Letters on the elements of botany : addressed to a lady

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ADDRESSED TO A LADY.

By the celebrated F. F.. ROUSSEAU.

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH,
WoT NOT 28,
AND TWENTY-FOUR ADDITIONAL LETTERS,

FULLY EXPLAINING THE SYSTEM OF LINNÆUS,

By THOMAS MARTYN, B.D.‘ F.R.5.
PROFESSOR OF BOTANY

IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.

THE TATED VE DTT O WN,

WITH CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS.

Bao, OLIN:

PRINTED FOR B WHITE AND SON,
AT HORACE'S HEAD, FLEET-STREET.

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TRANSLATOR’s PREFACE.

HEN the Elementary Letters on
Botany? firft prefented themfelves
to me, in turning over the laft complete
edition of Roufleau’s works?, their elegance
and fimplicity pleafed me enough to make
me give them a fecond more attentive perufal.
I then thought that they had confiderable me-
rit; and that if they were difembarraffed from
the chaos of fifteen quarto volumes, and tranf-
lated into Englifh, they might be of ufe to
fuch of my fair countrywomen and unlearned
countrymen as wifhed to amufe themfelves
with natural hiftory.
When the tranflation was done, I per-
ceived that the foundation only being laid
by the ingenious author, it could be of little

*Lettres Elementaires fur la Botanique a Madame de
L*. Melanges, tome ii. page 531, &c.

? Collection complete des Oeuvres de J. J. Roufleau.
Geneve, 1782.

fervice,

Viil TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE.

fervice, without raifing the fuperftructure.
This I have attempted; not flattering myfelf
that it is executed in Rouffeau’s manner, which
is inimitable, but merely with the defign of
being ufeful.

What books can you recommend, that may
enable me to acquire a competent knowledge
of Botany? is a queftion that has very fre-
quently been afked me. To the learned I can
readily anfwer, the works of Linnæus alone
will furnifh you with all the knowledge you
have occafion for; or, if they are deficient in
any point, will refer you to other authors,
where you may have every fatisfation that
books can give you‘. But I am not very foli-
citous to relieve thefe learned gentlemen from
their. embarraffment ; they have refources
enough, and know how to help themfelves.
As to the unlearned, if I were to fend them
to the tranflation of Linnæus’s works, they
would only find themfelves bewildered in an
inextricable labyrinth of unintelligible terms,
and would only reap difouft from a ftudy,
that is, perhaps, more capable of affording

© Thefe writings of Linnæus are — Philofophia Bota-

nica, that inexhauftible mine of elementary knowledge —

Genera Plantarum — Species Plantarum — and Syftema
Vegetabilium, which is an epitome of the two laft.

pleafure

TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE. 1X

pleafure than any other. If I were to bid
them fit down, and ftudy their grammar ¢ re-
gularly ; fo dry and forbidding an outfet might
difcourage the greater number; and few
would enter the temple through a veftibule
of fo unpromifing an appearance. A language
however muft be acquired; but then it may
be done gradually ; and the t@dium of it may,
in fome meafure, be relieved by carrying on
at the fame time a ftudy of facts, and the
philofophy of nature. This feems to have
been Roufleau’s idea, and 1 have endeavoured
not to lofe fight of it in my continuation of
his eight ingenious letters.

Let an unlearned perfon then, who is de-
firous of acquiring fome knowledge of Bo-
tany, begin by taking a few plants with
flowers, whofe parts are fufficiently vifible,
and examine them patiently by the defcrip-
tions and charaéters which are given in the
following pages. You may perhaps know
fome plants by their names; or if not, you
will be unfortunate indeed if you have not
a friend who will fhow you the flower of a
lily. If in the courfe of your examination,

4 In Lee’s Introduction, Rofe’s Elements, &c.

A any

~

x TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE.

any term fhould occur, that is not explained
in the page, or mentioned in the index, you
inay have recourfe to the Dictionary, the In-
troduction, or the Elements. If you can
have patience to go through the firft feven
letters, with a plant or two of each natural
tribe explained in them; to make yourfelf
mafter of the claffification in the ninth and
tenth; and to examine the obvious plants,
whofe characters are given in the twenty
following letters, as they occur; I flatter
"-myfelf that you will find little difficulty
after that, in determining any plant which
you fhall happen to meet with, by Lin-
næus’s characters, as delivered by his tranf-
lators ©: whereas if you had begun with them,
iam confident you would have been difcou-
raged from proceeding.

Good plates, or figures of plants, will alfo
be of confiderable affiftance: thofe of Mr.
Curtis’s Flora Lendinenfis will fuffice for moft
of the Britifh natives: efpecially as he has
accompanied his plates with ample and accu-

* A fyftem of vegetables, &c. tranflated from the 13th
edition of Linnzus’s Syftema Vegetabilium, by a botanical
jociety at Lichfield. ——The Genera Plantarum is fince
alfo tranflated by the fame hands.

rate

»

TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE, Xi

rate defcriptions in Englifh as well. as Latin.
Mr. Millet’s figures to his Gardener’s Dition-
ary, exhibit a great number of the moft re-
markable foreigners. There is indeed no want
of fuch help‘: but the misfortune is, that
thefe books are fo very expenfive, as to be.
far beyond the purfe of all but the opulent.

I beg leave to proteft againft thefe letters
being read in the eafy chair at home; they
can be of no ufe but to fuch as have a plant
in their hand; nor do they pretend to any
thing more, than to initiate fuch as, from
their+gnorance of the learned languages, are
unable to profit by the works of the learned,
in the firft principles of. vegetable nature.
Botany is not to be learned in the clofet ; you
muft go forth into the garden or the fields,

f Catefby’s Carolina. Martyn’s Hiftoria Plantarum
Rariorum. Oeder’s Flora Danica. Dillenius’s Hortus
Elthamenfis. _Befler’s Hortus Eyftettenfis. Rheede’s
Hortus Malabaricus. Rumphius’s Herbarium Amboi-
nenfe. Trew’s Florum Imagines & Plante rariores. Jac-
-quin’s Flora Auftriaca, hortus Vindobonenfis, &c. Ehret’s
Plante rariores. Blackwell’s Herbal. - Hills Vegetable
Syftem. .Merian’s Surinam and European Plants and
Infe&s. Allionii Flora Pedemontana. Pallas’s Flora
Roffica ; and Scopoli’s Flora Infubrica—are, all very fine
works, but coft an immenfe fum to purchafe them.

A 2 and

xii TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE.

and there become familiar with Nature her-
felf; with that beauty, order, regularity, and
inexhauftible variety which is to be found in
the ftructure of vegetables ; and that wonder-
ful fitnefs to its end, which we perceive in
every work of creation, as far as our limited
underftandings, and partial obfervations, give
us a juft view of it.

In the fecond edition a few miftakes were
corrected, and fome improvements were made ;
the principal of thefe was, a reference at the
foot of the page to fome authors who have
figured the plants. For this purpofe I pre-
ferred Curtis and Miller: when thefe failed
me, I had recoutfe to the Flora Danica, &c.
and I ufually referred to old Gerard, or Mo-
rifon, or both, for the fake of fuch as do not
poflefs the more fplendid works, and live re-
mote from public libraries.

In this third edition thefe references are
confiderably multiplied; and that the plants
which are wanted for examination may be the
more readily found, the generic names are
now firft given in the margin, and a running
title of the clafles and orders is placed at
the top of the page.

THE

THE
CO NT EON TS.

NTRODUCTION. A fhort hiftory of the rife and
~ progrefs of Botany; particularly of Nomenclature and
Syftematic Arrangement.

Lerrer I. The true ufe of Botany—the main thing to be
learnt, not mere names, but the vegetable ftruéture.—
component parts of a plant, p. 21—fructification ex-
plained—the parts that compofe a Aower—corolla, piftil,
ftamen, exemplified in the Lily, p. 22.—the Pericarp,
p. 24—calyx, p. 25—character of the Liliaceous Tribe
of plants, p. 25 —Botany a ftudy of obfervations and facts,
p- 26, |

LeTTER II. Double flowers to be avoided in botanical
examinations—analyfis of the Stock-gilliflower, as an ex-
ample of the tribe of Cruciform flowers, p. 28—divifion
of the tribe into two orders, Siliquofe and Siliculofe,
p. 3t—fmall flowers to be examined with a glafs—other
inftruments neceflary for a botanift, p. 32.

Lerrer II. Botany not to be ftudied by books, but by
nature, p. 33—analyfis of the Pea flower, p. 34—diftinc-
tion of flowers into regular and irregular—precautions to
bring the embryo to maturity, particularly in the pulle
‘ibe, Ra 5—Legume diftinguifhed from the Silique,
p. 38—thefe all have flowers of the Pea ftructure, called
Papilionaceous, p. 39.

Lerrer IV. Reafon why two ftamens are fhorter than
the other four in Cruciform flowers, p. 40—olands at
_the bafe of the filaments—ufe of them, p.41. Ringent
flowers, p. 42—Labiate: Analyfis of the white Dead-
Nettle, p. 42—Perfonate—exemplified in Snap-dragon

A 3 _ and

xiv CON TEN T 5.5

and Toad-flax, p. 45. Comparifon of the Labiate and
Perfonate flowtrs; with the true way of diftinguifhing
them, p. 46.

Letrer V. Glands very fmall, p. 48—Botany not a
fcience of words, but that which teaches the ftruéture
of Vegetables The firft thing to be learnt, is how
to fee, and to exercife the underftanding, p. 48. Dif-
pofition of the fructification in the umbellate tribe, p. 50

_—divifion of flowers into Inferior and Superior, D. 52—
defcription of the flower and fruit of Umbellate plants,
p. 52—proper character of the tribe, p. 53. Rule to
avoid miftakes in afcertaining this character—inftanced
in the Elder, p. 54—in Eryngo, p. 55—great fimilitude
of umbellate plants—fecondary characters to affift us in
diftinguifhing them—Diftinétion of Fool’s Parfley and
Chervil, p. 57-

Lerrer VI. The umbellate and other natural tribes of
plants to be known by their habit, p. 60—correéted by an
analyfis of the fructification—Stru@ure of Compound
flowers exemplified in the Common Daify, p. 61—made
up of flofcules or florets, p. 64—which are of two forts,
florets properly fo called, and femi-florets, p. 64—thefe
divide the whole tribe into three feétions—1. Semiflof-
culous flowers. 2. Flofculous. 3. Radiate. Diftinc-
tion between Compound and Aggregate or Capitate
flowers, p. 66——Receptacle the moft eflential part of
a Compound flower—exemplified in the Dandelion,
poy. Lhe Calyx—double—imbricate Structure of
a Floret, p. 68—and of a Semi-floret, p. 70. —-The ufe
of the down to the feeds, p. 70—and of the change in
the form of the calyx. Flowers moft adapted for exa-
mination, p. 71. |

LETTER

CON TEN T5: XY

Letter VII. Botany a ftudy of curiofity only, p: 72—
nature changed and disfigured by us in many refpects,
p. 72—for the children of pure nature we muft look in
fields and woods. Fruit trees however, though engrafted,
retain their botanical characters. The different fruits
are but varieties. Pear—Apple—Quince—Cherry—
Plum—Apricot—-Almoad—-Peach—-Ne¢tarine— their

charaéters—and that of the clafs to which they all be-
long, p. 74 _

Letrer VII. The manner how to form an Hortus Sic-
cus, or colle&tion of dried plants. ‘The ufe of it, to put
us in mind of what we have once known, not to give us
a knowledge of plants we have never feen before: which
can only be had, by gathering them and examining.
them ourfelves.

Letter IX. The fkill of a Botanift confifts in finding out
plants that are unknown to him-—In.order to this he
muft learn a fyftem—which is artificial—but preferves
the natural tribes hitherto explained. The Clafles in
the fyftem of Linnæus explained, p. 86.

Letter X. Genera and fpecies not to be determined
without a regular arrangement, p. 98. The Orders in
the fyftem of Linnæus explained. —— Two tables of the
characters of the Claffes and Orders, p. 109.

Letrer XI. Explanation of generic aad fpecific cha-
racters of plants begun—Monandrid—Hippuris, p. 115—
Canna, p. 117. |

Lerrer XII, The examination. of plants facilitated by
the clearnefs and order of arrangement; and by pro-
ceeding regularly from generals to particulars, p. 119.
The orders thrown into great fubdivifions —inftanced
in the firft order of the fecond clafs, p. 120—Diandria

À 4 — Jafmine,

xvi CaOSNIT'E (NOT S.

—Jafmine, p. 121—Privet, Phillyrea, Olive, Lilac-
Veronica, pe 122—Butterwort—Vervain—Rofemary—
Sage, ps 124.

Lerrex XII. Corn and Grafles—the moft ufeful and
pleafant tribe of plants, p. 127—more than 300 fpecies
of Grafs—the flowers have all the conftituent parts,
p. 128.—Moftly belong to the fecond order of the third
clafs, p.129. General character of the whole tribe—
its four fubdivifions, p. 132. Canary-grafs, Fox-
tail, Cat’s-tail, p. 133—varieties from foilland fituation,
p. 134. Melica, Aira, p. 135—Briza, Poa, Feftuca,
Brome, Oats and Oat-grafs, Reed, p. 135, &c.—Rie,
Wheat, Barley, Darnel, Dog’s-tail, p. 143 —Vernal,
p. 150—Cinna—Soft, p. 151—Bog-rufh, Cyperus,
Club-rufh, Cotton-grafs—Cat’s-tail, Bur-reed, Sedge
Rufh, Sugar, p. 153-

LerTer XIV, Other plants of the third clafs—ZJris.

Lerrer XV. The fourth clafs—Aggregate flowers—
Teafel, Scabious, p. 159 Stellated Plants— General
habit a leading circumftance, but not to be finally de-
pended upon, p. 163—Madder, Sherardia, Woodroof,
Galium, p. 164—Plantain, p. 165—By a careful exa-
mination of known plants, a facility acquired in deteét-
ing fuch as are unknown, p. 166 ——Common plants
preferred to rare ones, p. 167—and why—Ladies man-
tle, p. 167—Dodder, p. 168—Pondweed, p. 169. +

Letter XVI. The fifth clafs—Pentandria and the firft
order Monogynia.: ‘The natural order of Preciæ, p. 171
—Primrofe, Oxflip, Cowilip; Polyanthus, p. 172—
General directions for the examination of plants, p. 173
— Dodecatheon or Meadia, Cyclamen, p. 175—Marfh,
Trefoil, p. 176— Water Violet, p. 177— Another natu-

ral

GOYNXT ENT &. xvii

ral order cf Afperifoliæ or rough-leaved, p. 177— Turn.
fole, p. 179—Moufe-ear Scorpion-grafs, Gromwell,
p. 180—Hound’s-tongue, Comfrey, p. 181—Cerinthe,
Borage, Buglofs, p. 182—Viper’s Buglofs. Campa-
naceæ or Bell-flowers——Convolvulus or Bindweed,
p. 183—-Ipomza, Campanula, p. 185 —— Polemonium,
p. 189. Caution not to be mifled by vulgar names.
Natural order of Luridæ, p. 190—Verbafcum or Mul-
lein, p. 191—Datura or Thorn-Apple, p. 192—Hen-
bane, p. 193—T'obacco, p. 194—Deadly Nightfhade,
p. 195—Mandrake, p. 197—Winter Cherry, p. 198—
Nightfhade, p. 199—Potato, p. 201—Egg-plant, Cap-
ficum, p. 202. Shrubs—Honeyfuckle, p. 204—Buck-
thorn, Berry-bearing, or Black Alder, p. 206—Ala-
ternus, Chrift’s- oth: p: 207
Ceftrum, Diofma, p. 209. Specious plants—Lychnidea,
Marvel of Peru, p. 210—Crefted Amaranth or Cock’s-
comb, p. 211. Natural Order of Contortæ, p. 212—Peri-

Coffee, p, 208—

wincle, p. 213—Oleander, p. 214—Cape Jafmine, Plu-
meria, p- 215——Jefuit’s- bark—Afclepias, P. 216—Sta-
pelia, p. 217,

HP XVII. Nectary what—its ufe—and the vari-
ety ‘of its forms, p. 220. The fecond Order of the
fifth Clafs—Oleraceous plants—Goofefoot, Beet, p. 221
—Glaflwort, p. 222—Globe Amaranth, p. 223—Elm,
Gentian, p. 224. Leffler Centaury, Yellow Centaury,
p. 226——The Umbellate tribe—Hemlock Chervil,
how to diftinguifh it from Garden Chervil, p. 227—
"Water Parfnep, how to diftinguith it from Water Crefles,
p. 229—Hemlock, p. 230—Wild Chervil, or Cow-
weed, Rough Chervil, p. nn A plants ufed
for food, Carrot, p. 232—Sampire, p. 233—Angelica,
P- D lg ic bi Parfnep, Fennel, p. FRERE
i Parfley,

Xvi CONTENTS

_, Parfley, Smallage, Celeri, p. 236—Earth-nut, or Pig-

//nut, Ferula, Cow-Parfnep, p. 237—Shepherd’s-needle.

. The third Order—Sumach, p. 238—Wayfaring-tree,
Marfh-Elder, Gelder Rofe, Lauruftinus. The fourth
Order—Parnaffia, p. 239. The fifth Order—Thrift,
Flax, p. 240.

Letter XVIII. Hexandria Monogynia—Liliaceous plants,
p. 242—all of them not in this Clafs—fome other ge-
nera mixed with them—divided into three feCtions from

' the calyx. 1. Ananas, p. 243—Tradefeantia. 2. Snow-
drop, p. 244—Narciflus, p. 245—Amaryllis, p. 246.
3. Tulip, p. 248—Lily of the Valley, Hyacinth, p. 249
—Aloe, p. 250—Plants not liliaceous—Barberry, Ca-
lamus aromaticus, p. 251—Rattan, Rufh, Second Or-
der, Digynia—Rice. Third Order, Trigynia—Dock,
p. 252—Meadow Saffron. Fourth Order, Water
Plantain, p. 254, |

Lerrer XIX.” Héptandria, the fmalleft of all the Claffes
—Horfe Chefnut, p. 255—Ofandria, the eighth Clafs
—Indian Crefs, Tree Primrofe, p. 256. Willow
Herb, Heath, p. 257—Mezereon—Spurge Laurel,
p. 259—Second Order—Yellow perfoliate Gentian
—Third Order—Biftort, p. 260. Knot-grafs, Buck-
wheat, Black Bindweed, p. 261. ÆEnneandria, the
ninth Clafs, a very fmall one, p. 261—Bay, Aca-

' Jou or Cafhew, p. 262—Rhubarb, p. 263—Flower
ing Rufh, p. 265—Decandria, the tenth Clafs. The

~ firft Order—Dittany or Fraxinella, p. 266—Dio-
næa Mufcipula, Rue, p. 267—Arbutus or Strawberry-
tree. Second order—-Saxifrage, p, 269—Dianthus,
Sw eet-William, Carnation, Pink, China Pink, p. 271—
Third “Order—Arenaria, Stellaria, Cucubalus, Silene,

6 Pp. 273-

CONTENT S. ee
p.273. Spatling Poppy. Fourth Order—Sedums or
Stone-crops, p. 274— Cockle, Lychnis, p. 275.

Lerrer XX. . The eleventh Clafs, Dodecandria
Number of ftamens from 12 to 19—Firft Order, p. 277
—Afarabacca, Purflain, Looftrife, p. 278—Second Or-
der—Agrimony, p. 279—Third Order—Dyer’s-weed
or Weld, Sweet Refeda, p. 280—Euphorbia or Spurge,
p. 281—Laft Order—Houfeleek, p. 284.

Lerrer XXI. Clafs fcofandria—confifts much of trees
and fhrubs, efpecially Fruit-trees — Rule to diftinguifh
it, p. 286—Caétus, Melon-thiftle, Torch-thiftle, Indian-
fig, p. 287—Syringa, Myrtle, p. 289—Second Order—
Cratægus, p. 290—Third Order—Mountain Afh, Ser-
vice. Fourth Order—Apple, Pear, Quince, Medlar,
Spiræa,-p. 291—Ficoides or Fig-marigold, p. 292—~
Laft Order—Rofe, p. 293—Strawberry, p. 2g4—Clafs
Polyandria—Reafons why it is kept difinct from the for-
mer, p. 204—Poppy, p. 295—Caper, Tea-tree, Lime,
Water-lily, Ciftus, p. 296—Multifiliquous plants—
Peony, Larkfpur, Aconite, Columbine, Hellcbore, p. 297
Tulip-tree, p. 299— Magnolia, p. 30@—Hepatica,
Pafque-flower, Wood Anemone, Eaftern and Garden

- Anemonies, p. 301—Ranunculus, p. 302. -

Letrer XXII. Fourteenth Clafs Didynamia. Claf-
fical character, p. 305—Firft Order—Gymnofpermia,
Verticillate plants—Ground Ivy, Mint, Lavender, p. 306
—Teucrium, Bugle, Betony, Cat-mint, p. 307—Black
Horehound, White Horehound, Wild Thyme, p. 308—

_ Garden Thyme, Bafil, Marjoram, p. 309—Dittany of.
Crete, Baum, Baumof Gilead, p. 310—Self-heal, Scutella-
ria, p. 311—Second Order—Anziofpermia, Broom-rape,

_ Rhinanthus, or Yellow-rattle, p. 312--Eye-bright, Toad-

flax,

XX COTE N TS

flax, p. 313—remarkable change in this plant—Snap-
dragon, p. 314—-Three-leaved Toad-flax, Figwort,
p. 315—Foxglove, Trumpet-flower, p. 316—Catalpa,
Acanthus, p. 317. Plants named from eminent per-
fons, p. 318.

Lerter XXIII. Fifteenth Clafs—Tetradynamia. Claf-
fical character, p. 319—Firft Order—Siliculofe. Ho-
nefty or White Satin, p. 320—Candy-tuft, Scurvy-grafs,
Horfe-radith, p. 321—Second Order—Siliquofe—Ra-
difh, Eryfimum, p. 322—Winter-crefs, Sauce-alone,
Stock, Wall-flower, Rocket, p. 323—Arabis, Cabbage,
Turnep, Colefeed, Woad, Sea Colewort, p. 324.—
Cardamine, Muitard, Charlock, p. 325—Water-crefs,
p. 326. Flixweed, p. 327.

LeTTEer XXIV. Plants to be examined at different fea-
fons. Clafs Monadelphia, p. 328—Claffical character.
Five Orders—their charaëter—and that of the genera,
p. 329—Hermannia, p. 331—Geranium, p. 332—
Marfh-Mallow; Mallow, p. 341—Hollyhock, p. 342—
Althea Frutex, p. 343—China Rofe, Mufk, p. 344.

Lerrer XXV. Clafs feventeenth—Diadelphia. Orders
four, from the number of ftamens, p. 345—Fumitory
—Milkwort, p. 346—Order Decandria Papilionaceous
flowers, p. 347—Charaëter of the Order, p. 349—
Spanifh Broom, p. 350—Common Broom, White Spa-
nith Broom, Portugal Broom, Prickly Cytifus, p. 351—
Dyer’s Weed, Nenite Furze, Common Furze, Reft-
harrow, p. 352—Ladies finger, Jupiter’s beard, P+ 353—
Lupin, p. 354—Kidney Bean, Everlafting Pea, p. 356—
Yellow Veichling, Crimfon Grafs Vetch, Sweet Scented
Pea, Painted Lady Pea, Tangier Pea, p. 357—Vetch or
Tare, p. 358—Bean, Bladder Sena, p. 360—Scarler

Colutea,

CONBENTS. xxi

Colutea, Herbaceous Colutea, p. 361—Laburnum, Cy-
tifus, p. 362—Baftard Acacia, Caragana, p. 363—
Scorpion Sena, Indigo, p. 364—Liquorice, p. 365—
French Honeyfuckle, Saintfoin, Trefoil, p. 366—Lotus,
Lucerne, p. 367—Heart-clover, Snails, Hedge-hogs,
p. 368—Caterpillars. Clafs Polyadelphia, p. 369—Ci-
tron, Orange, Lemon, Shaddock, p. 370—St. John’s
Wort, p. 372—-St. Peter’s Wort, p. 373—Tutlan,
Majorca St. John’s Wort, p. 374—Chinefe Hyperi-
cum, p. 375.

Lerrer XXVI. Clafs Syngenea or Compound Flowers,
p. 376. Firft Order—Polygamia Æqualis, p. 377—
Goat’s-beard. How to diftinguifh a Double from a
Compound Flower, p. 378—Salfafy, Scorzonera, p. 379
—Sowthiftle, Lettuce. Way to diftinguifh plants of the
fame natural Clafs, p. 330 —Hawkweed, Succory, Endive,
p. 381—Thiftles, Way-thiftle, p. 382—Cotton-thiftle,
Artichoke, Burdock, p. 383—Eupatorium, Bidens, p. 384.
Second Order—Polygamia Superflua. Tanfy, p. 385—
Southernwood, Common Wormwood, Roman Worm-
wood, p. 386—Mugwort, Sea Wormwood, Yellow
and White Everlafting, p. 387—Xeranthemum, Colt’s-
Foot, p. 388—Butter-bur, Groundfel, p. 389 —Rag-
wort, African Groundiel, p. 390—After, Golden-rod,
p. 391—Elecampane, Fleabane, p. 393—Leopard’s-
bane, p. 394—French and African Marigolds, p. 295—
Ox-eye Daify, Corn Marigold, p. 396—Chryfanthe-
mum, Feverfew, Camomile, Milfoil, p. 397. Third
Order—Polygamia Fruftranea, p. 308—Annual Sun-
flower, Perennial Sunflower, p. 399—Jerufalem Arti-
choke, p. 400—Sweet Sultan, Great Centaury, Com-
mon Knapweed, p. 401—Great Knapweed, Blue-
bottle, Mountain Blue-bottle, Carduus benediétus, p. 402

— Star-

xxii CONTENTS.

