong leaflets.
6. LDIXANTHEMUM. Calyx and corolla 5-parted; the oval divisions of the
latter with a yellowish crust at their base, and in our species otherwise
naked. Style short or none. Pod several-seeded. Water-plants, bearing
the flowers in an umbel on the long slender petiole of the floating round-
heart-shaped leaves.
1. SABBATIA, AMERICAN CENTAUKY. (Named for Sabbati, an
Italian botanist.) Chiefly in sandy and low or wet grounds, along the
coast (with one or two exceptions) : flowers white or pink, usually handsome,
in summer. © ©
* Flowers white, 5-parted, numerous in cymes or corymbs, seldom over £' broad.
S. paniculata. Low grounds S. : stem l°-2° high, with 4 sharp wing-
like angles ; leaves linear or oblong, mostly 1 -nerved ; lobes of the corolla little
longer than the narrow-linear calyx-lobes.
S. lanceolata. From New Jersey S. : taller, larger-flowered, with lance-
ovate 3-nerved leaves, or the upper ones lanceolate and distant, acute ; lobes of
corolla much exceeding the thread-shaped calyx-lobes.
S. macrophylla. Only S. : 2° -3° high, glaucous, with terete stem,
thickish lance-ovate 3 - 5-nerved leaves, and lobes of smaller corolla very much
exceeding the bristle-like calyx-lobes.
* # Flowers rose-pink, rarely white, with yellowish or greenish eye, 5-parted, in
panicled clusters, 1' or more broad. In rather dry ground, much branched
above, 1° — 33 high, the only species which extend W. to Illinois, Sfc.
S. brachiata, chiefly S., has slightly angled stem, linear or narrow-oblong
leaves, and fewer flowers only 1' broad.
S. angularis, from N. York S. & W., has wing-like angles to the stem,
ovate or heart-shaped 5-nerved leaves, and corolla l£' broad.
* * * Flowers rose-purple or white, 5 - 6-parted, 1' or less broad, scattered singly
on long peduncles : stems slender 5' - 20' high, commonly forking, scarcely
angled. All grow in salt marshfs or near the coast.
S. calycbsa. Only from Virg. S. : has oblong pale leaves narrowed at
base, and lance-spatulate calyx-lobes longer than the mostly white corolla.
S. Stellaris. From Mass. S. : has lance-oblong leaves or the upper linear,
and linear calyx-lobes shorter than the rose-purple yellowish eyed corolla.
S. gracilis. From Mass. S. : very slender, with linear or almost thread-
like leaves, thread-shaped calyx-lobes as long as corolla, otherwise like preceding.
* * * # Floioers bright rose-color or with white varieties, 7 -Imparted, very hand-
some, lj' - 2' broad : stems simple or sparingly branched, 1° -2° high.
S. chloroides. Along sandy ponds, from Plymouth, Mass. S. : leaves
lanceolate; peduncles 1 -flowered, slender; calyx-lobes linear.
S. gentianoides. Wet barrens S. : stem-leaves linear ; flowers short-
peduncled or sessile, clustered.
272 GENTIAN FAMILY.
2. FRASERA, AMERICAN COLUMBO. (Named for John Eraser.)
3P. Carol&6nsis. Rich wooded ground W. & S. : root very large and
deep, bitter (used in medicine as a substitute for Columbo) ; stem 3° -8° highj
leaves mostly in fours, lance-oblong, or the lowest spatulate ; corolla 1 ' widex
greenish-yellow or whitish, and dark-dotted, (f) 2/
3. GENTIANA, GENTIAN. (Old name, from Gentius, king of Illyria.)
Chiefly in woods and damp ground : flowering chiefly in autumn, a few in
summer.
§ 1. Corolla without plaits at the sinuses : anthers separate: seeds wingless. (T) ©
G. quinqueflbra. Chiefly N. & W. : branching ; leaves ovate-lanceolate
or slightly heart-shaped at base ; flowers panicled, hardly 1 ' long, the 5 lobes
of the pale blue corolla triangular-ovate, bristle-pointed.
G. crinita, FRINGED GEXTIAN. Low grounds N. & W. : leaves lanceo-
late or broader, with rounded or heart-shaped base ; flowers solitary on long
peduncles terminating the stem or simple branches ; calyx with 4 unequal
lobes ; corolla sky-blue, showy, 2' long, funnel-form, the 4 wedge-obovate lobes
with margins cut into a' long and delicate fringe.
G. detonsa, takes the place of the preceding species N. W., and is perhaps
a variety of it : has linear leaves and less fringe to the corolla (to which the
name alludes), often none at the top of the lobes.
§ 2. Corolla naked, l£'-2' long, with plaits at the sinuses, which project more or
less into teeth or thin intermediate lobes : pod stalked in the corolla. "^
* Stems low, bearing 1-3 slender-ped uncled flowers : seeds wingless.
G. angUStifolia. Pine barrens from N. Jersey S. : 6' -15' high, with
linear leaves, and open funnel-form azure-blue corolla 2' long, its lobes ovate ;
anthers separate.
* * Stems l°-2° high, bearing clustered or rarely solitary 2-bracted flowers at the
summit of the leafy stem, and often in the upper axiis a/.so.
•*- Corolla between bell-shaped and short-funnel -for in or obconical, mostly open, with
ovate lobes exceeding the usually toothed appendages of the plaits.
G. Ochroletica. Chiefly S. in dry ground : leaves obovate or spatulate-
oblong, narrowed at the base ; calyx-lobes linear ; corolla greenish-white with
greener and purplish stripes inside, somewhat bell-shaped ; anthers separate ;
seeds wingless.
G. alba. Along the Alleghanies and N. W. : flowering at midsummer ;
leaves lance-ovate from a partly heart-shaped base, tapering thence to a point ;
calyx-lobes ovate, short ; corolla yellowish-white, with short and broad lobes ;
anthers conniving ; seeds broadly winged.
G. pub6rilla. Dry barrens and prairies W. & S. : low, roughish, or
minutely pubescent, with lance-oblong, ovate, or linear rough-margined leaves
only 1-2' long ; calyx-lobes lanceolate ; corolla bright blue, open, its spreading
ovate lobes 2 or 3 times longer than the cut-toothed intermediate appendages ;
seeds not covering the walls of the pod, as they do in the related species.
G. Saponaria, SOAPWORT G. Low woods, chiefly N. and along the
Alleghanies ; leaves lance-ovate, oblong, or obovate, or in a northern variety
linear, narrowed at base ; calyx-lobes linear or spatulate ; corolla light blue or
rerging to white, little open', its short and broad lobes longer than the con-
spicuous 2-cleft intermediate appendages ; anthers conniving or united ; seeds
narrowly-winged.
•»- •*- Corolla more club-shaped and seldom open, truncate, with no proper lobes.
G. Andr^WSii, CLOSED G. Woods especially N. : leaves lance-ovate or
lance-oblong with a narrowed base ; calyx-lobes ovate or oblong, short ; corolla
blue (rarely a white variety), its proper lobes if any shorter than the bro;id and
more conspicuous fringe-toothed and notched appendages which terminate the
folds ; anthers connected ; seeds broadly winged.
LOGANIA FAMILY. 273
4. BARTONIA. (Named for Prof. B. S. Barton, of Philadelphia.) In-
significant herbs, with awl-shaped scales for leaves, and a few peduncled white
flowers. (T) @
B. tendlla. Woods : 5'- 10' high, with branches or peduncles 1 -3-flow-
ered ; lobes of corolla oblong, acutish ; ovary 4-angled : fl. summer.
B. v6rna. Bogs, only S. : smaller, less branched, 1 - few-flowered ; flowers
larger, in early spring ; lobes of corolla spatulate, obtuse ; ovary flat.
5. MENYANTHES, BUCKBEAN. (Na/ne from Greek words for
month and flower ; application not obvious. The popular name from the
leaves, somewhat resembling those of the Horsebean.)
M. trifoliata. Cold wet bogs N. : fl. late spring ; corolla white or tinged
with pink ; scape hardly 1° high. 2/
6. LIMNANTHEMUM, FLOATING-HEART. (Name formed of
Greek words for sivamp and blossom.) But our species grow in water, and pro-
duce through the summer the small white flowers, accompanied by spur-like
thick bodies, probably of the nature of roots. ^
L. lacunbsum, is common E. & S. : leaves l'-2' long, on very slender
petioles, entire ; lobes of corolla broadly oval ; seeds smooth and even.
L. trachysp6rma, in deeper water, from Maryland S. : leaves rounder,
2' -6' broad, wavy-margined, roughish or dark-pitted beneath ; petioles stouter ;
seeds roughened.
86. LOGANIACE-SI, LOGANIA FAMILY.
Known among monopetalous plants by having opposite leaves
with stipules or a stipular line between their bases, along with a
free ovary ; the flower regular or nearly so, and stamens as many
as the lobes of the corolla and alternate with them.
§ 1. Woody tunning climber, with evergreen haves and showy flowers.
1. GELSEMIUM. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla open funnel-form, the 5 lobes broad
and imbricated in the bud. Stamens 5: anthers sagittate. Style slender:
stigmas 2, each 2-parted, lobes linear, ovary 2-celled. Pod oval, flattened
contrary to the partition, 2-valved, many-seeded. Seeds winged.
§ 2. Herbs, not climbing.
2. SPIGELIA. Calyx 5-parted, the lobes narrow. Corolla tubular and some-
what funnel-form, the 5 lobes valvate in the bud. Stamens 5 : anthers linear.
Style 1, slender, hairy above, jointed near the middle. Pod short, twin,
2-celled, few-seeded, when ripe separating across near the base which is left
behind, and splitting 2 or 4 valves.
MITREOLA, of the South, comprises a couple of quite inconspicuous weeds, and
POLYPREMUM, also S. is a common weedy plant; — both wholly insignificant,
as well in the herbage as in the minute white flowers.
1. GELSEMIUM, YELLOW JESSAMINE of the South, the name an
Italian one for Jessamine, but of a different order from true Jessamine.
G. Semp6rvirens, our only species : low grounds from E. Virg. S., climb-
ing trees, bearing shining lance-ovate small leaves (evergreen far S.), and a
profusion of axillary clusters of bright yellow very fragrant handsome flowers
(!' or more long), in early spring.
2. SPIGELIA, PINK-ROOT or WORM-GRASS. (Named for Adrian
Spiegel, latinized Spigelius.) Fl. summer.
S. Marilandica, MARYLAND P. Rich woods, from Penn. W. & S. :
nearly smooth, 6' -18' high; leaves sessile, lance-ovate, acute; flowers in
simple or forked spike-like clusters terminating the stem or branches ; corolla
l£' long, slender, handsome, red outside, yellow within, the lobes lanceolate.
Root used as a vermifuge. ^
13
274 DOGBANE FAMILY.
87. APOCYNACE^I, DOGBANE FAMILY.
Herbaceous or woody plants, known mainly by the milky acrid
juice, opposite (sometimes whorled) simple and entire leaves, with-
out stipules, and regular monopetalous flowers with 5 in the calyx,
corolla, and stamens, the lobes of the corolla convolute or twisted in
the bud, the anthers conniving around the stigma or often adhering
somewhat to it, ordinary pollen, filaments separate, the 2 free ovaries
commonly separate, but often the styles and always the stigmas
united into one. The ovaries also are often united into one, the juice
in several (as of Periwinkle and Oleander) is not at all or slightly
milky, and one of our genera has alternate leaves. Some are orna-
mental in cultivation, many are acrid-poisonous. There is com-
monly a ring, membrane, or other appendage on the style below the
stigma, to which the anthers are apt to adhere.
§ 1. Shrubs cult, for ornament, natives of warm climates: leaves oftener whorled.
1. ALLAMANDA. Corolla large, yellow, with short tube abruptly expanded into
cylindrical bell-shaped or funnel-form, the 5 lobes broad and rounded. Sta-
mens at the summit of the proper tube or throat, alternate and conniving with
as many 2-parted narrow scales. Ovary one and 1-celled, with 2 parietal pla-
centae, becoming a prickly pod. Style slender. Seeds naked.
2. XERIUM. Corolla salver-form or the long tube narrow funnel-form, the throat
crowned with 5 slender-toothed scales. Stamens on the middle of the tube :
anthers 2-tailed at base and tapering at the apex into a long hairy twisted
awn-like appendage. Style 1. Ovaries 2, forming pods. Seeds tufted.
§ 2. More or less woody-stemmed twiners, with opposite leaves.
8. ECHITES. Corolla funnel-form or salver-shaped, naked in the throat. Fila-
ments very short. Style 1. Ovaries 2, becoming 2 long terete pods. Seeds
with a downy tuft, flowers large and showy.
4. FORSTERONlA. Corolla funnel-form, nearly as in Echites, but the flower
small, and filaments slender.
§ 3. Herbs or scarcely woody plants, not twiners : bark usually abounding with tough
Jibres -'ovaries 2, becoming many-seeded pods in fruit.
* Leaves opposite.
5. VINCA. Corolla salver-shaped or the tube funnel-form, the throat narrow
and naked. Stamens inserted on the upper part or middle of the tube : fila-
ments short. Style 1, slender. Pods rather short. Seeds abrupt at each
end, naked, rough. The hardy species trail or creep.
6. APOCYNUM. Corolla bell-shaped, crowned with 5 triangular appendages in
the throat. Stamens attached to the very base of the corolla. Style none.
A large ovate stigma unites the tips of the 2 ovaries, which in fruit form long
and slender pods. Seeds with a long tuft of silky down at one end. Upright
or ascending herbs, with small pale or white flowers in terminal cymes or
corymbs, and very tough fibrous bark.
# * Leaves alternate, very numerous.
7. AMSONIA. CoroUa salver-shaped or the slender tube somewhat funnel-form,
bearded inside, without appendages at the throat, the lobes long and linear.
Stamens inserted on and included in the tube : anthers blunt at both ends.
Style 1, slender. Pods long (4' -6') and slender. Seeds cylindrical, abrupt
at both ends, with no tuft. Upright herbs, witfe terminal panicled cymes of
bluish flowers.
1. AIiLAMANDA. (Named for Dr. F. AUamand, who discovered the
common species in Guiana.)
A. eathartica. A showy shrub of the conservatory, with bright green
oblong thinnish leaves, and golden-yellow flowers 2^' - 3' long.
DOGBANE FAMILY. 275
2. NERIUM, OLEANDER. (The ancient Greek and Latin name.)
Leaves coriaceous, rigid, closely and transversely veiny. Flowers showy, in
terminal cymes, in summer, deep rose-color, or with white varieties, either
single or double.
N. Oleander, the OLEANDER of common house-culture, from the Levant :
kaves lanceolate ; appendage surmounting the anthers scarcely protruding ;
flowers large, scentless.
N. odbrum, SWEET. O. : less cult., from India, more tender ; leaves linear-
lanceolate ; appendage of the anthers protruding ; flowers fragrant.
3. ECHITES. (Name from Greek word for a viper.) Plants from the
warm parts of America, one not rare as a conservatory climber, viz.
E. suavdolens, or MANDEvfLLEA SUAVEOLENS, CHILI JESSAMINE, a
slender woody-stemmed tall twiner, with thin oblong or ovate heart-shaped
pointed leaves, and slender peduncles bearing a few racemed very fragrant flow-
ers, the white corolla with ample 5-lobed border, 2' broad.
4. FORSTEBONIA. (Named for an English botanist, T. F. Forster.)
P. diflbrmis, in low grounds from Virginia S. & W., is a barely woody
twiner, the flowering branches herbaceous and downy ; leaves thin, oval-lan-
ceolate, pointed, or sometimes linear, narrowed into a petiole ; flowers £' long,
in cymes, greenish-yellow, all summer.
5. VINO A, PERIWINKLE. (Latin name, from a word meaning to bind,
from the thread-like stems.) 2/
§ 1. TRUE PERIWINKLES, cult, from Europe, hardy or nearly so, smooth, trail-
ing ovej- the ground or creeping, only the short flowering stems ascending,
with blue (or by variation white) flowers solitary in ike, axils, in spring or
early summer.
V. minor, COMMON PERIWINKLE, in all country-gardens, spreading freely
by the creeping sterile stems, evergreen, with ovate or oblong-ovate shining
leaves barely 1^' long, and almost truncate wedge-shaped lobes to the corolla:
fl. early spring.
V. major, LARGE P., not quite hardy N., a variety with variegated leaves
is most cultivated, larger than the first species and leaves rounder, the lobes of
corolla obovate.
V. herbacea : not evergreen ; stems reclining and rooting ; leaves lance-
oblong, lobes of the more purple-blue corolla oblong-obovate : fl. late spring.
§ 2. Tropical erect, someichat woody at base : flowers produced all the season.
V. r6sea, house and bedding plant from West Indies, with oblong-petioled
veiny leaves, and showy corolla with slender tube and very narrow orifice, rose-
purple, or white, with or without a pink eye.
6. APOCYNITM, DOGBANE (to which the name in Greek refers),
INDIAN HEMP, from the use made of the bark. Fl. summer. ^
A. androssemifdlium, SPREADING D. Along thickets, mostly N.
branches forking and widely spreading ; leaves ovate, petioled ; corolla open
bell-shaped with spreading lobes.
A. cannabinum, COMMON INDIAN HEMP. Gravelly or wet banks cf
streams : branches more erect ; leaves oblong, lance-oblong, ovate, or slightly
heart-shaped ; flowers more crowded and erect ; lobes of the corolla little
spreading.
7. AMSONIA. (Named for a Mr. Charles Amson.) Low grounds chiefly
S. ; very leafy, 2° -3° high, smooth or somewhat hairy, with rather small
flowers, in late spring.
A. Tabernaemontana. Leaves varying from ovate or lance-ovate to
lanceolate, acute at each end, pale beneath.
A. ciliata. Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, the margins and mostly the
stems beset with some scattered bristles.
276 MILKWEED FAMILY.
88. ASCLEPIADACE^l, MILKWEED FAMILY.
Plants with milky juice, leaves, pistils, fruit*, and seeds nearly as
in the preceding family ; but the anthers more connected with the
stigma, their pollen collected into firm waxy or granular masses
(mostly 10), the short filaments (monadelphous except in the last
genus) commonly bear curious appendages behind the anthers form-
ing what is called a crown, and the corolla more commonly valvate
in the bud. The flowers are rather too difficult for the beginner
readily to understand throughout. For a particular study of them
the Manual must be used.
§ 1. Erect herbs, with ordinary foliage, and deeply 5-parted reflexed calyx and
corolla. Fknvers in simple umbels. Fruit a pair of pods (follicles,} containing
numerous fiat seeds furnished with a coma (Lessons, p. 135, fig. 317) or long
tuft of soft down at one end.
1. ASCLEPIAS. Stamens with their short filaments monadelphous in a ring or
tube, bearing behind each anther a curious erect and hood-like or ear-like
appendage, with a horn projecting out of the inside of it: the 5 broad anthers
closely surrounding and partly adhering to the very thick stigma, a mem-
branous appendage at their tip inflected over it. Each of the 2 cells of the
anther has a firm waxy pear-shaped pollen-mass in it: and the two adja-
cent masses from two contiguous anthers are suspended by a stalk from a
dark gland; these 5 glands, borne on the margin of the flat top of the stigma,
stick to the legs, &c. of insects, and are carried off, each gland taking with it
2 pollen masses, the whole somewhat resembling a pair ot saddle-bags.
2. ACERATES. Like Asclepias, but no horn in the hoods or ear-like appendages,
and the flowers always greenish.
§ 2. Twining plants with ordinary foliage ; pods and seeds nearly as in Asclepias.
* Anthers with their hanging pollen-masses nearly as Asclepias : pods smooth and even.
3. ENSLENIA. Calyx and corolla 5-parted, the divisions lance-ovate and nearly
erect. The 5 appendages of the filaments are in the form of membranaceous
leaflets, each bearing a pair of awns on their truncate tip. Herb.
4. VINCETOXICUM. Corolla 5-parted, wheel-shaped. A flat and fleshy
5 - 10-lobed disk or crown in place of the hoods of Asclepias. Herbs.
* * The 10 pollen-masses horizontal, fixed in pairs to 5 glands of the stigma.
6. GONOLOBUS. Corolla wheel-shaped: a fleshy and wary-lobed ring or crown
in its throat.
* * # The 10 short pollen-masses fixed by their bctee in pairs to the 5 glands of (he
stigma, and erect. Shrubby plants, of tropical regions.
6. HOYA. Corolla wheel-shaped. 5-lobed, thick and wax-like in appearance.
Crown of 5 thick and depressed fleshy appendages radiating from the central
column.
7. STEPHANOTIS. Corolla salver-shaped, the tube including the stamens,
crown, &c., in its somewhat swollen base, the 5 ovate lobes convolute in the
bud. Crown of 5 thin erect appendages. Stigma conical.
* * # * Anthers distinct, the 5 pollen-masses each composed of 4 small granular
masses united, and applied directly to the glands of the stigma without any stalk.
Shrubby turiners.
8. PERIPLOCA. Corolla 5-parted, wheel-shaped, the divisions hairv on the
upper face: alternate with them are 5 small thick scales, each bearing a
bristle-shaped appendage. Filaments distinct, bearing anthers of more ordi-
nary appearance than in the rest of this family. Stigma hemispherical.
Pods smooth.
§ 3. Fleshy low plants, Cactus-like, with only small fi^shy scales or teeth in place of
leaves, on the angles of the thickened stems or branches.
9. STAPELIA. Flowers large, lurid, solitary, lateral. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla
5-cleft, wheel-shaped: within is a crown formed of two rings of short appen-
dages or lobes. Masses of waxy pollen 10, erect.
MILKWEED FAMILY. 277
1. ASCLEPIAS, MILKWEED, SILKWEED. (The Greek name of
/Esculapias, father of medicine. ) Flowering in summer. 2/
* Flowers bnght orange or red ; pods smooth : leaves opposite, except, in the first.
A. tuberbsa, BUTTERFLY-WEED, PLEURISY ROOT. Dry hills : milky
juice hardly any ; stems and mostly scattered linear or lance-oblong leaves
hairy ; flowers bright orange.
A. Clirassavica. Wild far S., cult, from S. America, as a house and
bedding plant ; nearly smooth ; leaves lanceolate ; umbels long-peduncled ;
corolla scarlet-red, the hoods orange.
A. paup6rcula. Wet barrens from N Jersey S. : tall, smooth, with
long lance-linear leaves, one or more few-flowered umbels raised on long
peduncle, and red corolla with bright orange hoods.
A. rtlbra. Low barrens from N. Jersey S. : smooth, with lance-ovate
gradually taper-pointed leaves, a few many -flowered umbels on a long naked
peduncle, and purple-red flowers.
* * Flowers pink or light rose-purple : leaves all opposite : pods smooth.
A. incarnata, SWAMP MILKWEED. Wet grounds, with very leafy
branching stems, lanceolate or lance-oblong acute leaves, often slightly heart-
shaped at the base; smooth or smoothish, or in var. PULCHRA pubescent and
the leaves very short-petioled.
* # * Flowers dull purplish, greenish, or white.
•«- Stems branching, almost woody at base : leaves all opposite : pods smooth.
A. per6nnis. Low grounds S. : nearly smooth ; leaves lanceolate or lance-
ovate, slender-pctioled ; flowers small, white ; seeds mostly without a tuft !
•«- •«- Stem simple : leaves all opposite and closely sessile or clasping by a heart-
shaped base, the apex rounded or notched : plants smooth, pale or glaucous.
A. obtusifdlia. Sandy grounds, 2° -3° high, the rather remote broadly
oblong leaves wavy ; umbel mostly solitary, long-peduncled ; flowers pretty
large, greenish-purplish.
A. amplexicaulis. Dry barrens S. : stems reclining, 1°- 2° high, very
leafy; leaves ovate-heart-shaped ; umbels several, short-peduncled; corolla ash-
colored, the hoods white.
•*-•«-•*- Stem simple or nearly so, lenfy to the top : leaves all opposite, ovate, oval,
or oblong, pntty large, short-petioled: umbels lateral and terminal : jlowers
%' long or nearly so.
*+ Pods beset with soft prickle-shaped or warty projections.
A. Cornuti, COMMON- MILKWEED of fields and low grounds N. : downy,
or the large pale leaves soon smooth above ; flowers dull greenish-purplish.
•*-*• ++ Pods even, but usually minutely downy.
A. phytolaccoides, POKE -MILKWEED. Moist grounds N. & W. :
smooth or smoothish, 3° - 5° high ; leaves large, pointed or acute at both ends ;
umbels loose, the long pedicels ( 1' - 3') equalling the peduncle ; corolla greenish,
but the more conspicuous hoods white.
A. purpurascens. Rich ground N. & W. : l°-3° high ; leaves downy
beneath, smooth above, the upper taper-pointed ; pedicels of the rather loose
umbel shorter than the peduncle ; corolla dark dull purple.
A. variegata. Dry grounds, commoner S. & W. : l°-2° high, nearly
smooth ; leaves oval or obovate, slightly wavv ; peduncle and crowded pedicels
short and downy ; corolla white, the hoods purplish.
•*-•*-•*-•*- Stems simple or rarely branched, slender : leaves most of them in whorls :
pods slender and smooth : Jlowers small, white or whitish.
A. quadrif61ia, FOUR-LEAVED M. Rocky woods mostly N. : stems 1°
- 2° high, nearly smooth, naked below, bearing about the middle one or two
whorls of 4 ovate or lance-ovate taper-pointed petioled leaves, and beneath or
above them usually a pair of smaller ones ; pedicels slender ; corolla mostly
tinged with pink, the hoods white.
278 MILKWEED FAMILY.
A. verticillata, WHORLED M. Dry ground, 1°- 2° high, smoothish ;
stems very leafy throughout ; leaves very narrow linear or thread-shaped, in
whorls of 3 - 6 ; flowers greenish-white.
2. ACEBATES, GREEN MILKWEED. (Name from the Greek, means
ivithout a horn, i. e. none to the hood-like appendages, in which it differs from
Asclepias.) Flowers green or greenish, in summer. 2/
§ 1 . Flowers in compact lateral umbels : corolla with oblong reflexed divisions :
the hoods erect : pods slender, sometimes downy, but with the surface even.
A. viridiflora. Dry sandy or gravelly soil : soft-downy or smoothish,
1 ° - 2° high ; leaves varying from oval to linear, mostly opposite ; globular
umbels nearly sessile; flowers short-pedicelled, nearly *£' long- when open;
hoods not elevated above the base of the corolla.
A. longifblia. Low barrens W. & S. : rather hairy or roughish, 1° - 3°
high, with very numerous mostly alternate linear leaves, flowers smaller and on
slender pedicels, the umbel peduncled, hoods elevated on a short ring of fila-
ments above the base of the coix>lla.
§ 2. Flowers in loose terminal and solitary or corymbed umbels : divisions of the
corolla barely spreading, but the large hoods spreading and slipper-shaped :
pods thick, often with some soft tubercle-like projections.
A. paniculata. Dry prairies and barrens from 111. S. & W. : smoothish,
1° high ; leaves alternate, oblong or lance-oblong; flowers 1' broad, green, the
hoods purplish.
3. ENSLENIA. (Named for A. Enslen, an Austrian traveller.) ^
E. albida. River-banks from Ohio S. & W. : climbing, 8° -12° ; smooth,
with opposite heart-ovate long-petioled leaves, and small whitish flowers in
raceme-like clusters on axillary peduncles, all late summer.
4. VINCETOXICUM. (Name is equivalent to Poison Periwinkle.) 2/
V. nigrum, from Eu. : a low-twining smooth weed, escaping from gardens
E. ; leaves ovate and lance-ovate ; flowers small, brown-purple, rather few in
axillary umbels, in summer.
5. GONOLOBUS. (Name in Greek means angled pod.) Ours are twin-
ing herbs, along river-banks, chiefly S., with opposite heart-shaped petioled
leaves, and corymbs or umbels of dark or dull-colored small flowers, on pedun-
cles between the petioles, in summer. ^
G. laevis. From Virg. to Illinois S. : smooth or only sparingly hairy, the
yellowish-green flowers and the longitudinally ribbed pods smooth.
G. obliQHUS. From Penn. S. : hairy, somewhat clammy ; flowers mi-
nutely downy outside, long and narrow in the bud, dull crimson-purple within,
the strap-shaped or lanceolate divisions £' long ; pods ribless, warty.
G. hirsutUS. From Virginia S. : differs from the last in its short-ovate
flower-buds, the oval or oblong divisions of corolla only about 4' long.
6. HOYA, WAX-PLANT. (Named for T. Hoy, an English florist.)
H. carn6sa, a well-known house-plant from India ; with rooting stems,
thick and fleshy oval leaves, umbels of numerous flesh-colored or almost white
flowers, the upper surface of corolla clothed with minute papilla?.
7. STEPHANOTIS. (Name from Greek for crown and ear, referring to
the appendages of the stamens.)
S. floribtinda, from Madagascar : a fine hot-house twiner, very smooth,
with opposite oval or oblong thickish leaves, and lateral umbels of very showy
fragrant flowers, the pure white corolla l£' in diameter, the tube 1' long.
OLIVE FAMILY. 279
8. PSRIPLOCA. (Name, a Greek word, implies that the plant twines.)
P. Grseca, of S. Eu., cult, as an ornamental twiner, hardy through the
Middle States : smooth, with opposite ovate mostly pointed leaves, on short
petioles, and lateral cymes of rather small flowers, the corolla greenish-yellow
with the upper face of the oblong lobes brownish-purple : in summer.
9. STAPELIA. (Named for a Dutch naturalist, Dr. Van Stapel) Strange-
looking fleshy plants of the Cape of Good Hope, cult, in conservatories along
with Cactuses. The commonest is
S. hirstlta. Stems or branches G'-IO' high, with concave sides, pale and
obscurely downy ; flower 3' -4' in diameter, dull purple and yellowish with
darker transverse stripes, beset with purple very long hairs, and with denser
hairiness towards the centre, exhaling a most disgusting odor, not unlike that
of putrid meat.
89. OLEACE^3, OLIVE FAMILY.
Trees or shrubs, chiefly smooth, without milky juice, distinguished
among monopetalous plants with free ovary by the regular flowers
having stamens almost always 2, and always fewer than the 4 (some-
times 5 or more) divisions of the corolla, the ovary 2-celled and
(except in Jasminum and Forsythia) with one pair of ovules in
each cell : style if any only one, rarely 2-cleft. A few are nearly
or quite polypetalous ; others apetalous.
§ 1. Calyx and corolla with 5-8 lobes A single erect ovule and seed in each cell.
1- JASMINUM. Corolla salver-shaped, the lobes convolute in the bud. Stamens
2, included in the tube. Ovary and the berry -like fruit 2-lobed, 2-seeded.
§ 2. Calyx and corolla with the parts in fours, or sometimes (in Fraxinus) one or
both wanting. Ovules hunyiuy, usually a pair in each cell, many in No. 2.
Leaves opposite, except accidentally.
* Leaves simple : flowers perfect and complete.
•*- Ovules and seeds numerous or several in each cell of the ovary and pod.
2. FORSYTHIA. Corolla golden yellow, bell-shaped, 4-lobed, the lobes con-
volute in the bud. The 2 stamens and style short. Pod ovate. Leaves
deciduous.
•«- -t- Ovules a pair in each cell, but the seeds often feicer.
3. SYRINGA. Corolla salver-form, the lobes valvate in the bud, the tube much
longer than the 4-toothed calyx. Fruit a pod, 4-seedecl, flattened contrary
to the narrow partition, 2-valved, the valves almost conduplicate. Seed*
slightly wing-margined. Leaves deciduous.
4. LIGUS1RUM. Corolla short funnel-form, with spreading ovate obtuse lobes,
valvate in the bud, white. Fruit a 1-4-seeded black berry. Leaves firm
and thickish, but deciduous.
5. OLE A. Corolla short, bell-shaped, or deeply cleft into 4 spreading lobes, white.
Fruit a drupe, the hard stone often becoming 1-celled and 1-seeded. Leaves
evergreen.
6. CHIONANTHUS. Corolla white, 4-parted, or of 4 very long and narrow linear
petals slightly or scarcely united at their base; to which the 2 (rarely 3 or
even 4 in cultivation) very short stamens barely adhere. Fruit a fleshy and
globular drupe, the stone becoming 1-celled and commonly 1-seeded. Leaves
deciduous.
* * Leaves pinnate : flowers polygamous or dioecious, in most species apetalous.
7. FRAXINUS. Calvx small, sometimes obsolete or wholly wanting. Petals 4,
2, or none. Anthers large. Fruit a simple samara or'key (Lessons, p. 131,
fig. 300), usually becoming 1-celled and 1-seeded. Leaves deciduous.
280 OLIVE FAMILY.
1. jASMINUM, JESSAMINE. (From the Arabic name.) Cultivated
for ornament, from the Old World, all tender and house-plants except at the
South. Flowers fragrant.
# Flowers yellow : leaves commonly alternate and compound.
J. Odoratissimum, COMMON SWEET YELLOW J., from Madeira : smooth,
twining ; leaflets 3 or 5, ovate ; peduncles terminal, few-flowered.
J. revolutum, from Himalayas or China : not twining, has mostly 3-7
leaflets, and more numerous and fragrant flowers, l£' wide.
* * Flowers white : leaves opposite.
J. officinale, COMMON WHITE J., from the East, has striate-angled
branches scarcely twining, about 7 oblong or lance-ovate leaflets, a terminal
cyme of very fragrant flowers and calyx-teeth slender.
* J. grandiflbrum, from India, has 7 or 9 oval leaflets, the uppermost con-
fluent, larger and fewer flowers than the foregoing, reddish outside.
J. Az6ricum, from the Azores and Madeira : not twining, with 3 ovate or
heart-shaped leaflets, terminal cymes of very sweet-scented flowers, and very
short calyx-teeth.
J. Sarnbac, from Tropical India : scarcely climbing, pubescent ; leaves
simple, ovate, or heart-shaped ; flowers in small close clusters ; calyx-teeth
about 8, slender, the rounded lobes of the corolla as many ; flowers simple or
double, very fragrant, especially at evening.
2. FORSYTHIA. (Named for W. A. Forsyth, an English botanist.)
Ornamental shrubs, from China and Japan, with flowers from separate
lateral buds, preceding the serrate leaves, in early spring.
P. viridissima, a vigorous shrub, with strong and mostly erect yellowish-
green branches, covered in early spring with abundant showy yellow flowers,
followed by the deep green lance-oblong leaves.
F. suspensa, shrub with long and slender weak branches hanging, or some
of them creeping, to be treated as a climber ; flowers still earlier, but less pro-
fuse ; leaves thinner, duller, ovate.
3. SYRINGA, LILAC. (From Greek word for tube, alluding either to the
tubular corolla or to the twigs, used for pipe-stems.) Familiar ornamental
tall shrubs, from the Old World, with scaly buds in the axils of the leaves,
but hardly ever a terminal one (so that there is only a pair at the tip of a
branch), entire leaves on slender petioles, and crowded compound panicles or
thyrsus of mostly fragrant flowers, in spring.
S. VUlgaris, COMMON L., from E. Europe or Persia : with ovate and more
or less heart-shaped leaves, and lobes of corolla moderately spreading ; fl. lilac
or pale violet, and a white variety.
S. P6rsica, PERSIAN L. ; more slender, with lance-ovate leaves, and looser
clusters of lilac-purple or paler or sometimes white flowers, border of the corolla
flat when open.
4. LIGtJSTRUM, PRIVET or PRIM. (Classical Latin name.) Shrubs
of Old World, planted for ornament, with short-petioled entire leaves and
panicles of small flowers, in early summer.
L. VUlgare, COMMON P., of Europe, here planted for hedges, and running
wild E. ; leaves small, lance-ovate or lance-oblong.
L. Japbnicum. Cult, from Japan, not hardy N. : has long and widely
spreading branches, larger ovate leaves, and larger flowers in ample panicles.
6. OLE A, OLIVE. (The classical Latin name.) Flowers small, and in
small panicles or corymbs, in spring.
O. Europaea, OLIVE of the Levant, sometimes planted far S. : tree with
lanceolate or lance-oblong pale entire leaves, whitish-scurfy beneath, and oblong
edible oily fruit.
OLIVE FAMILY. 281
O. Americana, DEVIL-WOOD. Wild along the coast from Virginia S. :
small tree, with lance-oblong and entire very smooth green leaves (3' -6' long),
and spherical fruit.
O. fragrans, or OSMANTHUS FRAGRANS, of Japan and China (differing
from Olive genus in the almost 4-parted corolla and 2-parted style), cult, in
green-houses for the exquisite fragrance of its very small flowers ; the leaves
oblong or oval, sharply serrate, bright green, very smooth.
6. CHIONANTHUS, FRINGE-TREE. (Name of the Greek words for
snow and blossom, from the very light and loose panicles of drooping snow-
white flowers.)
C. Virginica, COMMON F. River-banks from Penn. S., and planted for
ornament : shrub or low tree, with entire oval or obovate leaves (3' -5' long),
the lower surface often rather downy, loose panicles of flowers in late spring or
early summer, petals 1' long, and fruit blue-purple with a bloom.
7. FEAXINUS, ASH. ( Classical Latin name. ) Timber-trees, with light
and tough wood, dark-colored buds, and small insignificant flowers appearing
in spring with or rather before the leaves of the season, from separate buds in
the axils of the leaves of the preceding year.
§ 1. EUROPEAN ASHES, planted as shade trees, $r. : flowers polygamous.
F. Ornus, FLOWERING ASH, of S. Europe, the tree which furnishes manna,
not hardy N., sometimes planted S. : this and a species like it in California have
4 petals, 'either distinct or slightly united, or sometimes only 2, narrow, green-
ish ; leaflets 5-9, lanceolate or oblong, small.
F. excelsior, ENGLISH or EUROPEAN ASH. Hardy fine tree, with bright
green lance-oblong leaflets nearly sessile and serrate ; petals none and calyx
hardly any ; fruit flat, linear-oblong. The WEEPING ASH is a variety or sport
of this.
§ 2. AMERICAN ASHES, all destitute of petals, and dioecious or mostly so.
# fruit terete at the base, winged from the other end : calyx minute, persistent :
leaflets 7-9, or sometimes 5, stalked, either sparingly toothed or entire.
F. Americana, WHITE ASH. Large forest tree of low grounds, furnish-
ing valuable timber ; with ash-gray branches, smooth stalks, ovate or lance-
oblong pointed leaflets either pale or downy beneath ; and rather short fruit
with a terete marginless body and a lanceolate or wedge-linear wing.
F. pubdscens, RED ASH. Common E. & S. ; known by its velvety-
pubescent young shoots and leafstalks, and fruit with its flattish 2-edged seed-
bearing body acute at the base, the edges gradually dilated into the lance-linear
or oblanceolate wing.
F. viridis, GREEN ASH. Like the last, into which it seems to pass, but
is smooth, with leaves bright green on both sides : a smaller tree, most common
W. £ S.
* # Fruit flat and winged all round : leaflets 7nostly green both sides and serrate.
F. sambucifdlia, BLACK ASH. Small tree in swamps, N. & N. W.,
with tough wood separable in layers, used for hoops and coarse baskets ; the
bruised leaves with the scent of Elder: smooth; leaflets 7-11, sessile on the
main stalk, oblong-lanceolate tapering to a point ; calyx none, at least in the
fertile .flowers ; fruits linear-ob'.ong.
F. quadrangulata, BLUE ASH. Large forest tree W., yielding valuable
wood ; with square branchlets, 5-9 ovate veiny leaflets on short stalks, and
narrowly oblong fruits
F. platycarpa, CAROLINA WATER-ASH. River swamps S. : small tree,
with terete branchlets, 5-7 ovate or oblong short-stalked leaflets acute at both
ends, and broadly winged (sometimes 3-winged) fruits, oblong with a tapering
base.
S & F— 23
282 BIRTH WORT FAMILY.
III. APETALOUS DIVISION. Includes the orders with
flowers destitute of corolla ; some are destitute of calyx also.
90. ARISTOLOCHICAE^I, BIRTHWORT FAMILY.
Known from all other apetalous orders by the numerous ovules
and seeds in a 6-celled ovary, to which the lower part of the calyx
is adherent, the latter mostly 3-lobed, the stamens generally 6 or
12. Anthers adnate and turned outwards. Calyx dull-colored,
valvate in the bud. Leaves petioled, usually heart-shaped, not
serrate. Flowers solitary, perfect, commonly large. Bitter, tonic
or stimulant, sometimes aromatic plants.
1. ASARUM. Low stemless herbs, with one or two leaves on long petioles, and a
flower -at the end of a creeping aromatic rootstock, the flowers therefore
close to the ground. Calyx regular, with 3 equal lobes. Stamens 12, dis-
tinct, borne on the apex of the ovary or the base of the stout style, usually
pointed beyond the anther. Seeds large, thickish, in a rather fleshy ana1
irregularly bursting pod.
2. ARISTOLOCHIA. Leafy-stemmed herbs or woody twiners. Calyx tubular
variously irregular, often curved. Filaments none : anthers adherent directly
and by their whole inner face to the outside of the 3 - 6-lobed stigma. Seeds
very flat, in a dry 6-valved pod.
1. ASARUM, AS ARAB A CCA, WILD GINGER. (Ancient name, of
obscure derivation.) On hillsides in rich woods : fl. spring. ^
§ 1 . Filaments slender, much longer than the short anthers : style 1 , thick, bearing
6 thick stigmas : leaves a single pair with a peduncle between them.
A. Canadense, CANADA WILD GINGER, sometimes called SNAKEROOT.
Common N. : soft-pubescent ; leaves broadly heart-shaped or kidney-shaped, not
evergreen ; calyx bell- shaped but cleft down to the adherent ovary, brown-
purple inside, the abruptly spreading lobes pointed.
§ 2. Filaments short or almost none : anthers oblong-linear : styles 6, each 2-cleft,
bearing the stigma bf-low the cleft : haves thick and evergreen, siitooth, often
mottled, usually only one each year : rootsfocks in a close cluster.
A. Virginicum, VIRGINIA AV. Along the Alleghanies S. : leaves small,
rounded heart-shaped ; calyx tubular-bell-shaped with a somewhat narrowed
throat and broad short lobes, the base coherent only with base of the ovary.
A. arifblium, from Virginia S , has larger somewhat halberd-shaped
leaves, and very short and blunt lobes to the calyx.
2. ARISTOLOCHIA, BIRTHWORT. (Ancient name, from medicinal
properties.) Cells of the anthers in our species 4 in a horizontal row under
each of the 3 lobes of the stigma, i. e. two contiguous 2-celled anthers in each
set, or 6 in all. Flowers in and above the axils.
A. Serpentaria, VIRGINIA SNAKEROOT (used in medicine). Rich woods,
chiefly in Middle States and S. : low downy herb ; stems clustered about 1°
high ; leaves ovate or oblong and heart-shaped, sometimes halberd-form, acute ;
flowers all next the root, curved like the letter S, contracted in the middle and
at the throat, in summer. ^
A. Sipho, PIPE- VINE, DUTCHMAN'S PIPE (from the shape of the curved
calyx). Rich woods from Penn. along the mountains S. and planted for arbors :
very tall-climbing woody twiner, smooth, but the rounded heart-shaped leaves
often downy beneath, these becoming 8' -12' broad ; peduncles with a clasping
bract, drooping; calyx l£' long, inflated above the ovary, narrowing above,
contracted at the throat, the flat border brown-purple and obscurely 3-lobed :
fl. late spring.
A. tomentosa. Common S. : a more slender woody climber, with smaller
rounder and very veiny downy leaves, and yellowish flower with an oblique
almost closed brownish orifice, the border reflexed : fl. late spring or summer.
FOUR-CTCLOCK FAMILY. 283
91. NYCTAGINACE^E, FOUR-O'CLOCK FAMILY.
Represented by a few plants with tubular or funnel-form calyx
colored like a corolla, and falling away from a persistent lower
portion which closes completely over the 1-celled 1-ovuled ovary
and seed-like fruit, forming a hard and dry covering which would
be mistaken for a true pericarp. Stamens 2-5, the long slender
filaments hypogynous, but apt to adhere somewhat to the sides of
the calyx-tube above. Embryo coiled around some mealy albumen.
(Lessons, p. 15, fig. 36, 37.) Ours are herbs, with opposite simple
entire or wavy leaves, and jointed stems, tunid at the joints.
1. ABRONIA. Flowers small, many in a peduncled umbel-like head surrounded
by an involucre of about 5 separate bracts. Calyx salver-shaped with a
slender tube, and a corolla-like 5-lobed border, which is plaited in the bud,
the lobes generally notched at the end. Stamens 5 and style included.
2. OXYBAPHUS. Flowers small, a few together surrounded by a 5-lobed invo-
lucre, which enlarges and becomes thin, membranaceous, reticulated, and
wheel-shaped after flowering. Calyx with a very short tube constricted
above the ovarv, expanding into a bell-shaped 5-lobed corolla-like border,
open onlv for "a day. Stamens (mostly 3) and slender style protruding.
Fruit (persistent base of calyx) akene-like, strongly-ribbed.
3. MIR A BILLS. Flower large, in the common species only a single one in the
cup-shaped 5-cleft green involucre, which thus exactly imitates a calyx, as
the tubular funnel-shaped or almost salver-shaped delicate calyx does a
corolla. Stamens 5, and especially the stvle (tipped with a shield-shaped
stigma) protruded. Fruit ovoid, smooth ana nearly even.
1. ABRONIA. (Name from Greek word meaning delicate.) "Western
North American herbs, cultivated for ornament : fl all summer. 2/
A. Uinbellata, from coast of California, has prostrate slender stems, ovate-
oblong slender petioled leaves, and rose-purple flowers open by day, the invo-
lucre of small bracts.
A. fragrans, from Rocky Mountains, hardy N., has ascending branching
stems, lance-ovate leaves, and white sweet-scented flowers opening at sunset;
the involucre of conspicuous ovate scarious and whitish bracts.
2. OXYBAPHUS. (Name from a Greek word for a vinegar-saucer, from
the shape of the involucre.) 11 Several species on Western plains : fl. rose-
purple, all summer.
O. nyctagineUS. Rocky or gravelly soil from Wisconsin W. & S. :
smooth or smoothish ; leaves petioled, varying from ovate to lanceolate, obtuse
or heart-shaped at base.
O. albidus. From North Carolina S. : often hairy above ; leaves sessile
or nearly so, acute at base, lanceolate or oblong ; fruit more hairy.
3. MIRABILIS, FOUR-O'CLOCK or MARVEL-OF-PERU. (Clu-
sius called it Admirabilis, which Linnaeus shortened.) Natives of warm parts
of America : roots very large and fleshy ; leaves more or less heart-shaped,
the lower petioled ; flowers mostly clustered, showy, opening towards sunset
or in cloudy weather, produced all summer. ^
M. Jalapa. Cult, for ornament in many varieties as to flower (red, yellow,
white, or variegated), its tube only 2' long and thickish, stamens shorter than
its spreading border ; whole plant nearly smooth.
M. longiflbra. Less common in cult. ; tube of the sweet-scented flower
6' long and clammy-hairy (as well as the upper leaves) ; stamens shorter than,
its spreading white border.
M. Wriglitiana. Texas and cult. : more slender than the last, nearly
smooth, tube of the smaller and more slender faintly fragrant flower 4' long,
the border white tinged with rose ; stamens and style much protruding.
284 GO08EFOOT FAMILY.
92. PHYTOLACCACE-aE, POKEWEED FAMILY.
A small family, represented here only by a single species of the
principal genus,
1. PHYTOLACCA. POKE or POKEWEED. (A mongrel name, of
the Greek word for plant prefixed to the French lac, lake, alluding to the
crimson coloring-matter of the berries.) Calyx of 5 rounded petal-like white
sepals. Stamens 5 - 30. Ovary of several celb and lobes, bearing as many
short styles, in fruit a depressed juicy berry, containing a ring of vertical
seeds ; these formed on the plan of those of the next family. ^£
P. decandra, COMMON P. or SCORE, GARGET, &c. Coarse smooth
weed of low grounds, with large acrid-poisonous root, stout stems 6° -9° high,
alternate ovate-oblong leaves on long petioles, and racemes becoming lateral
opposite a leaf, in summer, ripening the dark crimson purple berries in autumn ;
stamens, styles, and seeds 10.
93. CHENOPODIACE^I, GOOSEFOOT FAMILY.
Represented chiefly by homely herbs, with inconspicuous green-
ish flowers ; the 1-celled ovary has a single ovule and ripens into
an akene or utricle, containing a single seed, usually with embryo
coiled more or less around mealy albumen. Leaves chiefly alter-
nate. Plants neither attractive nor easy to students ; only the
cultivated plants and commonest weeds here given.
^ 1. Cultivated for ornament, twining plant, with white flowers : calyx corolla-like.
1. BOUSS1NGAULTIA. Flowers in slender spikes from the axils of the leaves,
perfect. Calyx 6-parted. spreading, and with one or two exterior sepals or
bracts. Stamens 6. with slender filaments. Style slender: stigmas 3, club-
shaped. Fruit a thin akene, pointed with the persistent style.
$ 2. Cultivated for food, from Eu. : flowers greenish, as is usual in the family.
2. BETA. Flowers perfect, clustered, with 3 bracts and a 5-cleft calyx becoming
indurated in fruit, enclosing the hard akene, the bases of the two coherent.
Stamens 5. Style short: stigmas mostly 2. Seed horizontal.
3. SPINACIA. Flowers dioecious, in axillary close clusters ; the staminate ones
racemed or spiked, consisting of a 4 - 5-lobed calyx and as many stamens.
Pistillate flowers with a tubular calyx which is 2-3-toothed at the apex and
2-3-horned on the sides, hardening and enclosing the akene. Styles 4.
Seed vertical.
§ 3. Weeds of cultivation, or of roadsides, fields, $c. Flowers perfect, bractless.
4. BLITUM. Flowers in close axillary clusters or heads, which are sometimes
confluent into interrupted spikes* Calyx 2-5-parted, becoming fleshy or
berry-like in fruit in the genuine species. Stamens 1-5. Styles or stigmas
2. Seed vertical in the calyx.
6. CHENOPODIUM. Flowers in small clusters collected in spiked or sometimes
open panicles. Calyx mostly 5-cleft, not succulent in fruit. Ovary and
utricle depressed. (Lessons, p. 130, fig. 297.) Styles 2, rarely 3. Seed
horizontal, or in a few species occasionally vertical.
The following also are common species along the coast or near salt-water : —
Atriplex patula, and one or two other species of ORACUE : most like
Spinacia, but scurfy or mealy.
Salicornia herbacea, and two other species of GLASSWORT : low, leaf-
less, fleshy, jointed, branching plants, with the flowers sunken in the fleshy
spikes.
Suseda maritima, SEA ELITE : with branching stems, and small flowers
in the axils of linear nearly terete fleshy leaves.
Salsola Kali, SALTWORT : bushy-branching annual, with awl-shaped
GOOSEFOOT FAMILY. 285
prickly pointed leaves, and flesh-colored horizontal wings on the back of the
fruiting calyx, making a circular broad border.
1. BOTJSSINGAULTIA. (Named for the traveller and agricultural
chemist, Boussinyault.)
B. baselloides, of South America : high twining plant, in cultivation her-
baceous, from oblong tubers resembling small potatoes : smooth, with some-
what heart-shaped succulent leaves, and slender racemes of deliciously fragrant
small flowers in autumn. ^
2. BETA, BEET. (Latin name.) One species in cultivation, viz. : —
B. Vtllgaris, COMMON BEET, from S. Eu. : cult in many varieties, with
ovate-oblong smooth often wavy-margined leaves, sometimes piirple-tinged ;
flower-clusters spiked ; root conical or spindle-shaped. MANGEL WURTZEL or
SCARCITY-ROOT is a mere variety, the root used for feeding cattle. ©
3. SPINACIA, SPINACH. (Name from Latin for spine or thorn ; prob-
ably from the horns or projections on the fruiting-calyx which become rather
spiny in one variety. )
S. oleracea, COMMOH SPINACH, cult, from the Orient, as a pot-herb ; the
soft-fleshy leaves triangular or ovate and petioled. © ©
4. BLITUM, ELITE. (Ancient Greek and Latin name of some pot-herb
or of the Amaranth.) Fl. summer.
B. capitatum, STRAWBERRY BLITE, the flower-heads as the fruit matures
becoming bright red and juicy, like strawberries ; leaves triangular and halberd-
shaped, wavy-toothed, smooth and bright green. Dry banks, margins of woods,
£c. N., sometimes in gardens. © (I)
B. Bonus-Henricus, GOOD-KING-HENRY, cult, in some old gardens, is
between a Elite and a Goosefoot, being slightly mealy, as in the latter, and the
calyx not fleshy nor fully enclosing the fruit, but the seed is vertical ; leaves
triangular and partly halberd-shaped ; flower-clusters crowded in an interrupted
terminal spike. 11
5. CHENOPODIUM, GOOSEFOOT (which the name denotes in
Greek), PIGWEED, &c. Weeds : fl. late summer and autumn.
§ 1. Either smooth or with scurfy mealiness, insipid, never hairy nor aromatic. (f)
C. album, WHITE G. or LAMB'S-QDARTERS ; the commonest species in all
cult, ground : pale, more or less mealy, with leaves varying from rhombic-ovate
to lanceolate, either angled- toothed or entire, and flower-clusters in dense pani-
clcd spikes. Var. BosciANUM, wild in shady places, mostly S., has loose
branches, obscure mealiness, and smaller loosely clustered flowers.
C. urbicum, in waste grounds, is dull green, scarcely mealy, the triangular
leaves coarsely and sharply many-toothed, flower-clusters in dense panicled
spikes, and seed with rounded margins.
C. hybridum, MAPLE-LEAVED G. Waste grounds, unpleasantly scented
like Stramonium, bright green throughout ; the widely branching stem 2° - 4°
high ; the thin large leaves triangular and heart-shaped, sinuate and angled, the
angles extended into a few taper-pointed coarse teeth ; racemes in loose and
leafless panicles ; seed sharp-edged.
§ 2. Not mealy or scurfy, but minutely glandular or pubescent, aromatic-scented:
the seed sometimes vertical. (T) @
C. Bbtrys, JERUSALEM OAK or FEATHER GERANIUM. Gardens 'and
some roadsides : low, spreading, almost clammy-pubescent, sweet-scented ;
leaves sinuatc-pinnatifid, slender-petioled ; racemes loosely corymbed.
C. ambrosioides, MEXICAN TEA, WORMSEED. Waste grounds, especi-
ally S. : rather stout, smoothish, strong-scented ; leaves oblong or lanceolate,
varying from entire to cut-pinnatifid, nearly sessile ; spikes dense, leafy or leaf-
less. This, especially the more cut-leaved var. ANTHELM^NTICUM, is used as a
vermifuge, and yields the wormseed-oil.
286 AMARANTH FAMILY.
94. AMARANTACE.ZE, AMARANTH FAMILY.
Weeds and some ornamental plants, chiefly herbs, essentially like
the foregoing family, but the flowers provided with dry and mostly
scarious crowded persistent bracts, and the fruit sometimes several-
seeded. The cultivated sorts are ornamental, like Immortelles, on
account of their colored dry bracts which do not wither.
§ 1. Leaves alternate, mostly long-petioled : anthers 1-celled.
1. AMARANTUS. Flowers monoecious or polygamous, each with 3 bracts-
Calyx of 5, or sometimes 3, 'equal erect sepals, smooth. Stamens 5, some-
times 2 or 3. Stigmas 2 or 3. Ovule solitary, on a stalk from the base of the
ovary. Fruit an utricle, 2-3-pointed at apex, usually opening all round
transversely, the upper part falling off as a lid (Lessons, p. 130, fig. 298),
discharging the seed. Flowers in axillary or terminal spiked clusters.
2. CELOSIA. Flowers perfect. Ovules and seeds numerous. Otherwise nearly
as Amarantus, but the crowded spikes imbricated with shining colored
bracts. In cultivation the spikes are often changed into broad crests.
§ 2. Leaves opposite : anthers 1-celled.
3. GOMPHRENA. Flowers perfect, chiefly in terminal round heads, crowded
with the firm colored bracts. Calyx *6-parted or of 5 .sepals. Stamens 5,
monadelphous below: filaments broad, 3-cleft at summit, the middle lobe
bearing a 1-celled anther (Lessons, p. 114, fig. 239). Utricle 1-seeded.
Achyranthes or Iresine Verschaffeltii is lately cult, for its red
foliage, a poor substitute for Coleus, except in shade, where it has clear red
stems, its ovate or roundish opposite leaves strongly veined or blotched with red,
or wholly crimson.
Iresine celosioides, a wild tall weed, with opposite leaves, and panicles
of small white-woolly flowers, is common S. W.
Acnida Cannabina, in salt-marshes along the coast, is a tall annual, like
an Amaranth, but dioecious, bracts inconspicuous, and the fleshy indehiscent
fruit 3 - 5-angled and crested.
1. AMARANTUS, AMARANTH. ( From Greek for unfading. ) Coarse
weeds of cult, and waste grounds, and one or two cultivated for ornament ••
fl. late summer. Bracts commonly awn-pointed. ©
§ 1. RED AMARANTHS, the flower-dusters or the leaves tinged with red or purple.
A. caudatUS, PRINCES' FEATHER. Cult, from India : tall, stout ; leaves
ovate, bright green ; spikes red, naked, long and slender, in a drooping panicle,
the terminal one forming a very long tail.
A. hypochondriac US. Cult, from Mexico, &c. : stout ; leaves oblong,
often reddish-tinged ; flower-clusters deep crimson-purple, short and thick, the
upper making an interrupted blunt spike.
A. paniculatUS. Coarse weed in gardens : the oblong-ovate or lance-
oblong leaves often blotched or veined with purple ; flowers in rather slender
purplish-tinged spikes collected in an erect terminal panicle.
A. melanch61icus, LOVE-LIES-BLEEDING. Cult, from China or India :
rather low ; stems and stalks red ; the ovate thin leaves dark purple or partly
green ; or, in var. TRICOLOR, greenish with red or violet and yellow variously
mixed ; sepals and stamens only 3.
§ 2. GREEN AMARANTHS, or PIGWEEDS, flowers and leaves green or greenish.
A. retroflexus, COMMON PIGWEED : erect, roughish-pubescent or smooth-
er ; spikes crowded in a stiff panicle, the awn-pointed bracts rigid.
A. spinbsus, THORNY A. Waste ground, chiefly S. : dull green leaves
with a pair of spines in their axils ; flowers small, yellowish-green, in round
axillary clusters and in a long terminal spike.
A. albus. Roadsides and streets, spreading over the ground ; with obovate
and spatulate leaves, flowers all in small clusters in their axils and covered by
rigid sharp-pointed bracts ; sepals 3 ; stamens 2 or 3.
BUCKWHEAT FAMILY. 287
2. CELOSIA, COCKSCOMB. (Name in Greek means dried, alluding to
the scarious bracts.) Fl. summer. (V)
C. cristata, COMMON C. of the gardens, from India, in various usually
monstrous forms, the showy flower-crests crimson-red, sometimes rose-colored,
yellow, or white.
8. GOMPHRENA. (Ancient name of an Amaranth.) Fl. summer.
G. globbsa, GLOBE AMARANTH or BACHELOR'S-BUTTON. Cult, from
India : low, branching, pubescent, with oblong nearly sessile leaves, and dense
round heads crimson, rose-color, or white.
95. POLYGONACE^l, BUCKWHEAT FAMILY.
Known by the alternate entire leaves having stipules in the form
of scarious or membranous sheaths at the strongly marked usually
tumid joints of the stem. Flowers mostly perfect, on jointed pedi-
cels, with green or colored 4— 6-parted usually persistent or wither-
ing calyx, 4-9 stamens on its base, 2 or 3 stigmas, 1-celled ovary
with a single ovule rising from its base (Lessons, p. 122, fig. 268),
forming an akene or nutlet. Embryo mostly on the outside of
mealy albumen, the radicle pointing to the apex of the fruit.
ERIOGONUM differs in having no obvious stipules, and the
flowers from a cup-shaped involucre. There are a few species
of the genus S. and S. W., and many near and beyond the Rocky
Mountains.
§ 1. Calyx o/*5, rarely 4, more or less petal-Wee similar sepals, vrtct after flowering.
1. POLYGONUM. Flowers in racemes, spikes, or else in the axils of the leaves.
Akene either lenticular when there are 2 stigmas, or triangular when there
are 3. Embryo curved round one side of the albumen : cotyledons narrow.
2. FAGOFYKUM" Differs from one section of Polygonuin mainly !n having an
embryo in the centre of the albumen, which is divided into 2 parts by the
very broad leaf-like cotyledons. The triangular akene longer than the calyx.
§ 2. Calyx of 6 sepals often of two sorts : styles 3.
3. RHEUM. Sepals all similar, petal-like, withering-persistent underneath the
3-\vinged fruit. Stigmas capitate or wedge-shaped. Stamens 9.
4. RUMEX. Sepals of 2 sorts; the 3 outer ones herbaceous and at length spread-
ing; the alternate inner 3 larger, somewhat colored, enlarging after flowering,
becoming veiny and dry, often bearing a grain-like tubercle on the back, and
convergent over the 3-angled akene. Stigmas a hairy tuft. Stamens 6.
1. POLYGONUM, KNOTWEED, JOINTWEED. (The name in Greek
means many-jointed. ) Chiefly weeds ; some with rather showy flowers ; the
following are the commonest : fl. late summer and autumn.
§ 1 . Flowers along the stem, nearly sessile in the axils of the almoit sessile linear or
oblong leaves, small, greenish-white : sheaths scarious, usually dejl or torn
and fringed. ©
P. aviculare, KNOT-GRASS, GOOSE-GRASS, or DOORWEED. Prostrate
or spreading and variable low weed, with pale lanceolate or oblong leaves,
commonly 5 stamens, and dull 3-sided akene enclosed in the calyx. Var.
ERECTUM, has more upright stems, and larger oblong or oval leaves.
P. ramosissimum. Chiefly W. in sandy soil : with nearly erect much-
branched and rigid striate stems 2° -4° high ; lanceolate or linear leaves taper-
ing into a petiole, and a glossy akene ; sepals 6 and stamens 6 or 3, or else
sepals 5 with 4 or 5 stamens.
288 BUCKWHEAT FAMILY.
P. tdnue. Rocky dry soil : slender, upright, with thread-like branches,
along which the upper flowers form a loose Jeafy spike ; leaves narrow linear,
acute ; akene shining.
§ 2. Flowers collected in terminal spikes or spike-like racemes, rose-purple or flesh-
color, or rarely white or greenish.
* Leaves small and thread-like or at leng/h none : the sheaths truncate, naked, rigid:
many-jointed raceme with a single flower under each bract.
P. articulatum. Sandy shores and barrens : a slender little plant, bushy-
branching, 4' -12' high; flowers rose-colored, nodding; stamens 8; akene
triangular. (T)
»* Leaves ovate, short-petioled : sheaths cylindrical, f ringed-hairy : greenish
flowers 1-3 from each bract of the long and slender spikes, unequally 4-
parted ; the 2 styles r( flexed on the lenticular akene and hooked at the tip.
P. Virginianum. Thickets : 2° -4° high, nearly smooth ; leaves rough-
ciliate, 3'- 6' long ; flower somewhat curved ; stamens 5. ^/
* * * Leaves lanceolate, oblong, or. ovate, chiefly petioled : sheaths cylindrical:
flowers several from each bract of the spike, ^-parted.
•»- Sheaths mostly with an abruptly spreading fo/iaceous border (which sometimes
falls off) : tall, 3° - 8° high, with dense cylindrical nodding spikes of rose-
colored flowers, and flat akenes.
P. orientale, PRINCES' FEATHER. Gardens and cultivated grounds, from
India : with large ovate pointed leaves, and 7 stamens.
P. Careyi. Swamps from Pennsylvania N. & E. : with lanceolate leaves,
glandular bristly peduncles, and 5 stamens.
•*- •*- Sheaths truncate, without a border.
+* Herbage and flowers not acrid nor punctate with pellucid glands or dots.
= In moist soil : leaves lanceolate : plants nearly smooth. (T)
P. incarnktum. Tall, 3° - 6° high ; leaves tapering from near the base
to a narrow point (4' - 12' long) ; sheaths smooth and naked ; peduncles rough
with scattered sessile glands ; spikes linear, nodding ; flowers flesh-color or pale
rose ; the 6 stamens and 2 styles included ; akene flat with concave sides.
P. Pennsylyanicum. Stems l°-3° high, the branches above and pe-
duncles bristly with stalked glands ; sheaths naked ; spikes oblong, thick and
blunt, erect ; flowers rose-purple ; stamens 8, a little protruding ; style 2-cleft ;
akene with flat sides.
P. Persicaria, LADY'S THUMB. Nat from Eu. near dwellings, about
1 ° high : upper face of leaves with a dark blotch near the middle ; sheaths
somewhat bristly-ciliate ; spikes oblong, dense, erect, on naked peduncles ;
flowers greenish-purple; stamens mostly 6; style 2-3-cleft; akene either
flattish or triangular.
= = In water : stems rooting below. 2J.