—Star-thiftle——Fourth Order—Polygamia Neceffaria,
Marigold, p. 403—-Fifth Order—-Polygamia Segre-
gata. Globe-thiftle—Sixth Order—Monogamia, p. 404.
Sweet Violet, Dog Violet, Panfes, p. 405—Balfamine,
Wild Balfam, p. 406, 407.

Lerrer XXVIT. The twentieth Clafs —— Gyrandria.
Character., Firft Ofder—Diandria. A Natural tribe,
p. 409—Its character, p. 410—Leading characters of
the principal genera, Orchis. Butterfly, p. 412—Pyra-
midal, p. 413—Male, Female, p. 414—Dwarf, p. 415—
Broad-leaved, Spotted, p. 416—Sweet Satyrium—Li-
zard, Frog, p. 417—Ophrys—Twayblade, Spiral,
p. 419—Fly, Bee, Spider, p. 420—Lady’s Slipper,
p. 422—Order Pentandria. Pafion-flower, p. 423—
Order Polyandria—Arum, p. 426.

Lerrer ‘XXVIII. The twenty-firft Claf—/Monœcia.
Character, p. 429—Order Triandria contains a natural
tribe called Calamariæ. Cat’s-tail, p. 430—Bur-reed,
p. 431—Mays, p. 432—Sedge, p. 433— Trees in Order
Tetrandria, p. 433—Birch, Alder, p. 434—Box, Mul-
berry, p. 435—in Order Polyandria: Oak, p. 436—
Ilex, p. 437—Cork, Walnut, p. 438—Chefnut, Beech,
p. 439—Hornbeam, Hazel, p. 441—Plane, p. 442—in
Order Monadelphia: Pines, p. 44.3—Cedar, Larch, Firs,
p. 445—Cyprefs, p. 446.—Herbs in Order Tetrandria:
Nettles—in Order Pentandria: Amaranth, p. 447—in
Order Polyandria: Arrow head, Burnet, p. 449—in
-Order Monadelphia: Palma Chrifti—in Order Synge-
nefia ; the natural tribe of Cucurbitaceæ, p. 450—Spirt-
ing Cucumber, Gourd, Pompion, Squafh, p. 451—Me-
lon, Cucumber, p. 452. f

Lerrer XXIX. The Twenty-fecond Clafs—Diecia.
Charaéter. Order Diandria: Willow, p. 453—Order
Tetrandria:

CONTENTS. Xxiil

Tetrandria: : Miffeltoe; ps ,455—Order: Pentandria :
Spinach, Hemp, Hop, p. 456-—Order Hexandria: Black
Bryony. Order Oétandria: Poplars, p. 457—Order
Enneandria: Dog’s Mercury, p. 458. Order Mo-
nadelphia: Juniper, Savin, American Cedars, p, 459—
Yew, p. 460—Order Syngenefia: Rufcus, Alexandrian
Laurel, p. 461. owe

Lerrer XXX. The twenty-third Clafs—Polygamia.
: Charaéter.. Order Monœcia ; Valantia, p. 463—Pel-
litory, p. 464—Atriplex, Maple, p. 465—Senfitive,
p. 466—Order Dicecia: Three-thorned Acacia, Ath,
p. 467—Order Tricecia: Fig, p. 468.

Lerrer XXXI. The different’ forms and ftru@ture of
the neétary, and its probable ufe, p. 470—Of the fulcra,
and circumftances that affift in afcertaining fpecific dif-
ferences, p. 484.

LetTerR XXXII. The twenty-fourth Clafs—Cryptoga~
mia, p. 480—Firft Order—Ferns, p. 487—Horfetail,
Adder’s-tongue, p. 488—Moonwort, Flowering-Fern,
Spleenwort, p. 489—Common Fern or Brake, Hart’s-
tongue, Polypody, p. 490—Male Fern, true Maidenhair.
Second Order—Mofles, p. 491—Wolf’s-claw Mofs,
Bog-Mofs, p. 492—Golden- Maidenhair,. p. 493—hy-
grometric Mnium, hairy Bryum, apple-form, pear-form,
brown Bryum, p. 494—Silky Hypnum. Third Order—
Algæ or Flags, p. 495—Marchantia, Lichen, p. 406—
Ulva, Fucus, Conferva, p. 500—Fourth Order—
Fungi. Agaric, Boletus, p. 501—Morel, Truffle, Puff-
ball, p. 502. |

Lately publifhed,

Price gs. plain, or 18s. coloured,
THIRT Y-EIGHT: PLA EES,

WITH EXPLANATIONS;

intended to illuftrate Linn #us’s Syftem of Vegetables,
and particularly adapted to the

LETTERS onthe ELEMENTS of BOTANY.
By THomas Marryrn, B.D. F.R.S.

ProrgssoR OF BoTANY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.

FLORAsDIAT ET Feet
OR,
HISTORY co ESCULENT, PLANTES:
Both Domestic and FoREIGx.

They are accurately defcribed, and reduced to their Linn Han
Generic and Specific Names.

ME Pom

Their Encrisn Names annexed, and ranged under Eleven
GrneraL Heaps, viz.

1 Roors, 9 APPLES,
&
2 SHooTs, STALKS, &c. J > 8 LEGUMENS,
3 LEAVES, ? 9 GRAIN,
‘4. Flowers, > 10 Nets,
5 BERRIES, © f ax Funcuses.
El

6 STONE-FRUIT,
AND

A particular Account of the Manner of ufing them; their
native Places of Growth; their feveral Varieties, and Phy-
fical Properties: Together with whatever is otherwife
curious, ‘or very remarkable in each Species.

By CHarLes Bryant, of NorwicH,

Price Six Shillings in Boards.

INTRODUCTION.

r À HE principal misfortune of Botany is,
that from its very birth it has been
looked, upon merely as a part of medicine.
This was the reafon why every body was
employed in finding or fuppofing virtues in
plants, whilft the knowledge of plants them-
felves was totally neglected: for how could
the fame man make fuch long and repeated
excurfions as fo extenfive a ftudy demands ;
and at the fame time apply himfelf to the
fedentary labours of the laboratory, and at-
tendance upon the fick ; which are the only
methods of afcertaining the nature of vege-
table fubftances, and their effects upon the
human body? This falfe idea of Botany,
for along time, almoft confined the ftudy
of it to medicinal plants, and reduced the
vegetable chain toa fmall number of inter-
rupted links. Even thefe were very ill
ftudied, becaufe the fubftance only was at-
tended to, and not the organization. How
indeed could perfons be much interefted in
the organical ftructure of a fubftance, of
which they had no other idea but as a thing
B to

FNAC R I ONDANC T 1.0 Ne

to be pounded in a mortar? Plants were
fearched for, only to find remedies ; it was
fimples, not vegetables that they looked af-
ter. This was very right, it will be faid ;.
may be fo. Hence neverthelets it follows,
that, if men were ever {o weil acquainted
with remedies, they were very ignorant of
plants; and this is all that I have here ad-
vanced.

Botany was nothing ; there was no fuch
ftudy; and they who plumed themfelves
moft upon their knowledge of vegetables,
had no idea of their ftructure, or of the vege-
tablececonomy. Every body knew by fight
five or fix plants in his neighbourhood, to
which he gave names at random ; enriched
with wonderful virtues, which he took it
in his head they poffefled ; and each of thefe
plants, changed into an univerfal panacea,
was alone fufficient to render all mankind
immortal. ‘Thefe plants, transformed into
balfams and ointments, quickly difappear-
ed; and foon made room for others, to
which new comers, in order to diftinguifh
themfelves, attributed the fame effects.
Sometimes it was a new plant, decorated
with ancient virtues : fometimes old plants,
under new names, fufficed to enrich new
quacks. ‘Thete plants had a different vul-
gar name in every province, and they who
pointed them out for their drugs, at moft
gave them only thofe names by which they
were known on the {pot where they lived:

x thus,

Hot RO D'Ü Ô T tf on.

thus, when their recipes travelled into other
countries, it was no longer known what
plant they fpoke of; every body fubfti-
tuted another after his own fancy, without
regarding any thing elfe, but giving it the
fame name, Such is the whole art that
the Myrepfufes, the Hildegardifes, the
Suardufes, the Villanovas, and the reft of
the doétors of that time, employed in the
ftudy of thofe plants which they treat of ;
and it would be difficult perhaps for any
body to know one of them by the names
or defcriptions which they have given
them*.

At the revival of learning, every thing
difappeared to make room for the works
of antiquity ; nothing was then either good
or true but what was to be found in Arif-
totle or Galen. Inftead of fearching for
plants where they grew, men ftudied them
only in Pliny and Diofcorides ; and there is
nothing fo frequent in the authors of thofe

2 Myrepfus’s book is entitled Antidstarium parvum.
Hildegardis was a lady and an abbefs ; fhe flourifhed
about 1180, and wrote, among others, a treatife entitled
Phyfica Leguminum, Fructuum, Herbarum, &c. Suar-
dus’s book is intitled Antidotarium, and was printed at
Venice 1551 fol.—Arnoldus de Villanova put together
Regimen Sanitatis Salerni, printed in 1482, 1484, 1490,
1491, 1493, 1505, 1509, &c. and was author of many
- other medical and medico-botanical works. He is faid
to have died in 1313.—But the moft popular of thefe
old works, was Hortus Sanitatis, afcribed to Cuba. See
Pulteney’s Sketches of the Progrefs of Botanyin England,
chap. iv.

B 2 times,

MNTRODUCTTOIN

times, as to find them denying the exift-
ence of a plant, for no other reafon but be-
caufe Diofcorides has not mentioned it.
Thefe learned plants however muft be
found in nature, in order to make ufe of
them according to the precepts of their
matter. They beftirred themtelves there-
fore, they fet themfelves to fearch, to ob-
ferve, to conjecture; and made every ef-
fort to find, in the plant which they chofe,
the characters defcribed in their author;
and fince tranflators, commentators, and
practitioners, feldom agreed in their choice,
twenty names were given to the fame
plant ; and the fame name to twenty plants ;
every man maintaining that his own was
the true one, and that all the reft, not be-
ing that of Diofcorides, ought to be pro-
{cribed. From this conflict indeed it fol-
lowed at length that more careful refearches
were made, and fome good obfervations,
which deferved not to be forgotten ; but at
the fame time fuch a chaos of nomenclature,
that the Phyficians and Herbarifts no longer
underftood each other: there was no pof-
fibility of communicating their mutual
lights ; nothing remained but difputes upon
woids and names; and even every ufeful
enquiry and defcription was loft, for want
of being able to decide what plant each au-

thor had {poken of.
Real botanifts however began to be form-
ed: fuch as Clufius, Cordus, Czefalpipus,
Gef-

INTRODUCTION.

Gefner’; good and inftruétive books on
this fubje& began to be publithed, in which
already appeared fome traces of method *.
And it has certainly been a lofs that thefe
pieces have become ufelefs and unintelligi-
ble by the mere difcordance of names *.
But thefe authors, beginning to unite fpe-
cies and feparate genera, according to their
own manner of obferving the habit and
apparent ftructure, occafioned new incon-
veniences, anda frefh obfcurity ; becaufe
each author, regulating his nomenclature
by his own method, created new genera,

bIf we follow the order of birth, the arrangement
fhould have been Cordus 1515, Gefner 1516, Cæfalpi-
nus 1519, Clufius 1526: if we range them from the
dates of their publications, the fhould ftand thus—
Cordus 1535, Gefner 1540, Clufius 1557, Cæfalpinus

3:

€ Indeed! fome traces only of method in the cele-
brated work of Cæfalpinus ! He who firft invented a
complete arrangement of plants, and ftands unrivalled
as the father of method! He to whom every fucceed-
ing fyftem-monger owes fo many obligations! Though
among them all Ray alone confefles it, What Rouf-
feau affirms is true only of the excellent, the illuftrious
Gefner ; the other two thought nothing of arrange-
ment: No, nor the Bauhins, nor any other, till Mori-
fon and Ray.

“If Rouffeau means to fpeak here concerning the
works of the forementioned authors, this is not true.
The treatifes of Gefner and Clufius are every where re-
ferred to, even by Linnaeus, and confequently their no
menclature is well known. ‘The principal work of Va-
lerius Cordus is Gefner’s Hiftory of Plants, which he
publifhed in 1561. Cæfalpinus’s book is now become
rather a matter of refpectable curiofity than ufe,

By or

ToD Ue fd ON:

or feparated old ones, as the charatters of
his own required. So that genera and fpe-
cies were fo jumbled together, as to leave
fearcely any plant without as many names
as there were authors who defcribed it;
which made the ftudy of the nomencla-
ture as tedious as that of the plants them-
felves, and frequently more difficult.

At length the two illuftrious brothers
appeared ; who alone have done more for
the advancement of Botany than all the
reft together who preceded, and even fol-
lowed them, till Tournefort. Rare geni-
ufes! whofe vaft knowledge and folid la-
bours, confecrated to Botany, render them
worthy of that immortality which they
have acquired. For, till this part of na-
tural hiftory falls into oblivion, the names
of John and Cafpar Bauhin will live along
with it inthe memory of mankind‘.

Each of thefe men undertook an uni-
verfal hiftory of plants: but what more
immediately relates to our prefent purpofe
is, that they each of them undertook to
join to it a Synonymy, or exact lift of the
names that every plant bore in all the writ-
ers which preceded them. This labour
was become abfolutely neceflary to enable
us to reap any advantage from their obferva-

€ John the elder was born at Lyon, in 1541, and died
in 1613. . Cafpar was not born till 1560, and died in
1624.

tions 5

TONER OD CT TON

tions; for without that, it was almoft im-
poflible to follow and diftinguith every
plant among fo many names.

The eldeft almoft completed this under-
taking in three volumes in folio, printed af-
ter his death; and he has given fuch juft

defcriptions of the plants, that we are rarely

deceived in his fynonyms ‘.

The brother’s plan was yet more exten-
five, as appears by the firft volume which
he publifhed, and from which we may judge
of the immenfity of the whole work, if he
had found time to execute it5; but, ex-
cepting this volume, we have no more than
the titles of the reit in his pinax *; and this
pinax, the produce of forty years labour,
is {till the guide to all thofe who ftudy

F Chabræus was the editor, and Francis Louis de
Graffenried, of Bern, was at the expence of the publi-
cation. This work derives no excellence from the pa-
per or print. The plates are {mall and poorly execut-
ed; they belonged to Fuchlus, and were purchafed by
the bookfeller for this purpofe ; the editor has not un-
frequently put them in wrong places. John Bauhin’s
Hiftory however has great intrinfic excellence, for the
number of plants well defcribed, and a judicious compi-
lation of whatever had been done before his time. It
is entitled Hiftoria Plantarum Univerfalis Auétore
Johanne Bauhino Archiatro, &c. Ebrod. 1651.”

® Theatri Botanici, pars I. Bafil. 1658 and 1663,
fol.

» Pinax Theatrici Botanici five index in Theophraf-
ti, Diofcoridis, Plinii & botanicorum, qui a feculo {crip-
ferunt, opera, plantarum circiter 6000. nomina cum fy-
nonymiis & differentiis. Opus XL annorum. Bafil.
3623 & 1671. 4to.

B4 this

IN TR O D,U-C T-I O:N:

this fubjeét and wifh to confult ancient au-'
thors’.

The nomenclature of the Bauhins being
formed only from the titles of their chap-
ters, and thefe titles ufually comprifing {e-
veral words, hence came the cufiom of giv-
ing, as the names of plants, long ambi-
guous phrafes; which made this nomen-
clature not only tedious and embarrafling,
but pedantic and ridiculous. I own there
might have been fome advantage in this,
provided their phrafes had been better con
ftruéted ; but being compofed indifferently
of the names of places whence the plants
came, of perfons who fent them, and even
of other plants to which they fancied them
to bear fome fimilitude ; thefe phrafes were
fources of new embarrafiment and frefh

i The judicious, the indefatigable Haller, from whofe
judgment there lies no appeal, fays of Cafpar Bauhin,
that he emulated his elder brother in Botany, that he
was laborious in colleéting, and knew a greater number
of plants, being more enriched with them by his fcho-
lars and friends, but that his judgment was lefs aeute ;
that he admitted too many varieties for fpecies; that he
has repeated the fame plant under different names; that
he was lefs accurate than his brother in his defcrip-
tions, lefs acquainted with the natural clafles, and unfor-
tunate, as well as himfelf, in being obliged to divide his
time between Anatomy and Botany. Bibl. Botan. I.

5284800
r Haller fays alfo of this par nobile fratrum that for
their unwearied diligence they well deferved to lead the
way ina new age of Botany; and accordingly he puts
them at the head of the Calleétores in his fixth book.

doubts,

INTRODUCTION.

doubts, becaufe the knowledge of one plant
required that of feveral others to which the
phrafe referred, and whofe names were not
better determined than its own.

In the mean time diftant voyages were
inceflantly enriching Botany with new

treafures; and, whilft the old names al-.

ready overloaded the memory, it was ne-
ceflary to invent new ones, for the new
plants that were difcovered. Loft in this
immenfe labyrinth, the botanifts were ob-
liged to feek a thread to extricate them-
felves from it; they attached themfelves
therefore at laft ferioufly to method; Her-
man, Rivinus, Ray“, feverally propofed
their own; but the immortal Tournefort
carried away the prize from them all’; he
firft ranged the whole vegetable kingdom

fyftematically™; and, reforming the no-

menclature in part, combined it by his new

k The order fhould have been Ray, Herman, Rivinus.
Ray publifhed his firft work in 1660, his method in 1682,

and even drew up tables for Bifhop Wilkins in 1667,

which were printed in the year following. Herman be-
gan to write in 1687, and printed his method in 1690.
Rivinus publifhed the firft part of his method in 1690.
Morifoñ had before publifhed his in 1669. ~

! Tournefort firft publifhed his fyftem in 1697 : it was
fpecious, and generally fafhionable, till Linnæus’s fuper-
feded it: the plates of generic characters are excellent.

™ How far this is true may be feen in note (k). Tour-
nefort’s however may be faid to have been the firft com-
plete regular arrangement; though how it could ever be
ufed to good purpofe, without any charaCters or defcrip-
tions of the fpecies, 1 do not underftand.

a

7 , genera .

ao

LE EE RYOTE TO Ne

genera with that of Cafpar Bauhin: but,
far from freeing it of its long phrafes, he
either added new ones, or loaded the old
ones with additions, which his method
obliged him to make. The barbarous cuf-
tom was then introduced of tagging new
names to the old ones by a contradictory
qui qua quod, making of the fame plant
two diftinét genera.

For inftance—‘ Dens Leonis gu: Pilo-
€ fella folio minus villofo. Doria gue Ja-
© cobcea orientalis limonii folio. ‘Titanos
‘ keratophyton god Lythophyton mari-
¢ num albicans.’

Thus was the nomenclature loaded.
The names of the plants became not only
phrafes but periods. I fhall cite one of
Plukenet’s, to, prove that I do not exag-
gerate. ‘* Gramen myloicophorum caro-
‘€ Jinianum feu gramen altiflimum, pani-
“* cula maxima fpeciofa, e {picis majoribus
“ comprefliufculis utrinque pinnatis blat- -
‘ tam molendariam quodam modo referen-
‘6 tibus, compofita, foliis convolutis mu-
‘6 cronatis pungentibus.” A/mag 137%.

It would have been all over with Bo-
tany, if this practice had continued; the
nomenclature being now abfolutely infup-
portable, could no longer fubfift in this
fiate; and it was become neceflary either
that a reformation fhould be made, or that

* See Linnæus’s Critica, and Philofophia Botanica.

the

YN ROD se Tet ON.

the richeft, the moft lovely, and the eafieft
of the three parts of Natural Hiftory fhouid
be abandoned.

At length Linnæus, full of his fyftem,
and the vaft ideas which it fuggeited to
him, formed the projet of new-moulding
the whole; a tafk which every body felt
the neceflity of, but no one dared to un-
dertake. He did more, he executed it;
and, having prepared in his Critica Botanica
the rules by which it ought to be con-
ducted, he determined the genera of plants
in his Genera Plantarum, and afterwards
the fpecies in his Species Plantarum?; in
fuch a manner, that, by keeping all the old
names that agreed with thefe new rules,
and new cafting all the reft, he eftablifhed
at length a clear nomenclature, founded
upon the true principles of the art which
he had fet forth. He preferved all the an-
cient genera which were truly natural; he
corrected, fimplified, united, or divided,
the reft as their true characters required.
And in forming his names he followed,
fometimes even fomewhat too feverely,

the rules which he had laid down.

° The firft fketch of Linnæus’s fyftem was publifhed
in 17353 the laft edition of Syftema Vegetabilium in
1784; the Critica Botanica in 1737: the firft edition
of the Genera the fame year, and the laft in 1764:
the firft edition of the fpecies in 1753, the fecond in
3762 and 1763. See Dr. Pulteney’s excellent account
ef the writings of Linnæus.

With

B iy |

32

INTRODUCTA ON,
With refpeét to the fBecies, defcriptions:

and diftinétions were neceflary to determine,
them; phrafes therefore remained always
indifpenfable; but, by confining himfelf to
a {mall number of technical words, well
chofen and well adapted, he made good
fhort definitions deduced from the true cha-
racter of the plant, banifhing rigoroufly all
that was foreign to it. For this it was ne«
ceflary to create a new language for Bo-
tany, that would {pare the long periphrafes
of the old defcriptions. Complaint has been
made that the words of this language are
not all to be found in Cicero. This com-
plant would be reafonable, had Cicero
written a complete treatife of Botany.
Thofe words however are all either Greek
or Latin, exprefhve, fhort, fonorous, and
even form elegant conftructions by their
extreme precifion. It is in the conftant
practice of the art, that we feel all the
advantage of this new language, which is
as convenient and neceflary for Botanifts,

as that of algebra is for mathematicians.
Hitherto Linnæus had indeed deter-
mined the greateft part of known plants,
but he had not named them; for defining
a thing is not naming it: a phrafe can
never be a true name, nor can it come into
common ufe. He provided againft this de-
fe& by the invention of trivial names?,
which

® Thefe fpecific or trivial names appear firft in the
| Pan

INTRODUCTION,

which he joined to the generical ones in
order to diftinguifh the fpecies. By this
contrivance the name of every plant is com-
pofed only of two words, which alone,
when chofen with difcernment, and applied
with propriety, often make the plant better
known than the long phrafes of Micheli
and Plukenet. To be ftill better and more
regularly acquainted with it, there is the
phrafe, which doubtlefs muft be known,
but need not be repeated every time we
have occafion to fpeak of the object.

Nothing is more pedantic or ridiculous,
when a woman, or one of thofe men who
refemble women, are afking you the name
of an herb or a flower in a garden, than to
be under the neceflity of anfwering by a
long file of Latin words that have the ap-
pearance of a magical incantation; an in-
‘convenience fufficient to deter fuch frivo-
lous perfons from a charming ftudy offered
with fo pedantic an apparatus.

However neceflary or advantageous this
reform might be, nothing lefs was wanting
than Linnæus’s profound knowledge to
execute it with fuccefs, and the reputation
of this great naturalift to make it be uni-
verfally adopted. It met with refiftance at
firft, and meets with it ftill, ‘This could
not be otherwife; his rivals in the fame

Pan Suecicus of 1749; but they were brought to perfec-
tion in the firft edition of the Species Plantarum, pub-
lifhed four years after.

Career

49

14

MR O0 DCR 1 ON

career look upon this adoption as a confef-
fion of inferiority which they do not like
to make; his nomenclature feemed fo much
of a piece with his fyftem, that they could
not well be feparated. And botanifts of the
higher order, who think themfelves obliged
through pride not to adopt the fyftem of
any other, but each man to have his own,
will not facrifice their pretenfions to the
progrefs of an art for which the profeflors
have rarely a difinterefted fondnefs.

National jealoufies alfo oppofe the ad-
miffion of a foreign fyftem. People think
themfelves obliged to fupport the famous
men of their own country, efpecially after
their death; for even that felf-love, which
made them icarcely bear their fuperiority
whilft they were alive, is honoured by
their glory after they are departed.

The great convenience however of this
new nomenclature, and the utility of it,
which praéticehas made known, have caufed
it to be adopted almoft univerfally throughout
Europe, fooner ar later, and even at Paris

M. de fuflieu has eftablifhed it in the royal

garden; thus preferring public utility to the

glory of new-moulding the whole, which

the method of natural families, invented
by his illufirious uncle, feemed to require’.

Not

s The royal garden however is certainly arranged by
M. de Juffieu’s natural method ; which was publifhed in
1789, under the title of Gexera Plantarum, os + ore

igs

RNATIRIO DU CTION.

Not that the nomenclature of Linnzus is
without its faults, or gives no handle to
criticifm ; but, till a more perfect one fhall
be found, in which nothing is wanting, it
is far better to adopt this than to have none,
or to fall again into the phrafes of Tourne-
fort or Cafpar Bauhin. Ican even fcarcely
believe that a better nomenclature will in
future have fuccefs enough to profcribe
this, to which the botanifts of Europe are
at prefent fo wholly accuftomed ; and, hav-
ing now the double tie of habit and conve-
nience, they will renounce it with ftill more
unwillingnefs than they found in adopting
it. In order to bring about {uch a change,
an author muft be found with credit enough
to efface that of Linnzus; one to whofe
authority all Europe would be willing a {e-
cond time to fubmit ; which appears to me
not likely to happen. For if his fyftem',
however excellent it may be, fhould be
adopted by one nation only, it would throw
Botany into a new labyrinth, and do it
More injury than fervice.

Even the labour of Linnæus, though im-
mente, remains ftill imperfect, inafmuch as

dines naturales difpofita, juxta methodum in horto regio Pa-
rifienft exaratam, anno 1774.

* He fhould rather have faid nomenclature or language.
It is of no great importance what fyftem we adopt, fo
that we all agree to talk the fame language. ‘That of
Linnzus will probably ftand the teft of ages, whatever
may become of the fexual fyftem,

it

T5

16

INTRODUCTION.

it does not comprehend all known plants,
and is not adopted by all botanifts without
exception ; for the writings of fuch as do
not {ubmit to it, require from their readers
the fame labour to fettle the fynonyms, as
they were forced to take for thofe which
preceded it.

We are obliged to Mr. Crantz, not-
withftanding his rage againft Linnæus, for
having adopted his nomenclature, though
he rejected his fyftem. But Haller, in his
large and excellent work on the Swifs
plants*, rejects both; and Adanfon does
more; for he makes an entire new no-

menclature, and furnifhes no information

whereby we may refer it to Linnæus’s.
Haller always quotes the genus, and fre-
quently the fpecific charaéters of Linnæus,
but Adanfon never quotes either. Haller
attaches himfelf to an exaét fynonymy, by
which, even when he does not add Lin-

“nzeus’s enunciation of the fpecies, we may

find it at leaft indire&tly by the relation of
the fynonyms. But Linnzus and his
books are abfolutely null and void for M.
Adanfon and his readers, becaufe the latter
gives no information whereby we may con-
nect them. So that we are compelled to
choofe between Linnæus and M. Adanfon,

* Alberti v. Haller Hiftoria Stirpium Indigenarum
Helvetia inchoata. Berna 1768 folio, in three vo-
lumes.

whe

TNT R-O' DUC T I O N.

who excludes him without mercy; and to
throw all the works of one of them into
the fire. Orelfe we muft undertake a new
work, which will be neither fhort nor eafy,
to connect thefe nomenclatures, which of-
fer us no point of union.

Linnzus indeed has not given a com-
plete fynonymy. For plants known long
fince, he has contented himfelf with quot-
ing the Bauhins and Clufius, with a figure
of each plant. For exotic plants lately “dif
covered, he has cited one or two modern
authors and the figures of Rheed, Rum-
phius and fome others, and has gone no
farther. His undertaking did ete requiie
of him a more extended “compilation, and
it is fufficient that he has given one cer-
tain information with regard” to every plant
which he names‘.

‘Such is the prefent ftate of things.
Now after this account of it, I would afk
every reader of common fenfe, how it is
poflible to attach one’s felf to the ftudy of
plants, and at the fame time to reject that
of the nomenclature? It is juft as if a man
would make himfelf fkilful in a language,
with a determination not to learn the
words of it. The names, it is true, are
arbitrary, the knowledge of plants has no
neceflary connexion with the nomencla-

* Rouffeau means to fpeak here of the Species Planta-
rum, and what he fays is in general true of that. But in
his Flora Lapponica, Suecica, &c. he has given a much
more extenfive fynonymy.

ture;

15

INTRODUCTION.

ture; and it is eafy to conceive that an in-
telligent man might be an excellent bota-
nift, “without knowing a fingle plant by its
name. But that one man “alone, without
books or any affiftance from communicated
information, fhould become of himfelf even
a very moderate botanift, is a ridiculous
affertion to make, and an enterprife impof-
fible to execute. The queftion is, whether
three hundred years of ftudy and obferva-
tion fhould be loft to Botany, whether
three hundred volumes of figures and de-
{criptions fhould be thrown into the fire,
whether the knowledge acquired by all the
learned, who have confecrated their purie,
their ‘ct their time, to diftant, expenfive,
painful, and dangerous expeditions, fhould
be ufelefs to their fucceflors, and whether
every one fetting out from nothing, could
arrive by himfelf at the. fame knowledge,
that a long feries of enquiry and ftudy has
{pread over the mafs of mankind? If not,
and if the moft lovely part of natural if.
tory merit the attention of the curious,
let them tell me how we {hall manage
to make ufe of the knowledge here-
tofore acquired, if we do not begin by
learning the language of the writers, and
knowing to what objects the names em-
ployed by them belong. ‘To admit there-
fore the ftudy of botany, and to reject that
of the nomenclature, is a moft abfurd con-
tradiction. |

LETTERS

Les MT BipnsdBeved R S
ON THE
oh EM DIN: TS
OF

ist Paes Es Avo AN 102. Mig

#10 A LADY.

LET TER: dA

f
@N THE FRUCTIFICATION AND LILIACEOUS PLANTS»

Dated the 22d of Auguf, Tyas!
THINK your idea of amufing the

vivacity of your daughter a little, and
exercifing her attention upon fuch agree-
able and varied objects as plants, is excel-
lent; though I fhould not have ventured
to play the pedant fo far as to propofe it of
myfelf. Since however it comes from you,
I approve it with all my heart, and will
even affift you in it; convinced, ‘that at all
times of life, the ftudy of nature abates the
tafte for frivolous amufements, prevents
the tumult of the paffions, and provides
the mind with a nourifhment which is fa-
lutary, by filling it with an object moft

worthy of its contemplations.
C2 You

20

LETTER UY.

You have begun with teaching your
daughter the names of the common 7 plants
which you have about you; this was the
very thing you fhould have done. The
few plants which fhe knows by fight are
fo many points of comparifon for “her to
extend her knowledge: but they are, not

fufficient. You defire to have a little ca-

talogue of the moft common plants, with
the marks by which they may be known.
I find fome difficulty in doing this for you:
that is, in giving you thefe marks or cha-
racters in writing, after a manner that is
clear, and at ie fame time not diffufe.
This feems impoflible without ufing the
language peculiar to the fubje&t, and the
terms of that language form a vocabulary
apart which you cannot underftand unleis
it be previoufly explained to you.

Befides, merely to be acquainted with
plants by fight, and to know only their
names, cannot but be too infipid a ftudy
for a genius like yours; and it may be pre-
fumed that your daughter would not be
long amufed with it. I propofe that you
thould have fome preliminary notions of
the vegetable ftruéture or organization of
plants, in order that you may get fome real
information, though you were to take only
a few fteps, into the moft beautiful, and
the richeit of the three kingdoms of na-
ture. We have nothing theréfore to do

yet with the nomenclature, which is but

the

FRUCTIFWICATION.

the knowledge of a herbarift. I have
always thought it poflible to be a very
great botanift without knowing fo much

as one plant by name; and, without wifh- .

ing to make your daughter a very great
botanitt, I think neverthelefs that it Swill
always be ufeful to her to learn how to
fee, whatever fhe looks at, well. Do not
however be terrified at the undertaking:
you will foon know that it is not a great
one. ‘There is nothing either complicated
or difficult in what I have to propofe ta
you. Nothing is required but to have
patience to begin with the beginning. Af-
ter that, you may go on no farther than
you choofe,

Weare now getting towards the latter
feafon, and thofe plants which are the moft
fimple ; in their {tructure are already pañt.
Befides, I expect you will take fome time
to make your obfervations a little regu-
larly. However in the mean while, till
{pring puts you in a fituation to begin and
follow the order of nature, I am going to
give you a few words of the vocabulary to
cet by heart.

A perfect plant is compofed of a root,
of a ftem with its branches, of leaves,
flower, and fruit, (for in Botany, by fruit,
in herbs as well as in trees, we nd
the whole fabric of the feed.) You know
the whole of this already, at leaft enough to
underftand the term; but there is a prin-

C 5 cipal”

ai

. 22

Lily.

LETTER If.

cipal part which requires an examination
more at large ; I mean the fr#é/fication, that
is, the fower and the fruit. Let us begin
with the flower, which comes firft. In.
this part nature has inclofed the fummary
of her work; by this fhe perpetuates it,
and this alfo is commonly the moft bril-
liant of all parts of the vegetable, and
always leaft liable to variations.

Take a lily*: I believe you will eafily
find it ftillin full flower. Before it opens,
you fee at the top of the ftem an oblong
greenifh bud, which grows whiter the
nearer it is to opening; and when it 1s
quite open, you perceive that the white
cover takes the form of a bafin or vafe
divided into feveral fegments. This is
ealled the coro//la, and not the flower, as it
is by the vulgar, becaufe the flower is a
compofition of feveral parts, of which the
corolla is only the principal.

The corolla of the lily is not of one
piece, as you eafily fee. When it withers
and falls, it feparates into fix diftiné pieces,
which are called peta/s. ‘Thus the corolla
of the lily is compofed of fix petals. A
corolla, confifting of feveral piecés like
this, is called a polypetalous corolla. If it

a Lilium candidum of Linnæus, (Pl. 1.) or any of
its congeners, (fee L. chalcedonicum & bulbiferum, figured,
in Curtis’: Magazine, 30 and 36.) or almoft any of the
tribe of thefe which are called /iliaceous flowers, and are,

for the greater part, eminently beautiful. As Amaryllis
Jormofiffima. Curt. Mag. 47.

8 | were

LILIACEOUS PLANTS.

. were all of one piece, like the bell-flower®
or bind-weeds‘, it would be called monope-
falous. But to return to our lily.

You will find exaétly in the middle of
the corolla a fort of little column rifing
from the bottom, and pointing dire€tly up-
wards. ‘This, taken in its whole, is called
the pr/f1l or porntal: taken in its parts, it is
divided into three; 1, the {wollen bafe,
with three blunted angles, called the germ
or ovary; 2, a thread placed upon this,
called the fyle; 3, the ftyle crowned by a
fort of capital with three notches: this
capital is called the fygma.

Between the piftil and the corolla you
find fix other bodies entirely feparate from
‘each other, which are called the famens.
Each ftamen is compofed of two parts, one
long and thin, by which it is faftened to
the bottom of the corolla, and called the
flament; the other thicker, placed at the
top of the filament, and called anthera or an-
tber Each anther is a box which opens
when it is ripe, and throws out a yellow
duft, which has a ftrong fmell: this is
called pollen or farina.

® Campanula rotundifolia Linnei.

€ Convolvulus fepium (PI. 12. f. 3.) & arvenfis, &c.
Linnai.

* The old Englifh name of anthera is /#mmit ; Grew
called it femet.—The ftigma has alfo been named
fibula -

C 4 Such

24

LET TER. Te

Such is the general analyfis of the parts
which conftitute a flower. As the corolla
fades and falls, the germ increafes, and be-
comes an oblong triangular capfule, within
which are flat feeds in three cells. This
capfule, confidered as the cover of the
feeds, takes the name of pericarp.

The parts here mentioned are found in
the flowers of moft other plants, but in
different proportion, fituation, and number.
By the analogy of thefe parts, and their
different combinations, the families of the
vegetable kingdom are determined: and
thefe analogies are connected with others
in thofe parts of the plant which feem to
have no relation to them. For inftance,
this number of fix ftamens, fometimes
only three, of fix petals or divifions of the
corolla, and that triangular form, of the
germ, with its three cells, determine the
liliaceous tribe ; and in all this tribe, which
is very numerous, the roots are bu/és of fome
fort or other, That of the lily is /guamous,
or compofed of fcales ; in the afphodel, it
is a number of oblong folid bulbs conneéted
together® ; in the crocus and faffron there
are two bulbs, one over the other; in the
colchicum ‘ they are placed fide by fide ¢.

The

* As in the peony, potatoe, &c. Thefe are called
by fome tuberous roots.
f Or meadow faffron. £
-& He might have added that fome of thefe bulbs are
folid

LILIACEOUS PLANTS,
The lily, which I have chofen becaufe

it is in feafon ; and alfo on account of the
ze of the flower and its other parts, is de-
ficient however in one of the conftituent
parts of a perfect flower, namely the calyx,
which is that outer green part of the flower
ufually divided into five parts or compofed
of five {mall leaves; fuftaining and embrac-
ing the corolla at the bottom, and enve-
loping it entirely before it opens, as you
may have remarked inthe rofe. The calyx
which accompanies almoft all other flowers,
is wanting in the greater part of the lilia-
ceous tribe; as the tulip, the hyacinth, the
narciflus, the tuberofe, &c. and even in the
onion, leek, garlic, &c. which are alfo lilia-
ceous, though they appear very different at
firft fight. You will perceive alfo that in
this whole tribe the ftems are fimple and
unbranched, the leaves entire, and never
cut or divided: obfervations which confirm
the analogy of the flower and fruit in this
family, by that of the other parts of the
plants. If you beftow fome attention upon
thefe particulars, and make them familiar
to you by frequent obfervations, you are al-
ready in a condition to determine, by anat-

folid like the turnip; others compofed of coats, one over
another, as inthe onion, Linnzus does not allow them
to be roots; and indeed it is only their being under-
ground that led former Botanifts to call them fo. He
names them Aybernacula, winter gems or buds, into
which the whole plant retires during the cold feafon.

tentive

#3

26

LET FER +
tentive and continued infpection of a plant,
whether it be of the liliaceous tribe or not ;
and this without knowing the name of the
plant. You fee that this is not a mere
labour of the memory, but a ftudy of ob.
fervations and facts truly worthy of a na-
turalifti. You will not begin by telling
your daughter all this at once; and you
will be even more cautious, when in the
fequel you fhall be initiated in the myfteries
of vegetation; but you will unveil to her
by degrees no more than is fuitable to her
age and fex, by direé&tins her how to find
out things of herfelf, rather than by teach-
ing her. Adieu, my dear coufin ; if all
this trafh be agreeable to you, lam at your
fervice. |

If it fhould happen to be fpring when the reader
takes up this letter, he may examine the fnow-drop, cro-
cus, daffodil, narciflus, crown imperial, tulip, lily of the
valley, hyacinth, &c. always taking care, in the garden,
to avoid double flowers. See Letter II.

i Botany is frequently, but we fee here how unjuftly,
reprefented as a fcience which depends wholly upon the
memory, as if it were nothing but to get the names of
ten thoufand plants by heart.

* Rouffeau takes every occafion to inculcate this fun-
damental leflon of education ; and indeed it cannot be
inculcated too often. See Letter V,

LET LER

TO eo ie. à
ON CRUCIFORM FLOWERS,

The 18th of O&ober, 1771,
MINCE you underftand fo well, my dear

coufin, the firft lineaments aa plants,
though fo flightly marked, as to be able
already to diftinguifh the liliaceous family
by their air ; And fince our little botanift
amufes herfelf with corollas and petals, I
am going to fet before you another tribe,
upon which fhe may again exercife her
little knowledge; with rather more diffi-
culty I own, becaufe the flowers are much
fmaller, and the foliage more varied, but
with the fame pleafure both on her fide and
on yours ; at leaft if you have as much de-
light in following this flowery path as I find
in tracing it out to you.

When the firft rays of fpring fhall have
enlightened your progrefs, by fhewing you
in the gardens hyacinths, tulips, narciflufes,
jonquils, and lilies of the valley, the analyfis
of all which isalready known to you, other
flowers will foon catch your attention, and
require of you a new examination ; fuch are

ftocks' and rockets™. Whenever you find

1 Cheiranthus incanus Linnzi. Plate 2.
™ Hefperis matronalis Linnæi.—Or if thefe are not

at hand, wall-flowers, cabbage, turnip, cole-feed, muf
tard, charlock, radifh, &c.

them

Stock.

TET TER VIT.

them double, do not meddle with them, they
are disfigured ; or, if you pleafe, drefled after
our fafhion : nature will no longer be found
among them; fhe refufes to reproduce any
thing from monfters thus mutilated: for if
the moft brilliant part of the flower, name-
ly the corolla, be multiplied, it is at the ex-
pence of the more effential parts, which —
difappear under this addition of brilliancy.
Take then a fingle ftock gilliflower, or
ftock, as it is vulgarly called, and proceed
to the analyfis of the flower: you will per-
ceive immediately an exterior part, which
was wanting in the liliaceous flowers,
namely the calyx, This confifts of four
pieces, which we mutt call leaves, leaflets
or folioles, having no proper names to ex-
prefs them by, as we have that of petals
for the pieces which compofe the corolla.
Thefe four pieces are commonly unequal

_by pairs; that is, there are two leaflets op-

pofite and equal, of a fmaller fize, and twa
others alfo oppofite and equal, but larger,
efpecially towards the bottom, where they
are fo rounded, as to exhibit a very fenfible
protuberance or bump on the outfide,

In this calyx you will find acorolla com-
pofed of four petals. I fay nothing of their
colour, becaufe that makes no part of their
character. Each of thefe petals is faftened
to the receptacle, or bottom of the calyx,
by a narrow pale part, which is called ##-
guis, or the çlaw of the petal, and this

3 {preads

CRUCIFORM FLOWERS.

fpreads out over the top of the calyx into a
large, flat, coloured part, called Janna, or
the border”. : :

In the centre of the corolla is one piftil,
long and cylindric, or nearly fo; chiefly
compofed of a germ ending in a very fhort
ftyle, and that terminated by an oblong
ftigma, which is #fd, that is to fay, divided
into two parts, which are reflex on each
fide.

If you examine carefully the refpeétive
-pofition of the calyx and corolla, you will
fee that each petal, inftead of correfponding
exactly to each leaflet of the calyx, is, on
the contrary, placed between two; fo that
it anfwers to the opening which feparates
them ; and this alternate pofition has place
in all flowers which have as many petals to
the corolla as leaflets to the calyx.

It remains now to {peak of the ftamens.
You will find fix of them in the flower of
the ftock, as in the liliaceous flowers, but
not all equal, or elfe alternately unequal,
as in thofe ; but you will perceive two op-
pofite to each other, fenfibly fhorter than
the other four which feparate them, and
which are alfo feparate from each other in
pairs.

"I wonder that Rouffeau fays nothing of the regular
ftruGture of this corolla, the petals generally ftanding
wide from each other, and forming a figure fomething
like the crofs of the order of St. Louis, whence thefe
corollas are called cruciform, or crofs foaped.

J fhall

“29

35°

LE*TER ri.

T fhall not enter here into a detail of
their ftructure and pofition : but I give you
notice that, if you look carefully, you will
find the reafon why thefe two ftamens are
fhorter than the other four, and why two
leaflets of the calyx are more protuberant, or,
as the botanifts fpeak, more gibbous, and the
other two more flatted.

To finifh the hiftory of our ftock; you
muft not abandon it as foon as you have
analyfed the flower, but wait till the co-
rolla withers and falls, which it does pretty
foon ;' and then remark what becomes of
the piftil, compofed, as we obferved before,
oe germ, the ftyle, and the ftigma.

e germ grows confiderably in length,
and thickens a little as the fruit ripens.
When it is ripe, it becomes a kind of flat
pod, called f/que.

This filique is compofed of two valves,
each covering a {mall cell: and the cells
are feparated by a thin partition. When
the feed is ripe, the valves open from the
bottom upwards to give it paflage, and re-
main faft to the ftigma at top. Then you
may fee the flat round feeds ranged along
each fide of the partition; and you will
find that they are faftened alternately to
right and left by a fhort pedicle to the fu-
tures, or each edge of the partition.

I am very much afraid, my dear coufin,
that I have fatigued you a little with this
long defcription ; but it was neceflary to
give you the effential character of the nu-

merous

CRUCIFORM FLOWERS.

merous tribe of cruciform flowers °, which
forms an entire clafs in almoft all the
fyftems of botanifts: and I hope that this
defcription, which is difficult to underftand
here without a figure, will become more
intellicible, “re you fhall have gone
through it with fome attention, having at
the fame time the object before your eyes.

The great number of fpecies in this
clafs? has determined botanifts to divide it
into two feétions, in which the flowers are
perfectly alike, but the fruits, pericarps, or
feed-veffels, are fenfibly different.

The firft order comprehends the cruci-
form flowers witha filique, or pod, fuch as
the ftock, thofe mentioned in note (m), and
the like.

The fecond contains thofe whofe feed-
veffel is a cle, that is, a {mall and very
fhort pod, almoit as wide as it is long, and
differently divided within; as whitlow-
grafs, mithridate-muftard, baftard-crefs,
Ke. in the fields ; and feurvy-grafs, horfe-
radifh, candy-tuft, honefty, &c. in the gar-
dens: though the feed-veflel of the lait is
very. large, his {till a filicle, becaufe the
length exceeds the breadth very little. If
none of thefe are known to you, I prefume
at leaft that you are acquainted with the

* See note (n).

P 287 Species, In the 17th clafs, diadelphia, or two
brotherhoods, 695, and in the 19th fyngenefia, 1247

fpecies. “Thefe numbers, here and in the fequel, are
given from the 14th edition of ee eg ee

o Chevalier Murray.
Shepherd s-

31

32

Pir Tee RY AT:
Soepherd’s-purfe’, which is fo common 4

weed in kitchen gardens. Well then, cou-
fin, this fhepherd’s-purfe is of the cruciform
tribe and f/cle branch of it, and the form
of the filicle is triangular". By this you
may form fome idea of the reft till they fall
into your hands.

But it is time to let you breathe; I will
only therefore give you a hint at prefent
that in this clafs, and many others, you
will often find flowers much fmaller than
thofe of the ftock, and fometimes fo {mall
that you cannot examine their parts with-
out the afliftance of a glafs*; an inftrument
which a botanift cannot do without, any
more than he can without a needle, a lancet,
or penknife, and a pair of good - {cifflars.
Prefuming that your maternal zeal may
carry you thus far, I fancy to myfelf a
charming picture of my beautiful coufin
bufy with her glafs examining heaps of
flowers, a hundred times lefs flourifhing,
lefs frefh, and lefs agreeable than herfelf,
Adieu, dear coufin, till the next chapter.

4 F1. Dan.t. 729. Curt. Lond>r.. Ger. 276. r.

* The young botanift fhould be advertifed that thefe
filicles or little pods differ much in their form: fome are
flat, and round or oval ; others are fpherical or fpheroi-
dal, (fee pl. 2. k, 1.) and that of fhepherd’s-purfe has a
form peculiar to itfelf. Pl. 2.1.

* This of the fmallnefs of the parts in many flowers is
an objection that every idle novice makes to the Lin-
nan fyftem, ever trembling left any thorn or obftacle,
be it ever fo minute, fhould occur in the flowery path :

the difficulty however will in great meafure vanifh, if
he will but have PRE to go regularly on his way.

Leet ER

I fob TB? EL.

OF PAPILIONACEOUS FLOWERS.

The 26th of May, 1772.

INCE you continue, dear coufin, to

purfue, with your daughter, that peace-
able and delightful ftudy which fills up
thofe voids in our time too often dedicated
by others to idlenefs, or fomething worfe,
with interefting obfervations on are I
will refume the interrupted thread of our

vegetable tribes.

My intention is to defcribe fix of thefe
tribes to you firft, in order to render the
general ftructure of the characteriftic parts
of plants familiar. You have already had
two of them; there are four remaining,
which you muft ftill have the patience to
go through, and after that, quitting for a
time the other branches of that numerous
race, and going on to examine the different
parts of the fruétification, we fhall manage
fo, that without knowing many plants
perhaps, you will at leaft never be in a
ftrange country among the producer of
the vegetable kingdom.

But I muft inform you, that if you will
take books in hand, and purfue the com-
mon Meet with abundance of
names, you will have few ideas, thofe

which

Uo

bo

34

PET TER AIT.

which you have will be confufed, and you
will not follow properly either my fteps or
thofe of others; but will have at moft a
mere knowledge of words. I am jealous,
dear coufin, of being your only guide in
this part of Botany. When it is the pro-
per time I will point out to you the books
that you may coniult. In the mean while
have patience to read nothing but in that
of nature, and to keep wholly to my letters.

Peas ‘ are, at prefent, in full fructifica-
tion. Seize the moment to obferve their
characters: they are fome of the moft cu-
rious that Botany affords. One general
divifion of flowers is into regular and irre-
gular. The firft are they whofe parts all
{pring uniformly from the centre of the
flower, and terminate in the circumference
of acircle. ‘This uniformity is the reafon
why when we view flowers of this kind,
we do not diftinguifh an under from an up-
per part, nor the right from the left; fuch
are the two tribes which we have already ex-
amined. But you will fee at firft fight
that the flower of the pea is irregular, that
you eafily diftinguifh the longer part of the
corolla, which fhould be at top, from the
fhorter, which fhould be at bottom; and
you know very well, when you hold up
the flower to the eye, whether it be in its
natural fituation or not. Thus in examin-

* See Plate 3, which is coloured red, to make the
flower more confpicuous.

ing

PAPILIONACEOUS FLOWERS.

ing an irregular flower, whenever we fpeak
of the top and the bottom, we fuppofe it
to be in its natural fituation.

The flowers of this tribe being of a very
particular ftru@ture, you muft not only
have feveral pea flowers, and difle& them
fucceflively, to obferve all their parts one
after another, but you muft alfo purfue the
progrefs of the fructification from the firft
flowering to the maturity of the fruit.

Firft you will find a monophyllous calyx;
that is, one of an entire piece, ending in
five very diftin@ points, the two wider of
which are at top, and three narrower at
bottom. This calyx bends towards the
lower part, as does alfo the peduncle, or
little ftalk which fupports “it: this pedun:
cle is very fmall and eafily moveable; fo
that the flower readily avoids a current of
air, and commonly turns its back to the
wind and rain.

Having examined the calyx, you may
pull it off, foas to leave the reft of the
flower entire, and then you wil fee plainly
that the corolla is polypetaloes.

The firft piece is a large petal, covering
the others, and occupying the upper part
of the corolla ; it is called the /fendard, or
banner. We mutt make ufe neither of our
eyes nor of common fenfe, if we do not
perceive that this petal is defigned to pro-
tect the other parts of the flower from the
principal injuries of the weather. In tak-

D 2 ing

33

BET TER MIT:

ing off the ftandard, you will obferve, that
it 1s inferted on each fide by a little procefs
into the fide-pieces, fo that it cannot be
driven out of its place by the wind.

The ftandard being taken off, expofes to
view thofe two fide-pieces to which it ad-
hered ; they are called the wings. In tak-
ing thefe off you will find them fill more
ftrongly inferted into the remaining part,
fo that they cannot be feparated without
fome effort. Thefe wings are fcarcely
lefs ufeful in protecting the fides of the
flower, than the ftandard in covering it.