P. amphibium. WATER P. Chiefly N. : stems often simple bearing a
single ovate or oblong dense spike or head of pretty large and showy rose-red
flowers ; leaves oblong, heart-oblong, lance-ovate or lanceolate, mostly long-
petioled, often floating ; sheaths not fringed ; stamens 5 ; style 2-cleft.
P. hydropiperoides. Commonest S. : stems slender, rising out of
shallow water l°-3° high ; leaves narrowly lanceolate or lance-oblong ; sheaths
hairy and fringed with long bristles ; spikes erect, slender ; flowers small, pale
or white ; stamens 8 ; style 3-cleft ; akene sharply triangular.
•*•«• •»•+ Herbage (smooth) pungentiy acrid: leaves and pale sepals marked with
pellucid dots or glands, in which the acrid quality resides : sheaths fringed
with bristles.
P. acre, WATER SMART-WEED. Shallow water or wet soil : stems rooting
at the decumbent base, rising 2° -4° high; leaves lanceolate or linear, taper-
pointed ; spikes slender, erect ; flowers whitish or pale flesh-color ; stamens 8 ;
akene sharply triangular, shining. ^
BUCKWHEAT FAMILY. 289
0
P. Hydr6piper, COMMON S. or WATER PEPPER. Low or wet grounds
N. : l°-2° high; leaves oblong-lanceolate; spikes nodding, mostly short;
flowers greenish-white ; stamens 6 ; akene either flat or obtusely triangular. (T)
# * * * Leaves heart-shaped or arrow-shaped, petioled : sheatlis half-cylindrical.
•»- TEAR-THUMB. Stems with spreading brandies, the angles and petioles armed
with sharp reftexed prickles, by which the plant is enub'ed almost to climb :
flowers in pedunded heads or short racemes, white or flesh-color. (I)
P. arif61ium. Low grounds : leaves halberd-shaped, long-petioled ; the
peduncles glandular-bristly ; stamens 6 ; styles 2 ; akene lenticular.
P. sagittatum. Low grounds : leaves arrow-shaped, short-petioled ; the
peduncles naked ; stamens mostly 8 ; styles 3 ; akene sharply 5-angled.
•»- •«- BLACK BINDWEED. ' Stems twining, not prickly : flowers whitish, in loose
panidt-d racemes : three outermost of the 5 divisions of the cayx keei^d or
crested, at least in fruit : stamens 8 : sty,'es3 : akents triangular.
P. Conv61vulus. Low twining or spreading weed from Eu., in culti-
vated fields, &c. : smoothish, with heart-shaped and almost halberd-shaped
leaves, and very small flowers. (T)
P. cilinode. Rocky shady places : tall-twining, rather downy, a ring of
reflexed bristles at the joints ; leaves angled-heart-shaped ; outer sepals hardly
keeled. ^
P. dumet6mm, CLIMBING FALSE BUCKWHEAT. Moist thickets : tall-
twining, smooth ; joints naked ; leaves heart-shaped or approaching halberd-
shaped ; panicles leafy ; outer sepals strongly keeled and in fruit irregularly
winged. 2/
2. FAGOP^RUM, BUCKWHEAT. (The botanical name, from the
Greek, and the popular name, from the German, both denote Beech-wheat, the
grain resembling a diminutive beech-nut. ) Cult, from N. Asia, for the flour
of its grain : fl. summer. (T)
F. escul6ntum, COMMON B. Nearly smooth ; leaves triangular-heart-
shaped inclining to halberd-shaped or arrow-shaped, ou long-petioles ; sheaths
half-cylindrical ; flowers white or nearly so in corymbose panicles ; stamens 8,
witli as many honey-bearing glands interposed ; styles 3 ; acutely triangular
akene large.
F. tartaricum, TARTARY or INDIAN WHEAT. Cult, for flour on our
N. E. frontiers and N. : like the other, but flowers smaller and tinged with
yellowish ; grain half the size, with its less acute angles wavy.
3. RHEUM, RHUBARB. (Name said to come from the Greek, and to
refer to the purgative properties of the root ; that of several species, of N.
Asia, yield officinal rhubarb. ) 2/
R. Rhaponticum, GARDEN R. or PIE-PLANT ; the large fleshy stalks of
the ample rounded leaves, filled with pleasantly acid juice, cooked in spring as
a substitute for fruit ; flowers white, in late spring.
4. RUMEX, DOCK, SORREL. (Old Latin name.) The three enlarged
sepals which cover the fruit are called valves. Flowers greenish, in whorls
on the branches, forming panicled racemes or interrupted spikes.
§ 1. DOCK. Herbage bitter: flowers perfect or partly monoecious, in summer.
# In marshes : stem erect, stout : leaves lanceolate or lf Cypress and Arbor Vitve.
J. Virginiana, RED CEDAR or SAVIN. A familiar shrub and small or
large tree, with most durable and valuable reddish odorous wood ; the small
fruit dark with a white bloom, erect on the short supporting branchlet.
J. Sabina, var. procumbens. Rocky banks, trailing over the ground
along our northern borders, with the scale-shaped leaves less acute, and the
fruit nodding on the short peduncle-like recurved branchlet.
§ 2. Leaves all of one sort, in wltorls of '3, jointed with the stem, linear with an awl-
shaped pricldj point, the midrib prominent, also the rib-like margins.
J. COmmtmis, COMMON JUNIPER. Erect or spreading shrub ; with very
shar|>-pointed leaves green below and white on the upper face ; berries large and
smooth. The wild, low, much spreading variety is common N. in sterile or
rocky ground. Var. HIBERNICA, very erect tree-like shrub, forming a narrow
column, is most planted for ornament, from Eu.
11. TAXUS, YEW. (Classical name, from the Greek for a bow, the tough
wood was chosen for bows.) Fl. early spring
T. baccata, EUROPEAN YEW. Low tree, with thick upright trunk, spread-
ing short branches, and pointed dark green leaves about 1' long; when planted
in this country forms only a shrub.
Var. fastigiata, IRISH YEW; a singular form, making a narrow column,
the branches appressed ; the leaves shorter, broader, and scarcely in two ranks.
Var. Canad^nsis, AMERICAN YEW or GROUND HEMLOCK ; shady cold
banks and woods N. ; the stems spreading over the ground.
12. TORRE YA. ( Named for our Dr. John Torrey. ) Flowers in spring.
T. taxifolia. Woods in Florida : a handsome tree, but with the wood and
foliage ill-scented ; leaves like those of Yew but longer and tapering to a sharp
point : hardy as a shrub as far north as New York. — T. CALIFORNICA, is the
CALIFORNIA^ NUTMEG-TREE. T. NUC/FERA, from Japan, is another species.
13. SALISBURIA, GINKGO-TREE. (Named for/?. A. Salisbury.)
S. adiantif61ia (the name denotes the likeness of the leaves to those of
the Maidenhair Fern) , a most singular tree, planted from Japan, hardy even
N. ; branches spreading ; the fan-shaped alternate leaves with their slender
stalks, 3 'or 4 long
316 PINE FAMILY.
CLASS II. MONOCOTYLEDONOUS or ENDOGENOUS
PLANTS : Distinguished by having the woody matter of the
stem in distinct bundles scattered without obvious order
throughout its whole breadth, never so arranged as all to
come in a circle, when abundant enough to form proper
wood as in Palms and the like, this is hardest and the
bundles most crowded toward the circumference. Embryo
with a single cotyledon ; the first leaves in germination
alternate. Leaves mostly, but not always, parallel-veined.
Parts of the flower almost always in threes, never in fives.
See Lessons, p. 117, and for style of vegetation, p. 19, fig. 47.
The plants of this class may be arranged under three gen-
erally well-marked divisions.
I. SPADICEOUS DIVISION. Flowers either naked, i. e.
destitute of calyx and corolla, or these if present, not brightly
colored, collected in the sort of spike called a spadix, which is
embraced or subtended by the kind of developing bract termed a
spatlie. The most familiar examples of this division are offered
by the Arum Family. To it also belong on one hand the Palms,
on the other the Pond weeds — here merely mentioned, as follows : —
Sabal Palmetto, CABBAGE PALMETTO, of the sandy coast from N. Car-
olina S., our only tree of the class, with
S. serrulata, SAW PALMETTO, of the Southern coast, the trunk of which
creeps on the ground, and the short petioles are spiny-margined, whence the
popular name,
S. Adansonii, DWARF PALMETTO, the leaves of which, rising from a
stem underground, are smooth-edged, and
Chamserops Etystrix, BLUE PALMETTO of S. Carolina, &c., with erect
or creeping trunks only "2° -3° long, and pale or glaucous leaves 3° -4° high ;
— these represent with us the PALM FAMILY.
Potamog6ton natans, and other species of POXDWEED abound in
ponds and streams, and represent the NAIADACE^ or PONDWEED FAMILY, —
plants of various forms but of little interest — in fresh water.
Zost^ra marina, GRASS- WRACK or EEL-GRASS of salt water, Avith its
long ribbon-like bright green leaves, and flowers hidden in their upper sheaths,
represents the same family in shallow bays of the ocean.
L6mna polyrhiza, DUCKWEED, consisting of little green grains, about
£'-£' long, floating on stagnant water, producing a tuft of hanging roots from
their lower face, never here found in blossom,
L. minor, still smaller and with only a single root, — and the less common
L. trisillca, which is oblong-lanceolate from a stalk-like base, — all propa-
gating freely by budding from ihe side and sepai'ating, — are greatly simplified
little plants representing the LEMXACE/E or DUCKWEED FAMILY, their mi-
nute flower rarely seen. See Manual ; also Structural Botany, p. 70, fig. 102.
ARUM FAMILY. 317
112. ARACE^E, ARUM FAMILY.
Plants with pungent or acrid watery juice, leaves mostly with
veins reticulated so as to resemble those of the tirst class, flowers
in the fleshy head or spike called a spadix, usually furnished with
the colored or peculiar enveloping bract called a spathe.
There are several stove-plants of the family now rather common
in choice collections, mostly species and varieties of CALADIUM, cul-
tivated for their colored and variegated foliage.
§ 1. Leaves with expanded blade, and with spreading nerves or veins, never linear.
* Flowers wholly destitute of calyx and corolla.
1. ARISyEMA. Leaves compound, only one or two, with stalks sheathing the
simple stem, which rises from a fleshy corm, and terminates in a long spadix
bearing flowers only at its base, where it is enveloped by the convolute lower
part ot the greenish or purplish spathe. Sterile flowers above the fertile,
each of a few sessile anthers; the fertile each a 1-celled 5-6-ovuled ovary,
in fruit becoming a scarlet berry: commonly dioecious, the stamens being
abortive in one plant, the pistils abortive in the other.
2. COLOCASIA. Leaves simple, peltate, and with a notch at the base. Spathe
convolute, yellowish, much longer than the spadix: the latter covered with
ovaries at base, above with some abortive rudiments, still higher crowded
with numerous 6-8-celled sessile anthers, and the pointed summit naked.
3. PELTANDRA. Leaves arrow-shaped; these and the scape from a tufted
fibrous root. Spathe convolute to the pointed apex, green, wavy-margined.
Spadix long and tapering, covered completely with flowers, i. e. above with
naked shield-shaped anthers each of 5 or 6 cells, opening by a hole at the
top, below with one-celled ovaries bearing several erect ovules, in fruit a
1-3-seeded fleshy bag. Seeds obovate, surrounded by a tenacious jelly.
4. RICHAKDIA. Leaves arrow-shaped ; these and the long scape from a' short
tuberous rootstock. Spathe broad, spreading above, bright white, convolute
at base around the slender cylindrical spadix, which is densely covered above
with yellow anthers, below with ovaries, each incompletely 3-celled, and con-
taining several hanging ovules.
5. CALL A. Leaves heart-shaped, on long petioles; these and the peduncles from
a creeping rootstock. Spathe open, the upper face bright white, spreading
widely at the base of the oblong spadix, which is wholly covered with
flowers; the lower ones perfect, having 6 stamens around a 1-celled ovary;
the upper often of stamens only. Berries red, containing a few oblong seeds,
surrounded with jelly.
* * Flowers with a perianth, perfect, covering the whole spadix.
6. SYMPLOCARPUS. Leaves ovate, very large and veiny, short-petioled, ap-
pearing much later than the flowers 'from a fibrous-rooted corm or short
rootstock. Spathe shell-shaped, ovate, incurved, thick, barely raised out of
ground, enclosing the globular spadix, in which the flowers are as it were
nearly immersed. Each flower has 4 hooded sepals, 4 stamens with 2-celled
anthers turned outwards, and a 1-celled 1-ovuled ovary tipped with a short
awl-shaped style: the fruit is the enlarged spongy spadix under the rough
surface of which are imbedded large flesny seeds.
§ 2. Leaves linear, flag-like, nerved: spadix appearing lateral.
7. ACORUS. Spadix cylindrical, naked, emerging from the side of a 2-edged
sample scape resembling the leaves, densely covered with perfect flowers.
Sepals 6, concave. Stamens 6, with linear filaments and kidney-shaped an-
thers. Ovary 2 -3-celled, with several hanging ovules in each cell, becoming
dry in fruit, ripening only one or two small seeds.
1. ARISJEMA, INDIAN TURNIP, £c. (Name altered from Arum, to
which these plants were formerly referred.) Wild plants of rich woods, fl.
in spring, veiny-leaved, their turnip-shaped corm farinaceous, but imbued
with an intensely pungent juice, which is dissipated in drying. 2/
A. triphyllum, COMMON INDIAN* TURNIP. In rich woods; leaves mostly
2, each ot 3 oblong pointed leaflets ; stalks and spathe cither green or variegated
with Avhitish and dark-purple stripes or spots, the latter with broad or flat
Bummit incurved over the top of the club-shaped and blunt spadix.
318 CAT-TAIL FAMILY.
A. Drac6ntium, DRAOOX-ARITM, DRAGON-ROOT, or GREEX BRAGOX.
Lo\v grounds; leaf mostly solitary, its petiole l°-2° long, bearing 7-11
pedate lance-oblong pointed leaflets ; the greenish spathe wholly rolled into a
tube with a short slender point, very much shorter than the long and tapering
tail-like spathe.
2. COLOCASIA. (The ancient Greek name of the common species.) 2/
C. antiqu6rum, one variety called C. ESCULEXTA ; cult, in the hot parts
of the world for its farinaceous thick rootstocks (which arc esculent when the
acrid principle is driven off by heat, as also the leaves), and in gardens for its
magnificent foliage, the pale ovate-arrow-shaped leaves being 2° - 3° long when
well grown ; the stalk attached much below the middle, the notch not deep.
3. PELTANDRA, ARROW-ARUM. (Name of Greek words meaning
shield-shaped stamen, from the form of the anthers.) Fl. summer. 1J.
P. Virginica. Shallow water : l°-2°high; leaves pale: the fine trans-
verse nerves running from the midrib and netted with 2 or 3 longitudinal ones
near the margin ; scapes recurved in fruit ; top of the spathe and spadix
rotting off, leaving the short fleshy base firmly embracing the globular cluster
of green berries.
4. RICHARDIA. (Named for the French botanist, L. C. Richard.) H
R. Africana, the ^THIOPIAX or EGYPTIAN CALLA, of common house-
culture, but a native of the Cape of Good Hope and not a true Calla, — toa
familiar to need fuller description.
5. CALLA, WATER ARUM. (An ancient name.) Fl. early summer, y.
C. pallistris. Cold and wet bogs from Penn. N. : a low and small, rather
handsome plant ; leaves 3' -4' long ; filaments slender ; anthers 2-celled.
6. SYMPLOCARPUS, SKUNK CABBAGE. (Name of Greek words
for fruit grown together. ) 1[.
S. fOBtidus, the only species, in swamps and wet woods, mostly N. : send-
ing up, in earliest spring, its purple-tinged or striped spathe enclosing the head
of flowers, and later the large leaves, when full grown 1°- 2° long, in a cabbage-
like tuft ; the fruit 2' -3' in diameter, the hard bullet-like seeds almost £' wide,
ripe in autumn.
7. ACORUS, SWEET FLAG or CALAMUS. (Ancient name, from
the Greek, said to refer to the use as a remedy for sore eyes.) 1J.
1. A. Calamus, COMMON SWEET-FLAG : in wet grounds ; sending up the
2-edged sword-shaped leaves, 2° or more high, from the horizontal pungent
aromatic rootstock : fl. early summer.
113. TYPHACE^E, CAT-TAIL FAMILY.
Marsh herbs, or some truly aquatic, with linear and straight-
nerved erect (unless floating) long leaves, sheathing at base, and
monoecious flowers on a dry spadix, destitute of calyx and corolla;
the fruit dry and nut-like, 1 -seeded, rarely 2-seeded.
Near to this belongs PANDANUS, cult, for its foliage in some con-
servatories, with prickly toothed leaves crowded on woody stems.
1. TYPHA. Flowers indefinite, in a dense cylindrical spike terminating the long
and simple reed-like stem; the upper part of stamens only, mixed with long
hairs : the lower and thicker part of slender-stalked ovaries tapering into long or
ovate, with many somewhat plaited nerves, more or less pubescent: sac or
slipper horizontal, much inflated, open by a rather large round orijice.
•»- Sepals and linear wavy-twisted petals brownish, pointed, larger than the sac.
C. pub6scens, YELLOW LADY'S-SLIPPER. Low woods and bogs, mainly
N. : sac light yellow, higher than broad, convex above ; sepals long-lanceolate :
flowers early summer, scentless.
C. parvifl6rum, SMALLER YELLOW L. In similar situations ; stems and
leaves generally smaller, and flower about half the size of the other, somewhat
fragrant, the sac broader than high, deep yellow, and the lance-ovate sepals
browner.
C. candidum, SMALL WHITE L. Bogs and low prairies, chiefly W. :
small, barely 1° high, slightly pubescent ; sac like that of preceding but white.
•*- -«- Sepals and petals broad or roundish and fiat, white, not larger than the sac.
C. spectabile, SHOWY L., and deserving the name, in bogs and rich low
woods N., and along the mountains S. : downy, 2° or more high, with leaves
6' -8' long, white flowers with the globular lip (1^'long) painted with piak-
purple, in July.
* * Scape naked, bearing a small bract and onefloicer at summit.
•*- Wild species, with only a pair of oblong many-nerved dovmy leaves at the root.
C. acaule, STEMLESS L. Moist or sandy ground in the shade of ever-
greens: scape 8 -12' high; sepals and petals "greenish or purplish, the latter
328 BANANA FAMILY.
linear, shorter than the rose-purple oblong-obovate drooping sac, which is split
down the front but nearly closed : fl. spring.
•*- •*- East Indian species of the conservatory, with several thick and firm keeled
leaves in 2 ranks at the root : sac hanging, largely open at top.
C. insigne, has linear strap-shaped cartilaginous leaves, and yellow flower
with some greenish and purple-spotted.
C. vemistum, with more fleshy oblong-strap-shaped mottled and spotted
leaves, and purplish flower with some green and yellow.
118. SCITAMINE^l, BANANA FAMILY.
Here is assembled a group of tropical or subtropical plants, with
leaves having distinct petiole and blade, the latter traversed by
nerves running from the midrib to the margin ; flowers irregular,
with a perianth of at least two ranks of divisions, below all combined
into a tube which is adherent to the 3-celled ovary ; the stamens
1-6 and distinct. We have only two, by no means common, wild
representatives on our southeastern borders ; the cultivated ones
are chiefly grown for their ornamental foliage, and mo?t of them are
rarely seen in blossom. They may therefore be simply referred to,
as follows.
I. GINGER FAMILY. Seeds, rootstocks, or roots hot-aro-
matic. Stamen only one, with a 2-celled anther, commonly em-
bracing the style, but not united with it.
Gardner ianam, GARLAND-FLOWER, cult, from India :
stems 3° -4° high, furnished to the top with oblong 2-ranked leaves, terminating
in a large spike of handsome light-yellow flowers, a slender tube bearing 6
divisions which may be likened to those of an Orchideous flower, one (answer-
ing to the lip) much larger and broader than the 5 others, and a very long
protruding reddish filament terminated by a yellow anther sheathing the style
up almost to the stigma.
II. ARROWROOT or INDIAN-SHOT FAMILY. No hot-
aromatic properties, the thick rootstocks, &c., commonly contain
much starch, from which genuine arrowroot is produced. Stamen
only one with an anther, and that one-celled.
Thalia dealbata, wild in marshes and ponds far S., is dusted over with a
white powder, the heart-ovate long-petioled leaves all from the root, reed-like
scape branching above into panicled spikes of small much-bracted purple flowers.
Maranta zebrina, rarely flowers, but is a showy leaf-plant in conserva-
tories ; the oblong leaves 2 or 3 feet long, purple beneath, the upper surface
satiny and with alternating stripes of deep and pale green ; flowers dull purple,
inconspicuous, in a bracted head or spike near the ground on a short scape.
Canna Indica, COMMON INDIAN SHOT (so called from the hard shot-
like seeds, these several in the 3 cells of the rough-walled pod) : frequently
planted for summer flowering ; the lance-ovate or oblong pointed leaves 6' - 12'
long ; flowers several in a simple or branching spike, about 2' long, red,
varying to yellow, or variegated; stamen with petal-like filament bearing the
anther on one side, otherwise resembling the 3 divisions of an inner corolla,
these probably transformed sterile stamens. — The following, more magnificent
for summer foliage, and sometimes for flowers, are choicer sorts, but much
confused as to species.
C. Warszewiczii, 4° -5° high, with mos.tly purplish or purple-margined
pointed leaves, and crimson-red flowers.
PINE-APPLE FAMILY. 329
C. discolor, grows 6° -10° high, with broad purple-tinged very large
leaves, and crimson or red-purple flowers.
C. glauca, especially its var. ANN^T, 8° -13° high, with its glaucous
pale taper-pointed leaves, and yellow or red flowers 4' long.
C. flaccida, wild in swamps from South Carolina S. : 2°-4° high, witk
ovate-lanceolate pointed leaves, and yellow flowers 3' -4' long; all the inner
divisions obovate and wavy, lax, the 3 outer or calyx reflexed.
III. BANANA FAMILY PROPER. Not aromatic or pungent
Stamens 5 with 2-celled anthers, and an abortive naked filament.
Strelitzia Rsginse, a large stemless conservatory plant, from the Cape
of Good Hope, winter-flowering, with 2-ranked root-leaves, their long rigid
petioles bearing an ovate-oblong thick blade; scape bearing at apex an oblique
or horizontal and rigid conduplicate spathe, from which several large and
strange-looking blossoms appear in succession ; the 3 outer divisions of the peri-
anth 3' — 4' long, orange-yellow, one of them conduplicate and taper-pointed, and
somewhat like the two larger of the bright blue inner set, or true petals, which
are united and cover the stamens, the other petal inconspicuous.
Musa sapientum, BANANA ; cult, for foliage and for the well-known
fruit ; the enwrapping bases of the huge leaves forming a sort of tree-like suc-
culent stem, 10° -20° high ; the flower-stalk rising through the centre, and de-
veloping a drooping spike, the flowers clustered in the axil of its purplish
bracts; perianth of 2 concave or convolute divisions or lips, the lower 3 — 5-
lobed at the apex and enclosing the much smaller upper one ; berry oblong, by
long cultivation (from offshoots) seedless. (Lessons, p. 19, tig. 47.)
M. Cavendishii. A dwarf variety, flowering at a few feet in height, is
the more manageable one, principally cultivated for fruiting.
119. BROMELIACE^J, PINE-APPLE FAMILY.
Tropical or subtropical plants, the greater part epiphytes, with
dry or fleshy, mostly rigid, smooth or scurfy leaves, often prickly
edged, and perfect flowers with 6 stamens. — represented by several
species of TillamUia in Florida, a small one further north, and sev-
eral of various genera in choice conservatories, not here noticed.
Ananassa sativa, PINE-APPLE ; cult, for its fruit, the flowers abortive,
and sometimes for foliage, especially a striped-leaved variety.
Tillandsia usneoides, the LONG Moss or BLACK Moss (so called),
hanging from trees in the low country from the Dismal Swamp S. : gray-
scurfy, with thread-shaped branching stems, linear-awl-shaped recurved leaves,
and small sessile green flowers ; the ovary free, forming a narrow 3-valved pod,
filled with club-shaped hairy-stalked seeds : fl. summer.
120. AMARYLLIDACE^I, AMARYLLIS FAMILY.
Chiefly perennial herbs, with leaves and scape from a bulb, conn,
&c., the leaves nerved from the base, and rarely with any distinction
of blade and petiole ; the perianth regular or but moderately
irregular and colored, its tube adherent to the surface of the 3-celled
ovary ; and G stamens with good anthers. Bulbs acrid, some of
them poisonous. To this family belong many of the choicer bulbs
of house-culture, only the commonest here noticed.
§ 1. Scape and linear hairy leaves from a little solid bulb or corm.
1. HYPOXYS. Perianth 6-parted nearly to the ovary, spreading, greenish out-
side, yellow within, persistent and withering on the pod.
S & F— 25
330 AMARYLLIS FAMILY.
§ 2. Scape and mostly smooth leaves from a coated bulb.
* A cup-shaped, funnel-shaped, or saucer-shaped crown on the throat of the perianth.
2. NARCISSUS. Perianth with a more or less cylindrical tube, 6 equal widely
spreading divisions, and stamens of unequal length included in the cup or
crown. Scape with one or more flowers, from a scarious 1-leaved spathe.
3. PANCRATIUM. Perianth with a slender tube, 6 long and narrow divisions,
and a cup to which the long filaments adhere below, and from the edge of
which they project. Anthers linear, fixed by the middle. Scape bearing a
few flowers in a cluster, surrounded by some leaf-like or scarious bracts.
* * No cup nor crown to the flower, or only minute scales sometimes in the
H- filaments borne on the tube of the flower : anthers Jixed by the middle, versatile :
spathe of 1 or 2 scales or bracts.
4. CRINUM. Perianth with a slender long tube and 6 mostly long and narrow
spreading or recurved divisions. Stamens long. Scape solid, bearing few or
many flowers, in an umbel-like head. Bulb often columnar and rising as if
into a sort of stem. Leaves in several ranks.
6. AMARYLLIS. Perianth various; the divisions oblong or lanceolate. Scape
bearing one or more flowers. Leaves mostly 2-rankeu.
•«- -»- Filaments on the ovary at the base of the G-parted perianth: anthers erect, not
versatile : spathe a bract opening on one side.
6. GALANTHUS. Scape with usually a single small flower on a nodding pedicel.
Perianth of 6 oblong separate concave pieces; the three inner shorter, less
spreading, and notched at the end. Anthers and style pointed.
7. LEUCOIUM. Scape bearing 1-7 flowers on nodding pedicels. Perianth of
6 nearly separate oval divisions, all alike. Anthers blunt. Style thickish
upwards.
§ 2. Stems leafy, or scape beset with bracts, from a tuberous rootstocJc or crown.
8. ALSTRCEMERIA. Stems slender and weak or disposed to climb, leafy to the
top, the thin lanceolate or linear leaves commonly twisting or turning over.
Flowers in a terminal umbel. Perianth 6-parted nearly or quite to the ovary,
rather bell-shaped, often irregular as if somewhat 2-lipped. Stamens more or
less declined. Style slender: stigma 3-cleft.
9. POLIANTHES. Stem erect and simple from a thick tuber, bearing long-linear
channelled leaves, and a spike of white flowers. Perianth with a cylindrical
and somewhat funnel-shaped slightly curved tube, and 6 about equal spread-
ing lobes. Stamens included in the tube : anthers erect. The summit of the
ovary and pod free from the calyx-tube; in this and other respects it ap-
proaches the Lily Family.
10. AGAVE. Leaves thick and fleshy with a hard rind and a commonly spiny
margin, tufted on the crown, which produces thick fibrous roots, and suckers
and offsets; in flowering sends up a bracted scape, bearing a spike or panicle
of yellowish flowers. Perianth tubular-funnel-shaped, persistent, with 6 nar-
row almost equal divisions. Stamens projecting: anthers linear, versatile.
Pod containing numerous flat seeds.
1. HYPOXYS, STAR-GRASS. (Name from the Greek, means acute at
the base ; the pod is often so. )
H. er^Cta, the common species, in grass; with few-flowered scape 3' -8'
high, and leaves at length longer ; yellow star-like flower over ^' broad.
2. NARCISSUS. (Greek name, that of the young man in the mythology
who is said to have been changed into this flower.) Most of them are per-
fectly hardy : fl. spring.
N. po6ticus, POET'S N. Leaves nearly flat ; scape 1-flowered ; crown of
the white flower edged with pink, hardly at all projecting from the yellowish
throat : in full double-flowered varieties the crown disappears.
N. biflbrus, TWO-FLOWERED N., or PRIMROSE PEERLESS of the old
gardeners, has two white or pale straw-colored flowers, and the crown in the
form of a short yellow cup.
N. poly&nthos is the parent of the choicer sorts of POLYANTHUS N. ;
flowers numerous, white, the cup also white.
AMARYLLIS FAMILY. 331
N. Taz6tta, POLYANTHUS N. Leaves as of the preceding linear and
nearly flat, glaucous ; flowers numerous in an umbel, yellow or sometimes
white, with the crown a golden or orange-colored cup one third or almost one
halt' the length of the divisions.
N. Jonquilla, JOXQITIL. Leaves narrow, rush-like or half-cylindrical ;
flowers 2 to 5, small, yellow, as also the short cup, very fragrant.
N. Pseudo-Narcissus, DAFFODIL. Leaves flat, and 1-flowered scape
short ; flower large, yellow, with a short and broad tube, and a large bell-shaped
cup, having a wavy-toothed or crisped margin, equalling or longer than the
divisions : common double-flowered in country gardens.
3. PANCRATIUM. (Name in Greek means all powerful: no obvious
reason for it.) Flowers large, showy, fragrant, especially at evening in
summer. Cult, at the North ; the following wild S. in wet places on and
near the coast.
P. maritimum. Glaucous ; leaves linear, erect ; scape barely flatfish ;
perianth 5' long, its green tube enlarging at summit into the funnel-shaped
12-toothed cup, to the lower part of which the spreading narrow-lanceolate
divisions of the perianth are united.
P. rotatum (or P. MKXICANUM). Leaves linear-strap-shaped, widely
spreading, bright green, 2' or more wide ; scape sharply 2-edged ; slender tube
of the perianth and its linear widely spreading divisions each about 3' long, the
latter wholly free from the short and broadly open wavy-edged cup.
4. CRINUM. (The Greek name for a Lily.) Showy conservatory plants,
chiefly from tropical regions ; one wild S.
C. amabile, from East Indies ; the huge bulb rising into a column ; leaves
becoming several feet long and 3' -5' wide; flowers numerous, 8' -10' long,
crimson-purple outside, paler or white within.
C. Americanum, wild in river swamps far S. ; much smaller, with a
globular bulb; scape l°-2° high; flower white, 6' -7' long.
5. AMARYLLIS. (Dedicated to the nymph of this name.) One wild
species S. ; many in choice cultivation, and the species mixed. The following
are the commonest types.
A. Atamasco, Ax \MASCO LILY, wild from Virginia S. in low grounds;
scape 6' -12' high, mostly shorter than the glossy leaves; flower 2' -3' long,
single from a 2-c!eft spathc, regular, funnel-form, white and pinkish ; stamens
and style declined.
A. formosissima, JACOB/EAN or ST. JAMES'S LILY, of the section
SPREKELIA : cult, from South America : scape bearing a single large and de-
clined deep crimson-red flower, with hardly any tube, and 2-lipped as it were,
three divisions recurved-spreading upwards, three turned downwards, these at
base involute around the lower part of the deflexed stamens and style.
A. Reginse, from South America ; with 2-4 large almost regular nodding
flowers, crimson-red, with hardly any tube, and the deflexed stamens curved
upwards at the end.
A. Belladonna, from the Cape of Good Hope ; has elongated bulbs, chan-
nelled narrow leaves shorter than the solid scaoe, and several almost regular
large rose-red fragrant flowers, funnel-form with very short tube, the stamens
not much declined.
A. specibsa, or VALL6TA puKPtiREA, from Cape of Good Hope ; the scar-
let-red flowers with funnel-shaped tube rather longer than the broad ovate and
nearly equal spreading divisions.
6. GALANTHUS, SNOWDROP. (Name formed of the Greek words
for milk \\vu\jlnu*r, probably from the color.) Fl. earliest spring.
G. nivalis, of Europe, sends up soon after the winter's snow leaves the
ground a pair of linear pale leaves and a scape 3' -6' high, bearing its delicate
drooping white flower, the inner divisions tipped with green : a variety is full
double.