Taking off the wings, you difcover the
Jaft piece of the corolla; this is that which
covers and defends the centre of the flower,
and wraps it up, efpecially underneath, as
carefully as the three other petals envelope
the upper part and the fides. This laft
piece, which, on account of its form, is
called the boat or keel, is, as it were, the
ftrong-box into which nature has put her
treafure, to keep it fafe from the attacks of
air and water.

When you have well examined this pe-
tal, draw it gently downwards, pinching
it flightly by the keel or thin edge, for fear
of tearing away what it contains. I am
certain you will be pleafed with the myf-
tery it reveals when the veil is removed.

The young fruit involved in the boat or
keel, is conftruéted in this manner : a cy-
lindric membrane, terminated by ten dif-

tinct

PAPILIONACEOUS FLOWERS.

tinét threads furround the germ, or em-
bryo of the legume or pod. Thefe ten
threads are fo many filaments, united be-
low round the germ, and terminated each
by a yellow anther, whofe farina covers
the ftigma which terminates the ftyle, or
grows along the fide of it: this ftigma,
though yellow with the meal which {ticks
to it, is eafily diftinguifhed by its figure
and fize. ‘Thus do thefe ten filaments form
alfo about the germ an interior armour, to
preferve it from exterior injuries.

If you examine more curioufly, you will
find that thefe ten filaments are united into
one at the bafe, only in appearance. For
in the upper part of this cylinder there is a
piece or ftamen which at firft appears to
adhere to the reft, but as the flower fades
and the fruit increafes, feparates and leaves
an opening at top, by which the fruit can
extend itfelf by opening and feparating the
cylinder gradually ; which otherwife, by
comprefling and ftraitening it all round,
would impede its growth. If the flower
is not fufficiently advanced, you will not

«find this ftamen detached from the cylin-
der; but put a fine pin or needle into two

little holes which you will fee near the re=

ceptacle, at the bafe of that ftamen, and
you will foon perceive the ftamen with its
anther feparate from the nine others, which
will continue always to form one body, till
at length they fade and dry, when the

. D germ

37

LETTER fit.

germ becomes a /egume, and has no longer
any occafion for them.

This /egume is diftinguifhed from the f-
lique of the cruciform tribe, by the feeds be-
ing faftened to one fide only of the cafe,
alternately indeed to each valve of it; but
all of them to the fame fide. Vou-will un-
derftand this diftinétion perfeétlÿ if you
open the pod of a pea and of a ftock at the
fame time, taking care only to have them
before they are quite ripe, that, wnen the
pericarp is opened, the feeds may continue
faftened by their proper ligaments to their
futures and their valves ".

If I have made myfelf well underftood,
you will comprehend, dear coufin, what
af{tonifhing precautions have been heaped
together by nature to bring the embryo @f
the pea to maturity; and, above all, to
protect it, in the midft of the greateft rains,
trom that wet which is fatal to it, without
inclofing it in a hard fhell, which would
have made it another kind of fruit. The
Creator, attentive to the prefervation of all
‘beings, has taken great care to protect the
fructification: of plants from attack$ that

"In doing this you will alfo perceive that the legume
is upilc cular, or has one cell only; whereas you re-
member that the filique was faid to be bilocular. And
if you take a ripe legume you will find that it opens by
the upper future, oppoñte to that to which the feeds are
faftened ; whereas the filjque opens from the bottom

upwards by both futures. Compare PI. 3. 8. with PI,
20h.

may

PAPILIONACEOUS FLOWERS.

may injure it; but he feems to have dou-
bled his attention to thofe which ferve for
the nourifhment of man and animals, as
does the greater part of the leguminous or
pulfe tribe. The provifion for the fruéti-
fication of peas is, in different proportions,
the fame through this clafs. The flowers
have the name of papilionaceaus, from a
fancied refemblance of them to the form of
a butterfly (paprho) ; they have generally a
flandard or banner, two wings, anda boat
or keel; that is, fo irregular petals. But
in fome genera the boat is divided longitu-
dinally into two pieces; and thefe flowers
have in reality five petals: others, as clo-
ver’, have all their petals united, and
though papilionaceous, are however mono-
petalous flowers.

The papilionaceous or leguminous plants
form one of the moft numerous and ufeful
tribes. Beans, peas, lucerne, faintfoin,
clover, lupins, lentils, tares or vetches, in-
digo, liquorice, kidney-beans, all belong to
it; the character of the laft is to have “the
boat fpirally twifted, which at firft fight

might be taken for an accident. There
are Fats fome trees belonging to it; among
others that which is commonly called aca-
cia, but which is not the true acacia”, and
many beautiful flowering fhrubs. But of
thefe more hereafter. Adie eu, coufin, J
with well to every thing that you love,

* Trifolium pratenfe Linnei.
# Robinia Pfeudacacia Linnea.

RUES LETTER

59

40).

LAB DORE Rady.

OF LABIATE AND PERSONATE FLOWERS.

The 19th of June, 1772.

ET us talk of plants, my dear coufin,
whilft the feafon for obferving them
invites us. Your folution of my queftion
concerning the ftamens of cruciform flowers
1 perfectly right, and fhows that you
have underftood me, or rather attended to
me; for you have nothing to do but to
attend, in order to underftand. You have
accounted very well for the {welling of the
two leaflets of the calyx, and the relative
fhortnefs of two of the ftamens, in the
ftock, by the bending of thefe two fta-
mens. One ftep more would have led you
to the primary caufe of this ftruéture ; for
if you afk once more why thefe ftamens
are thus bent, and confequently fhortened,
I anfwer that you will find a little gland
upon the receptacle, between the ftamen
and the germ; and it is this gland which,
by throwing the ftamen to a diftance, and
forcing it to take a round, neceflarily fhort-
ens it. Upon the fame receptacle are two
other glands, one at the foot of each pair of
longer ftamens ; but being on the outfide
of them; between thefe Bamens and the

calyx, they do not oblige them to bend,
and

LABIATE FLOWERS.

and therefore do not fhorten them: fo that
the two pairs of ftamens ftand higher than
the two fingle bent ones ; not becaufe they
are longer, but becaufe they are ftraight.
Thefe four glands, or at leaft veftiges of
them, are more or lefs vifible in almoft all
cruciform flowers, and are much more dif-
tinct in fome than in the ftock*. If you
afk me what the glands are for, I anfwer,
that they are one of thofe inftruments de-
ftined by nature to unite the vegetable to
the animal kingdom, and to make them
circulate from one to another. But laying
thefe inquiries afide, in which we antici-
pate a little too much, let us, for the pre-
fent, return to our tribes of plants.

The flowers which I have hitherto de-
{cribed to you are polypetalous. I ought
perhaps to have begun with the regular
monopetalous flowers, which have a much
more fimple ftruéture, but it was this very
fimplicity which difcouraged me. They
conftitute rather a great nation than a fingle
tribe ; fo that to comprehend them all un-
der one common mark, we muit employ
characters fo general and fo vague, that
whilft we feem to fay fomething, in effect
we fcarcely fay any thing. It is better to
confine ourfelves within narrower bounds,
which we can mark out with more pre-
cifion. ©

* As in arabis turrita, cabbage, muftard, charlock,
radifh, &c. |
| Among

41

Dead
Nettle.

LETTER IV.

Among the irregular monopetalous
flowers, there is a tribe whofe phyfiogno-
my is fo marked, that we diftinguifh the
members of it eafily by their air. It is
that to whofe flowers Linnzus has given
the name of rimgenz, becaufe they are cut
into two lips, the opening of which, whe-
ther natural, or produced by a flight com-
preflion by the fingers, gives them the air
ofa gaping mouth. This tribe is divided
into two branches: one of /abrate or rin-
gent flowers, properly fo called’, and the
other of per/onate or mafked flowers*: the
Latin word perfona fignitying a mafñk.
The charaëter common to ali the tribe is
not only a monopetalous corolla, cut into
two lips, the upper called the cafque or hel-
met, the lower, the deard; but alio four fta-
mens,. almoft in the fame row, diftinguifh-
ed into two pairs, one longer, and the other
fhorter. The infpeétion of the objeé it-
felf will explain thefe characters better ta
you than can be done in writing.

Let us begin with the labiate flowers.
For an example I fhould willingly give you
faze, which is common in almoft all gar-
dens: but the fingular ftru€ture of its fta-
mens, which has occafioned fome botanifts
to feparate it from the aflociates to which
it naturally belongs, induces me to look for

Y Plate 4. & 1. Be
‘iP late AU 2 a

3 another

LABIATE FLOWERS.

another inftance* in the white dead-net-
tle®; which, notwithftanding its name, has
no affinity with nettles, properly {o called,
except in the fhape of the leaves. This
plant is fo common every where, and con-
tinues fo long in flower, that it cannot be
difficult for you to find it. Without
{topping here to confider the elegant fitua-
tion of the flowers“, I will confine my-
felf to their ftruture. The white dead-
nettle bears a monopetalous labiate co-
rolla, with the cafque or upper lip arched
in order tocover the reft of the flower, and
particularly the ftamens, which keep, all
four of them, very clofe under cover of its
roof. You will eafily difcern the longer
pair and the fhorter pair, and in the midft
of them the ftyle, of the fame colour, but
diftinguifhed from them by being forked at
the end, inftead of bearing an anther like
the ftamens. The beard or lower lip bends
back, and hangs down, fo as to let you fee
the infide of the corolla almoft to the bot-
tom. In this genus the lower lip is divided

2 Rofemary, with fome few others not fo well known,
mutt alfo be avoided, becaufe there are only two fta-
mens to the flower.
> Lamium album Linnzi. Curtis If. 45. Pl. 4,
Pie

© The largenefs of the flowers ao makes it proper
for examination; but ifthe fmell fhould be any objec-
tion, there is ground-ivy, the other lamiums, betony,
hore-hound, baum, felf-heal, baum of gilead, &c.

* Called verticillate,
length-

~

43

44

L'ETITER IV.

lengthwife in the middle, but that is not
general in this tribe.

If you pull out the corolla, you will
take the ftamens along with it, thefe being
faftened by the filaments to that, and not
to the receptacle, whereon the piftil only
will remain. In examining how the fta-
mens are faftened in other flowers, we find
them generally attached to the corolla in
monopetalous, and to the receptacle, or
calyx, in polypetalous flowers: fo that in
the latter cafe one may take away the pe-

tals without the ftamens. From this ob-

fervation we have an elegant, eafy, and
pretty certain rule to know whether a co-
rolla confifts of one piece or feveral, when
it is difficult, as it fometimes is, to be cer-
tain of it immediately.

The corolla, when pulled off, is open at

bottom, becaufe it was faftened to the re-

ceptacle, fo as to leave a circular opening
by which the piftil and what furrounds it
may grow up ‘within the tube. That
winch. furrounds the piftil in this dead net-
tle, and all the labiate tribe, is the rudi-
ment of the fruit, confifting of four em-
bryos, which become four feeds that are
naked; that is, without any pericarp or
covering: the monophyllous calyx divided
into five fegments ferving this purpofe, fo
that the feeds, when they are ripe, are de-
tached, and fall to the ground feparately.
This is the charaëter of the labiate flowers.

The

PERSONATE FLOWERS

The other branch or fection; which is
that of the perfonate flowers, is diftin-
guifhed from the former; firft in having
the two lips not ufually open, or gaping,
but clofed and joined*, as you may fee in
the fnap-dragon', a flower not uncommon
in gardens; of for want of that, in the
toad-flax, a yellow flower with a fpur, fo
common in thé country at this feafons.
But a more precife and certain character is,
that inftead of having four naked feeds at
the bottom. of the calyx, like the labiate

flowers, thefe have a capfule or cafe inclof-

ing the feeds, and not opening till they
are ripe, in order to difperfe them. To
thefe characters we may add that the
greater part of the labiate plants are either
{trong fmelling and aromatic, as marjoram,
thyme, bafil, mint, hyflop, lavender, &c.
or elfe ftrong fmelling and ftinking, as the
dead-nettle, hedge-nettle, cat-mint, black
horehound*, &c. Some few only having
little or no {mell, as bugle, felf-heal, and

¢ There are too many exceptions to this, to form a
general character, if under the idea of perfonate flowers
we include all the plants in the fecond order of Lin-
næus’s 14th clafs, as Rouffeau feems to do.

f Antirrhinum majus Linnæi. Mill. fig. t. 42.
pl. 4. f. 2.

8 Antirrhinum Linaria Linnæi. Curtis I. 47.—Ie
SANTÉ later with us. Moft of the perfonate tribe flower
ate.

à Here, and in fome other places, I have taken the
liberty of putting plants better known among us, inftead
of thofe which Rouffeau has given.

hooded

45

46

BETTER ! IVe
hooded willow herb: whereas moft of the

plants with perfonate flowers are not odor-

ous, as fnap-dragon, toad-flax, eye-bright,
loufewort, yellow rattle, broom-rape, ivy-
leaved toad-flax, round-leaved toad-flax,

- fox-glove’, &c. I know of none that have

a ftrong fmell in this branch but the {cro-
phularia, or figwort, which fmells ftrong,
without being aromatic. Here I am not
able to name any but fuch plants as may
perhaps be unknown to you ; but you will
gradually get acquainted with them, and,

whenever you fee them, you will be able by

yourfelf to determine what clafs they belong
to. I wifh you would try to fettle the branch
or fection by its phyfiognomy; and that
you would exercife yourielf in judging at _
fight, whether a flower be labiate or per-

fonate. The exterior form of the corolla
may fuffice to guide you in this choice,
which you may verify afterwards by pulling
out the corolla, and looking at the bottom
of the calyx ; for, if you have judged right; .
the flower which you have named labiate
will fhow you four naked feeds, and that
which you have named perfonate will
fhow you a pericarp: the contrary would
prove that you were miftaken; and by
a fecond examination of the fame plant
you would prevent a like miftake another

t Some of thefe have the mouth of the corolla gaping. —
pee pl: 4. f: 3.

time.

PERSONATE FLOWERS.

time*. Here, dear coufin, is bufinefs cut
out for feveral walks. I fhall not fail to pro-
vide fomething for thofe that will fucceed,

k This advice will apply in all the other natural
clafles. From this paflage it is clear that by labiate
flowers Rouffeau underftands all that are included in the
firft order ; by perfonate flowers all that are in the
fecond order of Linnzus’s 14th clafs : but many of the
flowers in the fecond order have the lips open, Pl. 4

£ 3.

LETTER

47:

48

EL a ig BO Ve
OF UMBELLATE PLANTS.

The 16th. of July, 1772.
OMFORT yourfelf, my good coufin,

. 4 for not having detected the glands in
the cruciform flowers. Great botanifts, and
quick-fighted ones too, have not been more
happy. Tournefort himfelf makes no men-
tion of them. They are obvious only in
few genera, though we find veftiges of
them in almoft all ; and it is by analyzing
fome of the cruciform flowers, and always
obferving inequalities in the receptacle, and
then examining thefe inequalities, that we
find out that thefe glands belong to moft of
the genera; and fuppofe therefore by ana-
logy that they exift in the others, where
we do not diftinguifh them.

I comprehend that you may not be
pleafed at taking fo much pains, without
knowing the names of the plants which
you examine. But I own fairly that it did
not enter into my plan to {pare you that :
little chagrin. It is pretended that Botany
is merely a fcience of words, which only
exercifes the memory, and teaches the
names of plants. For my part, I know
not any reafonable ftudy which is a mere
{cience of words: and to which of thefe

fhall

UMBELLATE PLANTS.

fhall we give the name of botanift, to him

who has a name or a phrafe ready when he
fees a plant, but without knowing any thing
of its ftructure ; or to him who, being well
acquainted with this ftructure, is ignorant
neverthelefs of the arbitrary name which
the plant has in this or that country? If
we give our children nothing but an amuf-
ing employment, we lofe the beft half of
our defign, which is, at the fame time that
we amufe them, to exercife their under-
ftandings, and to accuftom them to atten-
tion. Before we teach them to name what
they fee, let us begin by teaching them how
to fee. This fcience, which is forgot in
all forts of education, fhould make the moft
important part of it.. I can never repeat it
often enough ; teach them not to pay them-
felves in words, nor to think they know
any thing of what 1s merely laid up in their
memory.

However, not to play the rogue with
-you too much, I give you the names of
fome plants, with which you may eafily
verify my defcriptions, by caufing them to
be fhown you. For inftauce, if you can-
not find a white dead-nettle, when you are
reading the analyfis of the labiate or ringent
flowers, you have nothing to do but to tend
to an herbarift for it frefh gathered, to apply
my defcription to the flower; and then
having examined the other parts of the

plant, in the manner which I fhall hereafter
| E point

49

LE TT BR. IVe

point out, you will be infinitely better ac-
quainted with the white dead-nettle, than
the herbarift who furnifhed you with it will
ever be during his whole life ; ina little time,
however, we fhall learn how to do with-
out the herbarift; but frft we muft finifh
the examination of our tribes. And now I
come to the fifth, which, at this time, is
m full fructification.

Figute to yourtelf a long ftem, pretty
ftraight, with leaves placed alternately upon.
it, generally cut fine, and embracing at the
Bale, branches which grow from their 44e,
or axils’. From the upper part of this
itgm, as from a centre, grow feveral pedi-
cles or rays, which fpreading circularly and
regularly, like the ribs of an umbrella,
crown the ftem with a kind of bafin, more
or lefs open ™. Sometimes thefe rays leave
a fort of void in the middle, and reprefent,
in that cafe, more exa@ly the hollow of a
bafin : fometimes alfo this middle is fur-
nifhed with other rays that are fhorter,
which, rifing lefs obliquely, form with the
others nearly the figure of a half {phere
with the convex fide uppermoft.

Each of thefe rays is terminated, not by
a flower, but by another fet of fmaller rays,
crowning each of the former exactly as the
firft crown the ftem.

1 The angles formed by a leaf or branch with the ftem.
™ The figure is that of ari inverted cone. Pl. 5. f. 7,

7.06 pl. 13.
Here

UMBELLATE PLANTS.

Here then are two fimilar and fucceffive
ranks: one of large rays, terminating the
ftem; another of fmaller rays, like the
others ; each of them terminating the great
ones ”.

The rays of the little umbels are no far-
ther fubdivided, but each of them is the pe-
dicle to a little flower, of which we fhall
{peak prefently.

If you can frame an idea of the figure
which I have juft defcribed, you will un-
derftand the difpofition of the flowers in
the tribe of wmbelliferous or umbellate plants :
umbelia being the Latin word for an um-
brella.

Though this recular difpofition of the
fructification be ftriking, and fufficiently
conftant in all the umbellate plants, it is not
that however which conftitutes the charac-
ter of the tribe. ‘This is taken from the
ftructure of the flower itfelf, which mufit
‘therefore be defcribed.

But it is expedient, for the fake of greater
clearnefs, to give you in this place a general
diftinétion with regard to the relative difpo-
fition of the flower and fruit in all plants ;
a diftinction which extremely facilitates their
methodical arrangement, whatever fyftem
you adopt for that purpofe.

The greater number of plants, as the

* Linnæus calls the firft the univerfal ; ard the fecond
fet the partial umbel, or umbellule,

To pink,

51

(er
m.

LE ANIME IR Ve:

pink °, for inftance, have the germ inclofed
within the flower ; thefe are called zfer1er
Jowers, as incloting or being below the
germ.

Many however have the germ placed be-
low the flower, as in the rofeP; for the
hep, which is the fruit of it, is that green
tumid body which you fee under the calyx,
and this with the corolla crowns the germ,
and does not envelope it, as in the former
cafe: fuch are called /uperior flowers, as
being above the germ.

The umbellate plants have a fuperior
flower. 1 The corolla has five petals, called
regular, though frequently the two outmoft
petals of the fowers at the extremity of the
umbel are larger than the three others.

The form of thefe petals varies in the
different genera, but it is ufually cordate or
heart-fhaped. ‘They are very narrow next
the germ, but gradually widen towards the
end, which is emarginate, or flightly notch-
ed; or elfe they finifh in a point, which
being folded back, gives the petal the air
of being emarginate. :

Between each petal is a ftamen, and the
anther generally ftanding out beyond the
corolla; the five ftamens are more vifible

° Or jafmine, rofemary, fage, borage, primrofe,
plum, cherry; all the ringent, cruciform, and papi-
lionaceous tribes ; all the compound flowers, &c.

P Scabious, honeyfuckle, currant, goofeberry, elder,
fnow-drop, narciflu:, hawthorn, pear, apple, &c.

a See Plate v. f. 5.

than

UMBELLATE PLANTS.

than the five petals. I make no mention
here of the calyx, becaufe it is not very
diftinét in the umbellate plants.

From the centre of the flower arife two
ftyles, each furnifhed with its fligma, and
fufficiently apparent ; thefe are permanent,
or continue after the petals and ftamens
fall off, to crown the fruit.

The moft ufual figure of this fruit is an
oblong oval; when ripe it opens in, the
middle, and is divided; into two naked iceds
faftened to the pedicle, which, with an art
that merits our admiration, divides in two,
as well as the fruit, and keeps the feeds {e-
parately fufpended till they fall.

All thefe proportions vary ia the different
genera, but this is the moft common order.
lt requires a very attentive eye to diftinguifh
accurately objects fo minute without a glafs ;
but they are fo deferving of attention, that
we cannot regret the trouble of it.

This then is the proper character of the
umbellate tribe. A fuperior corolla, of five
petals, five ftamens, two ftyles, upon a
naked fruit compoled of two feeds growing
together.

Whenever you find thefe characters unit-
ed in one fructification, be fure that the
plant is of this tribe, even though in other
refpeéts it fhould have nothing in its ar-
rangement of the order before laid down,
And if you fhould find all this order con-
formable to my defcription, and fee it how-

3 ever

EVE TT ER VN.

ever contradiéted by the examination of the
flower, be fure that you are deceived.

For inftance, if it fhould happen that,
after having read my letter, you fhould
walk out and find an elder in flower, I am
almoft certain that at firft fight you would
fay, here is an umbellate plant. * In look-
ing at it, you would find a large or univer-
fal umbel, a {mall or partial umbel, little
white, flowers, a fuperior corolla, and five
ftamens ; it is certainly an umbellate plant,
fay you. But let us fee, let us take a flower.

In the firft place, inftead of five petals, I
find a corolla divided into five parts indeed,
but all of one piece. Now the flowers of
umbellate plants are not monopetalous.
There are five ftamens, but I fee no ftyles,
and I more often fee three ftigmas than
two; more often three feeds than two.
Now the umbellate plants have never more
or lefs than two ftigmas, and two feeds to
each flower. Laftly, the fruit of the elder
is a foft berry, and that of the umbellate
tribe dry and naked. The elder then is not
an umbellate plant.

If now you go back and infpec with
more accuracy the difpofition of the flowers,
you will fee that the elder has the ftru€ture
of the umbellate tribe only in appearance.
Though the principal rays proceed from the
fame centre, the {maller ones are irregular,

* See Plate v.F: "4:

and

UMBELLATE PLANTS.

and the flowers are borne on a fecond fub-
divifion: in fhort, the whole has not that
order and regularity which we find in the
umbellate plants. The arrangement of the

flowers in the elder is called a cyme. ‘Thus:

by making a blunder fometimes, we learn
to fee with more accuracy.

Eryngo, on the contrary, has little or Eryngo.

nothing the air of an umbelliferous plant,
and yet it is one, becaufe it has all the cha-
racters of the fruétification. If you were
by the fea fide *, you would eafily know it
by the bluifh colour of the leaves, by their
pricklinefs, and by the fmooth membran-
ous confiftence of them like parchment.
But this plant is uncommon in other fitua-
tions, is rough and untraétable, has not
beauty enough to make you amends for the
wounds it will give you in examining it ;
and though it were ever fo beautiful, my
little coufin would foon be difgufted at
handling fo ill-humoured a plant.

The umbelliferous tribe is numerous, and
fo natural, that it is very difficult to diftin-
guifh the genera: they are relations, whom
we often take for each other, on account
of their great refemblance. To affift us in
diftinguifhing them, principal differences
are noticed which are fometimes ufeful, but
which we muft not depend upon too much.
The focus of the rays both in the larger or

* Eryngo is alfo very common by road-fides in
France, but not with us.

E 4 univerfal,

Cry

ON

PET D'ERP UM,

iniverfal, and in the fmaller or partial um-
bel, is not always naked; it is fometimes
furrounded with fmall leaves. This fet of
{mall leaves or folioles is called the involucre.
When it is placed at the origin of the uni-
verfal umbel, it is named the univerfal in-
volucre; and when at the origin of the
partial umbel, it is named the partial in-
volucre. This gives rife to three fections
of umbellate plants.

1. Thofe which have both involucres.

2. Thofe which have partial involucres
only.

3. Thofe which have neither.

There feeins a fourth divifion wanting of
thofe which have an univerfal involucre
only; but there is no genus which is con-
{tantly fo.

Your aftonifhing progrefs, my dear cou-
fin, and unwearied patience, have embold-
ened me fo much, that not regarding your
fufferings, 1 have ventured to defcribe the
umbellate plants, without fixing your eyes
upon any model, which muft needs have
rendered your attention much more fa-
tiguing. I am certain, however, that, read-
ing as you do, after you have looked over
my letter once or twice, an umbellate plant
in flower will not efcape you; and at this
feafon you cannot fail finding many, both
in the gardens and the figlds.

Moit of them have their little flowers
white. As the carrot, chervil, parfley,

hemlock,

UMBELLATE PLANTS.

hemlock, fool’s parfley, angelica, cow-
parfnep, water- parfnep, burnet faxifrage,
pig-nuts, cow-weed, &c*.

Some, as fennel, dill, parfnep, have yel-
low flowers ; ace are fn few with red-
difh flowers, but none of any other colour.

Here, you will tell me, may be a good
general notion of umbellate. plants ; mer
how will all this vague knowledge enfure
me from confounding fool’s parfley with
true parfley or chervil, which you have
mentioned all together? * The meaneft
kitchen-maid will know more of this mat-
ter than we with all our learning. You
are right. But, however, if we begin with
obfervations in detail, we fhall foon be over-
whelmed with the number of them; our
memory will abandon us, and we {hall be
loft the firft ftep we make in this vañt re-
gion; whereas if we begin with knowing
the great roads well, we fhall feldom be
loft in the by-paths, and fhall always find
our way again without much trouble. Let
us, however, admit an exception in favour
of the utility of the object, and let us not

expofe ourfelves, whilit we are analyzing:

the vegetable kingdom, to eat fool’s parfley
with our meat, or in our foup, through
mere ignorance.

This plant, which is fo common a weed

* Here, and in other places, I fet down thé names of
Hudfon’s Flora.
proce Ele ve ts 112 3

in

54.

58

Fool’s
Parflcy.

LETTER V.

in gardens, is of the umbellate tribe, as
well as parfley and chervil. It has'a
white flower as well as they ‘, it is in the .
fame fe€tion with the latter, among thofe
which have the partial, and not the uni-
verfal involucre ; it is fo like them in its
foliage that it is not eafy to mark the dif-
ference in writing. But here follow cha-
racters fufficient to prevent you from being:
miftaken. |

You muft confider thefe plants when
they are all in flower ; for in that ftate only
they have their proper character. The fool’s
parfley (æthufa cynapium) has under every
partial umbel an‘involucre of three narrow,
tong, pointed folioles, all: placed on the outer
part of the umbel, and hanging down ;
whereas the folioles of the partial umbels in
the chervil furround it entirely, and grow
equally on every fide: and as to parfley, it
has only a few fhort folioles, fine almoft as
hairs, and diftributed indifferently at the
bafe of both umbels.

When you are very certain of the fool’s
parfley in flower, you will confirm your-
felf in your judgment by flightly bruifing
and fmelling its foliage; for the difagrec-

¥ The flower of parfley is yellowifh, But the flowers
appear yellow in many of the umbellate plants, from
the germ and anthers being fo, though the corolla is
white. Rox/feau.-—The germ and anthers alfo are fre-
quently Jarge in proportion to the fize of thefe minute
flowers, and the corolla eafily falls off, efpecially

with wet.
able

UMBELLATE. PLANTS.

able venomous fmeil will no longer fuffer
you to confound it with parfley or chervil,
which have both rather a pleafant fmell.
Very certain at length, not to make a mif-
take, you will examine thefe three plants
together and. feparatelv in every itate, and
in all their parts, efpecially in their fo-
liage, which accompanies them more con-
ftantly than the fower; and by this exa-
mination compared and repeated, till you
have acquired certainty at fight, you wiil
be able to know and diftinguifh them with-
out the leaft trouble. ‘Thus does ftudy
bring us to the very door of practice; after
which the latter confers the facility of
knowing things.

Take breath, dear coufin, for this is an
uncontcionable letter ; and yet I dare not
promife you more difcretion in the next ;
after that, however, we fhall have nothing
before us but a path bordered with flowers.
You deferve a garland for the cheerfulnefs
and perfeverance with which you have
condefcended to follow me through thefe
briars, without being difcouraged at their
thorns.

LETTER

59

Leta

AE, TOPE Re wl
OF COMPOUND FLOWERS.

May the 22d, 1773.
HOUGH there be full, dear coufir,

a great deal wanting to,complete our
idea of the five former tiibes of plants, and
1 have not always known how to adapt my
deicriptions to the underftanding of our
young botanift ; I flatter mytelf however
that I have given you fuch an idea of them,
as to enable you, after fome months herba-
rization, to render the air, port, or habit
of each tribe familiar to you: fo, that
when you fee a plant, you may conjecture
nearly whether it belong to one of thefe
five tribes, and to which; provided always
that by an analyfis of the fructification,
you afterwards {ee whether you may not
have been deceived in your conjecture.
The umbellate plants, for inftance, have
thrown you into {ome embarraflment, from
which however you may eafily efcape when
you pleafe, by means of the hints which I
fubjoined to my defcriptions. In fhort, car-
rots and parineps are fo common, that no-
thing is eafier in the middle of fummer than
for the gardener to fend you one or other
of them in flower out of the kitchen gar-
den. Now from the mere view of an um-

bel,

COMPOUND FLOWERS.

bel, and the plant which bears it, you
muft acquire fo clear an idea of the umbel-

late tribe, that you will rarely be deceived.

at firft fight, whenever you meet with one.
This is all that I have hitherto pretended ;
for we have nothing to do yet with genera
and fpecies ; and I repeat it once more, that
it is not the nomenclature of a parrot which
T wifh you to acquire, but a real fcience,
and one of the moft delightful fciences that
it is pofhble to cultivate. I go on therefore
to our fixth tribe before I take a more “me-
‘thodical road. It may perhaps at firft em-
barrafs you as much, if not more than the
umbellate plants. But my defign at pre-
{ent is nothing more than to give you a
general notion of it, efpecially as we have
itill plenty of time, before the generality of
thefe plants are in full flower; and the in-
terval, well employed, will fmooth thofe
difficulties againft which we have not
ftrength to contend.

61

Take one of thofe little flowers which, Da.

at this feafon, cover all the paftures, and
which every body knows by the name of
daify. “ Look at it well ; for by its appear-
ance, I am fure you will be furprifed when
I tell you, that this flower, which is fo
fmall and delicate, is really compofed of
between two and three hundred other
flowers, all of them perfect; that is, hav-

w Plate 6. f, 1.

ing

LET;-TER | VI.

ing each its corolla, germ, piftil, ftamens,
and feed ; in a word, as perfect in its {pe-
cies as a flower of the hyacinth or lily.
Every one of thofe leaves which are white
above and red underneath, and form a kind
of crown round the flower, appearing to be
nothing more than little petals, are in reality
fo many true flowers; and every one of
thofe tiny yellow things alfo which you fee
in the centre, and which at firft you have
perhaps taken for nothing but ftamens, are
real flowers. If your fingers were already
exercifed in botanical difleétions, and you
were armed with a good glafs, and plenty
of patience, I might convince you of the
truth of this ; but at prefent you muft be-
gin, if you pleafe, by believing me on my
word, for fear of fatiguing your attention
upon atoms. However, to put you at leaft
in the way, pull out one of the white leaves
from the flower; you will think at firft
that it is flat from one end to the other;
but look carefully at the end by which it
was fattened to the flower, and you will
fee that it is not flat, but round and hollow
in form of a tube; and that a little thread
ending in two horns iffues from the tube ;
this thread is the forked ftyle of the flower,

which, as you now fee, is flat only at top.
Now look at thofe little yellow things in
the middle of the flower, and which, as I
have told you, are all fo many flowers; if
the flower be fufficiently advanced, you
will

COMPOUND FLOWERS.

will fée feveral of them open in the middle,
and even cut into feveral parts.

Thefe are monopetalous corollas, which
expand, and a glafs will eafily difcover in
them the piftil, and even the anthers with
which it is furrounded. Commonly the
yellow florets towards the centre are ftill
rounded and clofed. Thefe however are
flowers like the others, but not yet open ;
for they expand fucceflively from the edge
inwards. ‘This is enough to fhow you, by
the eye, the poffibility that all thefe {mall
affairs, both white and yellow, may be fo
many diftinét flowers; and this is a con-
{tant fa&. You perceive, neverthelefs, that
all thefe little flowers are prefied, and in-
clofed in a calyx, which is common to them
all, and which is that of the daify. In con-
fidering then the whole daify as one flower,
we give it a very fignificant name, when
we call it a compound flower. Now there
are many genera and fpecies of flowers
formed, like the daify, of an aflemblage of
other fmaller flowers, contained in a com-
mon calyx. ‘This is what conftitutes the
fixth tribe, of which I propofed to treat,
namely, that of the compound flowers.

Let us begin by avoiding all ambiguity
with regard to the word flower, which we
may do in the prefent cafe by reftraining it
to the compound flower*, and giving the

aN Say OI
name

64

‘ L'ET TERY ENT,

name of flofcules or florets * to the little com-
ponent flowers; but in the midft of this
verbal precifion let us not forget that each
of thefe florets is a genuine baer;

You have abicived two forts of florets in
the daify : the yellow ones, which occupy
the middle or difk of the flower, and the
little white tongues or ftraps which fur-
round them.

The former are fomething like the flow-
ers of the lily of the valley, or hyacinth in
miniature: and the latter bear fome refem-
blance to thofe of the honeyfuckle. We
fhall leave to the firit the name of florets? ;
and to diftinguifh the fecond we fhall call
them /emi-florets*: for in reality they have
a little the air of monopetalous flowers
enawed off on one fide, and having fcarcely
half the corolla remaining.

~ Thefe two forts of fldrets are combined

in the compound flowers in fuch a manner,

as to divide the whole tribe into three {fec-
tions, very diftiné from each other.

The firft fection confifts of thofe which
are entirely compofed of femiflorets, both
in the middle and circumference; thefe are
called femi-flofculous flowers, and the wholé
is always of one colour, which is generally
yellow. Such is the common dandelion ?,

FRE duc €, fyay hit. Babe

2 Pl. 6. £1. e & F. 3. b.

2 Linnzeus oa calls thefe ligulate florets, from ligula
a ftrap. Eo eee

» Pl. 6:
- the

/

COMPOUND FLOWERS.

the lettuce and fowthiftle ; the fuccory and
endive, which have blue flowers ; the fcor-
zonera, falfafy, &c.

The fecond fection comprehends the #/-
culous flowers, or fuch as are compofed of
florets only : ‘thefe are alfo commonly of
one colour ; as immortal flowers, burdock,
wormwood, mugwort, thiftles, and arti-
choke, which is nearly allied to them: it
is the calyx of this that we fuck, and the
receptacle that we eat, whilft it is yet
“young, before the flower opens, or is even
formed. ‘The choke, which we take out
of the middle, is an affemblage of florets
which are beginning to be formed, and are
feparated from each other by long hairs
fixed in the receptacle.

The third fection is of flowers compofed
of both thefe. They are always fo arranged
that the florets occupy the centre of the
flower, and the femi-florets the circumfe-
rence, as you have feen in the daify. The
flowers of this fection are called radiate.
Botanifts have given the name of ray to the
fet of femi-florets which compofe the cir-
cumference ; and of 4/k to the area or cen-
tre of the flower occupied by the florets.
This name of difk is fometimes given to the
furface of the receptacle in which all the
florets and femi-florets are fixed. In the
radiate flowers the difk is often of one co-
- CePh 6. f 3.

MEISO FF 1. & PI. 26:
F lour,

65

66

LETTER Vi.

lour, and the ray of another; there are,
however, genera and {pecies in which both
are alike.

Let us endeavour now to fix in your
mind an idea of a compound flower. The
common clover is in blow at this fea-
{on ; ‘the flower is purple: if you fhould
take one in hand, feemg fo many little
flowers aflembled, you might be tempted
to take the whole for a compound flower.
You would however be miftaken ; in what?
fay you. Why, in fuppofing that an affem-
blage of many little flowers is fufficient to
conftitute a compound flower: whereas,
befides this, one or two parts of the fructi-
fication muft be common to them all; fo
that every one muft have a part in it, and
no one have its own feparately : thefe two
parts in common are the calyx and recepta-
cle. The flower of the clover indeed, or
rather the group of flowers, which has the
appearance of being but one flower, feems
at firft to be placed upon a fort of calyx;
but remove this pretended calyx a little, and
you will perceive that it does not belong to
the flower, but that it is faftened below it
to the pedicle that bears it. ‘This then is a
calyx only in appearance ; but in reality it
belongs to the foliage, not to the flower;
and this fuppofed compound flower is only
an aflemblage of very {mall leguminous or

e Pl. 6. f 4
papi-

COMPOUND FLOWERS.

papilionaceous flowers, each of which has
its diftinct calyx, and they have nothing
common to them but their being faftened to
the fame pedicle. Vulgarly all this is taken
for one flower ; it is a falfe idea however,
or if we muft look upon it as fuch, we
muft not at leaft call it a compound, but
an aggregate or capitate flower, or a head of
flowers ; and thefe terms are fometimes fo
applied by botanical writers.

This, dear coufin, is the moft fimple and
natural notion I can give you of this nu-
merous clafs of compound flowers, and the
three fections into which it is fubdivided.
I now come to the ftructure of the fruéti-
fications. peculiar to this clafs, and this
perhaps will bring us to determine the cha-
racter of it with more precifion.

The moft eflential part of a compound
flower is the receptacle‘; upon which are
placed firft the florets and femi-florets, and
then the feeds which fucceed them. ‘This
receptacle, which forms a difk of fome ex-
tent, makes the centre of the calyx, as you
may fee in the dandelion, which we will
here take as an inftance. The calyx in this
tribe is commonly divided into feveral parts,
down to the bafe, that it may clofe, open
again, and turn back, as it does during the
progrefs of the frutification, without being
torn. The calyx of the dandelion is formed
cf two rows of folioles, inferted into each

£ PL 6. F. 1. b. & 26. e.
F 2 other;

67

68

LETTER VI

other ; and the folioles of the outer row
turn back and curl downwards towards the
pedicle, whilft the folioles of the inner row
continue ftraight, to furround and hold in
the femi-florets compofing the flower.

One of the moft common forms alfo of
the calyx in this clafs is the zmbricate, or
that which is made up of feveral rows of
folioles, lying over each other like tiles on
aroof. The artichoke, blue-bottle, knap-
weeds, and fcorzoneras, may ferve as in-
{tances of imbricate calyxes. |

The florets and femi-florets inclofed
within the calyx are placed very thick upon
the difk or receptacle in form of a quincunx,
or the checks upon a chefs-board. Some-
times they touch each other without any
thing interpofed between them ; fometimes
they are feparated by partitions of hairs, or
{mall fcales, which continue faft to the re-
ceptacle after the feeds are fallen. You
are now in the way to obferve the differ-
ences of calyxes and receptacles: we will
go on then to the ftruéture of florets, and
femi-florets, beginning with the former.

A floret § is a monopetalous flower, com-
monly regular, with the corolla divided at
top into four or five parts. The five fila-
ments of the ftamens are faftened to the

‘tube of this corolla: they are united at top

into a little round tube, which furrounds
the piftil, and this tube is the five anthers

& Pl. 6. fre f. 3. bee Pl, 25. f. 2. c. PI. 26. d.
united

COMPOUND FLOWERS. 69

* united circularly into one body. This union
* of the anthers, according to modern bo-
tanifts, forms the effential character of
compound flowers, and belongs to their
florets only, exclufive of all others. If
therefore you find feveral flowers upon the
fame difk, as in the fcabioufes and teafels,
unlefs RE anthers are united in a tube round
the piftil, and the corolla ftands upon one
naked feed, fuch flowers are not florets,
nor do they form a compound flower *. On
the contrary, whenever you find in a fingle
flower the anthers thus united, and a fupe-
rior corolla on a fingle feed, this flower,
though fole, is a genuine force. and be-
longs to the compound tribe ; for it is bet-
ter thus to take the character froma precife
ftru€ture than from a deceitful appearance.

The piftil has the ftyle generally longer
than the floret, above which it rifes ro gh
the tube formed by the anthers. It is moft
frequently terminated at top by a forked
ftigma, the two curling horns of which are
very vifible. The piftil does not reft upon
the receptacle any more than the floret, but
both upon the germ, which ferves ee asia
bafe, and grows and lengthens as the floret
withers, becoming in time a longifh feed,
remaining fattened to the receptacle till it is
ripe: then it falls, if it be naked; or the
wind wafts it to a diftance if it be crowned
with an egret of feathers or hairs; and the

e Sce1. NT Te
pra receptacle

LETTER Vi.

receptacle remains quite naked in fome ge-
nera, but is furnifhed with fcales or hairs
in AR |

The ftruture of the femi-florets ‘is like
that of the florets; the flamens, the piftil,
and the feed, are arranged almoft in the
fame manner; only in the radiate flowers
there are many genera, wherein the femi-
florets of the ray are apt to be abortive, ei-
ther becaufe they have no piftils, or becaufe
thofe which they have are barren: in fuch
cafes the flower feeds only by the florets in
the middle *.

In the whole compound clafs the feed is
always feffile, that is, it bears immediately
upon the receptacle without any intermedi-
ate pedicle. But there are feeds in which
the down or egret which crowns them is
feffile!; and others in which it is faftened
to the feed by a pedicle™. You underftand
that the ufe of this down is to fpread the
feeds about to a diftance, by giving the air
more hold upon them.

To thefe irregular imperfect defcriptions
I fhould add that the calyx has generally
the property of opening when the flower
expands ; of clofing when the florets fall off,
in order to confine the young feed, and to
hinder it from falling before it is ripe; and,

MPEG £30 b. EL ge. fe. oe oe. S.A be
27. f. 2. €.

k Sunflower.

1 Thiftles, artichoke. See Plows Rave

™ Lettuce, dandelion. See Pl. 25. f, 1, d

| laftly,

COMPOUND FLOWERS.

laftly, of opening again and turning quite
back to give a larger 2 area to the feds which
increafe in Ze as they grow ripe. You
muft often have feen the den in this
ftate, when children gather it, to blow off
the down that forms a ball round the re-
verted, calyx. |

To underftand this clafs well, you muft

follow the flowers from before their expan-

fion to the full maturity of the fruit ; and in
this fucceflion you will fee transformations
and a chain of wonders, which will keep
every fenfible mind that obferves them ina
continual admiration. One flower proper
for thefe obfervations is the funflower, which
is radiate ; as are alfo ox-eye, Chinefe after,
and many, others, which are the ornament
of the borders in autumn. I have already
faid that there are thiftles for the flofculous,
and fcorzonera and dandelion for the femi-
flofculous flowers. All thefe are large

enough to be difleéted, and ftudied wi ith

the naked eye, without fatiguing yourtelf —

too much.

I will not trouble you at prefent any more
upon the tribe or clafs of compound flow-
ers. I tremble already at having abuied
your patience too much by details which
would have been clearer if I had known
how to make them fhorter ; but it is im-
pofhble for me to avoid the difficulty arif-
ing from the fmallnefs of objects. Adieu,
dear coufin.

PE LETTER

DER EER: VIL

OF FRUIT TREES.

if ERE, dear coufin, you have the names
of thofe plants which you fent me
Jaft. I have put a mark of interrogation to
thofe which I had any doubt of, becaufe
you had not taken care to put the leaves
with the flower, and they are often necef-
fary to determine the fpecies, efpecially to
fo flender a botanift as lam. When you
arrive at Fourriere you will find moft of
the fruit-trees in flower; and I remember
you requefted fome directions from me upon
this article. At prefent I can only give
you fome hints upon the fubjeét, becaufe I
am very bufy; and yet I would not have

you lofe the feafon for this examination.
You muft not, my dear friend, give more
importance to Botany than it really has ; it
is a ftudy of pure curiofity, and has no other
real ufe than that which a thinking fenfible
being may deduce from the obfervation of

nature and the wonders of the univerfe.
Man has changed the nature of many
things to convert them better to his own
ufe; in that he 1s not to be blamed; but
then it is neverthelefs true that he has often
disfigured them, and that when he thinks
he is ftudying nature in the works of his
own

FRUIT TREES.

own hands, he is frequently miftaken. This
error is found above all in civil fociety ; but
it has a place alfo in gardens. ‘The double
flowers, which we admire fo much in our
borders and beds, are but monfters, de-
prived of the power of producing their like ;
a power with which nature has endowed
every organized being. Fruit-trees are
fomewhat in the fame cafe, by being in-
grafted ; you may plant the pips or feeds of
pears and apples of the beft forts, but they
will produce nothing but wildings. To
know then the pear aad the apple OF nature,
you muft not look for them in eon
but in woods. ‘The flefh or pulp is not fo
large and fucculent, but the feeds ripen
better, multiply more, and the trees are
vaftly bigger, and more vigorous. But I am
entering on a fubject that would carry me
too far: let us return to the orchard.

Our fruit-trees, though ingrafted, pre-
ferve alk the botanical charaët ters HEH
diftinguifh them; and it is by an attentive
confideration of thefe characters, as well as
by the transformation of the graft, that we
a{certain there being but one fpecies of pear,
for inftance, under a thoufand different
names, by which the fhape and tafte of their
fruits Hie caufed them to be diftinguifhed
into fo many pretended {pecies, shiek are
at bottom, but varieties: nay more, the pear
and apple are only two forts or fpecies of
the fame kind or genus, and their only cha-

racterittic

73

74

PET Be Ry. VILLE,

racteriftic difference is, that the ftalk of the
apple enters into.a hollow in the fruit, and
that of the pear is faftened to the narrow
part of a fruit a little lengthened out”. In
the fame manner the different forts of cher-
ries are nothing but varieties of the fame
{pecies ; all the plums are but one {pecies of
plum; nay the genus of prunus or plum |
contains three principal {pecies ; the plum
properly fo called, the cherry and the apri-
cot, which alfo is only a fpecies of plum.
Thus when the learned Linnæus, in divid-
ing the genus into its fpecies, has enume-
rated the domeftic plum, the plum cherry,
and the plum apricot°; ignorant people
have laughed at him, but aap have
admired cae juftnefs of his arrangement.
The fruit-trees belong moftly t toanume-
rous tribe, which has a ee not diffi-
cult to feize ; the ftamens, which are many
in number, inftead of arifing from the re-
ceptacle, are faftened to the calyx, ? either
immediately, or with the corolla, which is
n Nor is this always conftant, fome pears having the
common fhape of the apple. It is extremely difficult to
find any permanent differences between fruits, which are
diftinguifhed by every body at firft fight. We may add,
however, that the corollas of the pear are white, thofa,
of the apple red on the outfide: the apple alfo has a
firmer pulp, and none of thofe tubercles which fome
forts of pear have: and, laftly, the leaves of the pear
are very {mooth ; thofe of the apple more rounded, lefs
pee and villous underneath.
Eras domeftica. 2, Prunus Cerafus. 3. Pru-

nus Fe The fruit- LE are figured by Duhamel.
PPL IG: fc. and'fs 2.

polypetalous,

FRUIT TREES.

polypetalous, and confifts commonly of five
petals. The following are characters of
{ome of the principal genera.

The pear, comprehending alfo the apple
and the quince, has the calyx monophyi-
lous, divided into five fegments; the co-
rolla of five petals faftened to the calyx,
about twenty ftamens, all faftened likewife
to the calyx. The germ is inferior, and
there are five ftyles. The fruit, as every
body knows, is flefhy, and has five cells
containing the feeds.

The genus plum, comprehending the
apricot and cherry, as was before obferved,
and alfo the laurel, has the calyx, corolla,
and ftamens, nearly as in the pear. But the
germ is fuperior, or within the corolla;
and there is but one ftyle. The fruit is ra-
ther watery than flefhy, and contains a
ftone.

The genus almond, including the peach
and neétarine, is almoft like the plum, but
the germ has a down upon it, and the fruit,
which every body knows is fucculent in
the peach, and dry in the almond, inclofes
a hard ftone, which is rough and full of
Cavities 1

All this is very roughly fketched out, but
I hope contains enough to amufe you for
the prefent. Adieu, dear coufin.

2 Befides thofe mentioned above, this clafs, called zco-
fandria by Linnæus, contains other fruits, as the pome-
granate, fervice, medlar, rafpberry, ftrawberry, &c.

LETTER

75

Cee)

LE LC CE a ACL.

OF MAKING A HORTUS SICCUS, OR
HERBARIUM.

April the 11th, 1773-

HE earth, dear coufin, begins to put

on its green robe, the trees to bud,

the flowers to open; fome are even already

paft; an inftant of delay would be the lots

of a whole year for Botany: I proceed then ©
without farther preamble.

I fear we have hitherto treated our fubje&
in too abftraét a way, by not having applied
our ideas to determinate objects : it 1s a fault
which I have been guilty of, efpecially in
the umbellate tribe. If I had begun by fet-
ting one of them before your eyes, I fhould
have {pared you a very fatiguing application
to an imaginary object, as well as a very
difficult defcription to myfelf, and fuch as a
fingle look would have fupplied. Unfor-
tunately, at a diftance to which the law of
neceflity reftrains me, I am not able to de-
liver the objects into your hand; but pro-
vided each of us can fee with the fame eyes,
we fhall underftand one another very well,
when we relate what we fee. The whole
difficulty is, that the indication muft come
from you; for to fend you dried plants

from

HORTUS SICCUS.

from hence, would be doing nothing. To
know a plant well you muft begin with
feeing it growing. A hortus ficcus, or ber-
um, by which Latin terms we call a
colleétion of dried plants, may ferve to put
us in mind of the plants we have once
known; but it gives us only a poor know-
ledge of thofe we have never feen before.
You therefore mutt fend me fuch plants as
you with to know, and have gathered your-
{elf ; and it is my bufinefs to name, clafs,
and defcribe them ; till by comparative ideas,
become familiar to your eye and your un-
derftanding, you arrive at clafing, arrang-
ing, and naming, by yourfelf, thofe which
you fee for the firft time: and this is the
{cience which diftinguifhes the true botanift
from the mere herbarift or nomenclator.
My defign then here is to teach you how
to prepare, dry, and preferve plants, or
{pecimens of plants, in fuch a manner as
that they may be eafily known and deter-
mined. Ina word, I propofe to you to be-
gin a bortus ficcus. Here is a deal of bufi-
nefs preparing at a diftance for our little
botanift: for at prefent, and for fome time
to come, the addrefs of your fingers muft
fupply the weaknefs of her ss

Firft, here is fome provifion to be made ;
namely, five or fix quires of gray paper,
and almoft as many of white, of the fame
bignefs, pretty ftrong and well fized, with-
out which the fpecimens would rot in the

gray

77

78

Ei ITEM VILI

gray paper, the plants, or at leaft the flow-
ers, would lofe their colour, and this, of
all the parts, is that by which they are
moft eafily known, and which it is mo
pleafant to fee in a colleétion of dried
plants". It were alfo to be wifhed that you
had a prefs of the fame fize with your pa-
per, or at leaft two pieces of board well
planed, between which you may keep your
papers and fpecimens, prefled by {tones or
any other weight, with which you may
load the upper plank. When you have
made thefe preparations, you muft obferve
the following rules, in order to prepare your
plants fo as to preferve them and know
them again.