332 IRIS FAMILY.
7. LEUC6IUM, SNOWFLAKE. (Ancient Greek name means White
Violet.) In gardens from Europe; much like Snowdrops on a larger scale,
flowering later, the scape more leafy at base, and leaves bright green.
L. V^rnum, SPRING S. Scape about 1° high, mostly 1-flowered, in spring ;
pod pear-shaped and 6-sided.
L. SBStivum, SUMMER S. Scape 2° high, bearing 3-7 rather broader
flowers in late spring or early summer ; pod rounder.
8. ALSTRCEMERIA. (Named by Linnaeus for his friend Baron Ahtrce-
mer.) Plants of the conservatory, from W. South America, of mixed species.
A. Pelegrina, LILY or THE INCAS, from Peru. Flowers few or solitary
at the end of the branches, open, rose-colored or whitish, blotched with pink
and spotted with purple, with some yellow on the inner divisions.
A. psittacina. Flowers umbelled, funnel-form in shape, the spatulate
divisions more erect and close, red, tipped with green and brown-spotted.
A. versicolor. Flowers few, terminating the drooping or spreading
branches, yellow spotted with purple.
9. POLIANTHES, TUBEROSE. (Name from Greek words for city and
flower; therefore not Polyanthes. And the popular name relates to the tuber-
ous rootstock, therefore not Tube-Rose. )
P. tuberdsa, the only species cultivated, probably originally from Mexico ;
the tall stem with long several-ranked leaves at base and shorter and sparser
ones towards the many-flowered spike (produced in autumn when planted out) ;
the blossoms very fragrant, white, or slightly tinged with rose, the choicer sorts
full-double.
10. AGAVE, AMERICAN ALOE. (Name from Greek word for wonderful.)
Plants flower only after some years, and die after maturing the fruit.
A. Virginica, of sterile soil from Virginia to 111. and S. ; has lance-oblong
denticulate and spiny-tipped leaves 6'- 12' long, and scape bearing a loose
simple spike of small flowers, 3° - 6° high.
A. Americana, of Mexico, is the common CENTURY PLANT or AMERICAN
ALOE ; with very thick spiny-toothed and spine-pointed leaves, 2° -4° long,
pale green, or a variety yellowish-striped, the scape when developed from old
plants (said to flower only after 100 years in cool climates) tree-like, bearing an
ample panicle.
121. IRIDACE^I, IRIS FAMILY.
Distinguished by the equitant erect leaves (Lessons, p. 68, fig.
133, 134), of course 2-ranked, and the 3 stamens with anthers facing
outwards. Flowers showy, colored, mostly from a spathe of two or
more leaves or bracts ; the tube of the perianth coherent with the
3-celled ovary and often prolonged beyond it, its divisions 6 in two
sets (answering to sepals and petals), each convolute in the bud.
Style 1, or rarely 3-cleft : >t;gmas 3, opposite the 3 stamens and the
outer divisions of the perianth. Fruit a 3-celled and many-seeded
pod. Stems or herbage rising from a rootstock, tuber, or solid bulb
(corm, Lessons, p. 45, fig. 71, 72) ; these are acrid, sometimes very
much so. All are perennial herbs.
§ 1. Perianth of 3 outer recurving, and 3 inner commonly smaller erect or incurving
divisions : stigmas or more properly lobes of the style petal-like.
1. IRIS. Flowers with tube either slightly or much prolonged beyond the ovary,
in the latter case coherent also with the style. Stamens under the overarch-
ing branches of the style: anthers linear or oblong, fixed by the base. The
real stigma is a shelf or short lip on the lower face of the petal-like branch
of the style, only its iuner surface stigmtitic- Pod 3 - 6-ungled.
IRIS FAMILY. 833
§ 2. Perianth parted almost to the base into 6 nearly equal uridely spreading divisions t
slamtns separate or nearly so : style, 3- Q-lobed.
2. PARDANTHUS. Foliage and aspect of an Iris with leafy branching stem,
from a rootstock. Divisions of the flower oblong with a narrow base. Fila-
ments slender, much longer than the anthers. Style long, club-shaped, its
simple branches tipped with a broad and blunt stigma. Pod pear-shaped ;
the valves falling away expose the centre covered with black berry-like
seeds.
8. NEMASTYLIS. Stem simple or sparingly branching above, from a solid bulb
like 'that of a Crocus. Divisions of the flower obovate. Filaments awl-
shaped, much shorter than the linear anthers. Style short, its 3 lobes parted
each into two, bearing long and thread-like diverging stigmas. Pod truncate.
Seeds dry, angular.
§ 3. Perianth deeply cleft or parted into 6 widely spreading divisions : stamens mon-
adeljjlimts to the tap : style long: stiymas 3 or 6, thread-like : flowers opening
in sunshine and but once for a few hours.
4. SISYRINCHIUM. Root mostly fibrous: leaves grass-like. Divisions of the
wheel-shaped flower all alike. Stigmas 3, simple.
5. TIGRIDIA. From a solid bulb with some hard brittle coating. Leaves lance-
olate, large, very much plaited. Three outer divisions of the perianth very
large and with a concave base; the other 3 very much smaller and fiddle-
shaped. Stigmas 3, each 2-cleft.
§ 4. Perianth tubular at base, the 6 divisions all more or less spreading : stamens sepa-
rate: style long : stigmas 3, more, or less dilated: flowers lasting for sectrul
days. Plants from solid bulbs or corms. (Lessons, p. 45, fig. 71, 72.)
6. GLADIOLUS. Flowers numerous in a spike, on a rather tall leafy stem
remaining open, irregular, the short-funnel-shaped tube being somewhat
curved, and the divisions more or less unequal, the flower commonly oblique
or as if somewhat 2-lipped. Stamens (inserted on the tube,) and style as-
cending. Leaves sword-shaped, strongly nerved.
7. CROCUS. Flowers and narrow linear leaves rising from the bulb, the ovary
and pod seldom raised above ground: perianth with a long and slender tube;
its oval or roundish divisions alike, or the 3 inner rather smaller, concave,
fully spreading only in sunshine. Leaves with revolute margins.
There are besides many tender plants of the family in choice collections, the
greater part confined to the conservatories, — mostly belonging to
Ixia maculata, of Cape of Good Hope, and others, once of that genus,
now called SPARAXIS, WATSOMA, &c. ; also to MONTBKETIA or TRix6NiA, &c.
Schiz6stylis COCCinea, from South Africa, lately introduced : not very
tender, with long and keeled linear leaves, and stems 3° high, bearing a spike
of bright crimson-red flowers 2' across, the ovate acnte lobes all alike and widely
spreading from a narrow tube ; the slender style deeply cleft (whence the name*)
into 3 thread-like branches.
Morsea iridoides, of the Cape; very like an Iris, as the specific name
denotes; but the 6 divisions of the perianth* all nearly alike and widely spread-
ing, white with a yellow spot on the 3 outer ones.
1. IRIS, FLOWER-DE-LUCE, BLUE FLAG. (Greek and Latin my-
thological name, and name of the rainbow.) Fl. spring and early summer.
§ 1. Wild species of the country, all with creeping rootstocks.
# Dwarf, with simple very short stems (or only leafy tuff ft). 1 -3 flowered in* ear/if
spring, from cropping and branching dendr-r rootstocks, here and there tuber-
ous-thickened: flowers violet-bine, with a long slender tube, and no beard.
I. v6ma, SLEXDER DWARF-IRIS. Wooded hillsides, from Virginia and
Kentucky S. ; with linear grassy leaves, tube of flower about the length of its
almost equal divisions, which are on slender orange-yellow claws, the outer ones
crestless.
I. cristata, CRESTED D. Along the Alleghanies, &c., sometimes cult. ;
with lanceolate leaves, or the upper ovate-lanceolate, tube of flower (2' long)
much longer than the scarcely stalked divisions, the outer ones crested; pod
sharply triangular.
334 IRIS FAMILY.
# # Taller: the several -flowered often branching stems l°-3° hifjh : tube of the
flower short: the outer divisions naked, t»ard/css, and all but one crexlless;
the inner very much smaller : fl. late spring and early summer, in swamps.
I. Virginica, SLENDER BLUE FLAG. Slender; with very narrow linear
leaves, and blue Howcrs with some white (barely 2' long), on slender peduncles,
with hardly anv tube be von d the 3-angled ovary.
I. versicolor, LARGER BLUE-FLAG. Stout ; sterri angled on one side;
leaves sword-shaped, f wide; flowers light blue variegated with some yellow,
white, and purple, hardly 3' long, the inflated tube shorter than the obtusely
3-angled ovary ; pod oblong, 3-angled.
I. hexagona. Only S. near the coast; with simple stem, narrowish long
leaves, and deep blue variegated flowers 4' long, the outer divisions crested, the
tube longer than the 6-angled ovary.
I. CUprea. Only S. and W. ; with copperish-yellow flowers 2' long, the
tube about the length of the 6-angled ovary
I. tripetala. Only S. in pine-barren swamps ; with rather short sword-
shaped glaucous leaves, and few blue flowers (2' -3' long), variegated with
yellow and purple, the inner divisions very short and wedge-shaped, the
tube shorter than the 3-angled ovary.
§ 2. Garden species from the Old World, cult, for ornament.
# A. dense heard atony the lower part of the 3 outer divisions of the flower: the
stamens in all spring from thickened rootstocks.
•t- Dwarf: flowering in early spring.
I. pdmila, DWARF GARDEN IRIS. Stem very short; the violet and pur-
ple flower close to the ground, with slender tube and obovate divisions, hardly
exceeding the short sword-shaped leaves.
••- «- Taller and larger, several-flowered, in early summer.
I. Germanica, COMMON FLOWER-DE-LUCE of the gardens, with very
large scentless flowers, the deep violet pendent outer divisions 3' long, the obo-
vate inner ones nearly as large, lighter and bluer.
I. sambucina, ELDER-SCENTED F., is taller, 3° or 4° high, and longer-
leaved ; the flowers about half as large as in the preceding, the outer divisions
less reflexed, violet, but whitish and yellowish toward the base, painted with
deeper-colored lines or veins ; upper divisions pale grayish or brownish blue ;
spathe broadly scarious-margined.
I. squalens, very like preceding, with longer dull violet outer divisions to
the flower whitish and striped at base, and purplish-buff-colored inner divisions.
I. variegata, has much smaller flowers, with spatulate-obovate divisions
2' long, white with pale yellow, the outer divisions veined with dark-purple and
purplish-tinged in the middle.
I. Florentina, FLORENCE or SWEET F. Less tall than the Common F.,
with broader leaves, and white faintly sweet-scented flowers, bluish veined, the
obovate outer divisions 2^'-3' long, with yellow beard. Its violet-scented root-
stock yields orris-root.
# # ATo beard nor crest to the flower : all but the last with rootstocks.
I. Pseudacorus, YELLOW IRIS, of wet marshes in Europe, with very long
linear leaves and bright yellow flowers, sparingly cultivated.
I. graminea, GRASS-LEAVED I., has narrow linear root-leaves 2° -3°
long and often surpassing the 1-3-flowered stem; flower purple-blue, with
narrow divisions.
I. P6rsica, PERSIAN IRIS. A choice house-plant, dwarf, nearly stemless
from a kind of bulb-like tuber, from which the flower rises on a long tube,
earlier than the leaves, delicately fragrant, bluish, with a deep-purple spot at
the tip of the outer divisions, the inner divisions very small and spreading.
2. PARDANTHUS, BLACKBERRY LILY. (Name from the Greek,
means pard-flower, alluding to the spotted perianth.) Fl. late summer.
Pardanthus Chindnsis, from China, cult, in country gardens and
escaping into roadsides : 3° - 4° high, more branching than an Iris ; the di-
visions of the orange-colored flower (!' long) mottled above with crimson spots,
YAM FAMILY. 335
the fruit, when the valves fall and expose the berry-like seeds, imitating a black-
berry, whence the common name.
3. NEMASTYLIS. (Name from the Greek, means thread-like style, ap-
plicable here to the stigmas.) Fl. spring and summer.
N. CCBlestina. Pine barrens S. : l°-2° high, with handsome but fuga-
cious bright blue flowers ; the leaves mainly from the small bulb, linear and
plaited.
4. SISYRINCHIUM, BLUE-EYED GRASS. (Name in Greek means
hog's snout, the application not apparent.) Fl. all summer.
S. Bermildiana. In all moist meadows ; the slender 2-winged stems
6' -12' high, in tufts, longer than the root-leaves, almost naked; the small
flowers in an umbel from a 2-leaved spathe, their obovate divisions bristle-tipped
from a notch, pale blue, sometimes purplish, in a VVestern variety white.
5. TIGRIDIA, TIGER-FLO WEB (as the name denotes). Fl. summer.
T. pav6nia, from Mexico, the principal species, with several varieties,
planted out for summer flowering, sends up a stem 2° high, bearing in succession
a few very large showy flowers 5' or 6' across, yellow or orange-red, the dark
centre gaudily spotted with crimson or purple.
6. GLADIOLUS, CORN-FLAG. (Name a diminutive of the Latin
word for sword, from the leaves. ) Several choice tender species in conserva-
tories ; while the hardy ones and those which bear planting out, which make
our gardens gay in late summer and autumn, are from the following :
G. communis, of Europe, is the old-fashioned hardy species, with rather
few rose-red (rarely white) flowers ; the filaments longer than the anthers.
G. Byzantinus, of the Levant, is larger in all its parts, with more flowers
in the spike and more showy ; filaments shorter than the linear anthers.
G. blandus, of the Cape of Good Hope, is the parent of many of the
tender white or pale rose-colored varieties.
G. cardinalis, of the Cape, also tender, has large scarlet-red flowers,
often white along the centre of its 3 lower divisions.
G. psittacinus, of the Cape, is a tall and robust species, its numerous
large flowers with very broad divisions, dull yellow, mixed or bordered with
scarlet. This is the parent of G. GANDAVEXSIS, now universally cultivated,
and from which so many fine sub-varieties have been produced, with scarlet, red
and yellow, orange, and other colors.
7. CROCUS. (The Greek name of Saffron.) Cult, from the Old World.
C. V^rnus, SPRING CROCUS ; with violet, purple, white or mixed colored
flowers, the broad divisions rarely expanded, and short dilated stigmas with
jagged margins.
C. luteus and C. Susianus, YELLOW CROCUS, with yellow or orange
flowers, and opening wider, are mere varieties of the first.
C. sativus, FALL CROCUS, with violet purple and fragrant flowers, in
autumn, is rarely seen here. Its long and narrow orange-red stigmas are
saffron.
122. DIOSCOREACE^I, YAM FAMILY.
Twining plants, from tubers or thick rootstocks or roots, having
ribbed and netted-veined petioled leaves more or less imitating those
of Exogens, and small greenish or whitish dioecious flowers, with
the tube of the perianth in the fertile ones adhering to the 3-celled
ovary ; its 6 divisions regular and parted to near the base or to the
ovary. Styles 3, distinct or nearly so. Ovules and seeds 1 or 2 in
each cell.
336 SMILAX FAMILY.
.Tamils elephantipes, or TESTUDINA.RIA ELAPHAHTIPES, of the Cape
of Good Hope, is a curiosity in conservatories ; the globular or hemispherical
trunk, resting on the ground, covered with very thick bark soon cracked into
separate portions, and resembling the back of a tortoise ; out of it spring every
year slender twining stems, bearing rounded heart-shaped or kidney-shaped leaves.
1. DIOSCOREA, YAM. (Named for Dioscorides.) Flowers in axillary
panicles or racemes : stamens 6 in the sterile ones, separate. Fertile ones
producing a 3-celled 3-winged pod, when ripe splitting through the wings.
Fl. summer. 11
D. Vill6sa, WILD YAM : sends up from a knotty rootstock its slender
stems, bearing heart-shaped pointed leaves, either alternate, opposite, or some
in fours, 9-11-ribbed and with prominent cross-veinlets. In thickets, com-
moner S. : slightly downy, or usually almost smooth, so that the specific name
is not a good one
D. Batatas (orD. JAPONICA of some), CHINESE YAM: cult, from China
and Japan, for ornament, or for its very deep and long farinaceous roots, —
a substitute for potatoes, if one could only dig them ; with very smooth heart-
shaped partly halberd-shaped opposite leaves, and produces bulblets in the axils.
D. sativa, TRUE YAM, with great thick roots, is only of hot climates.
123. SMILACE^l, SMILAX FAMILY.
Chiefly woody-stemmed plants, a few herbaceous, climbing or
supported by a pair of tendrils on the sides of the petiole, having
ribbed and netted-veined leaves and small dioecious flowers, as in the
foregoing ; but the ovary is free from the perianth, bears mostly 3
long and diverging sessile stigmas, and in fruit is a berry ; the an-
thers are only 1-celled, opening by one longitudinal slit (the division
of the cell, if any, corresponding with the slit). Consists of the genus
1. SMILAX, GREENBRIER, CATBRIER, or CHINA-BRIER. (An-
cient Greek name.) All wild species, in thickets and low grounds ; flowers
small, greenish, in clusters on axillary peduncles, in summer, or several of
the Southern prickly ones in spring.
§ 1 . Stems woody, often prickly : ovules and seeds only one in each cell.
* Smooth, and the leaves often glossy, 5-9-ribbed: stigmas and cells of ovary 3.
-»— Berries red: peduncles short: leaves 5-ribbed: prickles hardly any.
S. lanceolata, from Virginia S. : climbs high ; leaves evergreen, lance-
ovate or lanceolate, acute at both ends; rootstock tuberous.
S. Walter!, from New Jersey S. : 6° high ; leaves deciduous, ovate or
lance-oval, roundish or slightly heart-shaped ; peduncles flat; rootstock creeping.
H- Beiries black, often with a bloom : leaves mostly roundish or somewhat heart-
shaped at base : peduncles almost ahcaysfiat.
S. rotundifblia, COMMON GRREXBRIKR. Yellowish-green, often high-
climbing; branchlets more or less square, armed with scattered prickles ; leaves
ovate or round-ovate, thickish, green both sides, 2' -3' long; peduncles few-
flowered, not longer than the petioles.
S. glauca. Mostly H. of New York : like the preceding, but less prickly,
the ovate leaves glaucous beneath and seldom at all heart-shaped, smooth edged,
and peduncles longer than petiole.
S. tamnoides. New Jersey to 111. and S. : differs from preceding in the
leaves varying from round heart-shaped to fiddle-shaped and halberd-shaped,
green both sides, pointed, and the edges often sparsely bristly.
S. Pseudo-China, CHIXA-BRIER; from New Jersey and Kentucky S. :
rootstock tuberous ; prickles none or rare ; leaves ovate and heart-shaped, green
both sides, often contracted in the middle, and rough-ciliate, 3' -5' long; flat
peduncles 2' -3' long.
LILY FAMILY. 337
S. hlspida. Only from Penn. N. : rootstock long ; stem high-climbing,
below beset with long and dark bristly prickles; leaves ovate and heart-shaped,
green both sides, thin, 4' -5' long; flat peduncles l£'-2 long; flowers larger
than in the Common Greenbrier.
* * Downy or smooth : stigma, cell of the ovary, and seed only one !
S. pumila. Sandy soil S. : rising only 1° -3° high, not prickly, soft-downy,
with ovate or oblong and heart-shaped 5-ribbed evergreen leaves, when old
smooth above ; peduncles twice as long as petioles, densely-flowered ; berries
whitish.
S. laurifdlia. From pine-barrens of New Jersey S. : very smooth, high-
climbing, stem with some prickles ; leaves thick, evergreen, glossv, varying
from ovate to lanceolate, 3-nerved ; peduncles not exceeding the petiole and
pedicels; berries black.
§ 2. Stems herbaceous, ne^er prickfi/, smooth : leaves long petioled, thin : otmles
and seeds usually a pair in tach cell: berries blue-black ivilh a bloom.
S. herbacea, CARRIOV FLOWER (the scent of the blossoms justifies the
name) : common in moist ground ; erect and recurving, often without tendrils,
or low-climbing, very variable in size, generally smooth ; leaves ovate-oblong
or roundish and mostlv heart-shaped, 7 — 9-nerved ; peduncles sometimes short,
generally 3' -4' or even 6' -8' long, even much surpassing the leaves, 20-40-
flowered.
S. tamnifolia. Pine barrens from New Jersey S. : differs in its heart-
shaped and some halberd-shaped only 5-nerved leaves ; peduncles rather longer
than the petioles, and berry fewer-seeded.
124. LILIACE^I, LILY FAMILY.
Large family, known as a whole by its regular symmetrical flow-
ers, with perianth of 6 (in one instance of 4) parts, as many stamens
with 2-celled anthers, and a free 3-celled (rarely 2-celled) ovary.
Perianth either partly or wholly colored, or greenish, but not glu-
maceous. Flowers not from a spathe, except in Allium, &c.
Chiefly herbs, with entire leaves; all perennials. The great groups
comprised are the following.
I. TRILLIUM FAMILY; with netted-veined leaves all in one
or two whorls on an otherwise naked stem, which rises from a fleshy
rootstock : styles or sessile stigmas 3, separate down to the ovary.
Fruit a berry.
1. TRILLIUM. Perianth of 3 green persistent sepals, and 3 colored petals; the
latter at length withering away after flowering, but not deciduous. Anthers
linear, adnate, on short filaments, looking inwards. Awl-shaped styles or stig-
mas persistent. Ovary 3 - 6-angled. Berry purple or red, ovate, many-seeded.
2. MEDEOLA. Perianth of 6 oblong and distinct nearly similar pieces, recurved,
deciduous. Anthers oblong, shorter than the slender filaments. Stigmas or
styles long and diverging or recurved on the globular ovary, deciduous.
Berry dark-purple, few-seeded.
II. MELANTHIUM FAMILY; with alternate and parallel-
veined leaves ; stem simple, at least up to the panicles ; and flowers
often polygamous, sometimes dioscious ; styles or sessile stigmas 3,
separate down to the ovary. Fruit a pod. Anthers almost always
turned outwards. Perianth withering or persisting, not deciduous,
the 6 parts generally alike. Mostly acrid or poisonous plants, some
used in medicine.
22
338 LILT FAMILY.
§ 1. Siemless : the large flower with a long tube rising directly from a thin-coaled
solid bulb or corm: anthers 2-celled.
3. COLCHICUM. Perianth resembling that of a Crocus. Stamens borne on the
throat of the long-tubular perianth. Styles very long.
§ 2. Perianth without any tube, of 6 distinct or almost separate divisions.
* Anthers 2-celled, short: Jlowers in a simple raceme or spike : pod loculicidaL
4. CHAMJSLIRIUM. Flowers dioecious or mostly so. Perianth of 6 small and
narrow white pieces. Pod ovoid-oblong, many-seeded. Spike or raceme
slender.
5. HELONIAS. Flowers perfect, in a short dense raceme, lilac-purple, turning
green in fruit; the divisions spatulate-oblong, spreading. Filaments slender:
anthers blue. Pod 3-lobed; cells many-seeded.
6. XEROPHYLLUM. Flowers perfect, in a compact raceme, white; the divisions
oval, sessile, widely spreading, naked. Filaments awl-shaped. Pod globular,
3-lobed, with 2 wingless seeds in each cell.
* # Anthers kidney-shaped or round heart-shaped, the two cells confluent into one,
thidd-shajjttt after opening : styles awl-shaped : pod Z-horntd, septicidal: seeds
commonly Jiat or thin-margined.
?. AMIANTHIUM. Flowers perfect, mostly in a simple raceme. Perianth white,
the oval or obovate spreading divisions without claws or spots. Filaments
long and slender. Seeds wingless, 1 -4 in each cell. Leaves chiefly from the
bulbous base of the scape-like stem; linear, keeled, grass-like.
8. STENANTHIUM. Flowers polygamous, in panicled racemes on a leafy stem.
Perianth white, with spreading and not spotted lanceolate divisions tapering
to a narrow point from a broader base, which coheres with the base of the
ovary. Stamens very short. Seeds several, wingless. Leaves linear, keeled,
grass-like.
9. VERATRUM. Flowers polygamous, in pnnicled racemes. Perianth greenish
or brownish, its obovate-oblong divisions narrowed at base, free from the
ovary, not spotted. Filaments short. Seeds rather numerous, wing-margined.
Leaves broad, many-nerved. Base of the leafy stem more or less bulb-like,
producing many long white roots.
10. MELANTHIUM. Flowers polygamous, in racemes forming an open pyramidal
panicle. Perianth cream-colored, turning green or brownish with age, per-
fectly free from the ovarv, its heart-shaped or oblong and partly halberd-
shaped widely spreading divisions raised on a claw and marked with a pair
of darker spots or glands. Filaments short, adhering to the claws of the
perianth, persistent. Seeds several in each cell, broadly winged. Leaves
lanceolate or linear, mostly grass-like. Stem roughish-downy above, its
base more or less bulbous.
11. ZYGADENUS. Flowers pefect or polygamous, in a terminal panicle. Peri-
anth greenish white, its oblong or ovate widely spreading divisions spotted
with a pair of roundish glands or colored spots near the sessile or almost
sessile base. Stamens free from and about the length of the perianth. Leave?
linear, grass-like ; stem and whole plant smooth.
III. BELL WORT FAMILY; with alternate and broad not
grass-like parallel-veined leaves : stem from a rootstock or from
fibrous roots, branching and leafy: style one at the base, but 3-cleft
or 3-parted. Fruit a pod, few-seeded. Anthers turned rather
outwards than inwards. Perianth of 6 almost similar and wholly
separate pieces, deciduous. Not acrid nor poisonous. Plants inter-
mediate between the preceding groups and the next.
12. UVULARIA. Flowers solitary or sometimes in pairs at the end or in the forks
of the forking stem, drooping, yellowish; the perianth rather bell-shaped
and lily-like, its divisions spatulate-lanceolate, with a honey-bearing groove
or pit' at the erect narrowed base. Stamens short, one at the base ot each
division : anthers linear, much longer than the filaments. Pod triangular or
3-lobed, loculicidal from the top. Seeds thick and roundish.
LILT FAMILY. 330
IV. ASPARAGUS FAMILY; with parallel-veined mostly
alternate leaves, branching or simple stems from a rootstock, at
least there is no bulb, a single style (if cleft or lobed at all only at
the summit), and fruit a few several-seeded terry. Pedicels very
often with a joint in the middle or under the flower. Flower
almost always small, and white or greenish, chiefly perfect.
§ 1. Herbs with ordinary broad hates.
* Flowers bell-sliaped, of 6 separate and similar deciduous divisions: stamens on the
receptacle or nearly so : attUiers turned outioards.
13. CLIXTONIA. Flowers erect, few or several in an umbel on a naked scape,
the base of which is sheathed by the stalks of a few large oval or oblong and
ciliate root-leaves. Filaments 'long and slender; anthers linear or oblong;
style long. Ovary 2 - 3-celled, becoming a blue berry. Rootstocks creeping,
like those of Lily-of-the- Valley, which the leaves also resemble.
14. PROS ARTES. Flowers single or few, hanging at the end of the leafy spreading
branches on slender simple stalks, yellowish. Divisions of the perianth
lanceolate or linear. Filaments much longer than the linear-oblong blunt
anthers. Ovary with a pair of hanging ovules in each of the 3 cells, becom-
ing an ovoid or oblong and pointed red berry. Rootstock short, not creep-
ing: herbage downy.
15. STREPTOPUS. Flowers single or rarely in pairs along the leafy and forking
stem, just out of the axils of the ovate clasping leaves: the slender peduncle
usually bent in the middle. Divisions of the perianth lanceolate, acute, the
three inner ones keeled. Anthers arrow-shaped, on short and flatfish fila-
ments. Ovary 3-celled, making a red many-seeded berry.
* # Flowers with perianth of one piece, but often deeply parted, the stamens on U»
base or tube: anthers turned inwards: sit/us not branched.
16. CONVALLARIA. Flowers nodding in a one-sided raceme, on an angled scape
which rises, with the about two oblong leaves, from a running rootstock.
Perianth short bell-shaped, with 6 recurving lobes. Stamens included.
Style stout. Ovary with several ovules, becoming a few-seeded red berrv.
17. SMILACINA. Flowers in a raceme or cluster of racemes terminating a leaf-
bearing stem, small, white. Perianth 6-parted, in one 4-parted. Filaments
slender : anthers short. Ovary 2 - 3-celled, making a 1 - 2-seeded berry. Root-
stocks mostlv creeping.
18. POLYGONATl'M. Flowers nodding in the axils of the leaves along a leafy
and recurving simple stem, which rises from a long and thickened rootstock.
Perianth greenish, cylindrical. 6-lobed or 6-toothed, bearing the 6 included
stamens at or above the middle of the tube. Style slender. Ovary 3-celled
with few ovules in each cell, in fruit becoming a globular black or blue few-
seeded berry.
§ 2. Plants with small scales in place of leaves, from the oxili of which are produced
false-leaves, i. e. bodies^ which by (heir position are seen In be of the nature of
branches, but which imitate and act as leaves. Perianth greenish or whitish,
Q-parted, the stamcjis borne on its base. Berry 3-celled, the cells 2-sttded.
19. ASPARAGUS. Flowers greenish-yellow, bell-shaped, scattered along the much
divided branches. Styles short: 'stigma 3-lobed. The so-called leaves very
narrow.
20. MYBSIPHYLLUM. Flowers 2 or 3 in the axils, greenish- white; the linear-
oblong divisions of the perianth recurved. Stamens almost as long as the
perianth. Style slender: stigma entire. The so-called leaves lance-ovate.
Stems twining.
V. LILY FAMILY PROPER (including Asphodel Family) : dis-
tinguished by the single undivided style (or rarely a sessile stigma),
and fruit a loculicidal pod. Perianth with all 6 parts generally
corolla-like, and in all the following nearly similar. Leaves par-
allel-veined or ribbed, sometimes with netted-veins also. Stem or
scape mostly simple.
340 LILY FAMILY.
§ 1. From a coated or sometimes scaly bulb.
* Stem leafy, especially above, the leaves often whorled or crowded: divisions of the
perianth with a honey-bearing furrow or spot tit or near the, base : style long :
eligmai or lobes '3 : jiod packed with 2 rows <>f depressed and flat sofl-coaied
seeds in each cell. Flowers Itrye, often several.
21. LIL1UM. Flower bell-shaped or funnel-form with the separate or partly united
divisions spreading or recurved above: the honey-bearing-groove beginning
at their base. Anthers linear, at first erect, at length versatile. Pod oblong.
Bulb mostly scaly (Lessons, p. 46, fig. 73, 74).
22. FRITILLARIA. Divisions of the bell-shaped flower distinct, not at all re-
curving; the honey-bearing spot above their base. Bulb coated or scalv.
Flowers always nodding, otten spotted.
* # Stem 2-leaved or few-leaved at or towards the base, naked above and ordinarily
\-flowered at summit : the six pieces of the bell-shaped perianth separate : sta-
mens on the receptacle or nearly so : anthers erect : seeds many, pale.
23. TULIP A. Stem 1 - 2-leaved above the ground, bearing an erect large flower.
Divisions of the perianth broad, not recurved nor spreading. Ovary and pod
triangular, columnar: stigmas 3, sessile. Seeds nearly as in Lily.
24. ERYTHROXIUM. Scape 2-leaved from the ground, bearing a nodding flower.
Divisions of the perianth lanceolate, recurved or spreading above. Ovary
and pod obovate: seeds globular. Style long, more or less club-shaped.
* # # Scape naked, bearing several or many flowers: seeds very few, globular or
angled, mostly witli a crustaceous or brittle black coat.
-»- Perianth 6-paried or Q-sepalled, either icheel-shaped or less widely spreading.
25. ORXITHOGALUM. Flowers in a corymb, bracted, white, wheel-shaped.
Style 3-sided : stigma 3-angled.
26. ALLIUAI. Flowers in a simple umbel, from a 1- 2-leaved or scarious spathe.
Stvle persistent, slender: stigma entire.
27. SC1LLA. Flowers in a simple raceme, mostly blue. Style slender.
H— -i— Perianth merely G-toothcd or 6-clrff, bearing the short included stamens on its
tube : pod triangular.
28. MUSCARI. Flowers in a raceme; the globiilar or urn-shaped narrow-mouthed
perianth nearlv 6-toothed.
29. HYACINTHUS." Flowers in a raceme; the short-funnel-shaped or bell-shaped
perianth 6-cleft, the lobes spreading.
§ 2. Scape and leaves from a tuberous rootstock or fibrous-rooted crown: no bulb.
* Stamens and styles long and slender, declined: stigma nearly simple : flowers large.
30. AGAPANTHUS. Flowers in a 2-bracted umbel, blue. Perianth tubular at
base, with 6 widely spreading divisions nearly regular. Pod triangular,
many seeded. Seeds flat, brownish, winged above. Leaves linear, flat.