The precife time to gather your plant is
when it is in full flower, or rather when
fome of the flowers begin to fall, to give
place to the fruit, which begins to make
its appearance. It is at this time, when all
parts of the fructification are vifible, that
you muft endeavour to gather the plant in
order to dry it.

Small plants may be taken whole with
their roots, which mutt be brufhed, that no
earth may remain. If the earth be wet, it
mutt either be dried, that it may be brufhed,
or elfe the root muft be wafhed; but in this
cafe you fhould wipe it well, and dry it be-
fore you put it into the papers, without
which it would infallibly rot and injure the

* See Dr. Withering’s Arrangements of Britith
Plants, edit. 2. introd. p. 45.

5 plants

HORTUS SICCUS.

plants near it. You need not, however,
preferve the roots, unlefs they have fome
remarkable fingularities ; for in moft plants
the branching fibrous roots are fo alike, that
it is not worth the trouble. Nature, which
has done fo much for elegance and orna-
ment, in the form and colour of plants, in
whatever itrikes our fight, has deftined the
roots entirely to ufeful fundtions ; becaufe
being concealed within the earth, to give
them an agreeable ftru€ture, would have
been to hide a light under a bufhel.

Trees and all great plants can only be
had by fpecimens: but then that fpecimen
fhould be fo well chofen, as to contain all
the conftituent parts of the genus and fpe-
cies, that it may fuffice to know and deter-
mine the plant from whence it is taken. It
is not fufficient that all the parts of the
fructification are diftinguifhable, which
would be enough to determine the genus ;
but the character of the foliation and rami-
fication alfo muft be fufficiently vifible;
that is, the origin and form of the leaves
and branches, and even, as much as may
be, fome portion of the main ftem itfelf;
for, as you will fee in the fequel, all this
ferves to diftinguith the fpecies of the fame
genus, which are perfectly alike in the
flower and fruit. If the branches are too
thick, they may be made thinner, by cut-
ting them with a fharp knife nicely under-
neath, as much as may be, without cutting

and

89

BIE: T SPER J VIII

and mutilating the leaves. There are bo-
tanifts who have the patience to flit the
bark, and draw the wood out fe nicely,
that when the bark is united again, the
branch feems to be entire though the wood
is gone: by which means there are none
of thofe inequalities and bumps, which
{poil and disfigure a collection, and give a
bad form to the plants. Where the flowers
and leaves do not come out at the fame time,
or grow too far diftant from each other,
you will take a little branch in flower, and
another in leaf, and placing them together
on the fame leaf of your book, you thus
have before you different parts of the fame
plant, fufficient to give you a complete
knowledge of it. As to plants where you
find only the leaves, the flower being either
paft or not yet come, you muit wait with
patience till they fhow their faces, to be
fully acquainted with them. A plant being
no more certainly to be known by its fo-
liage than a man by his clothes.
Such 1s the choice that you fhould make
in what you gather: you muft have a
choice alfo as to the time in which you do
it. Plants gathered in the morning before
the dew is off, or in the evening when it is
damp, or in the day-time when it is wet, will
not keep. You mutt abfolutely choofe a
dry feafon, and even then, the drieft and
hotteft time of the day, which in fummer
is between eleven in the morning and five
in

HORTUS SICCUS:

in the afternoons Even then, if you find
the leaft moifture on them, you muft not
take them, for they will certainly not keep.

When you have gathered your {pecimens,
you muft bring them home as foon as you
can, quite dry, to put and arrange them in
your papers. For this purpofe-you lay down
at leaft one fheet of gray paper, upon this
half a fheet of white paper, and then your
plant, taking great care that all the parts of
it, efpecially the leaves and flowers, are well
opened, and laid out in their natural fitua-
tion. If the plant be a little withered, with-
out being too much fo, it will generally
fpread out better upon the paper, with the
fingers and thumb. But there are rebel-
lious plants which ftart up on one fide,
whilft you are ranging them on the other.
To prevent this inconvenience, | have leads,
halfpence, and farthings, which I place
upon thofe parts that I have juft put in
order, whilft I am arranging the reft, fo
that when I have done, my plant is almoft
covered with thefe pieces, which keep it ia
its proper fituation. Then you place ano-
ther half fheet of white paper upon the firit,
prefling it with your hand, to keep the plant
in the pofition you have given it, bringing
your left hand that prefles gradually forward,
and at the fame time taking away the leads,
&c. with your rights then put another
fheet of gray paper upon the fecond white
paper, all the while prefling the plant, left
| G it

Sr

be

WET TER Witt.

it lofe the pofition you have given it: upon
the gray paper place another half fheet of
white, as before ; upon this another plant
arranged and covered like the former, till
you have placed your whole harveft, which
ought not to be too numerous at once ;
both that your tafk may not be too labo-
rious, and that your paper may not contract
too much humidity during the drying ;
which would infallibly poil your plants,
unlefs you haftened to change the papers
with the fame attention as | béfarels this,
however, is what you muft do from time
to time, till your fpecimens have taken their
bent, and are all very dry.

Your pile of plants and papers thus ar-
ranged, muft be put into the prefs, without
which your plants will not be flat and
even; fome are for prefling them more,
others lets; experience will teach you this,
as well as how often the papers fhould be
changed, without taking unneceflary pains.
Laftly, when your plants are quite dry, put
each of them teparately into a fheet of pa-

‘per, one upon another, without other papers

between, for which there is no occafion,

‘and you will thus begin a horfus ficcus,

which will continually increafe with your
knowledge, and at length contain the hif-
tory of all the vegetation of the country.
‘Take care always to keep your collection
very clofe, and a little prefled; without

which the plants, however dry they might

7 be,

HORTA, SACCUS,

be, will attract the humidity of the air,
and again get out of form.

Now the ufe of all thefe pains is to ar-
rive at a knowledge of each particular
plant, and to underftand one another well
when we talk of them.

For this purpofe you muft gather two
fpecimens of each plant ; one larger to be
kept, the other fmaller to fend me. You
muft number them carefully, fo that both
great and little fpecimen fhall always have
the fame number. When you have a dozen
or two of fpecies thus dried, you will fend
them to me in a little parcel by the firft
opportunity. I will fend you back their
names and defcriptions; by means of the
numbers you will know them in your col-
Jeétion, and after that in their natural ftate,
‘wherein, I prefume, you firft examined
them. This is the certain way to make as
fecure and rapid a progrefs as you can, at a
diftance from your guide.

P. S. I forgot to tell you that the fame
papers may ferve over and over again, pro-
vided you take care to air and dry them
well. I fhould alfo add here, that your
hortus ficcus mutt be kept in the drieft part
of the houfe, and rather on the firft than
the ground-floor.

G 2 LETTER

(“8479

LE HT Be IX.

EXPLANATION OF THE CLASSES IN.THE
LINNÆAN SYSTEM.

March the 25th, 1774.

Have received all your packets very fafe,
and cannot but admire the neatnefs with
which you have arranged your plants ; the
care you have taken in having all the parts
neceflary to determine both the genus and
fpecies in your fpecimens ; and the bril-
hancy of colour in moft of the flowers.
All this ferves to fhow how much better
the female fingers are adapted to fuch ope-
rations than ours. I am pleafed alfo to hear
that our little botanift had fo large a fhare in
laying out and drying thefe plants, which
1 fhall carefully preferve as a memorial of
the induftry and ‘adroitnefs of both. . But
what gives me the moft pleafure is, to fee
that you have remarked, with fo much fuc-
cefs in general, to which of the natural
clafles your plants belong: fo that I am
well convinced you have profited by my
leflons, and have paid a due attention to
my letters.
What reward, dear coufin, can I give
you for your unwearied patience and perfe-
verance in following me through fo much

abftract

abftra& matter, when your curiofity muft
needs have been piqued, and your defire of
being acquainted with the rank and names
of the beautiful objets which you gathered
arranged, and dried, with fo much affection,
muft have been awakened? I have now, in
fome degree, endeavoured to content you,
by the paper which accompanies this, con-
taining the names of all the plants in your
packets, placed after the numbers which
you have put to them in your col lection :
fo that to the common objets which you
knew by rote, you are now enabled to add
a confiderable number, whofe acquaintance
you will value more, becaufe you know
them, upon thorough examination. You
have therefore fo many more points to reft
upon ; but this is not fufficient ; you can-
not be a botanift till you are able to help
. yourfelf, to caft me off entirely, and to
find out a plant with which you are unac-
quainted. Alithis, however, will ftill re-
quire fome time and patience; and as you
remember that you are not to take any
more fteps in this kingdom than are agree-
able, you will inform me when you are
tired.

Such information I propofe now to con-
vey to you by degrees: and having initiated
you by fhowing “how you may determine
the clafs of fome plants, I will now open
the whole myftery, and inftruét you how
to determine the clafs of them all. To do

| CRE this

BS

86

LE # Etre IX.

this you muft learn a fyftem; in which,
however, you are not to expect that all
vegetables are arranged in natural claffes,
fuch as I have hitherto explained to you,
but after an artificial method, the order of
nature not being in all points yet unveiled to
our mortal eyes. Your pains, however,
will not have been thrown away; becaufe
I promife you that our artificial fyftem fhall
preferve the natural tribes which you have
ftudied fo well.

Do not fuffer yourfelf to be terrified at
the word /yfem. { promife you there fhall
be little difficulty in it to you who have
patience and attention; and as little parade
of hard words as poflible, only allowing
me to name my clafles and orders". The
{yftem I propofe to you is not the French
one by Tournefort, which is v ery beautiful,
and has great merit; but the Swedifh one
by Linneus. I prefer this, becaufe it 1s
mott complete, and moft in fafhion.

You are fo well acquainted with all the
conftituent parts of the fruétification, that
you need not be told what the ftamens and
piftils are. Linnæus has founded his claffes
upon the former, and many of his orders
upon the latter of thefe. But at prefent

"The Englifh ftudent will find great advantage in
poliefling many elementary books, ‘explaining all the
terins, in his own language. Now alfo he has Lin-
næus’s fyftem of vegeta ables and genera tranflated. Hud-
fon’s Flora Anglica, and Withering’s arrangement, con-

neét the Englifi h names with tate of Linnæus.
the

CLASSES.

the claffes will furnifh you with fufficient
employment.
I fuppofe you take a plant in hand that

is in full ower; the firft thing you have ;

to {ee is, whether the flowers are complete
or perfect, that is, have both ftamens and
piftils: if fo, view the ftamens well, in or-
det to difcover whether they are entirely
feparate from the piftil and each other from
top to bottom, or united in fome part or
other ; if they are feparate, of the fame, or
an indeterminate length, and lefs in number
than twenty, then the number alone will
fuffice to determine the clafs; and thofe
which have one ftamen will belong to the
firit clafs entitled monandria; thofe with
two ftamens to the fecond, dandria ; thote
with three to the third, #riandria, and fe
on to the tenth, entitled decandria*. Thete
are Greek names, and fome of them not
fhort ones: fince however they are only
four-and-twenty in all, you will indulge
me fo far in time as to have them by heart.
The flowers for examination fhould be ga-
thered as nearly as poffible in their natural
ftate; for many of thofe which are culti-
vated in gardens undergo ftrange transfor-
mations, and either lofe the ftamens and
piltils entirely, or acquire an additional
number. The firft clafies, which have but

few ftamens, are not {0 liable to change as

* Plate 7. to 16. with pl. 5. & 1.
G 4 thofe

88

LETTER IX.

thofe which have many. Thus the num-

ber in the three claffes already mentioned is

not variable; nor in the fourth clafs, fe-
trandria. In the fifth, pentandria, {ome
plants have more than their proper quota of
ftamens to the flower, at leaft when culti-
vated in gardens ; but this is a very numer-
ous clafs, and it is no wonder if we find
fome few irregular among fo many. To
fecure you in fome meafure againft miftakes
on this and other occafions, 1 muft obferve,
that nature in general carries a certain pro-
portion through all the parts of the fame
work ; and therefore if you have a flower
which has a calyx divided into five feg-
ments, and a corolla confifting of five pe-
tals, or divided into five parts; if you count
fix or feven ftamens, be fure all is not
right, and take the pains to infpeét fome
other flowers of the fame fpecies, before
you determine. I dare affirm fuch exami-
nation will convince you that your flower
belongs to the fifth clafs, pentandria, in
which the natural number of ftamens is
five. In the fixth clafs, Aexandria, whofe
beautiful flowers have fix ftamens, I do not
obferve fo confiderable a variation as one
might expect in plants that are fo much the
objects of culture; you will however fre-
quently count more than fix ftamens in the
fiowers of the tulip. The flowers of the
clafs heptandria thould have {even ftamens;
but you will often find thofe of the horfe-

chefnut

CLASSES.

. chefnut faulty in this refpect. As you will
alfo fome flowers in the three following
clafles, céandria which has eight, ennean-
dria which has nine, and decandria which
has ten ftamens, as the names all imply.
With a little attention however to the pro-
portion of the parts, and by a repetition of
your examination where any doubt arifes,
you will find thefe ten clafles eafy to
determine.

No flowers. being known at prefent that
have conftantly and regularly eleven fta-
mens, the eleventh clafs in the fyftem of
- Linnæus contains thofe which have twelve;
and is therefore entitled dodecandria*. But
the genera which have this precife number
being few; and, as I obferved before, the
number being uncertain when the ftamens

are many, all plants are comprehended in

this clafs that have any number of ftamens,
from eleven to nineteen inclufive, provided
they are difunited.

All plants that have more feparate fta-
mens than thefe belong to one of the two
following clafles. Here then you muft take
in another confideration, befides the number
of the ftamens, to determine in which of
thefe two clafles you are to fearch for your
plant. This confideration is, the /tuation
of the ftamens; which in the clats icofan-
dria, is either on the calyx or corolla’, and

R Plate re,
* Plate 18.
in

89

WD -

LET FER ; IX.

in the thirteenth, po/yandria, on the bafe or
receptacle of the flower’. This difference
of fituation is only to be attended to in
thofe flowers which have many ftamens;
for you will frequently obferve in the fifth
clafs that the monopetalous flowers have the
ftamens growing out of the corolla; but
this circumftance has nothing to do in de-
termining their clafs. The twelfth clafs
has its name co/andria, from the flowers in
it having ufually twenty ftamens or there-
abouts, at leaft in the greater part of the
genera: this circumftance, however, is not
to determine the clafs; but all plants which
have many ftamens, that is, more than
nineteen, faftened either immediately, or
mediately by means of the claws of the pe-
tals, to the calyx, are to be referred to the
clafs zcofandrie. To affitt you farther in dif-
tinguifhing the flowers of this from thofe of
the following clafs, it may be remarked that
the calyx in this is monophyllous or all of
one piece, and concave; and the corolla is
fixed by its claw or fmall end into the car
Jyx, inftead of the bafe or bottom of the
flower, as it generally is in the other claffes.

When on the contrary you find more
than nineteen detached ftamens in the fame
flower, with a piftil or piftils, and fituated
on the bafe or receptacle of the flower, that
plant muft belong to the clafs polyandria,

w Plate 19.
fignifying

CLASSES.

fignifying many ftamens, and the ftamens
may vary in number from twenty to a thou-
fand in the different genera. ‘Thefe alfg
either have a polyphyllous calyx, that is,
confifting of feveral folioles, generally five,
or none at all ; though fometimes it falls off,
as in the poppy when the flower opens.
We have hitherto fuppofed you to find
all the ftamens of the fame length, or nearly
fo; or if not, ftill we prefume that you
have not found a certain regular and deter-
minate proportion in their lengths. Now,
en the contrary, we fuppofe you to take up
a flower which has an appearance of regu-
Jarity in its whole ftruéture ; and that, on
an attentive examination, you difcover four
ftamens, not all equal in length, but ranged
in one row, and the inner pair fhorter than
the outer one. This plant will probably
belong to the fourteenth clafs, the name of
which is didynamia*, fignifying that two
of the ftamens are ftronger than the others.
Here you will immediately perceive that
you are got among your old acquaintance,
for it will ftrike you that all the flowers
which have the character juft defcribed are
either labiate or perfonate, and therefore
that you were miftrefs of the clafs didyna-
mia, before you knew that it had this Greek
name’. All then that I need fav to you is,
that Linnæus makes the eflential character
* Plates 20. & 4.

Y See Letter [V.
to

gt

G2)

LETT ER 1 FX.

to confift, in the proportional arrangement
of four ftamens above expreffed, accom-
panied with one piftil, and invefted with
an irregular monopetalous corolla.

Thete is yet another clafs of thefe plants
with proportional ftamens, which, though
you.do not know it by the dreadful long
name tetradynamia, is however one of your
firft acquaintance under the gentler appella-
tion of cruciform flowers”. Thefe, you re-
member, have four ftamens longer than the
other. two: this is the claffical character,

and hence its name. For the other diftinc-

tive marks by which this clafs is readily
known at firft fight, you have them at
your fingers ends.

You are now in poffeffion of all thofe

clafies which have the ftamens free, fepa-

rate, difunited. If a flower that has both

ftamens and piftils fhould prefent itfelf, in
which you find the ftamens united at bot-
tom, it certainly belongs to one of the three
next claflés: and if, on the contrary, they
are united at top, that is, the anthers form
one body, it will belong to the nineteenth
clafs.

In the fixteenth clafs, called monadelphia*,
the filaments are united fo as to form one
regular membrane at bottom, whilft they
are diftinét at top. Of this character you

‘have a clear and convincing inftance in

z See Letter II. Plates 23. & 2.
@\Plate-2.2.

that

CLASSES.

that very common plant the mallow. In
fome others, however, of this clais, the
character is not fo evident, and without a
careful infpeétion of the flowers to the very
bottom, you might eafily be tempted to give
them to ei clafs. Obferve then talk
ther, that the flower has always a calyx,
and frequently a double one: that the co-
xolla confifts of five heart-fhaped petals:
that the receptacle of the fruit, as it is call+
ed, or the column to which the feeds are
fattened, projects above them in the centre
of the flower: that the germs furround this
in a ring: that all the ftyles are united at
bottom ve form one body with the recep-
tacle, but are divided at top into as many
threads as there are germs: and that thefe
germs grow into a kind of capfule divided
into as many cells as there are piftils, or
confifting of the {ame number of arils, which
are loofe coats covering each feed feparately,
and not eatily falling fama its

In the fev puibdehila clafs, diadalp hia the
filaments are united at bottom: not how-
ever into one, but two bodies. Thete flow-
ers alfo have but one piftil; the fruit is a
degume or pod; and if I add that the flowers
are papilionaceous, you will immediately
difcover that this is another clafs with
which you are perfectly acquainted, and
with the form of whofe flowers you were {0
much delighted °.

» See Letter TI. Plates 23. & 3.

94

LETTER) 1X.

In the eighteenth clafs the filaments are
united in three or more bundles, and the
name of it is po/yadelphia ‘. ‘The union
being generally at the bottom only, with-
out extending up the filaments, and the
flowers having no diftinguifhing character,
you muft pull” out the ftamens, in order to
be certain that the plant belongs to this
clafs. The names of the three laft-men-
tioned claffes fignify literally one, two, and
three brotherhoods.

If inftead of the filaments being joined
at bottom, they are free and diftinét, but
the anthers are connected together, fo as to
form one body, then your plant will be
found in the clats /yrgene/ia. But the flow-

‘ers in this clafs being {mall, and the above-

mentioned dates not being the firft
that will ftrike an examiner of lower it

muit be added that they are compound; and

this one word is fufficient to overcome the
whole difficulty with you who know thefe
flowers at firft fight, and have fo frequently
difleéted the florets tant femi-florets which
compofe them *.

Though in the four laft claffes the fta-
mens have been in fome fort united, yet
both in thefe, and in all the former, ‘they
have been found detached from the piftil, {o
at leaft as that the one may be taken off from
the plant without the other. But what ifa

€ Plate 24.

* See Letter Vil. and Plates 25. to 20. & PI. 6.
Syngenefia fignifies congeneration, or union of the anthers.

flower

CLASSES. LAS

flower fhould occur to you in which you
are unable to do this, but you find on the
contrary that the ftamens grow upon the
piftil itfelf ? Then, I anfwer, it belongs to
a clafs entitled gyrandria *, which is the
twentieth in the fyftem of Linnæus, and
derives its name from this peculiar circum-
ftance, by which it ftands infulated as it
were, and detached from all the others.
From the pofition of the piftils in this clafs,
arifes a fingularity in the appearance and
fhape of the flowers in moft of the genera ;
and fometimes the receptacle is lengthened
out in form of a ftyle, and bears both fta-
mens and piftils upon it’.

Hitherto you have been concerned with
{uch plants only as have flowers which I call
complete or perfect, becaufe they have both
ftamens and: piftils. But a plant perhaps
may have occurred to your obfervation in
which you have found thefe parts always
in feparate, diftinct flowers. In this cafe 1
beg leave to coin two words, and to call
thofe which have only the ftamens ffam-
niferous, and thofe which have only the
piftils piftilliferous flowers. Now when
you find thefe, and thefe only on the
fame tree or plant, that tree or plant be-
longs to the twenty-firft clafs in the ar-
rangement of Linnzeus, called by him :10-
necia®, aterm fignifying one houfe: the

© Plate 30.

f As in the common Arum, Curtis, Lond. 2. Mill.

fig. 52. 1- J. Mill, illuftr. Ger. 834. 1.
£ Plate 3r.

flowers

95

96

LETTER IX.

flowers of different kinds being produced iri
the fame habitation, or on the fame indivi-
dual plant. Whereas in the following clafs,
thefe ftaminiferous and piftilliferous flowers
are not merely feparate from each other,
but are always found on diftinét plants of
the fame fpecies, and in other refpeéts fo
alike, as not to be diftinguifhed when they
are out of flower. The name of this clafs
therefore is dæcia*, fignifying two houfes,
and implying that incomplete flowers only
are found in different habitations, or on

feparate trees or plants, never on the fame.

There remainsnow only one poffible cafe
to provide for, in.the arrangement of con-
fpicuous flowers, which is this. Suppofe
you find fome flowers that are complete,
and at the fame time others which bear only
ftamens or piftils, on the fame plant with
the complete flowers, or on different plants

-of the fame fpecies; there is a clafs,

namely, the twenty-third, provided for the
reception of fuch plants, and it is entitled
polygamia’, from this variety in the flowers*.

For plants with inconfpicuous flowers, as
being of lefs confideration, there is only one
clafs provided, and that is called cryptoga-

Plate 32.

i Plate 33.

* Thunberg, and fome others, have funk the four
claffes from Gynandria to Polygamia, melting the fpe-
cies into other clafles. I fhall not difpute the propriety
or convenience of this reformation: but it is my defign

to explain the fyftem of Linnzus, as the great author
himfelf delivered it.

Mid,

CLASSES.

mia‘, from the circumftance of the fruéti-
fication being concealed, cr not obvious to
our eyes. For the flowers in the moft per-
fect of thefe are hardly to be diftinguifhed
without a glafs, and in many not even with
it; nay, tne moft acute oblervers have not
detected flowers in them all, though in all
probability there is no vegetable without
them. They will beeafily known from plants
with confpicuous flowers, by their fingular
ftructure ; as you will readily acknowledge
when I inform you that the objects of this,
the loweft clafs of vegetables, are ferns,
mofles, fea- weeds, and fungufes: and there-
fore when we talk of incon{picuous flowers,
we do not mean to include fuch as are def-
titute of a magnificent corolla, but fuch only
as have not the ftamens and piftils vifible to
the naked eye. But you are too good an ob-
ferver to require fuch admonitions. By this
time you are doubtlefs fufficiently fatigued,
as well as myfelf, with all this dry matter;
and what is worfe, you have not learnt to
find out one plant: but patience, we are in
the way, and have made great progrefs,
though we are not arrived at the end of our
journey. We will foon make another long
ftage, unlefs you tell me you have enough,

and in that cafe I promite to trouble you’

no more with this trafh: if it does not
amufe and even intereft you, throw it at
once into the fire.
Plate 35 to 38. Mit:
H DET TER

97

(198 oJ

L'EUTITE RE K.

EXPLANATION OF THE ORDERS IN THE
LINNZAN SYSTEM.

May the 18, 1774.
RESUMING, dear coufin, that you

have already examined abundance of
{pring flowers, and determined their claffes,
upon the inftructions contained in my laft
letter, I fhall proceed in this to give you
the characters of the orders, or divifions of
the clafles. If you were to proceed at once
to the examination of the fpecies, all would
be confufion ; juft as if you attempted to
eftimate a vaft mixt multitude, fluctuating
in tumultuary diforder: but if you have
patience to make a regular progrefs; to
throw this multitude into large bodies, to
fubdivide thefe into fmaller ones, and thefe
again into others fo {mall as to command
them well with the eye, you have at length
a regular army, which you can number,
arrange, and difcipline at your pleafure.
We will now divide our twenty-four re-
giments into their refpettive companies.
Here I think you will not find fo much dif-
ficulty as in the clafles : for the orders in
the firft thirteen clafles are founded wholly .
upon the #wmber of the piftils, fo that the
chief of your tafk here will be to learn fo
4 many

ORDERS.

inany new terms, which are formed by put-
ting gynia inftead of andria to the Greek
words fignifying the numbers: as monogy-
nia, one piltil; digynia, two piltils; and

, fo on.

_ After the firft thirteen clafles we no
longer ufe the piftils for the purpofe of fub-
dividing the clafles into orders. In the
clafs didynamia it would be nugatory, be-
caufe you have obferved that all the flowers
of the ringent tribe have one piftil, and no
more. Here then we have recourfe to ano-
ther circumftance which anfwers extremely
well. For we find that moft of the plants
which have a labiate flower have four naked
feeds at the bottom of the calyx; and that
the perfonate flowers are fucceeded by a
capfule containing many {mall feeds: hence
arifes an elegant, commodious, obvious,
and natural divifion of the fourteenth clafs

‘into two orders, gymnofpermia ™ and angio-

fpermia” ; the firit containing all the ringent
flowers with four naked feeds ripening in
the calyx: the fecond fuch as have the
feeds contained in a bilocular pericarp, or
feed-veflel of two cells, and faftened to a
receptacle in the middie of it.

In thé next clafs, tetradynamia, the flow-
ers have alfo one piftil and no more. Here
again it is found convenient to take the fruit

HP 70) f. I

Ph. A
» Plate 20. f, 4

te I
be Ph AM ET
“a 2 for

99

190

LETTER x.

for the fubdivifion of it into orders. T'hefe
are called fiviculofa° and Aliquofa ?, from the
form of the fruit, which we call //cle and
filique ; having only the word pod current in
our language, which will not fuffice to dif-
tinguifh thefe from each other, nor from
the pod in the leguminous tribe. The
plants of the firft order then have a /iicle
or fhort roundifh pericarp; thofe of the fe-
cond a /iligue or oblong narrow pericarp:
both are bilocular; but the ftruéture has
been already fufficiently explained 4.

In the 16th, 17th, and 18th claffes it is
found beft to take the orders from the num-
ber of ftamens. Here then is no fort of
difficulty ; and, what is very pleafant, you
have no new terms to burden the memory.

The chief difficulty, with refpeét to the
orders, lies in the clafs /yngene/ia. Tourne-
fort’s divifion of the compound flowers into

flofculous, femi-flofculous, and radiate, was
pretty and obvious; but Linnæus’s is ab-
{trufe and difficult. I will explain it to you
however as clearly as I can. You are per-
fect miltrefs of a compound flower, and
the different forts of florets of which it is
compoted', 1 muft next inform you, there-
fore, that what you know by the name of
compound, is called by Linnæus a flofculous
flower; and that he calls the florets, tudu-

©: Plate bale ol, P Plates 21 & 2.
4 See Letter II. r See Letter VI.

7 lous

ORDERS.

fous flofcules, and the femi-florets, /gulate
flofcules; this being premifed, we may ufe
the language of Linnzus or Tournefort as
we pleafe. Now if you examine thefe flof-
cules nicely, you will difcover that they
have fometimes both ftamens and piftil;
but you will fee that others have ftamens

only ; others again a piftil only: and laftly,

fome have neither ftamens nor piftil. The
firft of thefe I call perfect * flofcules; the
fecond flaminiferous, the third pi/filliferous,
and the fourth zeuter flofcules. All thefe
variations are to be found both in the tubu-
lous and ligulate flofcules; and muft be
well attended to, becaufe on thefe varia-
tions, aflifted by the form of the florets
Linneus has founded the four firft orders
of this clafs.
Polygamia equals * is the name of the
fir order. Polygamia : is the family name,
which this has in common with all the or-
ders except the laft; it is ufed only in op-
pofition to monogamia, and implies that
there are many florets inclofed within one
common calyx; which is your idea of a
compound flower. The peculiar name
æqualis fignifies equal, regular, or alike,
and implies that the whole Mowers is regu-
lar, and that all the component flofcules
therefore, whether tubulous or ligulate,
are alike; and indeed they are not only fo,
* Perfect at leaft in appearance, if not always really fo.
LE, QO; fi, eee aye toe
E32 but

IGI

102

LETSER: %K.

but likewife perfect, or all furnifhed with
{tamens and piitil; and therefore each fol-
lowed by a feed. If thefe flowers have
any ligulate flofcules, all the reft are fo;
if any foe flofcules, all the reft are fo
likewile, except in two genera, Atraétylis
and Barnadefia, which have radiate flowers.
In the opt order, polygamia fuperfiua”,
all the florets of the difk, centre or middle
of the lower are perfect; thofe of the ray
or exterior part piftilliferous: both of them
produce feed. Moft of the flowers in this
order are radiate, and then they are eafily
known by the circumftance of having fer-
tile feeds both in the difk and ray: but
there are fome which have tubulous florets
only, and appear like the difk of a radiate
flower, as a daify would look when fpoiled
of its white femi-florets ; whence Ray called
them di/coid flowers: in thefe however, on
an attentive infpection, you will difcover
that fome of the outer ones are deficient in
ftamens at leaft, if not in corolla top.
Theie are by much the largeft orders, each
of them containing almoft double the num-
ber of genera, that are in the three remaining
orders of compound flowers taken together.
The third order of thefe compound flow-
ers, or of the clafs /yagenefia, 1s entitled
frufiranea*. The character of the order is,
that the florets in the difk or centre are

i UPL. 6s fac pl MM LT ME a ff

perfedt,

ORDERS.
perfect, and produce feed; whilft thofe of

the ray are imperfe@, and therefore abor-
tive or fruftrate, whence the name. This
is a very fmall order, containing only eight
genera; of which feven have radiate flow-
ers, and the eighth, which however is a
numerous one, has capitate flowers like
the thiftles, but differing from them in
having either neuter or abortive florets next
the calyx, as in the common blue-bottle;
in which the neuter flofcules diftinguith
themfelves by being much larger than the
others; but on examination they are mere
corolla, and nothing elfe.

In the fourth order, nece/Jaria™, the florets
in the difk or middle are apparently perfe&,
but are not really fo, and therefore produce
no perfect feed; whilit the piftilliferous flof-
ecules in the ray or outfide of the flower are
fertile. All thefe have radiate flowers, ex-
cept in two genera, wherein the exterior
fertile florets have fcarcely any corolla.

In the fifth order, polygamia fegregata*,
there is a common calyx, as in the foregoing
orders; but befides that, there is in this
order a partial one, including one or more
florets, which are thus feparated from each
other in a manner different from the reft of
the orders: and hence the name. By this
order the compound approach the aggre-
gate flowers; fuch as the teafel, fcabious, &c.

atl of Oe Se Pe x Pl, 28.
Fa but

103

104

LETTER x.

but then thefe have not the character
of the clafs fyngenefia in the union of the
anthers.

The fixth or laft order is entitled fimply
monogamia*®, becaufe it confifts of plants
with fimple, not compound flowers, which
circumitance is abundantly fufficient to dif-
criminate this order, provided you attend
at the fame time to the claffical character.

We have now, dear coufin, happily, I
hope, pafled the fool’s bridge, and are arrived
fafely on the other fide, where the way is
plain, and we fhall foon get pleafantly to
the end of our ftage. In fhort, the orders
of the three following clafles, gynandria,
monacia, and diecia, being founded upon
the ftamens, and taking their names from
the foregoing clafles, according to the num-
ber, and union or difunion of the ftamens
in the refpective flowers; there is nothing
new to be learnt in any of thefe.

The twenty-third clafs indeed, po/ygamra,
has three orders, arifing from the triple
mode in which the three forts of flowers
may be arranged; either on the fame plant,
on two diftinét plants, or on three. When
the perfect and imperfect flowers are on the
{ame plant, the order is entitled monwcia?.
When the perfect flowers are on one plant,
and the imperfect ones on a fecond of the

Y Pl. 29.—The violets are a good inftance of this
erder.
2-Plate 33. Acer or maple. L
Jame

Sk 7

ORDERS.

fame fpecies, the order is then entitled æ-
cia*, And when the perfec flowers are on
one plant, ftaminiferous ones on a fecond,
and piftilliferous ones on a third, all of the
fame fpecies; then fuch plant belongs to
an order called tricia’, fignifying three
houfes; the three forts of flowers having
three diftinét habitations.

The laft clafs having no flowers whofe
parts are difcernible by the naked eye; and
therefore called cryptogamia: having alfo
many genera in which we are uncertain
what the frudtification is; many in which
we can difcern no fruétification at all: the
characters of the orders can no longer be
taken from the ftamens and piftils. For-

tunately the plants of this clafs have a very

particular ftructure, ferving very well both
to afcertain the claffical character, and the
divifion of it into four Orders; which are
called, I. Filices, or Ferns. Il. Mu/ci, or
Moffes. III. Alge, or Sea-weeds; and,
IV. Fungi, or Fungufes.

The ferns © moftly have their fru@ifica-
tion upon the backs of their leaves. This,
when examined by the microfcope, appears
to confift of a fcale arifing from the leaf,
and opening on one fide; and under that,
fome little balls on pedicles, furrounded by
an elaftic ring: in due time the balls burft,

+ The afh is an inftance of this order.
° as in the Fig,
© Plate 35.
and

106

LETTER %.

and throw out a fine duft, which is fup-
pofed to be the feed. Linnaus makes the
{cale to be a calyx: and the globules are
probably fo many captules or pericarps.
The moffes * have {mall threads growing
out of the bofoms of the leaves, terminated

by a fmall body, the whole refembling

ftamens : accompanied by little thorter
threads fuppofed to be piftils, fometimes on
the fame plant with the former, and fome-
times on another. The firft of thefe Lin-
næus took for anthers, and actually called
them fo; but he fufpeéted them afterwards
to be capfules, and fuch they turn out to
be, on a narrower infpection with greater
macnihers. :

Of the alee * we know too little about
the fruétification to give a regular charaéter
of the order, which includes not only the
fea- weeds, but the liverworts, &c. thefe have
been ranged by others among the mofles.
in the liverworts there are little bodies vifi-
ble enough, which are taken for ftaminifer-
ous and piftilliferous flowers, diftin & from
each other; ; but experiments are yet want-
ing to afcertain them with precifion. On
she {ea-weeds are little bladders, {ome hol-
low with hairs within, others filled with a
gelly-like fubftance} and thefe are fuppofed
to be the flowers and fruits. x

If the fungu/es * have any fructification, it

& Plate 36. © Plate 37. f Plate 38.

ORDERS. | 107

is imagined to be underneath, in the gills,
pores, &c. But I will not detain you with
thefe dregs of vegetable nature, in which
you will take no pleafure till you have im-
bibed an enthufiaftic pañlion for botany.
After the.clafs cryptogamia Linnzus has
given the pa/ms, in a twenty-fifth clafs, or
appendix, without any character. I pre-
fume he hasthus thrown them into the rear
of his fyftem, partly becaufe he could not
have ranged this proud fet of trees accord-
ing to his laws, without tearing them from
- each other; and partiy becaufe they have
not been examined with fufficient accuracy ;
you will icarcely have an opportunity of ex-
amining this natural clafs, the moft remark-
able characters of which are, that the fta-
miniferous flowers are diftin@ from the pif-
tilliferous, on the fame or different indivi-
duals; except in one genus, which has com-
plete or perfect Howers accompanied by fta-
‘miniferous ones on the fame individual; all
proceeding from a /pathe or fheath, and
growing upon a /fpadix®. So that thefe
trees belong to the three laft claffes of con-
fpicuous flowers in the artificial fyftem.
® The /padix is the receptacle in this tribe, and has no
Englifh name. In another place, Linnzus, in difri-
buting vegetables into, nine nations, affigns the firft to
_the palms, calling them Princes of India, bearing their
fructification on a fpadix, within a fpathe; flowing ;

remarkable for their prodigious height ; diftinguithed by

an unvaried, undivided, perennial trunk; crowned at
top by an evergreen buth of leaves; rich in abundance
of large, fine fruit.

Thus,

108

LETTER X.

Thus, dear coufin, we have accomplifhed
our fecond ftage. And this letter not being
of fo unconfcionable a length as the former,
T have accompanied it with two tables ; one
of the claffical charaëters, and Le Ex=
plaining thofe of the orders: that after read-
ing my diffufe explanation, you may have
the whole under your eye at once; and thus
perhaps at one view form a better idea of
the arrangement of vegetables into claffes
and orders, than you could do from many
detached pages". We are not yet arrived
at {pecific or individual information, but we
are on the borders, as I fhall convince you
in my next letter. In the mean time you
have fufficient employment for your eyes
and attention, without doors as well as with-
in: for if you had taken up this trafh of
mine only in your drefling room, you would
long fince have thrown i % into the fires if it
meets with a better fate, 1 owe it merely
to the beautiful objets which your fair
hands have cropt in the garden and fields.
Always give the preference to the latter
where you can, both for the fake of exercife,
and having your plants in their natural ftate.
Adieu, dear coufin; continue your kind in-
dulgence to my prate.

* See Curtis’s beautiful explanation of Linnzus’s
Syftem of Botany, with coloured plates. And an Il-
fuftration of the Syftem of Linnæus, by John Miller ;
who has given a plate of one genus in every clafs and
order. Lond. 1779, octavo.

The Outlines of LINNzæUS’s Syftem of Vegetables. [To face page 108.] i)

A. Plants with confpicuous Flowers.
B. 1. All complete, or furnifhed with Stamen and Piftil.
C. With Stamens feparate from the Piftil.
D. And feparate from each other.
E. All of the fame length, or not proportionably longer than each other.
F. In which the number only is to be confidered.
I. Monanprra.. One Stamen.
II. Dianprra. Two Stamens.
III. Trranpria. ‘Three Stamens.
IV, TETRANDRIA. Four equal Stamens.
V. PENTANDRIA. Five Stamens.
VI. HExANDRIA. Six equal Stamens.
VII. HEPTANDRIA. Seven Stamens. ‘
VIII..Ocranpria. Eight Stamens.
IX. ENNEANDRIA. Nine Stamens.
X. Decanpria. Ten Stamens.
XI. Dopecanpria. From 11 to 19 Stamens inclufive.
F. In which the fituation is alfo to be confidered.
XII. Icosanpria. About 20 Stamens on the Calyx or Corolla.
XII. Poryanpria. Twenty Stamens or more on the receptacle or bafe of the Flower.
E. Some Stamens proportionably longer than others.
XIV. Dipynamia. Four Stamens, two longer. One Piftil. Flowers ringent.
XV. TETRADYNAMIA. Six Stamens, four longer. One Piftil. Flowers cruciform.
D. Stamens coherent at bottom only, or by the Filaments.
XVI. Monaperruia. Filaments united into one body.
XVII. DrapezPxiA. Filaments in two bodies. Corolla papilionaceous.
XVII. PotyapetrHia. Filaments in 3 or more parcels.
D. Stamens coherent at top only, or by the Anthers.
XIX. Syncznesta. Anthers united, 5 Filam. diftin@, 1 Piftil, Flowers compound.
C. With Stamens growing out of the Piftil itfelf.
XX. Gynanpria. Stamens on the Piftil, not on the Receptacle.
B. 2. All incomplete; or which have Stamens only, or Piftils only.
XXI. Monoecra. Each fort of Flower feparate, but on the fame Plant.
XXII. Droecra. Each fort of Flower, on diftin@ Plants only.
B. 3. Flowers of the firft fort, together with one or both of the fecond fort.
XXII. PoLyGAMIA.
A. Flowers inconfpicuous.
XXIV. Cryprocamia. Flowers very fmall, invifible, or not yet difcovered.
XXV. Pazms. Flowers borne on a Spadix, and within a Spathe, moftly incomplete,

ti
12
4;

( 109 )

SKETCH AND EXPLANATION OF THE
ORDERS IN THE SYSTEM OF LINNÆUS:s

I. Monandria. One /famen.
1. Monogynia. One pi/fil.
2. Digynia. Two pifiils.
II. Diandria. Two ffamens.
1. Monogynia. One pi/iil.
2. Digynia. Two piftils.
3. Trigynia. Three pifiils.
Ill. Triandria. Three flamens.
1. Monogynia. One pi/til.
2. Digynia. Two piffils.
3. Trigynia. Three piftils.
IV. Tetrandria. Four equal fiamens.
1. Monogynia. One piftil.
2. Digynia. Two piffils.
3. Tetragynia. Four piffils.
V. Pentandria. Five flamens.
1. Monogynia. One pi/frl.
. Digyuia. Two piflils.
. Trigynia. Three piftils.
. Tetragynia. Four pifiils.
. Pentagynia. Five pi/fils.
. Polygynia. Many piffils.
VI. Hexandria. Six equal flamens.
1. Monogynia. One pifiil.
2. Digynia. Two piftils.
3. Trigynia. Three piffils.
4. Tetragynia. Four pifiils.
5. Polygynia. Many pi/fils.
VII. Heptandria,

Am BL Wb

Le fe)

LErweR K:

VII. Heptandria. Seven framens,
- Monogynia. One piffil.
. Digynia. Two pifiils.
3. Tetragynia. Four pi/iils.
4. Heptagynia. Seven piflils.
VII. Oëtandria. Erghf flamens.
1. Monogynia. One piftil.
2. Digynia. Two pifiils.
3. Trigynia. Three pifiils.
4. Tetragynia. Four piftils.
IX. Enneandria. Nine flamens.
1. Monogynia. One piftil.
2. Trigynia. Three piftils.
3. Hexagynia. Szx piffils.
X. Decandria. Ten flamens.
1. Monogynia. Oxe piffil.
2. Digynia., Two piffils.
3. Trigynia Three piftils.
4. Tetragynia. Four piftils.
5. Pentagynia. Five piffils.
6. Decagynia. Ten piflils.
Dodecandria. Ywelve flamens, (from
11 to Ig.)
. Monogynia. One piftil.
. Digynia. Tavo piftils.
. Trigynia. Three piftils.
. Pentagynia. Five pi/tils.
. Dodecagynia: Twelve piftils.
XII. Icofandria. Twenty flamens, (on thé.
calyx or corolla.)
1, Monogynia. One pyftil.
2. Digynia. Two piflils.
3 Frigynia. Three piftils. |
4. Pentagynias

ear

XE:

No

Un + UW

ORDERS.

4. Pentagynia. Ærve pifiils.

5. Polygynia. Many pi/ftils.

XIII. Polyandria. Many jtamens, (from
20 to 1000, on the receptacle.)

1, Monogynia. One pi/til.

2. Digynia. Two piflils.

3. Trigymia. Three piftils.

4. Tetragynia. Four pifiils.

5. Pentagynia. Five piftils.

6. Hexagynia, 7x pris.

7. Polygynia. Many piftils.

XIV. Didynamia. Four Jlamens, 2 longer
and 2 fhorter.

1. Gymnotpermia. Four naked feeds.

2. Angiofpermia. Seeds inclofed in a
pericarp.

XV. Tetradynamia. x flamens, 4 longer
and 2 fborter.

1, Siliculofa. Pericarp generally round-
ifh, with the fiyle permanent or con-
tinuing, called a filicle.

2. Siliquofa. Pericarp very long and

| narrow, called a filique or pod.
XVI. Monadelphia. One brotherhood; or
filaments all connected.

1. Triandria. Three flamens.

2. Pentandria. Five flamens.

3. Ottandria, Eight flamens.

4. Decandria. Ten flamens.

5. Endecandria. Eleven flamens.

6. Dodecandria. . Twelve Jfraniens.

7. Polyandria. Many flamens.
XVII. Diadelphia. Two brotherhoods: or

filaments in two bodies.
1, Pentandria.

112 LE Tuer’

. Pentandria. Five flamens.

I
2. Hexandria. Six flamens.
3. Oëtandria. Ezght flamens.
4. Decandria. Ten ftamens.
XVIII. Polyadelphia. Many brotherhoods :
filaments in three or more parcels.
1. Pentandria. Frve flamens.
2. Dodecandria. Twelve flamens,
3. Icofandria. Twenty flamens.
4. Polyandria. Many flamens.

XIX. Syngenefia. Congeneration. Anthers

united.

1. Polygamia Æqualis. // the flof-
cules perfect, and the whole flower
regular.

2. Polygamia fuperflua. Perfect fof-
cules in the difk: pifiilliferous flof-
cules 1n the ray: both producing
feed.

. Polygamia Fruftranea. Flofcules in

the diff perfect, and producing
feed: in the ray imperfect, and
without feed.

4. Polygamia Neceflaria. Flofcules in
appearance perfect in the difk pro-
ducing no feed: piftilliferous flofcules
in the ray producing feed.

os Poly gamia Segregata. Many flori-
Serous calyxes contained in one come
mon calyx, and forming one flower.

6. Monogamia. Flowers not compound,
asin thelother- order 5, but fimple,
as in all the other clafes.

XX. Gynandria. Stamens grow mae the piftil.
. Diandria.

Oo

© ONT ANP B+

ORDERS.

. Diandria. Two framens.

. Triandria. Three flamens.
. Tetrandria. Four ffamens.
. Pentandria. Five flamens.

Hexandria. 7x flamens.
Oftandria. Erght flamens.

. Decandria. Ten flamens.
. Dodecandria. Twelve flamens.

. Polyandria. Many flamens.

XXI. Moneecia. One houje. Imperfect flow-

COny On BL HD +

\O

It.

XXII.

ers feparate on the fame plant.

. Monandria. One ffamen.

. Diandria. Two ffamens.

. Triandria. Three flamens.

. Tetrandria. Four flamens.

. Pentandria. Five flamens.

. Hexandria. Sx ffamens.

. Heptandria. Seven ffamens.

» Polyandria. Many flamens.

. Monadelphia. Fi/aments unitedin one.
10.

Syngenefia. Anthers united.
Gynandria. Stamens on the piftil.
Dicecia. Two houfes. Imperfeët flow-

ers on diftinel individuals.

1. Monandria. One framen.
2. Diandria. Two ffamens.

© CONT Ain LU)

. Triandria. Three flamens.

. Tetrandria. Four flamens.
. Pentandria, Five fiamens.
. Hexandria. Szx flamens.

- O&andria. Exght fiamens.
. Enneandria. Nine flamens.
. Decandria. aN Pre.

, Dode-

113

114 LE meet! x

o. Dodecandria. Twelve flamens.

1. Polyandria. Many flamens.

12. Monadelphia. Filaments unitedmone.
13. Syngenefia. Authers united.
14. Gynandria. Stamens on the pifitl.

XXIIL Polygamia Perfect flowers, ac-
companied with one or both forts of
1mperfeét flowers.

1. Monœcia. Perfect and imperfect
flowers on the fame plant.

2. Dicecia. Perfect flowers on one plant,
and imperfect on another.

3. Triœcia. Perfect flowers on one
plant, flaminiferous flowers on a
Jecond, and piftilliferous flowers on
a third.

XXIV. Cryptogamia. Finition ere

1. Filices. Ferns: bearing feed on the
back of the leaves.

2. Mufci. Mofes: having imperfect
fiowers diftin, and the feeds in a
capfule, often covered with a veil.

3. Alge. Having imperfect flowers
di iftinél, and the feeds either like a
meal on the leaves or inclofed in
bladders.

4. Fungi. Having no difcernible flow-
ers, but feeds im the gills, pores,
cups, Se.

XXV. Palmæ: Pa/ms. Flowers on a fpa-
dix, in a Spathe or fheath: gene-
rally flaminiferous and piftilliferous
diftinc.

LET VER.

Gorge)

LEE ERS XL

OF THE CLASS MONANDRIA.

June the roth, 1774.

T length, dear coufin, I am going
to put you in the way of examining
plants by yourfelf, and determining the ge-
nus and fpecies, as you have before done
the clafs and order. You have been already
initiated in my firft letters; but now I
fhall proceed in more form, and prefent
you with one plant or more of each clafs;
explaining to you as we go along {eit
others of the natural te : which form,
or are contained in the artificial ones.

The firft clafs, Monandria, in the Syftem
of Linnzus is avery {mall one ; comprifing,
as you have feen already, in the fecond ta-
ble which I fent you, but two orders.
There are alfo but eighteen genera in it,
and forty-four fpecies. Very few of thefe
plants are natives of Europe; and the In-
dian forts are not eafy to be met with, at
leaft in flower, in the beft hot-houfes.

There is a plant, however, not very un-
common in ponds, ditches, and flow muddy
ftreams, called Hippuris, which is of this
clafs, and of the firit order. It has a fingle
jointed ftalk, and at each joint is a dozen

Z leaves

Hippurisq

126

Limi bk XT.

leaves or more, placed all round in a whorl,
which is a form that Linnæus calls Vertici/-
late. ‘To each of thefe leaves, clofe to the
fialk, belongs a little flower, confifting of a
fingle ftamen and piftil, one feed, and no-
thing more; for it has neither calyx nor
corolla. You will find the ftamen fitting
on the germ terminated by a bifid anther;
and behind this is the ftyle, which 1s ter-
minated by a ftigma tapering to a point.
This will be amply fufficient for you to
determine the Ærppuris', which perhaps
may not grow near you; and if it does, you
muft not hazard wetting and dirtying your-
felf in a muddy ditch. Since therefore it
is abundant in the moat of the neighbour-
ing abbey, I have inclofed fome fpecimens
of it in my tin pocket cafe, which may
{erve afterwards to bring home your plants
frefh and cool, if you are not already pro-
vided with fo neceflary a thing. If you
are not ftruck with the beauty of the Hip-
puris, you will at leaft efteem it for its mo-
defty and fimplicity. F have one favour to
afk in return for my tin box and its con-
tents, which is, that wheñever you call this
plant by its name, you will pronounce the
middle fyllable long, and not fhort, as

I do not know that this plant has been noticed
enough to have a common name in Englifh. In the
books it is called Female Horfe-Tail or Mare’s Tail. Fi-

ured in Curtis, Flora Londinenfis. Fafcic. IV.

late I. and Pl. 7. f. 2. of this work.

many

MONANDRIA.

many do: for I am folicitous to pronounce,
as well as think, like you. I have faid no-
thing here of the diftinétion between genus
and fpecies, becaufe there is only one fort
of Hippuris. I muft however inform you,
once for all, that we invariably take the
characters of the genera from the parts of
fructification ; and thofe of the fpecies from
the other parts of the plant, particularly the
leaves.