31. PUNKlA. Flowers in a raceme, blue or white. Perianth funnel-form, 6-cleft,
the lobes hardly spreading, somewhat irregular. Pod oblong, prismatic,
many-seeded. Seeds flat, black, with a soft and thin coat, winged at the
apex. Leaves ovate or heart-shaped, netted-veiny between the ribs, and on
long petioles.
32. HEMEROCALLIS. Flowers few on a somewhat branching scape, yellow,
lasting but a day. Perianth funnel-form, with short narrow tube closely in-
vesting the ovary; the nearly similar divisions more or less spreading. Pod
thick, at first fleshy. Seeds* few in each cell, roundish, with a hard and brit-
tle black coat. Leaves linear, grassy, keeled.
* * Stamens and style straight, protruding from the tubular perianth.
33. TRITOMA. Flowers very many, nodding in a dense raceme or spike on a
bracted scape. Perianth tubular, regular, red or yellow, 6-toothed. Fila-
ments of two lengths. Pod many-seeded. Leaves' narrow-linear, long and
grassy, keeled, crowded at the root.
§ 3. Stem a icondy trunk, either yJiort or tree-like, bearing a crowd of rigid and
pungent-pointed sioord-sh'iped persistent leaves : no bulb.
32. YUCCA. Flowers in an ample terminal compound panicle, large, often polyga-
mous, white or whitish. Perianth of 6 separate oval or oblong acute divis-
ions, not deciduous, the 3 inner broader, longer than the stamens. Stigmas
3, sessile. Pod oblong, many-seeded ; the depressed seeds as in Lily.
LILY FAMILY. 341
Among the various cultivated plants of the choicer collections, the following
are not rarely met with.
* Not bulbous.
Phormium tenax, NEW ZEALAND FLAX. Nearly hardy N., but does
not flower ; the very firm finely nerved linear evergreen leaves tufted on matted
rootstocks, strongly keeled, conduplicate below, nearly flat above, yielding a
very strong fibre for cordage.
Dracsena and Cordyline, DRAGOX-TREES, two or three species, orna-
ments of choice conservatories, cult, for their foliage.
A16e angulata, A. variegata, and other ALOES, with very thick and
fleshy 2-ranked leaves crowded or imbricated at the ground, sending up a slen-
der scape, bearing a spike or raceme of tubular flowers ; in conservatories.
* * From coated bulbs, sending up leaves and scapes.
Lachenalia tricolor; tender bulb from Cape of Good Hope; with
lanceolate soft leaves blotched with purple, and a raceme of small, rather sin-
gular than handsome, greenish-purple and yellow flowers, its erect divisions
connivent, the three interior longer.
Calochortus, Cyclob6thra, Brodisea, and Triteteia, handsome
flowered bulbs, chiefly from California and Oregon, hardly any quite hardy N.
1. TRILLIUM, THREE-LEAVED NIGHTSHADE, WAKE ROBIN,
BIRTHROOT. (Name from Latin trilix, triple, the parts throughout being
in threes. ) Low stem from a short tuber-like rootstock (Lessons, p. 42, fig. G7),
bearing a whorl of three green conspicuously netted-veined ovate or rhom-
boidal leaves, and a terminal flower, in spring. All grow in. rich or moist
woods, or the last in bogs.
§ 1. Flower sessile: petals and sepals narrow, the former spatulate, dull purple.
T. Sessile. From Penn. W. & S. : leaves sessile, often blotched ; petals
sessile, rather erect, turning greenish, long persisting.
T. recuryatum. Only W. : differs in having the leaves narrowed at
base into a petiole, sepals reflexed, and pointed petals with a narrowed base.
§ 2. Flower raised on a peduncle: petals withering away soon after flowering.
* Peduncle erect or inclined : leaves rhombic-ovate, sessile by a wedge-shaped base,
abruptly taper-pointed: petals flat.
T. grandifldrum, GREAT-FLOWERED WHITE T. From Vermont to
Penn. and W., flowering rather late : handsome, the obovate petals 2'-2£' long,
much larger than the sepals, gradually recurving from an erect base, pure white,
in age becoming rose-colored.
T. erectum, PURPLE T. or BIRTHROOT. Chiefly N. : not so large as the
preceding; the dark dull purple petals ovate, widely spreading, little longer
than the sepals, !'-!£' long.
Var. album, from New York W. : has greenish white, rarely yellowish
petals.
Var declinatum, from Ohio N. W., has peduncle fully half the length of
the leaves and horizontal, or in fruit even reflexed ; petals white or pinkish.
# # Peduncle recurved from theflrst under the short-pet ioled or almost sessile leaves,
not longer than the ovary and recurved white petals.
T. c6muum, NODDING T. Commonest E. : leaves rhombic-ovate ; petals
oblong, ovate, acute, i'-5|' long; styles separate.
T. Styl6sum. Upper country S. : leaves oblong, tapering to both ends ;
petals ob'ong, tinged with rose-color, much longer and broader than the sepals;
styles united at base.
* * * Peduncle nearly erect ; leaves rounded at the base and short-petioled.
T. nivale, DWARF WHITE T. From Ohio N. W. : very early-flowering,
2'- 4' high; leaves oval or ovate, obtuse; petals oblong, obtuse, pure white,
1' long ; styles slender.
342 LILY FAMILY.
T. erythrocarpum, PAINTED T. Low woods or bogs N. : leaves ovate,
taper-pointed ; petals lance-ovate, pointed, wavy, white with pink stripes at the
base ; berry bright red.
2. MEDEOLA, INDIAN CUCUMBER-ROOT (from the taste of the
tuberous white and horizontal rootstock; the Latin name from Medea, the
sorceress). Fl. early summer.
M. Virginica, the only species : in woods : simple stem l°-3° high, cot-
tony when young, bearing near the middle a whorl of 5-9 obovate-lanceolate
thin and veiny but also parallel-ribbed leaves, and another of 3 (rarely 4 or 5)
much smaller ovate ones at the top, around an umbel of a few small recurved-
stalked flowers.
3. COLCHICUM. (Named from the country, Colchis.) Flowers in au-
tumn, sends up the lanceolate root-leaves the next spring. Sparingly cult,
from Eu. for ornament.
C. autumnale, COMMON C., mostly with rose-purple or lilac flowers.
C. variegatum, perhaps a variety, has shorter and wavy leaves, and peri-
anth variegated with small purple squares, as if tessellated.
4. CHAM^ILIRIUM, DEVIL'S BIT. (Name in Greek means Ground
Lily, of no obvious fitness.) Fl. summer.
C. luteum, also called BLAZING-STAR : low grounds, commoner W. & S. :
rootstock short and abrupt, sending up a stem l°-3° high, bearing flat lance-
olate leaves at base, some shorter ones up the stem, and a wand-like spike or
raceme of small bractless flowers, the sterile ones from the stamens appearing
yellow.
5. HELONIAS. (Name probably from the Greek for a swamp, in which
the species grows.) Fl. spring.
H. bullata. Rare and local plant, from New Jersey to E. Virginia, but
sometimes cult. : very smooth, the tuberous stock producing a tuft of oblong or
lance-spatulate evergreen leaves, from the centre of which rises in spring a leaf-
less scape l°-2° high, bearing the rather handsome flowers.
6. XERpPHYLLUM. (Name means, in Greek, arid-leaved, the narrow
leaves being dry and rigid.) Fl. early summer.
X. asphodelioides. Pine barrens, from New Jersey S. : a striking plant,
with the aspect of an Asphodel; simple stout stem rising 2° -4° high from a
thick or bulb-like base, densely beset at base with very long needle-shaped rigid
recurving leaves, above with shorter ones, which at length are reduced to bristle-
like bracts ; the crowded white flowers showy.
7. AMIANTHIUM, FLY-POISON. (Name, from the Greek, alludes
to the flowers destitute of the spots or glands of Melanthium and Zygade-
nus.) Flowers summer, turning greenish or purplish with age.
A. HlUSC8et6xicum, BROAD-LEAVED F. Open woods from New Jersey
S. : with a rather large bulb at the base of the stem, bearing many broadly linear
(£'-!' wide) blunt leaves; raceme dense; flowers rather large; seeds few, red
and fleshy.
A. angustifolium. Pine barrens S. : stem hardly bulbous at base, 2'
high ; leaves narrow, acute, pale ; seeds linear, not fleshy.
8. STENANTHIUM. (Name from Greek means narrow flower.} Fl.
summer.
S. angustifdlium. Low meadows and prairies, from Penn. S. & W. :
2° -6° high, leafy, the leaves long and narrow ; flowers only 4' long, in a pro-
longed terminal and many shorter lateral racemes, making an ample light
panicle.
LILT FAMILY. 343
9. VERATRtTM, FALSE HELLEBORE. (Old name, from Latin vere
ater, truly black.) Mostly pubescent stout herbs ; the roots yield the acrid
poisonous veratrin. Flowers summer.
V. viride, AMERICAN WHITE HELLEBORE, or INDIAN POKE. Swamps,
mostly N. : stout stem 2° -4° high, thickly beset with the broadly oval or ovate
strongly plaited sheath-clasping leaves ; panicle of spike-like racemes pyramidal ;
flowers yellowish-jrreen turning greener with age.
V. parviflomm, along the Alleghanies, is slender, 2° - 5° high, with scat-
tered oval or lanceolate scarcely plaited leaves below, and a lonut 5' long, white or pale rose-color, with prominent purple
warty projections inside : now of many varieties.
L. auratum, GOLDEN-BANDED L., of Japan : stem l°-2° high: leaves
lanceolate, scattered; flowers 1-3, barely nodding, sweet-scented, very large,
346 LILT FAMILY.
the ovate-lanceolate divisions 6' or more long, spreading almost from the base
and the tips revolute, white with a light yellow band down the middle of the
upper face, which is spotted all over with prominent purple spots and rough
with bristly projections near the base. Probably a Japanese hybrid of the pre-
ceding with some other : the most showy species known.
§ 3. Flowers inclined, wJiite, more or less funnel-form in outline ; the naked sessile
divisions conniving or someiohat united below into a tube, their summits
more or less spreading, but hardly recurving. All cultivated, from Asia,
with scattered leaves.
Ii. candidum, COMMON WHITE LILY. Cult, from Persia, £c. : with lan-
ceolate leaves, and few or several bell-shaped flowers, smooth inside, sometimes
double.
L. Japonicum, JAPAN WHITE L. Cult, from Japan : 2° high, with
mostly only one flower, which is nodding and larger than in the foregoing, below
connivent into a narrower tube, and above with the divisions more widely
spreading.
L. longiflorum, LONG-FL. WHITE L., of Japan : 1° high, with lanceo-
late leaves, and a single horizontal funnel-form flower, 5' or 6' long, the narrow
tubular portion longer than the rather widely spreading portion.
22. FRITILLARIA. (Latin fritilfus, a dice-box, from the shape of the
flower, which differs from a Lily in its more cup-shaped outline, the divisions
not spreading. ) Fl. spring.
P. Meleagris, GUIXEA-HEN FLOWER. Cult, from Eu. : 1° high, with
linear alternate leaves, mostly solitary terminal flower purplish, tessellated with
blue and purple or whitish ; the honey-bearing spot narrow.
F. imperialis, or PETf LIUM IMPERIALE, CROWN IMPERIAL. Cult, from
Asia: a stately herb of early spring, 3° -4° high, rather thickly beset along
the middle with lanceolate or lance-oblong bright green leaves more or less in
whorls ; flowers several hanging in a sort of umbel under the terminal crown
or tuft of leaves, large, orange yellow, or sometimes almost crimson, a round
pearly gland on the base of each division ; pod 6-angled.
23. TULIPA, TULIP. (Name and the common species said to come
from Persia. ) Fl. spring and early summer : all from the Old World.
T. Gesneriana, COMMON T., from Asia Minor, is the original of the
various ordinary hardy kinds ; leaves lance-oblong, glaucous, shorter than the
flower-stalk ; divisions of the flower very obtuse.
T. suav6oleus, SWEET T. of Eu. : low ; flower sweet-scented, its divisions
acute, appearing very early.
24. ERYTHRONIUM, DOG-TOOTH- VIOLET. (Name from the
Greek word for red, — not appropriate even for the original European species.)
Fl. spring.
E. Dens-canis, DOG-TOOTH-VIOLET of Eu. : sometimes cult. ; has broadly
oblong pale leaves little spotted, and a rose-purple or almost white flower in
earliest spring.
E. Americanum, YELLOW D. or ADDER'S-TONGUE. Moist or low
woods, very common E. : leaves oblong-lanceolate, mottled and dotted with
dark-purplish and whitish ; flower light yellow.
E. albidum, WHITE D. Rare in N. Y. and Penn., but common W. :
leaves less or not at all spotted ; flower bluish-white.
25. ORNITHOGALUM, STAR OF BETHLEHEM. (Name in Greek
means bird's-milk, a current expression for some marvellous thing.) Fl.
early summer.
O. umbellatum, COMMON S. or TEN-O'CLOCK, from Eu. : in old gardens
and escaped into some low meadows : leaves long and grass-like ; flowers bright
white within, green outside, opening in the sun, on slender stalks.
LILY FAMILY. 347
26. ALLIUM, ONION, LEEK, GARLIC, &c. (Ancient Latin name.)
Taste and odor alliaceous.
§ 1. Wild species of the country, or one a naturalized weed.
* Leaves broad : flowers white, in summer : ovules and seeds single in each cell.
A. tricoccum, WILD LEEK. Rich woods N. : bulbs clustered, large,
pointed, sending up in spring 2 or 3 large lance-oblong flat leaves, and after
they wither, in summer, a many-flowered umbel on a naked scape.
* * Leaves linear, grass-like : ovules and seeds a pair in each cell : flowers rose-
color, in summer.
A. cdrnuum, NODDING WILD ONION. Banks, through the Alleghany
region and N. W. : scape angular, l°-2° long, often nodding at the apex;
pedicels of the loose many-flowered umbel drooping; flowers light rose-color;
leaves linear, sharplv keeled on the back, channelled.
A. mutabile, CHANGEABLE WILD O. Dry sandy soil S. : scape 1° high,
terete, bearing an erect umbel of white flowers changing to rose-color ; leaves
narrow, concave ; bulb coated with a fibrous network.
A. vineale, FIELD or CROW GARLIC. A weed from Eu. in gardens and
cult or waste low grounds ; slender scape sheathed to the middle by the hollow
thread-shaped leaves which are grooved down the upper side : flowers greenish-
rose-color ; often their place is occupied by bulblets.
* # * Leaves narrow-linenr, qrass-like : ovules and seeds several in each cell:
flowers nearly white, in spring.
A. Striatum. Low pine barrens and prairies, Virginia to Illinois and S. :
scape and leaves 6'- 12' high, the latter involute and striate on the back ; flowers
3-10 in the umbel.
§ 2. Cultivated from the Old World: flowers in summer.
* Lea res flat.
A. Mbly, GOLDEN GARLIC. Cult, for ornament in some gardens : leaves
broadly lanceolate; scape 1° high; flowers numerous, large, golden yellow.
A. sativum, GARDEN GARLIC. Bulbs clustered, pointed; leaves lance-
linear, keeled ; flowers few, purple, or bulblets in their place ; filaments all
broad and 3-cleft.
A. Porrum, GARDEN LEEK. Bulb elongated, single ; leaves broadly linear,
keeled or folded ; flowers in a head, white, with some rose-colored stripes ; 3 of
the filaments 3-forked.
* * Leaves cylindrical, hollow : umbel globular, many-flowered.
A. Ascalonicum, SCHALLOTT. Bulb with oblong offsets; leaves awl-
shaped ; flowers lilac-purple ; 3 of the filaments 3-forked.
A. SchODnoprasum, CHIVES. Low, tufted; leaves awl-shaped, equal-
ling the scape; flowers purple-rose-color, its divisions lanceolate and pointed,
long; filament simple.
A. C6pa, ONION. Bulb depressed, large; leaves much shorter than the
hollow inflated scape; flowers white, or bulblets in their place.
27. SCILLA, SQUILL. (The ancient name of S. MARfriMA of S. Europe,
the bulb of which is the officinal squill.)
S. Fraseri, WILD S. called WILD HYACINTH at the W., QCJAMASH.
Moist banks and prairies from Ohio W. & S. W. : scape and linear-keeled
leaves 1° high ; flowers pale blue, in a long loose raceme, in spring.
S. amoena, S. v6ma, £c. are cult, from Europe in some choice collections,
for their early bright blue flowers, but are rare.
28. MUSCARI, GRAPE or GLOBE HYACINTH. (Name from the
musky scent of the flowers in one species.) All from Eu. : fl. spring.
M. botryoides, COMMON GRAPE-HYACINTH, of country gardens, es-
caping into lawns and fields : a pretty little plant, sending up 'in early spring
348 LILT FAMILY.
its narrow linear leaves, and a scape (5' -7' high) bearing a dense raceme of
globular deep blue flowers which are barely £' long, resembling minute grapes,
scentless.
M. racembsum, less common in gardens, is more slender, with flaccid
leaves and ovoid faintly scented flowers.
M. moschatum, is glaucous, and lias larger and ovoid-oblong livid musky-
scented flowers, and linear-lanceolate shorter leaves.
M. combsum, is larger, 9' high, with violet-colored oblong flowers, on
longer pedicels in a loose raceme, the uppermost in a tuft and abortive : the
monstrous variety most cultivated produces, later in the season, from the tufted
apex of the scape a large panicled mass of abortive, contorted, bright blue
branchlets, of a striking and handsome appearance.
29. HYACINTHIJS, HYACINTH. (Mythological name, the plant
dedicated to the favorite of Apollo. )
H. orientals, COMMON H., of the Levant, with its raceme of blue flow-
ers, is the parent of the numberless cultivated varieties, of divers colors, single,
and double : fl. spring.
30. AGAPANTHUS. (Of Greek words for amiable flower.} One species,
A. umbellatus. Cult, from Cape of Good Hope, a handsome house-plant,
turned out blooms in summer; leaves large, bright-green, l°-2°long; scape
l£°-2° high, bearing an umbel of pretty large blue flowers.
31. FUNKIA. (Named for one Funk, a German botanist.) Ornamental,
large-leaved, hardy plants, cult, from Japan and China : fl. summer. For-
merly united with the Day-Lily.
F. subcordata. WHITE DAY-LILY, is the species with long, white, and
tubular-funnel-form flowers.
P. ovata, BLUE D., the one with smaller, more nodding, blue or violet
flowers, abruptly expanded above the narrow tube.
32. HEMEROCALLIS, DAY-LILY. (Name, in Greek, means beauty-
of-a-dny, the large flower ephemeral.) Cult, from the Old World, especially
in country gardens ; the first species escaped into roadsides : fl. summer.
H. flilva, COMMON DAY-LILY. A familiar, rather coarse and tall plant,
with broadish linear leaves and tawny orange flower, the inner divisions wavy
and obtuse.
H. flava, YELLOW D. Less coarse, with narrower leaves and light yellow
flowers, the inner divisions acute.
33. TRJTOMA. (Name in Greek means thrice cut, supposed to allude to
the three sharp edges of the tapering apex of the leaves, viz. the two margins
and the keel.) Flowers unpleasantly-scented, showy, in autumn.
T. Uvaria, from Cape of Good Hope, planted out, is ornamental in autumn,
the scape rising from the thick clumps of long grassy leaves 3° or 4° high, the
cylindrical spike or raceme producing a long succession of flowers, which arc
at first erect and coral-red, soon they hang over and change to orange and at
length to greenish yellow. Roots half hardy N.
34. YUCCA, BEAK-GRASS, SPANISH-BAYONET. (American ab-
original name.) Wild in sandy soil S., extending into Mexico, &c. Cult.
for ornament, but only the nearly stemless species is really hardy N. : fl.
summer, large, and whole plant of striking appearance. Under various names
and varieties, the common ones mainly belong to the following :
* Trunk short, covered with leaves, rising only a foot or ttvo above the ground:
flowering stalk scape-like : pod dry.
Y. filamentbsa, COMMON BEAR-GRASS, or ADAM'S NEEDLE. From E.
Virginia S. : leaves lanceolate, l°-2° long, spreading, moderately rigid, tipped
with a weak prickly point, the smooth edges bearing thread-like filaments ; -scape
3° - 6° high ; flowers white or pale cream-color, sometimes tinged purplish.
RUSH FAMILY. 349
Y. angustifdlia, wild over the plains beyond the Mississippi, is smaller,
with erect and narrow linear leaves, few thi-eads on their white margins, and
yellowish-white flowers.
# # Trunk arlx>resrent, 2° — 8° high in wild plants on the sands of the coast
«$"., or much higher in conservatories, naked below : no threads to the leaves.
Y. gloribsa. Trunk low, generally simple ; leaves coriaceous, smooth-
edged, slender-spiny tipped, l°-2°long, !'-!£' wide; flowers white, or pur-
plish-tinged outside* in a short-peduncled panicle.
Y. aloifolia, SPANISH-BAYONET. Trunk 4°-20° high, branching when
old ; leaves very rigid, strongly spiny-tipped, with very rough-serrulate saw-
like edges, 2° or more long, l£' -2' wide; the short panicle nearly sessile.
125. JUNCACE^l, RUSH FAMILY.
Plants with the appearance and herbage of Sedges and Grasses,
yet with flowers of the structure of the Lily Family, having a com-
plete perianth of 6 parts, 3 outer and 3 inner, but greenish and
glume-like. Stamens 6 or 3, style 1 : stigmas 3.
1. JUNCUS. Ovary and pod 3-celled or almost 3-celled, many-seeded. Herbage
smooth: stems often leafless, generally pithy.
2. LUZULA. Ovary and pod 1-celled, with 3 parietal placentas, and one seed to
each. Stems and leaves often soft-hairy.
1. JUNCUS, RUSH, BOG-RUSH. (The classical Latin name, from the
verb meaning to join, rushes being used for bands. ) Flowers summer. — We
have more than 30 species, chiefly in bogs or wet grounds, most of them diffi-
cult and little interesting to the beginner, — to be studied in the Manual and
in Dr. Engelmann's monograph. The following are the commonest.
§ 1. LEAFLESS RUSHES, with naked and jointless round stems, wholly leafless,
merely with sheaths at base, in tufts from matted running rootstocks : flowers
in a lateral sessile panicle. 2/
J. effllSUS, COMMON RUSH, in low grounds ; has soft and pliant stems
2° - 4° high, panicle of many greenish flowers, 3 stamens, and very blunt pod.
J. flliformis, of bogs and shores only N., is slender, pliant, l°-2° high,
with few greenish flowers,, 6 stamens, and a broadly ovate blunt but short-
pointed pod.
J. Balticus, of sandy shores N. ; has very strong rootstocks, rigid stems
2° - 3° high, a loose panicle of larger (2" long) and chestnut-colored with green-
ish flowers, 6 stamens, and oblong blunt but pointed deep-brown pod.
§ 2. GRASSY-LEAVED RUSHES, with stems bearing grass-like flat or thread-
shaped (nt-ver knotty) leaves, at least near the base: panicle terminal.
# Flowers crowded in heads on the divisions of the panicle : stems flattened :
leaves flat: stamens 3.
J. marginatus. Sandy wet soil, from S. New England S. & W. : l°-3°
high ; leaves long linear ; heads several-flowered, brownish or purplish. 21
J. ripens. Miry banks S. : spreading or soon creeping, 4' -6' high; leave?
short linear ; heads of green flowers few in a loose leafy panicle.
# # Flowers single on the ultimate branches of the panicle, or rarefy clustered :
stamens 6 : leaves slender.
J. bufonius. Along all wet roadsides, £c. : stems low and slender, branch-
ing, 3' - 9' high ; greenish flowers scattered in a loose panicle ; sepals lance- -
linear and awl-pointed. (I)
J. Gerardi, BLACK GRASS of salt marshes : in tufts, with rather rigid stems
l°-2° hiffh, and a contracted panicle of chestnut-brown but partly greenish
flowers, the sepals blunt. ^
350 SPIDERWORT FAMILY.
J. t£miis. Open low grounds and fields, everywhere N. : in tufts, with
wiry stems 10' -20' high, a loose panicle shorter than the slender leaves near it,
and green flowers with lanceolate very acute sepals longer than the green blunt
and scarcely pointed pod. 1^
J. dichbtomus. Low sandy grounds, takes the place of the preceding S. :
has more thread-like leaves, flowers more one-sided on the branches of the pan-
icle, and greenish sepals only as long as the globular and beak-pointed brown-
ish pod. y.
§ 3. KNOTTY-LEAVED RUSHES, the stems (often branching above) having 2-4
thread-shaped or laterally flattened leaces, which are knotty as if jointed
(especially when dry) by internal cross-partitions: panicle terminal. Of
these there are many species, needing close discrimination : the following are
only the very commonest, especially the northern ones. ^
J. acuminatus. Very wet places : 10' -30' high ; heads 3-10 flowered in
a loose spreading panicle, greenish turning straw-colored or brownish; sepals
lance-awl-shaped, barely as long as the triangular sharp-pointed pod ; stamens
3 ; seeds merely acute at both ends. It flowers in early summer.
J. nod6sus. Mostly in sandy or gravelly soil : spreading by slender root-
stocks which bear little tubers, 6' -15' high; heads few, crowded, chestnut-
brown, each of 8-20 flowers ; sepals lance-linear and awl-pointed, hardly as
long as the slender and taper-pointed pod ; seeds abruptly short-pointed at both
ends ; stamens 6.
J. SCirpoides. From New York S. : stems rigid, l°-3° high from a
thick rootstock ; heads spherical and dense, 1 5 - 80-flowered, dull pale green;
sepals rigid, awl-shaped and bristly-pointed ; stamens 3 ; pod taper-pointed ; seeds
abruptly short-pointed at each end.
J. Canadensis. Wet places, common, flowering in autumn, very variable,
1° — 3° high; heads numerous, greenish or light brownish, 5 - many-flowered ;
sepals lanceolate, the 3 outer shorter ; stamens 3 ; seeds tail-pointed at both
ends.
2. LUZULA, WOOD-RUSH. (Luciota is Italian for the. qlow-worm.) %
L. pilbsa. Shady banks N. : 6' -9' high; with lance-linear leaves, and
chestnut-brown flowers in an umbel, in spring.
L. camp^Stris. Dry or moist fields and woods, 6' -12' high, with linear
leaves, and 4-12 spikes or short heads of light brown or straw-colored heads in
an umbel, in spring.
126. COMMELYNACE.ZE, SPIDERWORT FAMILY.
Herbs with mucilaginous juice, jointed and mostly branching leafy
stems, and perfect flowers, having a perianth of usually 3 green and
persistent sepals, and three ephemeral petals (these commonly melt
into jelly the night after expansion) ; 6 stamens, some of them often
imperfect, and a free 2-3-celled ovary; style and stigma one. Pod
2 - 3-celled, few-seeded. Not aquatic, the greater part tropical.
1. COMMELYNA. Flowers blue, irregular. Sepals unequal, 2 of them sometimes
united by their contiguous margins. Two of the petals rounded and on slen-
der claws, the odd one smaller or abortive. Stamens unequal; three of them
fertile, one of these bent inwards; three smaller and with cross-shaped im-
perfect anthers : filaments naked. Leaves abruptly contracted and sheathing
at base, the uppermost forming a spathe for the flowers.
2. TRADESCANTIA. Flowers regular. Petals all alike, ovate, sessile. Th«
6 stamens all with similar and good anthers, on bearded filaments.
1. COMMEI/SfU'A, DAY-FLOWER. (There were three Commelyns,
Dutch botanists, two of them were authors, the other published nothing. In
naming this genus for them, Linnaeus is understood to have designated th«
YELLOW-EYED GRASS FAMILY. 351
two former by the full-developed petals, the latter by the smaller or abortive
petal. ) Ours are branching perennials, or continued by rooting from the joints ;
in alluvial or moist shady soil : fl. all summer.
C. er6cta. From Penn. S. & W. : stem erect, 2° -4° high; leaves lance-
oblong, 3' -7' long, the margins rough backwards, and sheaths fringed with
bristles ; spathes crowded, hooded, top-shaped in fruit ; odd petal like the others
but smaller.
C. Virginica. From S. New York S. & W. : stems reclining and rooting
at base ; leaves oblong-lanceolate or narrower ; spathes scattered, conduplicate,
round-heart-shaped when laid open ; odd petal inconspicuous.
2. TRADESCANTIA, SPIDER WORT. (Named for the gardener-bot-
anist Tradescant.) Leaves sheathed at the base. 2/
* Wild species of moist or rich woods, one very common in gardens : with erect
stems, linear or lanceolate keeled Itaves, the uppermost nearly like the others.
•*- Umbels sissile at the end of the stem and branches between a pair of leaves, or later
also in the lotver axils : flowering in summer.
T. Virginica. Common wild from W. New York W. & S., and in gar-
dens : leaves lance-linear, tapering regularly from the base to the point, ciliate;
umbels terminal ; flowers blue, in garden varieties purple or white.
T. pilbsa. Chiefly W. : 2° or more high, with zigzag stem, more or less
pubescent leaves lanceolate from a narrowish base, very dense terminal and ax-
illary umbels of smaller and later purple-blue flowers, and hairy calyx and
pedicels.
•*- -»- Umbels one or two on a naked peduncle.
T. rbsea. Sandy woods chiefly S. & W. : slender, 6' -12' high, smooth,
with linear grass-like leaves, and rose-colored flowers £' wide.
* * Conservatory species from the tropics.
T. zebrina, the only one common, spreads by branching and rooting freely,
rarely blossoms, is cult, for its foliage ; the lance-ovate or oblong rather succu-
lent leaves crimson beneath, and green or purplish above, variegated with two
broad stripes of silvery white.
127. XYRIDACEJE, YELLOW-EYED GRASS F.
Rush-like herbs, with equitant leaves, like Sedges, or rather Bul-
rushes, in having flowers in a head or spike one under each firm
glume-like bract, but with a regular perianth of 3 sepals and 3 col-
ored (yellow) petals; also a 1 -celled many-seeded ovary and pod
with 3 parietal placentae, somewhat as in the Rush Family, repre-
sented by
Xyris flexubsa, COMMON YELLOW-EYED GRASS, of sandy bogs. Scape
4' -16' high; head roundish; lateral sepals glume-like lance-oblong, boat-
shaped, wingless; the anterior one larger, membranaceous, enwrapping the
corolla in the bud and deciduous with it ; petals 3, with claws, alternating with
3 sterile bearded or plumose filaments and bearing on their base 3 naked fila-
ments with linear anthers ; style 3-clcft. I*.
X. Caroliniana, the commonest of several Southern species ; also N. :
l°-2° high, the scape 2-edged at top, bearing a larger head (about ^' long),
lateral sepals winged but nearly naked on the keel. 11
X. fimbriata, from pine barrens of New Jersey S. : 2° high, with oblong
head almost 1 ' long, the lateral sepals fringed on the keel. 1J.
352 SEDGE FAMILY.
128. ERIOCAULONACE^, PIPEWORT FAMILY.
Another small group of marsh or aquatic herbs, of Rush-like
appearance, with a head of mono3cious white-bearded flowers, in
structure somewhat like the Yellow-eyed Grass, terminating a naked
scape, at the base of which is a tuft of grassy awl-shaped, linear,
or lanceolate leaves of loose cellular texture, not equitant, but the
upper surface concave.
Eriocaulon septangulare, in ponds or in their gravelly margins, is
the common species N., with 7-angled scape 2' - 6' high, or more, when the water
is deeper : fl. summer.
E. gnaph.alod.es, with grassy awl-shaped taper-pointed leaves, in pine-
barren swamps from N. Jersey S.
E. decangulare, with similar or wider and blunt leaves, io-12-ribbed
scapes l°-3° high, and heads sometimes £' wide; in similar situations S.
III. GLUMACEOUS DIVISION. Flowers enclosed or sub-
tended by glumes or husk-like bracts ; no proper calyx or corolla,
except sometimes minute bristles or scales which represent the peri-
anth. Stems of the straw-like sort, called culms.
129. CYPERACE^I, SEDGE FAMILY.
Some rush-like, others grass-like plants, with flowers in spikes or
heads, one in the axil of each glume, the glume being a scale-like or
husk-like bract. No calyx nor corolla, except some vestiges in the
form of bristles or occasionally scales, or a sac which imitates a
perianth ; the 1-celled l-ovul&d^w*Ty in fruit an akene. Divisions
of the style 2 when the akene is flattish or lenticular, or 3, when it
is usually triangular. Leaves^ when present very commonly '6-
ranked, and their sheath a closed tube; the stem not hollow. A large
family, to be studied in the Manual, &c., and too difficult for the
beginner. Therefore passed over here.
None cultivated, except sparingly CYPERUS ESCULENTUS of the
Mediterranean region, for its nut-like, sweet-tasted tubers, called
CHUFA : only two are pernicious weeds, and that from their multi-
plying by similar nut-like tubers, which are hard to extirpate ; these
are CYPERUS PHYMATODES, in sandy soil, but troublesome only S. ;
and C. ROTDNDUS, var. HYDRA, the NUT-GRASS or COCO-GRASS
of the South. In the genus SCIRPUS, the tall COMMON BULRUSH,
S. LACUSTRIS, or better the small one with 3-sided stems, S. PUN-
GENS, in the borders of ponds, is used for rush-bottomed chairs.
CLADIUM EFFUSUM, with its coarse saw-edged leaves is the SAW-
GRASS of the South. Of Sedges proper (CAREX) there are about
160 species, several of which contribute (more in bulk than value)
to the hay of low coarse meadows and half-reclaimed bogs.
GRASS FAMILY. 353
130. GRAMINE.SI, GRASS FAMILY.
Grasses, known from other glumaceous plants by their 2-ranked
leaves having open sheaths, the jointed stems commonly, but not
always hollow, and the glumes in pairs, viz. a pair to each spikelet
even when it consists of a single flower (these called glumes proper),
and a pair to each flower (called palets), rarely one of them want-
ing. Flower, when perfect, as it more commonly is, consisting of 3
stamens (rarely 1, 2, or 6), and a pistil, with 2 styles or a 2-cleft
style, and 2 either hairy or plumose -branched stigmas: ovary 1-
celled, 1-ovuled, becoming a grain : the floury part is the albumen
of the seed, outside of which lies the embryo (Lessons, p. 16, 17,
fig. 38-42).
The real structure and arrangement of the flowers and spikelets
of Grasses are much too difficult and recondite for a beginner. For
their study the Manual must be used : in which the genera both of
this and the Sedge Family are illustrated by plates. Here is offered
merely a shorthand way of reaching the names of the commonest
cultivated and meadow grasses and the cereal grains.
A. Stems kollotv, or soon becoming so.
§ 1 . Spikelets in panicles, sometimes crowded but never so as to farm, a spike.
* Flowers monoecious, the staminate and pistillate separate in the same panicle.
Zizania aqtiatica, INDIAN RICE or WATER OATS : in water, common-
est N. W. ; tail and reed-like Grass, with leaves almost as large as those of
Indian Corn, the upper part of the ample panicle bearing pistillate flowers on
erect club-shaped pedicels, the lower bearing staminate flowers on spreading
branches ; each flower or spikelet with only one pair of glumes, the outer one
long-awned ; grain slender, £' long, collected for food by N. W. Indians. 0
# # Ftowers one and perfect in each spikelet, with or without rudiments of others.
•*- Stamens 6.
Orjrza sativa, RICE. Cult. S., from Asia, in low grounds: 2° -4° high,
with upper surface of the lance-linear leaves rough ; branches of the panicle erect ;
outer glumes minute, the inner coriaceous, very much flattened laterally, so as
to be strongly boat-shaped or conduplicate, closing over the grain and falling
with it, the outer one commonly bearing an awn. ©
H- •*- Stamens 3, or rarely fewer.
Agr6stis yulgaris, RED-TOP. Rather low and delicate grass of meadows
and pastures, with oblong spreading panicle of small purple or purplish spikelets ;
the lanceolate proper glumes thin, but much firmer than the delicate palets,
about the length of the outer one, the upper truncate palet one half shorter. ^
A. alba, FIORIN or WHITE BENT GRASS. Less abundant in meadows,
the stems with procumbent or creeping base; ligule long and conspicuous;
panicle more dense, greenish or slightly purplish : a valuable meadow-grass. ]^
Calamagr6stis Canad6nsis, BLUE-JOINT GRASS. In all bogs N., and
in reclaimed low meadows, much liked by cattle : 3°-5° high ; resembles an Agros-
tis, but taller, and with a tuft of downy long hairs around the flower almost of
its length, the lower palet with a dalicate awn low down on its back and scarcely
stouter than the surrounding down. 2/
C. aren&ria. SEA SAND-REED of beaches, where it serves a useful pur-
pose in binding the sand by its long running rootstocks ; has the panicle con-
tracted into a long spike-like inflorescence, so that it would be sought in the
next division ; leaves long and strong ; spikelets pale, rather rigid, the hairs at
the base of the palets two thirds shorter than they. 2/
S & F— 26
354 GRASS FAMILY.
Phalaris arundinacea, REED CANARY-GRASS, the striped variety is
the familiar RIBBON-GRASS of country gardens ; wild in btfgs and low grounds ;
2° -4° high, with flat leaves nearly £' wide, flowering in early summer, in a
pretty dense contracted panicle, but" open when the blossoms expand; the ovate
whitish glumes longer and much thinner than the blunt coriaceous palets ; a
hairy rudiment or appendage at the base of each of the latter. 2/
P. Canari6nsis, CANARY-GRASS. Cult, from Eu. for Canary-seed, and
running wild in some waste places: l°-2° high, with the panicle contracted
into a sort of oblong spike, the glumes with wing-like keels, and a little scale or
rudimentary sterile flower at the base of each palet. ©
# # # Flowers several in each spikdet, all or nearly all perfect.
•+- Reeds or Canes of the borders of rivers and ponds. 2/
Phragmites qommimis, COMMON REED, mostly N.: 5° -12° high,
with leaves l'-2' wide, the stems dying down to the base; panicle in late sum-
mer or autumn, loose ; spikelets 3 - 7 -flowered, beset with white silky long hairs.
Arundinaria macrosp6rma, LARGE CANE, forming the cane-brakes
S. : with woody stems 10° -20° high and leaves l'-2' wide, branching the sec-
ond year, at length flowering from the branches, in Feb. or March ; the panicle
of a few small racemes of large many-flowered naked spikelets, the palets downy.
A. t^Cta, SMALLER REED, S., is only 4° - 10° high, and more branching.
•i- •*- Meadow- Grasses, Sfc. ; with awn if any terminating the glume or palet.
Dactylis glomerata, ORCHARD-GRASS. Nat. from Europe in meadows
and yards : a tall and coarse but valuable grass for hay, &c., flourishes in shady
places, 3° high; with broadly linear, rather rough, pale, and keeled leaves, and
a dense panicle of one-sided clusters, on which the spikelets are much crowded,
each 3 - 4-flowered, both the glumes and the laterally compressed-keeled lower
palet tapering into a short awn, rough-ciliate on the keel : fl. early summer. ^
P6a, MEADOW-GRASS ; several common species ; known by the open panicle
of 3-10-flowered spikelets, the glumes and palets blunt (no awn nor pointed
tip), the latter laterally compressed and deep boat-shaped, with scarious or white
membranaceous edges, and usually some delicate cobwebby hairs towards the
base. Fl. summer. ^, all but the first.
Poa annua, Low SPEAR-GRASS. Very low weedy grass in cult, ground,
waste places, paths, &c. : fl. in spring or again in summer. ©
P. compressa, WIRE GRASS. In gravelly waste soil : pale, with low
very flat stems, rising obliquely from a creeping base ; panicle small.
P. Ser6tina, FOWL-MEADOW-GRASS or FALSE RED-TOP : an important
native grass in wet meadows N. ; flowers in late summer in a loose panicle, the
2 -4-flowered spikelets green with dull purple; lower palet narrow, acutish.
P. trivialis, ROUGHISH MEADOW-GRASS. A common introduced meadow
and pasture grass, N. : flowering before midsummer, with open panicle of green
spikelets, these mostly 3-flowered, the lower palet prominently 5-nerved ; sheaths
and leaves roughish; ligule oblong, acute. A white-striped variety, lately in-
troduced, is cult, for ornament and very pretty.
P. prat^nsis, COMMON M. or westward called KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS.
Dry meadows and pastures, spreading by running rootstocks, and with more
crowded and often purplish panicle than the foregoing, flowering in earliest
summer, the sheath smooth, and ligule short and blunt ; lower palet hairy
along the margins and the 5 nerves.
Festtica, FESCUE GRASS. Known from Poa by the firmer or even cori-
aceous texture of the lower palet, which is convex on the back, not cobwebby,
and sometimes awn-tipped.
F. OVina, SHEEP'S FESCUE. Valuable pasture and lawn-grass, i°-2° high,
tufted, with slender or involute pale leaves, 3 - 8-flowered spikelets in a short
1-sided panicle, open in flowering, contracted afterwards, the lower palet rolled
Up, almost awl-shaped and tipped with a sharp point or bristle-like awn. ^
GRA.S9 FAMILY. 355
F. elatior, TALLER MEADOW FESCUE, A rather rigid grass of meadows
and pastures, nat. from Europe: l°-4° high, with green flat leaves, a narrow
panicle with short branches appressed before and after flowering, 5 - 10-flowered
green spikelets, the lower palet blunt, or acute, or rarely with a short awn. ^
Br6mus, BROME GRASS. Spikelets large, at length drooping in an open
panicle, containing 5-10 or more flowers, the lower palet with a short bristle
point or an awn from the blunt rounded tip or notch, the upper palet soon adher-
ing to the grain. Coarse grasses : two or three wild species are common, and the
following are weeds of cultivation, from Europe, or the last cultivated for fodder.
B. secalinus, COMMON CHESS or CHEAT. Too well known in wheat-
fields ; nearly smooth ; panicle open and spreading, even in fruit ; spikelets
turgid ; flowers laid broadly over each other in the two ranks ; lower palet
convex on the back, concave" within, awnless or short-awned. © ®
B. racem6sus. UPRIGHT CHESS : like the other, but with narrower
erect panicle contracted in fruit, lower palet slender-awned, and sheaths some-
times hairy. © ®
B. mdllis, SOFT CHESS : like the preceding, but soft-downy, with denser
conical-ovate spikelets, and the long-awned lower palet acute. © (2)
B. unioloides, or B. SCHRADERI (CERATOCHLOA UNIOLOIDES) : latelj
much prized for fodder, may be valuable S., is rather stout and broad-leaved,
with drooping large spikelets much flattened laterally, so that the lower palets
are almost conduplicate and keeled on the back. ^
Briza maxima, LARGE QUAKING GRASS or RATTLESNAKE-GRASS, is
sometimes cult, in gardens for ornament, from Eu. : a low grass, with the
hanging many-flowered ovate-heart-shaped spikelets somewhat like those of
Bromus, but pointless, very tumid, purplish, becoming dry and papery, rattling
in the wind, — whence the common name, ©
+-•*-•»- Grain and Meadow- Grasses, ivith a mostly twisted or bent aivn on the
back of the lower palet : flowers 2 or 3, or few in the spikeiet, and mostly
shorter than the glumes.
•w- Flowers perfect or the uppermost rudimentary.
Av6na sativa, CULTIVATED OAT, from Old World : soft and smooth,
with a loose panicle of large drooping spikelets, the palets investing the grain,
one flower with a long twisted awn on the back, the other awnless. ©
A. nuda, SKINLESS OAT, rarely cult, from Old World : has narrower
roughish leaves, 3 or 4 flowers in the spikeiet, and grain loose in the palets. ©
•M- •*-«. One flower perfect and one staminate only.
Arrenath6rum avenaceum, OAT-GRASS, or GRASS-OF-THE-ANDES.
Rather coarse but soft grass, introduced from Europe into meadows and fields,
and rather valuable : 2° -4° high, with flat linear leaves, long and loose panicle,
thin and very unequal glumes, including a staminate flower, the lower palet, of
which bears a long bent awn below its middle, above this a perfect flower with
its lower palet bristle-pointed from near the tip, and above that a rudiment of a
third flower. ^
H61CUS lanatus, VELVET-GRASS, or MEADOW-SOFT-GRASS. Introduced
from Eu. into meadows, not very common, l£°-2° high, well distinguished by
its paleness and velvety softness", being soft downy all over ; panicle crowded ;
the flowers only 2 in the spikeiet, small, rather distant, the lower one perfect
and awnless, the upper staminate and with a curved or hooked awn below the
tip of its lower palet. 2/
§ 2. Spikelets either stricthj spiked or in a panicle so contracted and dense as to
imitate a spike. (Here would besought one species o/'Calamagrostis and
one of PhalariSj^/br which see above, p. 354, 355.)
* Awn borne low down on the back of one or two palets.
Anthoxanthum qdoratum, SWEET-SCENTED VERNAL-GRASS, nat.
from Eu. : the plant which gives delicious - fragrance to drying hay (the other,
356 GRASS FAMILY.
viz. HIEROCHLOA ROREA.LIS, SENECA or HOLY-GRASS, being rare) : low,
slender, soft and smooth ; the pale brown or greenish spikelets crowded in an
evident spike-like panicle ; each composed of a pair of thin very unequal glumes,
above and within these a pair of obcordate or 2-lobed hairy empty palets, one
with a bent awn from near its base, the other with a shorter awn higher up ;
above and within these a pair of very small smooth and roundish palets, of
parchment-like texture, enclosing 2 stamens and the 2-styled pistil, finally in-
vesting the grain. 2/
AlopectlFUS prat6nsis, MEADOW FOXTAIL. Introduced from Europe
abundantly into meadows E. : flowering in spring; stem about 2° high, bearing
few pale soft leaves, terminated by a cylindrical soft and dense spike, or what/
seems to be so, for the spikelets are really borne on short side branches, not on
the main axis ; these spikelets very flat contrary to the glumes, which are con-
duplicate, united by their edges towards the base, keeled, fringed-ciliate on the
keel; these enclose a single conduplicate lower palet (the upper one wholly
wanting) which bears a long awn from below the middle of the back, and sur-
rounds 3 stamens and the pistil.
* * Awn, ifany,fiom the apex of the glumes or palets.
*- Spikelets densely crowded in a long perfectly cylindrical apparent spike, each spike-
let strictly l-Jlowered : glumes 2, keeled and nearly conduplicate, aim-pointed,
much larger and of firmer texture than the thin and truncate awn/ess palets.
Phl6um pratense, CAT-TAIL GRASS, TIMOTHY, or HERD'S GRASS;
introduced from Eu. ; a coarse but most valuable meadow grass, 2° -4° high,
with green roughish spike 3' -8' long; the small spikelets are crowded on very
short branches, and therefore the seeming spike is not a true one. ^
•*- •*- Spikelet* strictly spiked all on one side of a flattened jointless rhachis, much
crowded: the 2-5 spikes digitate, i. e. all on the apex oft/ie flowering si em :
palets awnltss. Finger-grass might be sought here ; see Panicum below.
** Flower only one to each spikelel, and a mere rudiment beyond it, awnless.
Ctynodon Dactylon, BERMUDA or SCUTCH GRASS. An introduced weed
chiefly S., where it is useful in sandy soil, where a better grass is not to
be had; creeping extensively, the rigid creeping stems with short flattish
leaves and sending up flowering shoots a few inches high, bearing the 3-5 slender
spikes. 11 w
** ++ Flowers 3-5 or more in each spikelet, the uppermost generally imperfect .•
seed loose, proportionally large, rough-wrinkled. (T)
Eleusine Indica, CRAB-GRASS, YARD-GRASS, DOG'S-TAIL, or WIRE-
GRASS. Introduced only in yards or lawns N., more abundant S., where it is
valuable for cattle ; low/spreading over the ground, pale ; glumes and palets
pointless.
Dactyloctenium JEgyptlacum, EGYPTIAN GRASS. Yards and fields,
chiefly a weed, S. : creeping over the ground, low ; spikes dense and thickish ;
glumes flattened laterally and keeled, one of them awn-pointed, the strongly
keeled boat-shaped lower palet also pointed.
*-•*-•«- Spikfhts spiked alternately on opposite sides of a zigzag jointed rhachis.
•w Glume only one to the solitary spikelet, which stands edgewise.
L61ium per^nne, D VRNEL, RYE-GRASS, or RAY GRASS. Introduced
from Europe : a good pasture-grass, l°-2° high, with loose spike 5' -6' long,
of 12 or more a'^out 7 -flowered spikelets placed edgewise, so that one row of
flowers is next the glume, the other next the rhachis ; lower palet short-awned
or awnless
•w Glumes a pair to the single spikelet, right and lejl at each joint of the rhachis.
Triticum ripens, COUCH-GRASS, QUITCH or QUICK-GRASS, &c., belongs
to the section with perennial roots; this spreads amazingly by its vigorous
long running roqtstocks, is a pest in cultivated fields, and is too coarse and
GRASS FAMILY. 357
hard for a meadow grass : of many varieties, introduced from Europe ; spikelets
4 - 8-flowered ; lower palet either pointless or short-awned. ^/
T. vulgare, WHEAT. Spike dense, somewhat 4-sided; the spikelets
crowded, 4 - 5-flowered, turgid ; glumes ventricose, blunt ; palet either awned
or awnless ; grain free. ®
T. Spdlta, SPELT. A grain rarely cult, in this country; spike flat, the
rhnchis fragile, breaking up at the joints ; grain enclosed in the palcts. ©
Secalo cereale, RYE. Tall ; spike as in wheat; spikelets with only 2 per-
fect flowers ; glumes a little distant, bristly towards the base ; lower pa'let ven-
tricose, long awned ; grain brown.
-*—-*-•»- Glumes 6 at each joint, in front of the 3 spikelets, forming an involucre.
H6rdeum vulgare, COMMON BARLEY, from the Old World : spike
dense, the 3 spikelets at each joint of the rhachis all with a fertile flower, its
lower palet long-awned. ©
H. distichum, TWO-ROWED BARLEY, from Tartary : only one spikelet
at each joint of the rhachis with a fertile flower, the two lateral spikelets being
reduced to sterile rudiments, the flowers therefore two-rowed in the spike. ©
•*-•*- -i- -t- Spikelets in a contracted panicfe or seeming spike, or if spiked some-
what on one side of the rhachis : each with a sinqle perfect flower, its palets
of coriaceous or cartilaginous texture : by the side of it are either one or two
thin palets of a sterile usually neutral flower.
Setaria, FOXTAIL-GRASS. Spikelets in clusters on the branches of the
contracted spike-like panicle or seeming spike, these continued beyond them
into awn-like rough bristles ; but no awns from the spikelets themselves.
Weeds, or the last one cult. ; all from Old World ; fl. late summer. ©
S. glaiica, COMMON FOXTAIL : in all stubble and cultivated grounds ; low;
spike tawnv yellow, dense ; long bristles 6 — 11 in a cluster, rough upwards (as
also all the following) ; palets of perfect flower wrinkled crosswise.
S. viridis, GREEN FOXTAIL or BOTTLE-GRASS ; has less dense and green
spike, fewer bristles, and palets of perfect flower striate lengthwise.
S. Italica, or GERMAXICA, ITALIAN MILLET, BEXGAL GRASS, &c. Cult,
for fodder, 3° — 5° high, with rather large leaves, a compound or interrupted so-
called spike, which is evidently a contracted panicle, sometimes 6' -9' long and
nodding when ripe ; bristles short and tew in a cluster ; palets of the fertile
flower smooth.
Panicum (Digitaria) sanguinale, FIXGER-GRASS or CRAB-GRASS.
Chiefly a weed in cult, fields in late summer and autumn, but useful in thin
grounds S. for hay; herbage reddish; spikes 4-15, slender, digitate, nearly
1-sided; spikelets seemingly 1-flowered with 3 glumes ; no awns. ©
P. Crus-galli, COCK'S-FOOT P., or BARXYARD-GRASS. Common weedy
grass, of moist barnyards and low rich grounds : coarse, with rather broad leaves,
and numerous seeming spikes along the naked summit of the flowering stems,
often forming a sort of panicle ; spikelets containing one fertile and one sterile
flower, the lower palet of the latter bearing a coarse rough awn. ©
P capillare, WITCH GRASS of stubble and corn-fields in autumn, having
a very open capillary panicle, would be sought under another division ; it is a
mere weed. ©
B. Stems not hollow, pithy.
§ 1 . Spikelets clustered or scattered in an ample panicle, each with one perfect and
one. neutral or starninate flower.
* Without silky-down : ylumes, frc. russet-brown, coriaceous.
S6rgh.um vulgare, INDIAN MILLET, DuRRA,or DOURA, &c., from Africa
or India; the var. CERXUUM, GUINEA CORX, has densely contracted panicle,
and is cult, for the grain. Var. SACCHARATUM, SWEET SORGHUM, CHINESE
SUGAR-CAXE, IMPHEE, &c., cult, for the syrup of the stem ; and BROOM-CORN,
for the well-known corn-brooms. ©
358 GRASS FAMILY.
# # Long white silky down with the flowers.
Saccharum Officinarum, TRUE SUGAR-CANE: cult, far S. : rarely
left to flower, propagated by cuttings; stem 8° -20° high, l'-2' thick. 2/
arg6nteum, PAMPAS GRASS. Tall reed-like grass, from
S. America, planted out for ornament ; with a large tuft of rigid linear and
tapering recurved-spreading leaves, several feet in length ; the flowering stem 6
to 12 feet high, in autumn bearing an ample silvery-silky panicle. ^
§ 2. Spikelets in spikes: staminate and pistillate separate,
# In the same spike, the upper part of which is staminate, the lower pistillate.
Tripsacum dactyloides, GAMA GRASS, SESAME GRASS. Wild in
moist soil from Conn. S. : proposed for fodder S. ; nutritious, but too coarse ;
leaves almost as large as those of Indian corn ; spikes narrow, composed of a
row of joints which break apart at maturity ; the fertile cylindrical, the exter-
nally cartilaginous spikelets immersed in the rhachis, the sterile part thinner
and flat. #
* * In different spikes.
Z&a Mays, MAIZE, INDIAN CORN. Stem terminated by the clustered
slender spikes of staminate flowers (the tassel.) in 2-floAvered spikelets; the pis-
tillate flowers in a dense and many-rowed spike borne on a short axillary branch,
two flowers within each pair of glumes, but the lower one neutral, the upper pis-
tillate, with an extremely long style, the silk. ©
SERIES II.
FLOWERLESS OR CRYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS:-
THOSE which fructify without true flowers, that is, with-
out stamens and pistils, and produce spores (simple cells) in
place of seeds.
CLASS III. ACROGENS ; the highest class of Flower-
less Plants, those with a distinct axis, or stem, growing
from the apex, containing woody matter and ducts, and
bearing leaves, or something answering to leaves.
The account of the three following families is contributed by PROFESSOR
DANIEL C. EATOX, of Yale College. Figures of the indigenous genera are
given in the Manual.
131. EQUISETACE^I, HORSE-TAIL FAMILY.
Perennial flowerless plants, rising from creeping rootstocks; the
stems mostly hollow, furrowed, many-jointed, with mere scales at
the joints united into a sheath in place of leaves; either simple or
with branches in whorls about the joints ; fructification in terminal
cone-like spikes, composed of o-anjled short-stalked and shield-
shaped scales, each bearing on the under surface about 6 one-celled
spore-cases. Contains but one genus.
1. EQUISETUM, HORSE-TAIL, SCOURING-RUSH. (Name from
the Latin, meaning horse-fail.} Stems grooved, the cuticle often containing
silex ; each joint closed at the lower end, and bearing at the upper a tubular
sheath (a whorl of united leaves) which encloses the base of the next joint,
and is split into as many narrow teeth as there are ridges in the stem. Seeds
(that is, spores) minute, each with four club-shaped threads, which are coiled
about the spore when moist, but uncoil suddenly when dried. — Of 25 species,
most of them widely distributed throughout the world, four or five are com-
mon with us.
§ 1. Stems living through the winter, unbranched, or with very few branches, fruit-
ing in summer.
E. hyemale, DUTCH RUSHES, SCOURING-RUSH. Common on wet banks,
N. : stems solitary or 2-4 together, cylindrical, l°-4° high, with many rough
ridges; sheaths marked with one or two black rings, and divided into 15-25
narrow teeth, their points deciduous.
E. scirpoides. Wooded hillsides, from Penn. N. : stems in dense clus-
ters, 3' -6' high, not hollowed, very alender and wiry, entangled, about 6-fur-
rowed ; sheaths 3-toothed.
860 FERN FAMILY.
§ 2. Stems annual, not living through the winter, branched, at least the sterile onet.
E. limbsum. Muddy edges of streams, rather common : stems all alike,
2° -3° high, with many furrows, fruiting in summer, and afterwards sending
out a few upright branches ; sheaths with 15-20 dark-colored acute teeth.
E. arvense, COMMON- HOUSK-TAIL. Moist sandy places, common N. :
fertile stems unbranched, with very conspicuous sheaths, 4' - 8' high, appearing
in earliest spring and soon withering ; sterile stems 8' - 20' high, producing
many whorls of rather rigid slender and mostly simple 4-angled branches.
E. sylv£ticum, WOODLAND H. Common N., along the edges of moist
woods : fertile stems appearing in early spring, but lasting all summer, both
these and the sterile ones producing many whorls of spreading or gracefully
decurved compound softish 3 - 5-furrowed branches and branchlets ; sheaths of
the main stem loose, 8 - 14- toothed.
132. PILICES, FERN FAMILY.
Flowerless plants with creeping or ascending rootstocks, or even
erect trunks, bearing distinct leaves (fronds), which are rolled up
(circinate) in the bud (except in one group), and bear commonly on
the under surface or on the edge? the simple fructification, consist-
ing of 1 -celled spore-cases (technically called sporangia) variously-
grouped in dots, lines, or masses, and containing but one kind of
minute, 1 -celled, powdery, numerous spores. A large family, most
abundant in warm and moist regions, consisting of 8 suborders, 6 of
which are represented with us.
[The divisions of a pinnatijid frond are. properly called segments; of a pinnate
frond, pinnce ; of a '2 — 3 -4-frimnite frond, pinnuls or ultimate segments. The stalk
of the frond is a stipe; its continuation thiouqh the frond, the rhachis ; its branches,
partial or secondary rhachises. A rhachis bordered by the Itafy portion becomes a
midrib, which may be primary, secondary, Sfc.]
I. POLYPODIACEJE, or TRUE FERNS : characterized by
stalked spore-cases, having a vertical, incomplete, many-jointed,
elastic ring, which straightens at maturity, breaking open the spore-
case transversely, and so discharging the spores. Spore-cases rarely
if ever on very narrow thread-like branches ; the fruit-dots often
covered by a scale-like involucre (the indusium).
§ 1. No definite fruit-dots, but the spore-cases in large patches on the under surface
of the fertile frond, or entirely covering the under surface: no indusium.
1. ACROSTICHUM § CHRYSODIUM. Fronds simple or pinnately branched,
with reticulated veins : spore-cases covering the whole under surface of the
frond or of its upper divisions.
2. PLATYCERIUM. Fronds irregularly forking; veins reticulated: spore-cases
in large patches on special portions of the under surface.
§ 2. Spore-cnses on the back of the frond, sometimes near the margin, in dots or lines
(sori) placed on the veins or at the ends of the veins, out without indusium of
any kind.
3. POLYPODIUM. Fronds simple or pinnate, rarely twice pinnate; veins free
or reticulated ; fruit-dots round or roundish, at the ends of the veins, or at the
point where several veins meet (anastomose}. Stalk articulated to the root-
stock, and leaving a distinct scnr when decayed away.
14. PHEGOPTERIS. Agrees with Polypodium in most respects ; but has the fruit-
dots smaller, and commonly on the veins, not at their ends, and the stalk is
not articulated to the rhachis.
4. GYMNOGRAMME § CEROPTERTS. Fronds compound, covered beneath
with white or yellow waxy powder: fruit-dots in long often forking lines
on the veins.
FERN FAMILY. 361
6. NOTHOL^ENA. Fronds once or twice pinnate, woolly, scaly or powdery be-
neath ; fruit-dots at the ends of the veins, forming a line next the margin of
the divisions.
§ 3. Spore-cases on the back along the margin of (he frond, provided with an invo-
lucre formed of its rejlextd and more or less alttrtd mar (/in.
6. ADIANTUM. Fruit-dots at the ends of the veins, borne on the inner side of a
re flexed portion of the margin. Stalk dark and polished, sometimes chafty-
bristly. Pinnules always separate, distinctly stalked or almost sessile, but
never" decurrent on the rhachis.
7. PTERIS. Spore-cases on a transverse veinlike receptacle within the margin,
which connects the ends of the veins, and is covered by the reflexed thin
margin. Stalk light-colored (except in § Doryopteris.) P'innules or ultimate
segments adnate to the rhachis, often decurrent.
8. PELL.EA. Spore-cases in short lines on the upper part of the veins, confluent
in a sub-marginal band of fructification, white within, more or less covered
by the reflexed and commonly thin margin. Stalk dark and polished, some-
times chaffy. Pinnules mostly distinct, sessile or nearly so.
§ 4. Fruit-dots oblong or linear, on transverse reticulating veinlets, in rows near the
midrib and parallel to it: indusium of the same shape as the fruit-dot, opening
toward the midrib and attached by the outer edge to the fruitful cross-veinlet.
9. WOODWARDIA. Fruit-dots straight, oblong-linear, in chain-like rows, partly
sunken in shallow cavities of the under surface of the frond. Rather large,
native. Veins reticulated, often very much so.
10. DOODIA. Fruit-dots oblong, often slightly crescent-shaped, not sunken in the
frond. Exotics ; the narrow fronds pinnatifid or simply pinnate.
§ 6. Fruit-dots oblong or linear, on one or both sides of oblique veinlets, with involu-
cres of like shape attached by one edge to the veinlet and free along the other.
11. ASPLENIUM. Fruit-dots single and placed on the upper side of the veinlets,
rarely double and set back to back on both sides of the same veinlet. Veins
mostly free.
12. SCOLO'PENDRIUM. Fruit-dots linear, elongated, double and placed face to
face along contiguous veinlets; each pair thus seeming to be a single one
with an indusium opening along the middle. Frond simple, ribbon-shaped
or tongue-shaped, with free forking veins.
13. CAMPTOSORUS. Fruit-dots various, mostly short; those near the midrib
double as in the last; the outer ones angled, curved or straight, simple as in
Asplenium. Frond simple, tapering to a long and narrow usually rooting
point. Veins reticulated.
§ 6. Fruit-dots on the back of the veins, rarefy at the ends, round or roundish, covered
at least when young by a special Indus'
and fertile fronds alike or nearly so.
15. ASPIDIUM. Indusium flat, round or kidney-shaped, fixed at or near the cen-
tre, opening all round the edge. Mostly rather large Ferns, from once to thrice
pinnate. Veins free in the native species.
16. CYSTOPTERIS. Indusium convex, fixed by the base partly under the fruit-
dot, at length reflexed. Small Ferns, with delicate twice' or thrice pinnate
fronds. Veins free.
§ Sterile fronds broad and leafy: fertile ones with contracted and rolled up and pod-
like or berry-like divisions : indusium very obscure, irregularly semicircular,
placed at the base of a short receptacle to which the spore-ceases are attached.
17. STRUTHIOPTERIS. Sterile fronds tall, with free veins, growing in a crown ;
fertile fronds coming up much later in an inner circle, pinnate, each pinna
rolled up from the edges into a somewhat cylindrical or necklace-like body,
containing the fruit.
18. ONOCLEA. Fronds scattered on a long creeping rootstock: sterile ones with
reticulated veins ; fertile ones twice pinnate, the divisions contracted, rolled
up and berry-like.
§ 8. Involucres star-shaped, with broad and rnqqed or else capillary and jointed rays,
placed on the veins under the round fruit-dots, sometimes at Jirst enveloping
the spore-cases.
19. WOODSIA. Small Ferns, often growing in dense tufts: fronds once or twice-
pinnate: veins forked, free.
at least when young by a special indusium of the same general shape. Sterile
alike or n
3G2 FERN FAMILY.
§ 9. Fruit-dots separate or laterally confluent at or near the margin of the frond,
borne on the ends of the veins, ur on the ends of very short side-vtintets : the
indusium attached at the base or base and sides, and opening toward the mar-
gin of the fruitful portion of the frond.
20. DAVALLIA. Indusium of a single piece, flattish or often convex and shaped
like half a goblet cut lengthwise. Exotic Ferns, mostly decompound.
21. DICKSONIA. Indusium united by its sides with a little lobe or tooth of the
frond, forming a minute 2-lipped* cup, at first nearly or quite closed, opening
as the spore-cases ripen. Large Ferns, native or exotic, some of the latter
arborescent.
II. CYATHEACEJ£,or TREE FERNS: with erect and tree-
like stems, often many feet high. Fruit-dots round, not marginal,
naked, or with an involucre placed beneath the stalked spore-cases,
which are seated on a globose or elevated receptacle, have a some-
what oblique complete ring, and burst open transversely.
22. CYATHEA. Fruit-dots on a vein or in the forking of a vein, at first enclosed
in a globose Lvolucre, which opens at the top, and remains cup-shaped with
an entire or broken edge.
23. ALSO PHIL A. Fruit-dots as on the last, but entirely naked, or with a rudi-
mentary indusium consisting of a minute scale beneath the spore-cases:
veins free.
III. HYMENOPHYLLACE^E, or FILMY FERNS : these
have very delicate and translucent fronds, the short-pedicelled spore-
cases growing on a short or long thread-like receptacle, included in
a goblet-shaped or 2-lipped involucre, and furnished with a complete
transverse or slightly oblique ring.
24. TRICHOMANES. Fruit-dots marginal, at the end of a vein, which extends
through the funnel-form or goblet-shaped involucre, as a thread-like recepta-
cle bearing the spore-cases ; involucres sunken more or less in the frond, and
of the same pellucid texture.
IV. SCHIZ^EACE^E : mostly small Ferns, or else with climb-
ing fronds. Spore-cases ovate, sessile, having a complete transverse,
articulated ring or cap at the apex, and opening by a longitudinal
slit,
* Ferns tcith elegant cUmbing fronds, rising from slender creeping rootstocks: spore-
cases fixed by their side.
25. LYGODIUM. Pinnae or frondlets in pairs. Spore-cases covered bv imbri-
cating scale-like indusia in a double row on narrow lobes of the frond.
* * Not climbing : rootstock short : fronds clustered : spore-cases jixed by their base :
no indusium.
26. ANEIMIA. Spore-cases on the narrow panicled branches of the lowest pair of
pinnae of the 1-3 pinnate frond, or on separate fronds.
27. SCHIZ.EA. Spore-cases in a double row on the narrow divisions of a pinnate
or rarely pedate special appendage to the simple and linear, or fan-shaped,
and sometimes many-forked frond.
V. OSMUNDACE^, or FLOWERING FERNS: rather large
Ferns ; the spore-cases covered with reticulated ridges, opening
longitudinally into two valves, and with no ring, or a mere vestige
of a transverse ring at the back.
28. OSMUNDA. Rootstock very thick, creeping, the growing end producing a
crown of tall showy fronds. Fertile fronds or parts of fronds contracted^
pinnately compound, the narrow often thread-like divisions densely covered
•with nearly sessile spore-cases.
PERN FAMILY. 363
VI. OPHIOGLOSSACE^E, the ADDER'S-TONGUE FAM-
ILY: mostly rather small ferns, with sessile, globular, coriaceous
opaque and smooth spore-cases, opening transversely into 2 valves,
and wholly destitute of a ring. Fronds not rolled up in the bud,
as they are in all the foregoing, rising from a very short rootstock
or conn, with fleshy roots.
29. BOTRYCHIUM. Spore-cases in pinnate or compound spikes, distinct. Sterile
part of the frond compound; veins free.
30. OPHIOGLOSSUM. Spore-cases cohering in n simple spike. Sterile part of
frond simple in our species ; the veins reticulated.
1. ACROSTICHTTM § CHRYSODIUM. (From Greek words meaning
a row at the top, the application not evident.) All tropical.
A. aureum. A large evergreen Fern, along the coast of South Florida;
the fronds simply pinnate, coriaceous; pinnae 4' -6' long, l'-2' wide, elliptical
or oblong-linear.
2. PLATYCERIUM, STAG-HORN FERN. (Name from the Greek,
meaning broad horns.) Natives of Africa, Australia, £c. : cult, in conserva-
tories.
P. alcic6rne. Sterile fronds sessile, rather thin, flat and rounded, over-
lapping each other ; fertile ones erect, 1° high, whitish and minutely downy
beneath, 2-3 times forked, with divisions about 1' wide, the topmost ones
fruitful.
3. POLYPODIUM, POLYPODY. (Name in Greek means many-footed,
referring to the branching rootstock.) An immense genus, found in all parts
of the world.
§1, POLYPODIUM proper. Veins free : the following all native.
P. vulgare, COMMON POLYPODY. Rocky places N., small, simply pin-
natifid, evergreen, smooth both sides, 4' - 10' high, l'-3' wide, the numerous
divisions oblong-linear ; fruit-dots rather large.
P. incanum. Shady places S., often on trees ; much like the last, but
much smaller, and beneath grayish and scurfy with peltate scales ; fruit-dots
rather small.
§ 2. CAMPYLOXEtrRON. Veins parallel, pinnate from the midrib, connected by
numerous transverse angularly arched veinlets, with short fruit-bearing vein-
lets proceeding from the angles.
P. Phyllitidis, HARTS-TONGUE, of Tropical America ; frond simple,
linear-lanceolate, l°-l£° long, l'-2' wide, thinly chartaceous, smooth and
shining ; fruit-dots in 2 rows between the veins.
§ 3. NiPH6BOLUS. Veins much as in the preceding, but very obscure and closely
reticulated. Fronds simple, of a thickish texture, covered on both sides with.
a close stellate down.
P. Lingua. Cult, from Japan : fronds 4' -8' long, ovate-oblong or lanceo-
late, entire, at length nearly smooth above; fruit-dots exceedingly numerous,
closely arranged in many rows.
§ 4. PHLEB6DIUM. Veins reticulated, with free veinlets included in the larger
meshes. Fruit-d'/ts in 1—3 ro>rs bc.tireen the midrib and margin, commonft/
placed each one on the concei'(/ing ends of a pair of veinlets.
P. aureum. A large showy Fern of Florida, and cult, from West Indies ;
fronds on a stout stalk, broadly ovate in outline, smooth, pale green above,
glaucous beneath, pinnately parted into 5 - 9 or more oblong-linear or lanceo-
late spreading divisions.
364 FERN FAMILY.
40 GYMNOGRAMME. (Name meaning in Greek a naked line, from
the elongated fruit-dots.) The following cult, species all have free veins, and
the under surface of the fronds covered with a yellow or whitish waxv powder.
G. triangularis, CALIFORNIA^ GOLD-FERN. Deserves more general cul-
tivation ; tVoud 4' -6' long, on slender and polished stalks, broadly 3- or rather
5-angIed in outline, twice pinnate below, pinnate above ; pinnae oblong-lanceo-
late, deeply pinnatifid into obtuse lobes. Smooth and green above, beneath
of a rich golden yellow, sometimes paler ; the fertile fronds at length nearly
covered with brownish lines of spore-cases.
G. SUlphurea, of West Indies : fronds narrowly lanceolate in outline,
l°-l£°high, 2' -3' wide, pinnate; pinna? ovate or ovate-oblong, lower ones
gradually smaller and very remote, pinnatifid into ovate obtu?e toothed or rag-
ged lobes, the lower surface covered with sulphur-yellow powder.
G. calomelanos, from Tropical America, the commonest Gold and Silver
ferns of the conservatories ; much like the last, but broader and larger, the lower
pinuas largest, and lobes mostly acute. The powder white, or in var. CHRYSO-
PHYLLA golden yellow.
5. NOTHOL-ZENA. (Name from the Greek, signifying spurious wool, the
woolly pubescence of some species concealing the marginal fruit-dots.) The
following cult, species are small, 4' -8' high, ovate in outline, mostly tri-
pinnate ; their ultimate divisions roundish-ovate or oblong, distinct, stalked,
and covered beneath with a waxy powder : stalk and branches dark brown
and polished.
N. flavens, from Central America : powder bright yellow; fruit-dots ex-
tending from the edge almost to the midrib, so thai it might equally well be
considered a Gymnograrnme.
N. nivea. Also Central American, and very like the other ; but the powder
snowy whiie, and tha fruit-dots closer to the margin.
6. ADIANTUM, MAIDEN-HAIR. (Name from the Greek, meaning
uniivtled, the rain-drops not adhering to the frunds.) A large genus, most
abundant in warm climates.
# Frond thnply pinnate : exotic.
A. macroph^llum. Cult, in hot-houses from West Indies; pinnae 2-5
pairs and a terminal one, nearly sessile, deltoid-ovate, 2' -3' long, nearly half
as wide; fructification in long marginal rarely interrupted lines. Pinnze of
sterile fronds wider and somewhat crenately incised and toothed.
* * Frond 2-4 times pinnate, orate-lanccolute in general outline.
A. Capillus-V^neris, VENUS-HAIR, so named from the shining capillary
branches of the rhachis ; native S., often in conservatories N. : twice pinnate or
thrice pinnate at the base, the long upper part simply pinnate ; pinnules about
£' broad, on very slender stalks, sharply wedge-shaped at the base, rounded at
the top, or rhoniboidal, commonly deeply lobed from the npper margin ; fruit-
dots one to each lobe ; involucres 'kidney-shaped or transversely oblong. Plant
6' -12' high, often pendent from damp shaded rocks in the mouths of wells,
&c., in S. of Europe.
A. JEthi6picum, as commonly seen in hot-houses, is much like the last ;
but has smaller pinnules not so sharply wedge-shaped, often broader than long,
and less deeply lobed ; fruit-dots in deep sinuses of the upper margin ; involucres
kidney-shaped or crescent-shaped.
A. cuneatuin, from S. America, is a much larger plant, broadly triangu<
lar in outline, 3-4 times pinnate; pinnules smaller and very numerous, wedge-
shaped at the base, the upper edge deeply lobed ; fruit-dots as in the last.
* * * Frond lw»-ftrked, with elongated simpty pinnate divisions springing from
the upner side of the two recurved branches: midrib of the pinnules none:
veins forked from the base.
A. pedatum, MAID EN -HA IK. Native in shady woods ; whole plant smooth,
l°-2° high; principal divisions 4' -10' long, !'-!£' wide; pinnules very
FERN FAMILY. 365
numerous, oblong, broadest at the base, obtuse, lobed from the upper edge ;
fruit-dots at the top of the lobes ; involucres transversely oblong or linear.
A hispidulurn, from Australia, &c. : commonly less symmetrical than
the fast, when young irregularly 3 -4-branched; a smaller plant with finely
chaffy or bristly stalk and rhachis ; pinnules minutely hairy, nearly entire ;
fruit-dots crowded along the upper margin, involucres rounded kidney-shaped.
7 PTERIS BRAKE. (The ancient Greek name for Ferns, meaning a
'wing, from the feather-like fronds. ) Another large and widely distributed genus.
§ 1. Veins free: stalk straw-colored or brownish.
* Frond simply pinnate : pinnce undivided.
P. longifolia. Cult, from warm regions, native in S. Florida : oblong-
lanceolate in outline ; pinnae numerous, linear and tapering from a truncate or
cordate base, the upper and lower ones gradually smaller.
* * Frond pinnate, and with the lower pairs of pinna forked or again pinnate,
the divisions and upper pinnce elongated, simple.
P. Cr6tica. Cult, from warm climates, native in Florida .- l°-2° high;
pinnse 1-4 pairs, the upper ones slightly decurrent, lower ones cleft almost to
the base into 2-3 long linear-lanceolate acuminate divisions ; sterile ones and
tips of the narrower fertile ones finely and sharply serrate. Var. ALBO-LINEATA
has a whitish stripe in the middle of each division.
P. serrulata. Cult, from China: l°-l£° high; pinna? 3-8 pairs, all
but the lowest decurrent and forming a wing 3" wide on the main rhachis ;
lower pairs pinnately or pedately cut into several narrow linear-acuminate
divisions ; upper ones simple, sterile ones spinulosc-serrulate.
* * * Frond* pinnate, and the numerous primary divisions pinnately cut into many
lob»s, the lowest ones mostly with 1—3 elongated sitnilarly-lobtd branches on
the lower side.
P. quadriaurita. Cult, from East or West Indies, £c. : fronds l°-3°
long, 6' -12' wide, broadly ovate in outline; lobes of primary divisions linear'
oblong, £'-!' long, 3" wfde, very numerous and often crowded, mostly rather
obtuse. Var. ARGYKEA, has a band of white along the middle of the 'primary
divisions ; to this is added a tinge of red in var. TRICOLOR.
* * * * Fronds broadly triangular, twice or thrice pinnate throughout: lowest
primary divisions long-stalked.
P. aquilina, COMMON BRAKE. Plentiful everywhere, l°-5° high, harsh
to the touch ; the lowest primary divisions standing obliquely forward ; second-
ary divisions pinnatifid with many oblong or linear sometimes hastate lobes,
which in a fruiting frond are bordered everywhere with brown spore-cases.
§ 2. DoRYOPTiiRis. Veins finely reticulated: frond ptdate, and 5-angled:
stalk black and shining.
P. pedata. Cult, from West Indies and S.America: frond 2' -6' long
and nearly as wide, almost parted into a few primary divisions ; upper ones en-
tire, lowest pair again cleft ; the lobes on the lower side much largest.
8. PELL^JA, CLIFF-BRAKE. (Name from the Greek, meaning dark-
colored, descriptive of the stalk.) Mostly small Ferns: the following species
have fronds of a somewhat coriaceous texture.
P. rotundifolia, from New Zealand: frond narrow, 6' -12' long, on a
chaffy and pubescent wiry stalk, simply pinnate ; pinnre round or roundish-
oblong and entire ; band "of spore-cases very wide and concealing the narrow
involucre.
P. atropurptirea. Wild, on shaded limerock : fronds tufted, 6'- 12' long,
2' -4' Avide, with polished and sparingly downy stalks, 2-pinnatc, simply pinnate
toward the top ; pinnules distinct, oblong or li near-oblong, rarelv halberd-shaped,
obtuse or slightly mucronate ; involucre rather broad, and at length hidden by
the spore-cases.
P. hastata, from South Africa : mostly larger than the last and very vari-
able.; frond ovate-lanceolate or oblong, J-3-pinnate; pinnules lanceolate or
366 FERN FAMILY.
rhomboid-ovate, very often halberd-shaped, the end ones of the primary pinnae
much the largest, often l'-2' long and £'-!' broad; stalk and branches black
and polsshed, smooth ; involucre rather narrow.
9. WOODWARDIA, CHAIX-FERN. (Named in honor of Thomas J.
Woodward, an English botanist of the last century.) A small genus of rather
large Ferns, all natives of the N. temperate zone.
W. Virginica. Tall, growing in swamps N. & S. : sterile and fertile
fronds alike, ovate in outline, pinnate, with lanceolate deeply pinnatifid pinna; ;
lobes oblong, obtuse; veins reticulated, forming a single row of meshes along
the midribs of pinnce and of lobes, the outer veinlets free; fruit-dots oblong,
close to the midribs.
W. angustifblia. Range, &c. of the last, but less common : fronds 6 -
10' long, 4' -6' broad, pinnatitid almost to the winged rhachis into 17-27 lobes,
which are broadly lanceolate and with copiously reticulated veins in the sterile
frond, but are narrowly linear in the fertile, and with a single )t»w of narrow
meshes next the midrib ; i'ruit-dots linear, sausage-shaped, one iu .each mesh.
10. DOODIA. (Xamed in honor of Samuel Doody, an early English Crypto-
gamic botanist.) Small Ferns, cult, from Australia and New Zealand.
D. caudata. Fronds 9'-15' long, linear-lanceolate, on dull-black nearly
smooth stalks, pinnate with many linear serrate and nearly sessile pinnae, which
are about 1' long, often slightly atiriculate at base, the lower ones rather trian-
gular, distant; fruit-dots in a single row next the midrib.
D. aspera. Stalk black and rough with small ragged points ; fronds broadly-
lanceolate, rather coriaceous, harsh to the touch, pinnatind to the rhachis ; di-
visions crowded, oblong-linear, spinulose-serrate, lower ones gradually smaller;
fruit-dots not close to the midrib, sometimes a second row next the margin.
11. ASPLENIUM, SPLEENWORT. (Name from the Greek ; refers to
supposed action on the spleen.) A very large genus, the size of the species
ranging from quite small up to very large and even tree-like.
§ 1. Fronds undivided, large and showy : cult, from East Indies, frc.
A. Nidus, BIRD'S-NEST FEUN. Fronds numerous, broadly lanceolate,
2° -4° long, 4' -8' wide, entire, short-stalked, arranged in a crown around the
central upright rootstock ; fruit-dots very narrow, elongated, crowded, running
from the stout midrib obliquely half-way to the margin.
§ 2. Fronds small, pinnatijid bdow, tapering into a long entire point • native,
A. pinnatifidum. Very rare, near Philadelphia, and sparingly W. & S.,
especially along the Alleghanies : fronds 3' - 6' lon3
Allauianda 274
APETALOUS DIVISIOX 282
Asplenium 3Tl,3S6
Allium 340, 317
Aphyllon 228, 229
Aster 1«3, 193
Almond 118
Apios 97, 108
Astilbe 132, 137
ALMOND FAMILY 116
Apium 163, 165
Astragalus 98, 107
Alnus 306, 307
Aplectrnm 324, 327
Atamasco Lily 331
Aloe 341
APOCYNACE^ 274
Atragene 35
Alonaoa 280,233
Apocynum 274, 275
Atriplex 284
Alopecurus 356
Appli 129
Atropa 286, 269
376
IXDEX.
Aubergine 267
Birthwort 282
Bromo Grass 855
Aucuba 167, 168
BIRTH WORT FAMILY 282
BROMELIACE-E 8^9
Auricula 223
bhihop's-Cap 137
Bronius 855
Avena 855
Bitter-Cress 64
Biookiime 234
Avens lZ'2
Bitter Sweet 88
Brook weed 225
Azalea 212, 217
Bittersweet 268
Broom-corn 357
Bitterweed 188
BROOM-RAPE FAMILY 228
Bald-Cypress 814
Black alder 219 Broussonetia 297, 299
Balloou-Yine 90
Black bean 109
Browaliia 2l9, 282
Ballota 252
Blackberry 124
Brunella 245. 252
Balm 249, 250
Blackberry Lily 334
Brunfclsia 229, 232
Balm-of-Gilead 251
Black Grass 349
Bryophyllum 138, 139
Balm-of-GUead Poplar 309
Black Moss 329 | Buchnera 230' 234
Balujony 238
Black Sampson 205 Buckeye ' 90
Balsam 81
Black Snakeroot 39
Buckthorn 87
Banana 329
Black-Thorn 118
BUCKTHORN FAMILY 86
BANANA FAMILY 328
Bladder Campion 66
Buckwheat 289
Baneberry 39
Bladder Ketniia 74
BUCKWHEAT FAMILY 287
Baptisia 98. Ill
Bladder-nut 90
Buffalo-Berry 292
Barbadoes Flower-fencfc 113
BLADDER-NUT FAMILY 89
Buffalo-nut 292
Barbarea 51, 54 Bladder-Senna 107
Bugbane 39
Barberry 45
Bladderwort 225
Bugleweed 247
BARBERRY FAMILY 44
BLADDERWORT FAMILY
Bugloss 257
Barley 357
225
Bulrush 352
Barnyard Grass 357
Blazing-Star 191. 342
Bumelia 220
Barren Strawberry 121
Bleeding Heart 50
Bunch-berry 167
Barren-wort 45
Blcphiiia 245, 251
Bunch-Flower 343
Bartonia 151, 271, 273
Blessed Thistle 187
Burchellia Capensis 173
Basil 248, 249
Elite 285
Burdock 187
Basil Thyme 249 Blitum 284, 285
Bur-Marigold 202
Basswood 75
Blood-root 49
Burnet 125
Bastard Pennyroyal 246
Blue Beech 305
Burning-bush 88
Bauera rubioides 131 ! Blueberry 213
Bur-Reed 319
Bay berry 306 I Bluebottle 187
Bush-Clover 104
Bean ' 108 I Blue Curls 246
Bush-Honeysuckle 171
Bean-trefoil-tree 101 Bluets 176
Butcher's Broom 344
Bearberry 214
Blue-Eyed-Grass 335
Butomeae 320
Bear-Grass 348
Blue Flag 333
Butter-and-Eggs 235
Beaver-Poison 165
Blue Hearts 234
Buttercup 37
Bedstraw 174
Blue-Joint Grass 353
Butterfly-Pea 109
Bee-Balm 249
Blue Lettuce 208
Butterfly-Weed 277
Beech 305
Blue-Tangle 213
Butternut 300
Beech-Drops 229
Blueweed 255
Butterweed 193, 198
Beech-Fern 367
Blumenbachia 152
Butterwort 226
Beehive 101
Bocconia 48, 49
Button-bush 175
Beet 285
Bcelmieria 297. 299
Button -Snakeroot 164, 191
Beggar's Lice 257
Bois d'Arc 299
Button-weed 175
Beggar-Ticks 202
Bokhara 101
Buttonwood 300
Begonia 161
Boltonia 183, 198
Buxus 293, 296
BEGONIACE.E 161
Bonamia 263, 264
BEGONIA FAMILY 161
Boneset 192
Cabbage 52
Belladona 269
Borage 255
Cacalia 182, 193, 194
Bellflower 210
BORAGE FAMILY 254
CACTACEJE 152
Bellis 182, 183, 199
BORRAGINACEJE 254
CACTUS FAMILY 152
Bellwort 343
Borrago 254, 255
Caesalpinia 99 113
BELL WORT FAMILY 338
Botrychium 363, 372
Caiophora 152
Bengal Grass 357
Bottle-brush 149
Cakile 62, 56
Benjamin-Bush 291
Bottle Gourd 159
Calabash 159
Benzoin 291 Bottle Grass 357
Caladium 317
BERBERIDACE^l 44 Bouncing Bet 66
Calamagrostis 3c3
Berberis 44, 45
Boussingaultia 284, 285
Calaminth 249
Berchemia 86, 87
Bouvardia 174, 176 Calamintha 249
Bergamot 250 i Bowman's Root 12 1 Calampeiis 227
Bermuda Grass 356 1 Bow- Wood 299 Calamus 318
Beta 284, 285 i Box 298 Calandriuia 69
Betonica (Betonv) 246, 253 Boxberry 214 Calceolaria 230, 234
Betula 306 i Box-Elder 92 Calendula 184, 200
BETULACE2E 306 i Boykinia 132, 136 Calico-bush 216
Bidens 184, 202 • Brachycome 183, 19S California Nutmeg-tree 315
Bisrnonia 226, 227 ' Bracted Bindweed 234 Calla 317 318
BIGNONIACKB 226 Brake 335 CalHcarpa 241,243
BIGNONIA FAMILY 226
Bramble 124 Caliiopsis 201
Bilsted 140
Brassica 51,52 Callirrhoe 70-72
Bindweed 264, 289
Brasenia 46 Callistemon 149
Biota 315
BRASILETTO FAMILY 98 Callistephus 182, 196
Birch 306
Brier Rose 125 Calluna 211, 214
BIRCH FAMILY 306
Briza 355 Calochortus 841
Bird'8-nest Fern 866
Broccoli 52 , Calonyction 263
BLrtkroot 341
Brodijea 341 CalOpogon 224, 826
INDEX.
377
Caltha 34. 39
Centradenia 148
Climbing-Fern
371
CALYCANTHACE.E 130
Centranthus 177
Climbing Fumitory
50
Calycanthus 131
Centroaema 97, Iu9
Climbing Ueinpweed
191
CALYCANTHUS FAMILY l;j(>
Century Plant 332
Ciintonia 208
,339,343
Calystcgia 2J2, 211
Cephalatithus 174 170
Ciitoria
97, 109
Cameliua 51, 55
Certstium 64. 67
Ctotbur
188
Cauiellia 76
Ceratochloa 355
Clover
101
CAMELLIACE.E 75
Cercis 98, 113
Club-Moss
372
CAMKLLIA FAMILY 75
Cereus 153, 154
CLUB-MOSS FAMII
,Y 372
Campanula 209, 210
Ceropteris 360
Cnicua
180, 187
CAMPANULACIJB 209
Oestrum 267, 270
Cobsea
260, 2o2
CAMPANULA FAMILY 209
Chain-Fern 366
Cocculus
44
Camptosorus 361, 337
Chamaelirium 338, 342
Cocklebur
188
Campyloneuron 3i53
Chamomile 199
Cockscomb
287
Canary-bird Flower
Charlock 52
Coco-Grass
352
Canary-Grass 354
Chaste-Tree 243
Coffea (Coffee)
174, 176
Cancer-Root • 229
Cheat 355
Cohosh
45
Candytuft 55
Checkerberry 214
Colchicum
338,342
Canna 328
Cheiranthus 51 54
Goleus
244, 247
Cannabis 297, 299
Chelidonium 48, 49
Collinsia
230,235
Canterbury Bells 210
Chelone 232, 238
Collinsonia
244,248
Cape Jessamine 176 CHKNOPODIACELE '284
Colocasia
317, 318
Crape-Myrtle 150 Chenopodium 284, 285
Coltsfoot
193
CAPER FAMILY 56
Cherry 118
Columbine
40
Capers 56
Chess 355
Colutea
96, 107
CAPPARIDACEJ3 5*3 Chestnut 304
Colza
62
Capparis spinosa 56 Chick-Pea 111
Comandra
292
(!APRIFOLIACE.£ 169 CHICKVTEED FAMILY 64
Comfrey
257
Japsella 52,55 Chickweed-Wintergreen 224
Cap.sieum 266, 268 Chicory 206
Commelyna
COMMKLYNACKJJ
350
350
Caragana 96, 106 ! Chili Jessamine 275
Compass-Plant
201
Caraway It jo Chimaphila 212, 218
COMPOSITE
179
Card-inline 61, 54 Chimonanthua 131
COMPOSITE FAMILY 179
Cardinal-Flower 2W China- Aster 193
Comptonia
305. 306
Cardiospermum 89, 90 i China-brier 336
Cone-Flower
'205
Cardoon 186 ! China-tree 84
CONIFERS
309
Carex 352 Chinese Sugar-Cane 357
Conium
163,165
Carolina Allspice 131 \ Chinese Sumach 83
Conoolinium
182, 193
Carpet-weed 68 Chinquapin 305
Conopholis
228.229
Carpinus 302, 305 Chiogenes 211, 214
Convallaria
339,344
garrion Flower 337 , Chionanthus 279, 281
CONVOLVULACE^
262
Carrot l>ii Chives 347
Convolvulus
262, 264
Carthamnus 180, 187 Chokeberry 130
CONVOLVULUS FAJ
IILY 262
Ctirum 163, 165 ! Chorizema 98, 111 Coontie
309
Carva 300, 301 Christmas Rose 39 i Coptis
34.39
CAKYOPHYLLACE^ 63 Chrysanthemum 183, 199 ! Coral-berry
170
Cashew Family 84
Chrysodium 353 | Corallorhiaa
324, 327
Cassandra 211, 215
Chrysopsis 182, 195 Coral-Root
327
Cassia 99, 113
Chrysosplenium 133, 137
Cordyline
341
Castanea 302, 304
Chufa 352 Coreopsis
184, 201
Castilleia 232, 239
Cicer 98, 111 Coriander
164
Castor-oil Plant 295
Cichorium 185, 206 Coriandrum
163,164
Catalpa 226, 227
Cichory 206
Corn
358
Catbrier 33r3
Cicuta 163.165 CORNACE^
167
Catchfly 65
Cimicifuga 34, 39 Corn-Cockle
65
Catgut 106
Cinchona 176
Cornel
167
Cat-Mint 251
CINCHONA FAMILY 173 Corn-Flag
335
Catnip 251
Cineraria 194 1 Cornflower
187
CAT-TAIL FAMILY 318
Cinnamon-Fern 371 Corn Salad
178
Cat-Tail Flag 319
Cinquefoil 122
Cornus
167
Cat-tail Grass 356
Circa* 141, 142
Coronilla
95, 106
Cauliflower 52
Cirsium 179, 186
Corpse-plant
218
Caulophyllum 45
CISTACEJE 60
Corydalis
50
Cayenne Pepper 258
Cistus Ladaniferus 60
Corylus
302, 305
Ceanothiw 87
Citron 83, 160
Cosmanthus
259
Cedar 314
Citrullus 159, 160
Costmary
188
Cedronella 245, 251
Citrus 82, 83
Cotoneaster
117, 129
Cedrus 310. 314
Cladium 3">2
Cotton
74
Celandine 49
Clartrastb 98, 112
Cotton-Rose
189
Celandine Poppy 49
Clarkia 142, 143
Cotton Thistle
187
CELASTRACE^E 87
Claytonia 69
Cotton-wood
800
Celastrus 88
Cleavers 174
Cotyledon
138, 139
Celery 165
Clematis 33, 35
Couch-Grass
a56
Celosia 286, 287
Cleome 57 Cow-herb
66
Celsia 230, 233
Clethra 212, 217 Cow-parsnip
166
Celtis 296, 29S
Cliauthus ' 96 Cowslip
223
Centaurea 180, 187
Cliff-Brake 365 Cowslips
&>
Ceutaury 271 Climbing Falsa Buckwheat 289 Cow- Wheat
239
S&F— 27
378
INDEX.
Crab-Grass 356, 857 Decumaria 132, 134 Echinospermmn 255, 257
Cranberry 213 ! Deerberry 213 Echites 274, 275
Cranberry-tree 172 Deer-Grass 148 Echiuiu 254, 255
Crauesbiil 79 Delphinium 34, 40
Eel-Grass 316, 322
Crawula 138,139 Dentaria 62,55
Egg Plant 267
CRASS ULACE.E 137 Deodar 314
Egyptian Grass 356
Crataegus 117, 128 Desrnanthus 99, 114
JSL&AGNACEJ5 292
Creeping Snowberry 214 Desinodium 95, 104
Elaeagnus 292
Crinkle-root 55 Deutzia 132, 135
ELA'ilNACE^ 63
Crinum 330, 331 Devil's Bit 342
Elatins 63
Crocus 333, 335
Devil-wood 281
Elder 173
Crotalaria 94, 100
Dewberry 125
Elecampane 195
Crowfoot 37
Dianthera 240, 241
Elephant's Ear 161
CROWFOOT FAMILY 33
Dianthus 64
Eleusine 356
Crownbeard 203
Dicentra 50
Elm 297
Crown Imperial 346
Diervilla 169, 171
ELM FAMILY 296
CRUCIFER.E 61
Dicksonia 362, 370
Elodes 61, 63
CRYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS
Dicliptera 240
Emilia 194
359
DICOTYLEDONOUS
Endive 206
Cryptomeria 310, 314
PLANTS 13, 33
ENDOGENOUS PLANTS 316
Cuckoo-Flower 55
Dictamnus 82
Enslenia 276, 278
Cucumber 160
Diclytra 50
Eutoca 259
Cucumber-tree 43 .
Digitalis 231, 236
Epidendrum 323, 324
Cucuniis 159, 160
Diodia 173, 175
Epigsea 211, 214
Cucurbita 159 1 Dionaea 59. 60
Epilobium 142, 143
CUCURBITACE.E 158
Dioscorea 336
Epimedium 44, 45
Cudweed 189
DIOSCOREACE.E 335
Epiphegus 228, 229
Culver's Root 233
Diospyros 219
Epiphvllum 153, 154
Cunila 244, 248
Cunonia Capeiisis 131
Diplopappus 197
DIPSACfc^ 178
EQl'ISETACEJE 359
Equisetum 359
Cuphsea 150, 151 Dipsacus 178
Erechthites 181, 189
Cup-Plant 201 Dirca 291,292
Erica 211, 214
Cupressus 310, 314
Ditch Stone-Crop 138
ERICACEAE 210
CUPULIFER.E 301 Dittany 248
Eriobotrya 129
Currant 133 Dock 289 Eriocaufon 352
Cuscuta 263,265 Dockmackie 172
ERIOCAULONACE^! 352
CUSTARD-APPLE FAMILY
Dodecatheon 222, 223
Eriogonum 287
43 Dodder 265
Erigeron 183, 198
Cyanophyllum 148
DODDER FAMILY 263
Erodium 78, 79
Cyathea 862, 370
Dogbane 275
Eryngium (Eryngo) 162, 164
CYATHEACE^I 362
DOGBANE FAMILY 274
Erysimum 51, 54
CYCADACEJE 309
Cycas 809
Dog's-tail 356
Dog-Tooth-Yiolet 346
Erythrina 95, 97, 108
Erythronium 340. 346
Cyclamen 223, 224
Dogwood 167
Eschscholtzia 48, 49
Cyclobothra 341
DOGWOOD FAMILY 167
Eucharidium 142, 143
Cydonia 117, 130
Dolichos 97, 109
Eucnide 152
Cynara 179, 186
Doodia 861, 366
Eugenia 149
Cynodon 356
Doorweed 287
Eupatorium 182, 192
Cvnoglossum 255, 257
CYPERACE^ 352
Doryopteris ' 365
Doura 357
Euphorbia 293, 294
EUl'IIORBIACEJE 293
Cy penis 352
Downingia 208
Euonymus 88
Cvpress 314
Draba 52. 55
Evening-Primrose 143
CYPRESS FAMILY 310
Dracaena 341
EVENING PRIMROSE
Cypress Yine 263
Cypripedium 324, 327
Cyrtomium 369
Cystopteris 361, 369
Dracopis 185, 205
Dragon-Arum
Dragon-Root
Dragon Tree
FAMILY 141
Everlasting 189, 190
Evolvulus 263, 264
EXOGENOUS PLANTS 12, 33
Cytisus 94, 100
Dropwort 121
DROSERACE^ 59
Fagopyrum 287, 289
Dactylis 354
Dactyloctenium 356
Dryopteris
Duckweed 316
Fagus 302, 305
Fair Maids of France 38
Daffodil 331
DUCKWEED FAMILY 316
Fall Dandelion 206
Dahlia 184, 201
Durra 357
False Beech-drops 218
Daisy 199
Dutchman's Breeches 50
False Dandelion 207
Dalea 95, 102
Dutchman's Pipe 282
False Dragon-Head 251
Daiibarda 116, 124
Dutch Rushes 359
False-flax 55
Dandelion 207
Dangleberry 213
Dysodia 185, 206
False Gromwell 255
False Hellebore 343
Daphne 291
EBENACE.E 219
False Indigo 103, 111
Darlingtonia 47
EBONY FAMILY 219
False Lettuce 208
Darnel 356
Ecbalium 158
False Loosestrife 146
Date-Plum 219
Eccremocarpus 226, 227
False Mermaid 79
Datura 266, 269
Daucus 162, 164
Enchanter's Nightshade 142
Echeveria 139
False Mitrewort 137
False Nettle 299
Davallia 362. 370
Echinacea 185, 205
False Pennvroyal 246
Day-Flower 350
Echinocactus * 153, 166
False Pimpernel
Day-Lily 348
Dead-Nettie 252
Echinocysti* 159, 160
Echinodorue 320
False Red-top
False Saffron Wt
INDEX.
379
False Solomon's Seal 344 j Fumitory 50
Granadilla 158
Farfugium 194
FUMITORY-FAMILY 49
Grape 85
Farkleberry 213
Fuukia 340, 348
Grape Hyacinth 347
Featherfoil 225
Grass-Cloth Plant 2*9
Feather Geranium 285
Gaillardia 183, 200
GRASS FAMILY 353
Fedia 177, 178
Galactia 97, 109
Grass-of-Parnassus 136
Fennel 165
Galaiithus 330, 331
Grass-of-the-Audes 355
Fennel-flower 40
Galeopsis 246, 252
Grass-Wrack 316
Fenugreek 101
Galium 173, 174
Gratiola 231, 237
FERN FAMILY 360
Gall-of-the-Earth 207
Greek Valerian 262
Fescue Grass 354
Gama Grass 358
Greenbrier 836
Festuca 354
Gardenia 174, 176
Green-Dragon 318
Fetid Marigold 206
Garget 284
Green Milkweed 278
Feverbush 291
Garland Flower 328
Green-weed 100
Feverfew 199
Garlic 347
Gromwell 256
Fever-tree 176
Garrya 167
Ground Cherry 268
Feverwort 170
Gaultheria 211, 214
Ground Ivy 251
Ficus 296, 298
Gaura 142, 143
Ground Laurel 214
Fig 298
Gaylussacia 211, 213
Ground-nut 106, 108, 167
FIG FAMILY 296
Gazania • 183, 200
Ground-Pine 373
Fig-Marigold 157
Gelsemium 273
Ground Pink 261
FIG-MARIGOLD FAMILY
Genista 94, 100
Ground Plum 107
156
Gentiana (Gentian) 271, 2<~2
Groundsel 193
Figwort. 238
GENTIAN ACE.E 270
Guava 149
FIGVVORT FAMILY 229
GENTIAN FAMILY 270
Guelder Rose 172
Filago 181, 189
Georgia Bark 176
Guinea Corn 357
Filbert 305
GERANIACE^I 77
Guinea-Hen Flower 346
FILICES 360
Geranium 78, 79
Gumbo '(4
Filmy Ferns 362
GERANIUM FVMILY 77
Gymuocladus 99, 113
Finger-Grasa 357
Gerardia 231, 236
Gymnogramme 360, 364
Florin 353
Germander 246
GYMNO.-PERMOUS
Fir 312
German Ivy 194
PLANTS 27, 309
Fire-Pink 66
GESNERIACEJG 228
Gynandropsia 57
Fire weed 143, 189
Gesneria 2li*
G neriuin 358
Five-finger 122
GESNERIA FAMILY 228
Gypsophila 64, 66
Flax 77
Geum 116, 122
FLAX FAMILY 77
Giant Hyssop 251
Habenaria 323, 324
Fleabane 198
Gilia 260, 261
Habrothamnufl 270
Flcerkea 78, 79
Gill 251
Ilickberry 298
Flower-de-luce 333
Gillenia 116, 121
Hackmatack 314
Flowering-Fern 371
Gilliflower 53
Halesia 220, 221
FLOWERING FERNS 332
GIXGEK, FAMILY 328
HALORAGEJE 140
FLO \VERING-RUSH
Ginkgo-Tree 315
BAMAMXLAGCJI 140
FAMILY 320
Ginseng 167
Hamamelis 140
FLOWERING PLANTS 12, 33
GINSENG FAMILY 166
Hardenbergia 97, 109
Flowering \Vintergreen 93
Girasole 204
Hardback 120
FLOWEKLESS PLANTS 359
Glade-Mallow 72
Harebell 210
Flower-of-an-hour 74
Gladiolus 333, 335
Hare's- Foot- Fern 370
Fly-Poison 342
Glasswort 284
Hart's-tongue 363, 367
Foeuiculum 163, 165
Gleditschia 99, 114
Haw 128, 172
Fog-fruit 242
Globe-flower 39
Hawkbit 206
Forget-me-not 256
Globe Hyacinth 347
Hawkweed 207
Forked chickwe«d 68
Glottidium 106
Hawthorn 128
Forsteronia 274, 275
Gloxinia 228
Hazel-nut " 306
Forsythia 279, 280
GLUMACEOUS DIVISION
Heal-all 252
Fothergilla 140
30,352
Hearfs-ease 59
Four-o'clock 283
Gnaphalium 181, 189
Heart-Seed 90
FOUR-O'CLOCK FAMILY 283
Goatsbeard 121
Heath 214
Foul-Mt-adow-Grass 354
Godetia 145
Heather 214
Foxglove 237
Golden Aster 195
HEATH FAMILY 210
Foxtail-Grass 357
Golden Chain 101
Hedeoma 244, 248
Fragaria 116, 123
Golden-Rod 195
Hedera 166, 167
Franciscea 232
Golden Saxifrage 137
Hedgehog Cone-Flower 205
Frangula 87
Gold- Fern 364
Hedge-hyssop 237
Franklinia 7o'
Goldthread 39
Hadge-Mustaxd 53
Frasi-ra 271, 272
Fraxinella 82
Gomphrena 286. 287
Gonolobus 276, 278
Hedge-Nettle 2->3
Ileilvchium 328
Fraxinus 279, 281
French Marigold 206
Good-King-Henry 285
(Joodvera 323,326
Heleumm 183, 200
Helianthemum 60
French Mulberry 243
Gooseberry 133
llelianthus 184, 203
Fringe-Tree 281
Goosefoot 285
Hplichrysnm 190
Fritillaria 340, 34<>
GOOSEFOOT FAMILY 284
Heliophytum 255, 258
Fro^s-Hit 322
Goose-grass 175, 287
Ileliopsis 184, 204
FROG'S-BIT FAMILY 321
Gordonia 76
HELIOTROPE FAMILY 255
Frostweed 60
Fuchsia 142, 147
Gossypium 70, 74
Gourd ir/.t
Heliotropiuin (Heliotrope)
255. 257
Fumaria 50
GOURD FAMILY 15S Hellebore ' 343
FUMARIACEJE 49
GRAMINE^ 353 Helleborua (Hellebore) 34,39
380
INDEX.
Helouias 338, 342
Hyssopus (Hyssop) 244, 248
Kale 52
Hemerocallis 340, 348
Kalmia 212, 216
Heniitelia 370
Iberis 62, 55
Kennedya 97, 110
Hemlock Spruce 313
Ice-Plant 157
Kentucky Blue Grass 354
Hemp 299
Hex 219
Kentucky Coffee-tree 113
HEMP FAMILY 5:97
Illicium 42, 43
Kerria 116, 121
Hemp-Nettle 252
Ilysanthes 231, 237
Kidney Bean 108
Henbane 269
luimortelle 189, 190
Kinuikiunik 168
Hepatica 34, 35
Impatiens 78, 81
Kitaibelia 70, 71
Heracleum 163, 166
Imphee 357
Knapweed 187
Herba Impia 189
Ipomoea 262, 263
Knawel 68
Herb Robert 79
Ipomopsis 261
Knot-grass 287
Hercules' Club 166
Indian Bean 227
Knotweed 287
Herd's Grass 356
Indian Corn 358
Koelreuteria 89, 90
Hesperis 51, 53
Indian Cress 81
Kohlrabi 52
Heteranthera 322
Indian Cucumber-Root 342
Kosteletzskya 70, 73
Heterocentron 148
Indian Currant 170
Kuhnia 182, 191
Heuchera 132, 135
Indian Fig 153
Hibiscus 70, 74
Indian Hemp 275
LABIATJ3 243
Hickory 301
Indian Mallow 73
Labrador Tea 217
Hieracium 185, 207
Indian Millet 357
Laburnum 94, 101
Hierochloa 356
Indian Physic 121
Lactuca 186, 208
Hippuris 141
Indian Pipe 218
Ladies' Eardrops 147
Hoary-pea 106
INDIAN PIPE FAMILY 212
Ladies' Smock . 55
Hobble-bush 172
Indian Plantain 193
Ladies '-Tresses 326
Hog-Pea-uut 109
Indian Poke 343
Lady-Fern 367
Hogweed 188
Indian Rice 353
Lady's Mantle 125
Holcus 355
Indian Shot 328
Lady's Slipper 327
Holly 219
INDIAN-SHOT FAMILY 328
Lady's Thumb 288
HOLLY FAMILY 218
Indian Turnip 317
Lagenaria 158, 159
Hollyhock 71
Indian Wheat 289
Lagerstroemia 149, 150
Holly-Grass 356
India-Rubber-Tree 298
LambkiH 216
Honesty 55
Indigofera 96, 106
Lamb-Lettuce 178
Honey-Locusfc 114
Indigo-plant 106
Lamb's-Quarters 285
Honeysuckle 170
Inkberry 219
Lamium 246, 252
HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY 169
Inula ' 182, 195
Lantana 241, 242
Hop 299
Iresine 286
Laportea 297, 299
Hop-Hornbeam 305
IRIDACEJ5 332
Lappa 180, 187
Hop-tree 83
Iris 332, 333
Larch 313
Uordcum 357
IRIS FAMILY 332
Large Cane 354
Horehound 252
Irish Broom 100
Larix 310, 313
Hornbeam 305
Iron-weed 190
Larkspur 40
Horse-Balm 248
Iron- wood 305
Lathyrus 98, 110
Horse Bean 111
Isanthus 243, 246
LAURACEJE 290
Horse-Chestnut 90
Isatis 52, 56
LAUREL FAMILY 290
Horse-Gentian 170
Isoetes 372, 374
Laurestinus 172
Horse-mint 250, 251
Italian May 120
Lavandula 244, 247
Horse-Nettle 267
Italian Millet 357
Lavatera 70, 71
Horseradish 53
I tea 132, 134
Lavender 247
Horse-Sugar 221
Ivy 167
Lead-Plant 103
Horse-tail 359
Ixia 333
Lead wort 222
HORSE-TAIL FAMILY 359
LEADWORT FAMILY 222
Horseweed 198
Jacobaean Lily 331
Leaf-cup 201
Hoteia 137
Jacob's Ladder 262
Leather-leaf 215
Hottonia 223, 225
Jamestown- Weed 269
Leatherwood 292
Houndstongue 191, 257
Japan Alspice 131
Lechea 60, 61
Houseleek 138
Jasminum 279, 280
Ledum 212, 217
Houstonia 174, 176
Jatropha 293, 296
Leek 347
Hoya 276, 278
Jeffersonia 45, 46
LEGUMINOS^l 94
Huckleberry 213
Jerusalem Artichoke 204
Leiophyllum 212, 217
Hudsonia 60
Jerusalem Cherry 268
Lemua 316
Humea 181 190
Jerusalem Oak 285
LEMNACE^l 316
Humulus 297, 299
Jerusalem Sage 253
Lemon 83
Hyacinthus 340
Jessamine 280
Lemon-scented Verbena 242
Hyacinth 348
Jewel-Weed 81
Lens 98, 111
Hydrangea 132, 135
Joe-Pye Weed 192
LENTIBULACEJE 225
Hvdrastis 34 38
Jointed Charlock 56
Lentil 111
HYDKOCHARIDACE^E 321
Jointweed 287
Leontodon 185, 206
Hydrocotyle 163, 164
Jonquil 331
Leonurus 246, 253
Hydrolea 258, 260
Judas-tree 113
Lepachys 185, 205
Hvdrophyllum 258, 259
JUGLANDACE.E 300
Lepidium 52, 56
HYDROPHYLLACE^E 258
Juglans 300
Leptosiphon 261
HYMENOPHYLLACRB 362
JUNCACRfl! 349
Lespedeza 95, 104
Hyoscvamus 266, 269
Juncus 349
Lettuce 208
HYPERICACMZ 61
June-Berry 129
Leucanthemum 183, 199
Hypericum 61
Juniperus (Juniper) 310, 315
Leucoium 330, 332
Hypoxys 329, 330
Jupiter's-Beard 177
Leucotboe 21i 215
Hyptis 244, 247
Jussiaea 142, 145
Lever-wood 80S
INDEX.
381
Levisticum 163, 165
MADDER FAMILY 173 Mexican Tea 285
Liatris 182, 191
Madwort 66 Mezereum 291
Ligustrum 279, 280
Lilac 280
Magnolia 42 MEZERKUM FAMILY 291
MAtJNOLIACE^: 42 Mignonette 57
LILIACILE 337
MAGNOLIA FAMILY 42 MIGNONETTE FAMILY 57
Lilium • 340, 345
Mahernia 75 Mikania 182,191
Lily 345
Mahogany-tree 84 Milfoil 199
LILY FAMILY 337, 339
Mahouia 45 Milk-Pea 109
Lily-of-the-Valley 344
Lime 83
Mahon stock 63 Milk Thistle 187
Maiden-hair 364 > Milk- Vetch 107
Maize 358 Milkweed 277
Limnanthemum 271 , 273
Malcolmia 51, 53 i MILKWEED FAMILY 276
Limnanthes 77, 79
MALLOW FAMILY 70 ' Milkwort 92
Linmobium 321, 322
Mallow 71 Mimosa 99, 114
Limnocharis 820, 321
Malope 70, 71 MIMOSA FAMILY 99
LINAGES 77
Malva 70, 71 Mimulus 231, 237
Linaria 230, 235
MALVACELE 70 Mint
Linden 75
Malvaviscua 70, 73 MINT FAMILY 243
LINDEN FAMILY 75'
Mamillaria 153, 156 Mirabilis
Lindera 291
Mandevillea 275 Mist-Flower
Ling 214
Mandrake 46 Mistletoe 292
Linnsea 169, 170
Manettia cordifolia 173 MISTLETOE FAMILY 292
Liuum 77
Man-of-the-Earth 263 Mitchella 174, 175
Lion's-Foot 207
Maple 91 Mitella 133, 137
Lippia 241, 242
MAPLE FAMILY 89 i Mitreola
Liquidambar 140
Maranta 328 Mitrewort 137
Liriodendron 42
Marestail 141 Moccason-Flower 327
Lithospermum 254, 256
Live-for-ever 138
Marigold 200 Mocker-nut 301
Marjoram 249 Mock-orange 119, 134
Liver-leaf 35
Marrubium 246, 252 Modiola 70, 73
Lizard's Tail 293
Marsh-Mallow 71 Mollugo 64, 68
LIZARDS-TAIL FAMILY 293
Marsh-Marigold 39 Molucca Balm 253
Loasa 152
LOASACE^E 151
Marsh-Rosemary 222
Marsh St. John's-wort 63
Moluccella 246, 253
Momordica 158
LOASA FAMILY 151
Martynia 227, 228
Mouarda 245, 250
Lobelia 208
Maruta 183. 199
Moneses 212, 218
LOBELIACE^I 208
Marvel-of-Peru 283
Moneywort 224
LOBELIA FAMILY 208
Masterwort 166
Monkey-Flower 237
Loblolly Bay 76
Matrimony-Vine 270
Monkshood 41
Locust-tree 107
Matthiola 51, 53
MONOCOTYLEDONOUS
LOUAMACE.E 273
Maurandia 231, 235
PLANTS 316
LOGANIA FAMILY 273
May-apple 46
MONOPETALOUS DIVI-
Lolium 356
Mayflower
SION 169
Long Moss 329
Maypops 157
Monotropa 212, 218
Lonicera 169, 170
Mayweed 199
Montbretia 333
Loosestrife 150, 224
Meadow-Beauty 148
MOONSEED FAMILY 44
LOOSESTRIFE FAMILY 149
Meadow-Foxtail 356
Moonwort 372
Lopezia 142, 147
Meadow Grass 354
Moosewood 91, 292
Lophanthus 245, 251
Meadow-rue 36
Moroea 333
Lophospermum 231, 236
Meadow-Soft-Grass 355
Morning Glory 263
Lcpseed 241
Meadow-Sweet 120
Morus 297, 298
Loquat-Tree 129
Medeola 337, 342
Moss Pink 261
LORANTHACE^! 292
Medicago 94, 101
Motherwort
Lotus 47
Medick 101
Mountain Ash 130
Lousewort 239
Melampyrum 232, 239
Mountain Holly 218
Lovage 165
Love-lies-Bleeding 286
Melanthium 338, 343
MELANTHIUM FAMILY 337
Mountain Laurel 216
Mountain Mint 248
Low Spear Grass 354
MELASTOMACE.E 148
Mourning Bride 178
Lucerne 101
Ludwigia 142 146
MELASTOMA FAMILY 148 Mouse-ear Chickweed 67
Mclia 84 Mouse-tail 37
Lunaria 62, 55
MELIACE.E 84 1 Mud-Plantain 322
Lungwort 255
MELIA FAMILY 84
Mugwort 189
Lupiuus (Lupine) 94, 100
Luzula 349, 350
Melilotus (Melilot) 94, 101
Melissa 245, 249
Mulberry 298
Mulgedium 186, 208
Lychnis 64, 65
Melocactus 153, 156
Mullein 2*3
Lycium 267, 270
Melon 160
Mullein-Foxglove 237
Lycopersicum 266, 267
Melon-Cactus 156
Musa 329
LYCOPODIACE.E 372
Melothria 159, 160
Muscadine 86
Lycopodium 372
MENISPERMACE.E 44
Muscari 340, 347
Lycopsia 255, 257
Menispermum 44 > Muskmelon 160
Lycopus 244, 247
Mentha 244, 247 Musk-plant 237
Lygodium 362, 371
Mentzelia 151
Musquash-Root 165
Lysimachia 223, 224
Menyanthes 271, 273
Mustard 52
LYTHRACE2B 149
Mermaid-weed 141
MUSTARD FAMILY 51
Lythrum 150
Mertensia 254, 255
Myosotis 254, 256
MES EMBRYANTH EME.E
Myosurus 34. 37
Maclura 297, 299
156
Myrica 305, 306
Madder 174
Mesembryanthemum 156. 157
MYRICACE^E 806
382
INDEX.
Myriophyllum 141 Ophioglossum 363, 372 Penthorum 137, 138
Myrrhis odorata 164 Opuntia 152, 153 Pentstemon 232, 238
Myrsiphyllum 339, 344 Orache 284 Peppergrass 50
MY&TACEA 149 Orange 83 Peppermint
MYRTLE FAMILY 149 | Orange-grass 62 Pepperidge 168
Myrtus 149 j Orange-root 38 Periila 244, 247
Orchard-Grass 354 Periploca 276. 279
Nabalus 186, 207
ORCHIDACEyB 323
Periwinkle 275
NAIADACE^E 316
Orchis 323, 324
Persea 290, 291
Naked Broom-rape 229
ORCHIS FAMILY 323
Persimmon 219
Nandina 44, 45
Origanum 244, 249
Peruvian Bark 176
Napaja 70, 72
Oruithogalum 340, 346
PETALOIDEOUS DIVI-
Narcissus 330
OROBANCHACE.&: 228
SION 319
Nasturtium 61, 63, 81
Orpine 138
Petalostemon 95, 102
Navelwort 257
ORPINE FAMILY 137
Petilium 346
Neckweed 234
Oryza 353
Petroselinum 165
Nectarine 118
Osage-Orange 299
Petunia 266, 269
Negundo 89, 92
Osier 307
Phacelia 258. 259
Nelumbium 46
Osmanthus 281
'PH.ENOGAMOUS PLANTS
Nelumbo 46
Osmorrhiza 163, 164
33
Nemastylis 333, 335
Osmunda 362, 371
Phalaris 354
Nemopanthes 218
08MUNDAGBJI 362
Phaseolus 97, 108
Nemophila 258,259
Ostrich-Fern 370
Pheasant's-eye 65
Nepeta 245, 251
Nephrodium 368
Ostrya 302, 305
Oswego Tea 250
Pheasant's-eye Adonis 37
Phegopteris 360, 367
Nerium 274, 275
Oxalis 77, 78
Philadelphus 132, 134
Nesaea 150
Oxeye 204
Phlebodium 363
Nettle 299
Ox-eye-Daisy 199
Phleum 356
NETTLE FAMILY 296, 297
Oxybaphus 283
Phlomis 246, 253
Nettle-Tree 298
Oxydendrum 212, 216
Phlox 260
New-Jersey Tea 87
Oyster-Plant 206
Phoradendron 292
New Zealand Flax 341
Phormium 341
New Zealand Spinach 157
Pachysandra 293, 296
Photinia 117, 129
Nicandra 266, 268
Pseonia 34, 41
Phragmites a54
Nicotiana 266, 269
Pseony 41
Phryma 241
Nierembergia 266, 269
Painted-Cup 239
Phyllocactus 153, 154
Nigella 34, 40
Palm 316
Physalis 266, 268
Night-Blooming Cereus 154
Nightshade 267
Palma-Christi 295
Palmetto 316
Physostegia 245, 251
Phytolacca 284
NIGHTSHADE FAMILY 265
Pampas Grass 358
PIIYTOLACCACE.E 284
Nine-Bark 120
Pancratium 330, 331
Picea 312
Niphobolus 363
Panicum 357
Pickerel-weed 322
Nolana 266, 267
Pansy 69
PICKEREL-WEED F. 322
NOLANA FAMILY 266
Papaver 48
Pie-plant 289
Nonesuch 101
PAP AVER ACE JR 48
Pigweed 285, 286
Notholaena 361,364
Papaw 44
Pimpernel 225
Nuphar 46, 47
Paper-Mulberry 299
Pinckneya 174, 176
Nut-Grass 352
Pardanthus " 333, 334
Pine 311
Nutmeg-flower 40
Parnassia 132, 135
Pine-Apple 329
NYCTAGINACE^E 283
Parsley 165
PINE-APPLE FAMILY 329
Nymphaea 46, 47
PARSLEY FAMILY 162
PINE FAMILY 309
NYMPH^EACE^I 46
Parsley Piert 125
Pine-sap 218
Nyssa 167, 168
Parsnip 166
Pinguicula 225, 226
Oak 302
Partridge-berry 175
Partridge Pea 113
Pink 64
PINK FAMILY 63
OAK FAMILY 301
Pasque-flower
Pink-Root 273
Oat 355
Passiflora 157
Pinus 309, 311
Oat-Grass 355
PASSIFLORACE.& 157
Pine-weed 61, 62
Oca 79
Passion Flower 157
Pinxter Flower 217
Ocimum 243, 247
PASSION-FLOWER
Pipe-Vine 282
(Enothera 144, 143
FAMILY 157
PIPEWORT FAMILY 352
Ogeechee lame 169
Pastinaca 163, 166
Pipsessewa 218
Oil-nut 292
Paulowuia 230, 233
Piqueria 182, 193
Okra 74
Pea 110
Pisum 98, 110
Olea 279, 280
Peach 118
PITCHER-PLANT F. 47
OLEACE^E 279
Peanut 106
PITTOSPORACE^ 57
Oleander 274, 275 \ Pear 129
PITTOSPORUM FAMILY 57
OLEASTER FAMILY 292 ! PEAR FAMILY 117
Planera 296, 298
OliTe 280 ! Pearlwort 67
Planer-Tree 298
OLIVE FAMILY 279 Pea-tree 106
Plane-tree 300
Omphalodes 254, 257
ONAGRACE^l 141
Pecan-nut 301
Pedicularis 232, 239
PLANE-TREE FAMILY 300
PLANTAGINACE.T-; 221
Onion 347 ! Pelargonium 78, 79
PLANTAIN FAMILY 221
Onobrychis 95,103 Pella?a 361,365
PLATANACE^E
Onoclea 361, 370 Peltandra 317, 318
platanus
Onopordon 180, 187 I Pencil-Flower 103
Platycerium 360, 3G3
Onosmodium 264, 255 1 Pennyroyal 248
Platycodon 209, 210
OPHIOGLOSSACKE 363 j Pentas carnea 173
Pleurisy-Root 277
INDEX.
383
Plnm 118
Pteris 861, 365 Rock -Crass K4.
PLUMBAGINACE.E 222
Puccoon 256
Rocket 53
Plumbago 222
PLUM FAMILY 116
PuLsatilla 36
PULSE FAMILY 94
ROCK-ROSE FAMILY 60
Roman Wormwood 188
Poa 354
Pumpkin 159
ROSACES 115
Podocarpus 311
Punica 149, 150
Rosa (Rose) 117, 126
Podophyllum 45, 46
Purslane 69
Rose-apple 149
Pogonia 324, 326
PURSLANE FAMILY 69
Rose-bay 216
Poinciana 113
Putty-Root 327
ROSE FAMILY 115
Poinsettia 294
Pycnanthemum 244, 248
Rose-Mallow 74
Poison-Dogwood 84
Pyrethrum 183, 199
Rosemary 250
Poison-Elder 84
Pyrola 218, 217
Rose of China 74
Poison Hemlock 165
PYROLA FAMILY 212
Rosin-Plant 201
Poison-Ivy 84
Poison-Oak 84
Pyrrhopappus 186, 207
Pyrularia 292
Rosmarinus 245, 250
Rowan-Tree 130
Poke or Pokeweed 284
Pyrus 117, 129
Royal-Fern 372
POKE \VEED FAMILY 284
•
Rubia 173, 174
Polanisia 57
Quaking Grass 355
RUBIACE^ 173
POLEMONIACEJS 260
Quamash 347
Rubus 116 124
Polemonium 260, 262
Quamoclit 262, 263
Rudbeckia 185, 205
POLEMONIUM FAMILY 260
QUASSIA FAMILY 83
Rue 82
Poliauthes 330, 332
Queen-of-the-Prairie 121, 126
Rue-Anemone 36
Polyanthus 223 Queen's Delight 295
RUE FAMILY 81
Polygala 92 ' Quercus 302
Ruellia 240
POLYGALACE.E 92 i Quillwort 374
Rumex 287, 289
POLYGALA FAMILY 92 1 Quince 130
Ruscus 344
POLYGONACE^E 287 i Quitch-Grass 356
Rush 349
Polygonatum 339, 344
RUSH FAMILY 349
Polygonum 287
Radish 66
Russellia 221, 239
Polymnia 184, 201
Ragged-lady 40
Rutabaga 52
POLY PET ALOUS
Ragged- Robin 65
Ruta 82
DIVISION 33
Ragweed 188
RUTACE.E 81
POLYPODIACE.E 360
Ragwort 194
Rye 357
Polypody
Ramie 299
Rye-Grass 856
Polvpremum 273
Ramsted 235
Polypodium 360, 353
RANUNCULACEJE 33
Sabal 316
Polypodium Phegopteris 368
Ranunculus 34, 37
Sabbatia 270, 271
Polystichum 359
Rape 52
Saccharum 358
Pomegranate 150 Raphanus 52, 56
Sacred Bean 47
Pomme Blanche 103 Raspberry 124
Safflower 187
Pond-Lily 47 Rattlebox 1UO
Sage 249
Pond Spic« 291 , Rattlesnake Grass 355
Sagina 64, 67
Pondweed 316 1 Rattlesnake Plantain 326
Sagittaria 320
PONDWEED FAMILY 316 Rattlesnake-Root 207
Sago Palm 309
Pontederia 322 Rattlesnake- Weed 207
Sainfoin 103
PONTEDERIACE.E 322 Ray Grass 356
Poor-Man's- Weatherglass 225 ; Red Bay 291
St. Andrew's Cross 61
St. James Lily 331
Poplar 42, 308 Red-bud 113
POPPY FAMILY, Poppy 48 Red Cedar 315
Populus 307,308 Red Pepper 268
St. John's- Wort 61
ST. JOHN'S-WORT F. 61
St. Peter's- Wort 61
Portulaca 69 Red-root 87
PORTULACACE2E 69 Red-top 353
St. Peter's Wreath 120
SALICACEJS 307
Potamogeton 316 Redwood 314
Salicornia 284
Potato 268
Reed 354
Salisburia 311 315
Potentilla 116, 122
Reed-Mace 319
Salix ' 307
Poterium 117, 125 RESEDACE^E, Reseda 57
Prairie Clover 102 Resurrection-Plant 374
Salpiglossis 229, 232
Salsify 206
Prairie Dock 201 Retinospora 314
Prickly Ash 82 RHAMNACE^E 86
Kolturnft 9fl/«
Prickly-Pear Cactus 153 Rhamnus 86, 87 i SalviiT 245 2f
Prickly Poppy 49 Rheum 287, 289 Sambucus
Pride-of-Inaii 84 Rheumatism-root 46 ; £° 223' ttfi
Prim £80 Rhexia 148 gamMIvrtle
Primrose 223 Rhodanthe 181, 190 j SANnVl WOOD FA M1TY 2Q9
PRIMROSE FAMILY 222 Rhododendron 212 216 a™*, ^urreV
Primro.se Peerless 330 Rhodora 212,217 '«
Primula 222,223 Rhubarb 289 SSffSSuia 48 49
PRIMULACEJE 222 Rhus 84 ESSX 125
Princes' Feather 286, 288 Rhynchosia 97, 110 £C(> White Lettuce 207
Tillandsia 329
Venus-hair 364 White Thorn 128
Timothy 356
Venus's Looking-Glass 209 Whiteweed 199
Toad-Flax 235
Veratrum 338,343 White-wood 42
Tobacco 269
Verbascum 230, 233 Whitlavia 258, 260
Tomato 267
Verbena 241 Whitlow-Grass 55
Toothache-tree 82
VERBENACEJ3 241 Whortleberry 213
25
386
INDEX.
WHORTLEBERRY F. 211 Woad
66 Yarrow
199
Wigandia 268 Woad-Waxen
100
Yellow Bachelor's-Bi
itton 92
JVild Allspice 291
Wolfsbane
41
Yellow-Eyed Grass
351
Wild Balsam -Apple 160 Wood-Betony
239
YELLOW-EYED GRASS
Wild bean 108 Woodbine
170
FAMILY
351
Wild Bergamot 250
Wood-Nettle
299
Yellow Jessamine
273
>Vild Comfrey 257
Wood-Rush
350
Yellow Pond-Lily
47
Wild Ginger 282
Woodsia
361,370
Yellow puccoon
38
Wild Hyacinth 347 Wood-Sorrel
78
Yellow-Rocket
54
Wild Liquorice 175
Woodwardia
361,366
Yellow-Wood
112
Wild-Potato-Vine 264
Worm-Grass
273
Yew
315
AVillow 307
Wormseed
285
YEW FAMILY
310
WILLOW FAMILY 307
Wormseed-Mustard
54
Yucca
340,348
Willow-herb 143
Wormwood
188
Yulan
43
Wind-flower 35
Windsor Bean 111
Xanthium
180, 188
Zamia
309
Winterberry 219
Xerophyllum
338,342
Zanthorhiza
34,38
Winter-cress 64
Ximinesia
184, 203
Zanthoxylum
82
Wintergreen 214, 218
XYRLDACE.E
351
Zauschneria
142, 143
Wire-Grass 354-356
Xyris
351
Zea
358
Wistaria 97, 108
Zinnia
185, 206
Witch Grass 357
Yam
336
Zizania
358
Witch-Hazcl 140
YAM FAMILY
335
Zostera N
316
WITCH-HAZEL FAMILY 140
Yard-Grass
366
Zygadenus
868,843
GRAY'S
BOTANIST'S MICROSCOPE.
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