There is another plant of this clafs and
order, which your gardener may poffibly
have in the hot-houfe. I dare fay you know
it by the upright growth, reedy appear-
ance, and fine fcarlet flowers. Perhaps
you have already found fome difficulty in
determining the clafs and order; for there
is no filament, but the anther grows to the
edge of a kind of petal, which Linnæus
calls the Neéfary: the ftyle alfo, which is
Jance-fhaped, grows to the fame petal. The
calyx confifts of three leaves: the corolla
is cut into fix parts, five erect, and the
fixth reflexed; the feeds are contained in a
capfule or veflel of three cells, are round
and very hard; whence this plant has the
name of Indian fhot. Linnæus calls it Ca-
na. Thus much for the Genus, of which
there are three fpecies at leaft; fome make
five. Linnzeus has diftinguifhed his three
fpecies thus. 1. Canna indica*; by its

* This is figured by John Miller, in his Illuftrations
of the Sexual Syftem :—and in PI, 7. f, 1. of this work.

| ae ovate

117

Canna.

118

ET FE OR XI

ovate leaves, fharp-pointed towards both
ends, and marked with nerves. 2. C. an-
guftifolia, Narrow-leaved Indian fhot, by its
lance-fhaped, petiolate leaves, marked alfo
with nerves. 3. C. glauca, Sea-green Indian
foot, by its lance-fhaped petiolate leaves,
fmooth or without nerves’. Yours will be
one of the two firft fpecies, for the laft
has yellow flowers. This order contains
feveral interefting plants, fuch as ginger,
cardamom, grain of paradife, Arabian cof-
tus, turmerick, galangale, &c. all which,
with Canna, belong to a natural tribe enti-
tled Scitaminea, from the Latin word /c-
tum, which when tacked to edulium im-
plies eatables of a pleafant tafte. They
have not only the fame place in the artifi-
cial fyftem, but they agree farther in hav-
ing their feeds enclofed in a veflel below
the receptacle, as you perceive plainly it is
in the canna: the divifions alfo of the ca-
lyx, corolla, and feed veflel, are ufually
three.

Short flights are beft, till you have tried
your wings. My next may poffibly be a
little longer, if you give me leave. Adieu
for a few days.

! The Hortus Kewenfis has only two fpecies ; mak-

‘ing Linnæus’s fecond, a variety only of the firft,

LEITTES

Von)

Ly By be Ey Ro XI
OF THE CLASS DIANDRIA,

June 17th, 1774.

OU have ftarved a week, dear coufin,

upon the meagre fare of my laft: I

can now promife you more variety, having

a larger range and better choice. The fe-

cond clafs of plants, dandria, has 35 ge-
nera, and 265 fpecies.

Linneus has done every thing in his
power to facilitate the inveftigation of
plants; and nothing contributes more to
this than the clearnefs and order of his ar-
rangement, and his leading on the ftudent
by regular fteps from generals to particu-
lars. Thus, after you have fettled the
clafs and order of your plant, you perceive
that each order, when numerous, is thrown
into feveral great divifions, before you are
prefented with the generic characters.
This fhortens your inquiry confiderably ;
for, in the firft order of this clafs, inftead
of having the characters of thirty-five ge-
nera to choofe out of, you have by this
means only eight or nine, or perhaps no
more than three, or even one. ‘That you
may underftand this the better, I will give

By you

Jafmi-
num.

LETTER XII.
you Linnzus’s fubdivifion of the firft order
of this clafs.
Dianpria MoNoGyNia.

1. Flowers inferior, monopetalous, regu-
lar, 8 genera.

2. inferior, monopetalous, irregu-
Jar, with feeds inclofed in a veflel:
9 genera.

3- ———— inferior, monopetalous, irregu-
lar, with naked feeds: 9 genera.

4. ——— inferior, pentapetalous : 1 genus.

5. ———— fuperior: 3 genera.

So that if your plant happens to belong
to the fourth divifion, it is determined at
once: andin all the reft your fearch is much
facilitated ™.

In this clafs, though by no means one of
the moft numerous, you will not be at a
lofs, either in your garden or in the fields,
for examples.

You are well acquainted with moft forts
of jafmine. ‘Take any of them, and you
will perceive immediately that it belongs to
the firft divifion of the firft order. Com-
pare as many of the fpecies as you can meet
with in flower, and you will find that they
all agree in the characters of it.

™ It is not neceflary to be more particular with the
Englifh reader, fince the botanical fociety at Lichfield
have publifhed a tranflation of Linnæus’s Syftem of
Vegetables,

But

DIANDRI A.

But other circumftances are to be found
in them all, called generic characiers:
thefe in the prefent cafe are: that the co-
rolla is monopetalous, falver-fhaped*, and
the border divided into five fegments: the
anthers fmall, and lying within the tube
of the corolla: the feed-veflel a berry of
two cells: and the feeds covered with an
aril or loofe coat.

Having feen in what all the jafmines
agree, to: determine the clafs, order, with
its divifions, and genus; now attend to
the circumftances in which they differ, to
fettle the fix fpecies. For this the leaves
will nearly fuffice, thus:
1. Leaves pinnate, oppofite: lobes diftin&.

Fafinine oficinal, Curt. Magaz. 31.
PL 'É 2
2. Leaves pinnate, oppofite: lobes con-
fluent. Ÿ. Catalonian.
3. Leaves ternate, oppofite. F. Azorian.
4. Leaves ternate and fimple, alternate :
_ branches angulate: F. fhrubby.
5. Leaves ternate and pinnate, alternate,
acute: branches angulate. 7. dwarf.
6, Leaves ternate and pinnate, alternate,
obtufe: branches round. FY. /weet-

Jcented.

* If the reader be at a lofs for the meaning of terms,
there is no want of books to confult; fuch as Lee’s and
Rofe’s Introductions, Berkenhout’s Diétionary, Milne’s
Inftitutes, &c.

The

123

2122

EET ER? RIT,

The three firft have the corolla white;
in the three laft it is yellow. If you in-
quire after your favourite Arabian jafmine,
it belongs to another genus, Nycfanthes,
becaufe it has the calyx and corolla divided

into eight fegments. The Cape jafnune is

Veronica.

of another clafs, the fifth; and of courfe
has another name, Gardenza.

Several other trees and fhrubs belong to
this fame firft divifion. Privet, Phillyrea,
Olive, and the Lilacs. ‘Thefe have all a
quadrifid corolla; and are diftinguifhed by
their fruit, which in privet is a derry with
four feeds; in phillyrea a Jerry with one
feed ; in olive a drupe; in the lilacs a bilo-
cular capfule. ‘The common lilac has heart-
fhaped leaves; a circumftance fufficient to
diftinguifh it from the Perfian, which has
lance-fhaped leaves. As to the different
colours of the flowers in the firft—white,
blue, and red, they form but varieties :
colour being rarely permanent enough to
conftitute fpecific differences.

In the fecond divifion is a genus, named
from a female faint, Veronica: it is a very
numerous one, containing no lefs than
forty fpecies. Here therefore Linnæus
has done with the genus, as he did be-
fore with the order—he has thrown it into
three principal divifions from the manner
of flowering. 1. Such as bear the flowers
in fpikes. 2. Such as bear them in racemes
or bunches. 3. Such as produce them fingly.

This

DIANDRIA.

This genus is eafily known by the mo-
nopetalous, rotate, or wheel-fhaped co-
rolla, divided into four fegments, the loweft
of which is narrower than the reft; and the
bilocular, heart-fhaped, flatted capfule.

One fpecies is very common among
bufhes, and in the edges of paftures. Its
beautiful blue flowers have doubtlefs at-
tracted your notice, and in falling off too
eafily, have given occafion, perhaps to a
leffon on the fhort duration of our enjoy-
ments, or the fleeting nature of female
charms, to your lovely daughter. If it be
not already paft flowering, for May is its
feafon, you will find that it belongs to the
fecond divifion; or even if it be, the oval,
wrinkled leaves, indented about the edge,
and fitting clofe to the ftalk, together with
the weak trailing ftems, unlefs upheld by
the bufhes, will fo clearly point out this
humble plant to you, that you cannot well
be miftaken °.

If this fpecies however is out of blow,
you will certainly find another? in dry pat-
tures or heaths, efpecially upon old ant-
hills: it may perhaps have efcaped you;
the flowers being fmall, and of a pale co-
Jour; not however without their beauty,
on a nearer furvey. ‘This belongs to the

° Veronica Chamædrys. Wild Speedwell or Ger-
mander. Curtis, Lond. I. 2.—PI. 8. f. 1.
? Veronica officinalis. Officinal Speedwell. Curtis,

Lond. III. 1,
firft

124

Salvia,

EBT eR XL

firft divifion; having the flowers growing
in fpikes, coming out chiefly from the fide
of the plant, at fome diftance from the
main ftem; the leaves are oppofite, and
the ftalks trail along the ground. It has
the trivial name of officinal, becaufe an in-
fufion of it is fometimes ufed medicinally.

Other fpecies are common by the fides of
ditches and brooks, whence they have the
name of Water Speedwell, or Brooklme®:
thefe are of the fecond divifion: and three
{pecies of the third divifion are abundant
amone corn, in the fpring".

I know not how it 1s, but there is a
connexion between this clafs and the four-
teenth. Pmguicula or Butterwort has a
perfonate flower. Some fpecies of Vervain
have two ftamens, others four of unequal
lengths; among the latter 1s our common or
oficinal Vervain*; whence fome authors
have removed it to the clafs ddynamia,
Sage, Rofemary, and others, have labiate
flowers, and in every refpect fo refemble
the plants of the fourteenth clafs, that they
fhould naturally be placed there; but hav-
ing only two ftamens, the artificial fyftem
ranges them in this clafs. Sage feems to
form the connecting link between the two
clafies; for in this genus are rudiments of

4 Veronica Becabunga. Curtis, Lond. II. 3. is one
of thefe. ;
* Veronica arvenfis Curtis, Lond. II. 2. agreftis
Curtis, Lond. I. 1. hederifolia Curtis, Lond. II, 1.
* Curtis, Lond. I. 41. '
| another

DIANDRIA.

another pair of ftamens, but without an-
thers. The ftruéture of the ftamens in the
fage is fingular, and merits your obferva-
tion. The two filaments are very fhort,
but two others are faftened to thefe tranf
verfely by the middle; and at one end
of thefe laft is a gland, at the other an
anther. This circumftance diftinguifhes
the genus from all others, and is called its
effential character. If you compare the
flowers of fage and rofemary together, you
will find them agree in moft other particu-
lars ; but rofemary has not this character :
it has very long filaments, bending towards
the cafque or upper lip of the corolla.
The* genus Sa/via or Sage has no lefs
than fifty-two fpecies. Our common gar-
den fage‘, of which there are feveral varie-
ties, has-the flowers growing in fpikes, the
fegments of the calyx acute, and the leaves
of an oblong ovate form, entire, and very
flightly notched about the edges. There
are two forts commonly wild in Europe °,
* not very unlike each other; but rather
clarys than /ages: You will be at no lofs to
know them when you fee them. ‘To dif-
tinguifh them from each other obferve that
Meadow Clary * has the leaves oblong-heart-
fhaped, and notched about the edges; the

* Salvia officinalis Linnæï. PI. 8. f. 3. Ger. 764.
* Salvia pratenfis & verbenaca; but the latter only is
common in England.

* Salya pratenfis. Ger. 769. 3.
upper

126

LETTER , XII.

upper ones embracing the ftalks; the flow-
ers grow in almoft naked whorls, and the
upper lip of the corolla is glutinous. The
Wild Clary™ has the leaves {errate, finuate,
and {moothifh: the tube of the corolla very
fmall in comparifon with the calyx, which
opens wide.

But enough for our fecond excurfion,
efpecially as I propofe that we fhould take
a third very foon.

w Salvia verbenaca. Ger. 771. 1. The edition of
Gerard’s Herbal which is quoted here and elfewhere,
is that which received the additions of Johnfon, and
was printed in 1636.

L'ÉPEER

by tee)

ae EE, Row XU

OF CORN AND GRASSES.

June the 24th, 1774.
HAVE haftened this letter, dear cou-

fin, left the induftrious mower fhould
have fpoiled our harveft. The brilliancy
of the prefent feafon will perhaps have
quickened his fteps: but at the worft, he
will have left you fome gleanings about the
hedges.

The tribe which I now recommend to
your examination, is the moft known and
general of any; it is the moft pleafant to
the eye, and of the moft extended ufe,
fince it furnifhes man with the beft portion
of his nourifhment, and at the fame time is
the whole fupport of many among the
_beafts, and of a large proportion of birds.
The moft rigid critic cannot accufe us of
mifpending our time, when we are en-
gaged in the contemplation of fo ufeful a
tribe of plants as that which contains all
the different fpecies of corn and grafies.

The former being larger, requiring more
care and culture, becaule they are annual,
and being immediately neceflary to the fup-
port of man, and the animals about him, in
this and many other countries ; the fpecies

5 are

LETTER XMM.

are univerfally known and diftinguifhed.

But this is not the cafe in the latter; grafs
vulgarly forms one fingle ideas and a huf-
bandman when he is looking over his in-
clofure, does not dream that there are up-
wards of three hundred fpecies of grafs, of
which thirty or forty may be at prefent
under his eye. ‘They have fcarcely had a
name, befides the general one, till within
thefe twenty years; and the few particular
names that have been lately given, are far
from having obtained general ufe : fo that
we may fairly affert that the knowledge of
this moft common and valuable tribe of
plants is yet in its infancy *

Let us not however give more importance
to Botany than it really has; but proceed
quetly with our own bufinefs. The
greater part of the world fcarcely know
that grafs has a flower ; or, if they are fhown.

* The late excellent Mr. Stillingfleet firft directed
the public attention to graffes ; and that moft refpeétable
and ufeful inftitution, the Society of Arts, &c. has done
all in tts power to promote an improvement in the cul-
ture of them; but without great effet. Nor can much
be expeéted till economical gardens or public farms
are inftituted, for the purpofe of experiments in this and
other parts of hufbandry. It is not enough to tell men
of a good thing, and inftruét them how it may be done;
but they muft actually fee it put in execution, and be
eye-witnefles of its good effects. —This has lately been
done by fome public-fpirited gentlemen; particularly
by Mr. Coke, of Norfolk. See Young’s Annals.—Mr.
Curtis’s Practical Obfervations on the Britifh Grafles
are highly deferving of the attention of the public.—See
alfo Mr. Swayne’s Gramina Pafcua.

7 it,

GRASSES.
it, will coldly afk, Is this all? And yet

grafs not only has a flower, but every con-
ftituent part of it; which is more than we
can fay of atulip, and fome others, that
have engroffed almoft all the attention of
mankind: nay, there is fuch a variety in
the parts, difpofition, and manner of flower-
ing, that we have fufficient marks in the
fructification to diftinguifh above forty
genera.

If you take up a fpike ¥ or panicle? of
grafs, you may perhaps be difappointed in
your expectation of difcerning the ftamens
and other parts; be affured then that the
flower is not yet open, and continue your
fearch till you find one with the parts ex-
panded, the flender filaments hanging out,
and large, oblong, double anthers playing
freely about with the flighteft motion.
You will immediately perceive that your
grafs, having three of thefe ftamens, muft
range under the third clafs, trzandria, pro-
vided the flower has a piftil as well as fta-
mens. Searching a little farther, you will
eafily deteét two reflex ftyles, each termi-
nated with a feathered ftigma: you are at
no lofs therefore to determine that your
grafs belongs to the fecond order (dig ynia)
of this third clafs*.

Having thus fettled the clafs and the or-
der, you will proceed to the other parts of

7 Plo. f a. 2 APL gef.:2- : A See Plate 9,.b, :
K the

129

130

DEPP ER CALE.

the flower. The negleéted chaff you will
find to be double: the outer generally con-
fifting of two leaflets; one large and gibbous,
the Sener fmaller and flat; the inner con-
fitting alfo of two parts or valves, which
you may call petals, for this is the corolla,
and the former is the calyx. Nay this de-
{pifed flower has even its zeéfary; which is
a little oblong body compofed of two leaf-
lets, but fo {mall as to require a glafs to
difcern it well. Grafles have no pericarp,
but one naked feed, with the fhape of
which we are well acquainted—it is oblong,
and draws to a point towards each end.
Thefe characters you will find common to
every grafs you examine, and alfo to every
{pecies of corn; or however with very few
exceptions: this then is called the c/afical
charaéier. As thefe {mall flowers grow
frequently two or more clofe together, you
have only to feparate a fingle flower to
avoid confufion in your examination.

But this tribe of plants does not agree in
the parts of frudtification only, as above
defcribed. ‘The whole appearance, the ge-
neral air, the manner of growth, is the
fame in all. A fimplicity of ftructure runs
through the entire clafs. Every one has a
fimple, unbranched, ftraight, hollow ftem,

_ ftrengthened with knots at certain inter-

vals”. There is none but has a fingle leaf to

> Linnæus names it culnus,
each

GRASSES.

each knot, invefting or fheathing the ftem
to fome diftance, and then fpreading out
into a long narrow furface, of equal breadth
all the way, till it approaches the end,
when it draws off gradually to a point’. It
is alfo invariably entire in every {peclies ;
and without veins or branching veflels,
being only marked longitudinally with lines

parallel to the fides, and to a nerve or ridge “

that runs the whole length of it. There
is another curious circumftance, almoft pe-
culiar to this tribe of plants, and common
to them all; namely, that the body of the
feed does not fplit into two lobes, but con-
tinues entire‘, till it has accomplifhed its
purpofe of giving the young plant its firit
nourifhment, and then rots away: this you
may eafily ‘ieee as corn is fpringing ups
or you may fow a little Canary grafs feed,

which you have for your birds, in a garden
pot in your window, and thus make the
obfervation at home. But though I may
indulge you for once, you know I do not
encourage this idle domeftic manner of ob-
ferving the operations of nature. You mutt
go abroad and view her feated on her na-
tive throne: and in her court you have this
advantage, which you will find in no other,
that you are gathering health whillt you
pay her homage.

© Linnzus calls this fort of leaf linear.
“ Such plants are called monocotyledonous ; the others,

dicotyledonous.
K 2 If

131

bed
(#8)
KR

Phalaris.

LET WER "XIII,

If you are now miftrefs of all the circum
{tances in which this tribe of plants agree,
you may proceed to thofe in which they
differ, and thus feparate them firft into
their genera, and then into their {pecies.
But the genera being numerous it may not
be inconvenient, as we did once before, to
throw the whole tribe into fome general
fubdivifions; and that we can eafily do from
the manner in which the flowers are pro-
duced—either in a panicle or fpike; and
fingly, or feveral together. Hence we fhall
get four fubdivifions :

1. Flowers fingle — — 14 genera.
2. Flowers two together — 2 genera.
3. Flowers many together — 7 genera.

Thefe are moftly panicled: in all, the
flowers are irregularly difpofed, or wan-
dering, as Linneeus calls them.

4. Flowers in a fpike, with a fubulate re-
ceptacle — — — 6 genera.

Including wheat, rye, and barley..
Oat is in the third divifion.

Your pot of Canary feed, if you do not
pull up all the plants to verify what I told
you before, will ferve for an inftance of the
firft divifion. When it arrives at a ftate of
perfection, you will obferve that the two
Jeaves of the calyx are flatted, boat-fhaped,
have a keel running along eos and are
equal in length; the corolla is lefs than the

7 calyx,

GRASSES. 133

calyx, and fhut up within it. This is the
character of the genus. It is fpecifically
diftinguifhed by the form of the panicle
refembling a fpike, and being ovate, the
chaffs being turgid and hairy, but the keel
fmooth. It is an annual grafs: is found
wild in the Canary Iflands, whence its
name of Phalaris Canartenjis, and is culti-
vated in Europe for the food of Canary and
other {mall birds. |

Whilft your Canary-crafs is growing,
you muft go out in fearch of other inftances
of this firit divifion; for I muft abiolutely
infift that you ranfack the neighbouring
meadows and paftures before the furious
{cythe has levelled all their honours.

Meadows of a good quality abound in Alopecu-
Fox-tail grafs°, which is indeed one of the
earlieit, as well as the moft excellent, for
hay and feeding cattle. This genus is
an exception to one of the general charac-
ters; for though the calyx has two valves
or leaves, the corolla has but one. You
will readily difcover the fpecies by the cy-
lindric fhape and hoary appearance of the
panicle, which, from its form, you will take
for a fpike, the ere@tnefs of the ftalk, and
the corollas not being bearded.

Cafs-tail grafs' is another of thefe; the Phleum.
{pike has not the {mooth hoary appearance
of the laft, but feems rough, and is known

* Alopecurus pratenfis Linnæi. Stillingf. t. 9. Cur-
tis, Lond. 5. 5. & obf. t. 2.
* Phleum pratenfe. Lin. Schreber t. 14.

K 3 wae)

134

LETTER: XAT,
at firft fight by the truncated and forked

termination of the calyxes, which are alfo
linear, and fit clofe to the ftem. The co-
rolla is fhut up within the calyx. The
fhape of the fpike is cylindric; the keel of
the chaffs is ciliate 5, and the ftalk is erect.
The {pike of Cat’s-tail grafs is fometimes
four inches long in moift meadows; in
dryer, poorer foils, it decreafes in length,
until it dwindles to half an inch; and even
lefs in hard barren ground, fuch as way
fides and heaths. In thefe laft it cannot
raife itfelf upright; and the roots not being
able to fpread themfelves freely, grow
knotty and bulbous. I mention thefe cir-
cumftances that you may be aware of the
changes wrought in plants by foil and fitua-
tion; and not fuppofe that a new fpecies
prefents itielf every time you meet with
thefe and other flight variations. If you
tranfplant from the heath into your garden,
a dwarf, crooked, knobby-rooted plant,
I dare engage that the ftem will become
erect, that the fpike will lengthen, and
the bulbous root change to a fibrous one.
It is not however always eafy to fay what
is a {pecies, and what a variety only. A
great deal of obfervation and experience is
neceflary in many cafes to determine this
with precifion. Moft varieties indeed are

produced by culture, or a change from their

& Set with little hairs like eye-lafhes.
native

GRASSES.

native foil and fituation: and, when they
regain their natural ftate, will return to
their priftine form : if this were univerfally
fo, there would be no difficulty to afcertain
the fpecies from the variety. But it fome-
times happens that when accident has pro-
duced a variety, it continues permanent, and
having once tafted a polifhed fituation, re-
fufes to return to a ftate of nature: our teft
therefore is not a certain one.

The fecond divifion of the grafles having
only two genera, the diftinGion is eafy:
they are known from the reft by having
two flowers growing together ; and Frans
each other by tie pride of a third flower
between the two others, in the Me/ica, of
which there is no fign in the “ira.

Of the third divifion you will find abun-
dance of graïîles fufficiently common: Briza
or ladies’ baw, Poa or meadow grafs, Fe/luca
or fefcue, Brome grafs, oats with all the
oat-grafles, and Had LarT he genera
are thus diftinguifhed :

Corolla cordate: valves turgid, - Briza.
Corolla ovate: valves rather fharp, Pos.
Corolla oblong: valves pointed, Fe/fuca.
-: valves bearded be-
low the point, - Bromus.
——-: beard writhed or
bent, - - - Avena.
Corolla woolly at the bafe: awn-
lefs, - - - <Arundo.
ine 4 The

Un

136

Briza.

LETTER XIII.

The Brizas, of which there are five
forts, are very pretty grafles; infomuch
that one of them is cultivated in gardens
for its beauty and fingular appearance. They
flower early in the month of May, grow
in a loofe panicle, the foot-ftalks of which
are fo flender as to be moved by every wind;
whence they have obtained the name of
Quaking graffes. By thefe circumftances,
and their general air different from their
other neighbours, you cannot fail of know-
ing them. The three forts which you are
likely to meet with are thus diftinguifhed :

1. Spicules ? triangular: calyx longer than
the flower. Little Briza. Mor. 8.
6.4%

. Spicules ovate: calyx fhorter than the
flower. Middle Briza. Mor. 45. Ger.
86. 2.

. Spicules cordate: 17 flowers. Great

Briza. Jacq. Obf. 3. 60.

bd

TS

The fecond is the fort which is common
in meadows, and the third is that which is
cultivated in gardens: in this the flowers
grow in a raceme rather than a panicle.

The Meadow-graffes are numerous, there
being no lefs than 33 forts regiftered by
Linnæus, and feveral of them are thrown
abundantly from the lap of nature; for

» Thefe are the little affemblages of flowers, or ulti-
mate fubdivifions of the panicle or whole.

perhaps

GRASSES

perhaps they are the beft of all the graffes
for paftures, the quantity of their produce
being very great, their quality excellent
both for green and dry food, and their ver-
dure moft frefh and pleafant. But we are
not hufbandmen, dear coufin, Botany is
our purfuit.

There are four forts of Poa very com-
mon in moft meadows: which I fhall dif-
tinguifh by the names of 1. Great, 2. Tri-
vial, 3. Narrow leaved, and 4. Annual.
They all flower in a loofe branching pani-
cle. The ftalks of the firft fort are gene-
rally erect, and throw out runners: the
leaves are rather blunt at the end, and the
membrane at the bottom is fhort and blunt:
the fpicules are ovate, and on {hort foot-
ftalks ; the flowers growing clofe together,
moit commonly five in number. Every
part of this grafs is {mooth. The fecond
fort is diftinguifhed by the leaves being
fharper at the end, and having the mem-
brane at bottom long and pointed: the {pi-
cules confift of two or three flowers, very
feldom four. The whole of this {pecies is
rough. The third has the ftems more
erect: the leaves fharp-pointed and reughith,
but fmooth where they fheathe the ftalk :
the panicle is more erect than the others;

1. Curtis, Lond. II. 5. obferv. t. 3.
2. Curtis, Lond. II. 6. obferv. t. 4.
3. Morifon’s hift, f. 8. t. 5. f. 19.
4 Curtis, Lond, I. 6. Stillingfl. t. 7,
the

139

Feftuca.

LETTER “MII.

the fpicules on longer foot-ftalks, with
from one to fix Alawar: which are hairy at
the bafe._ Thefe three are perennial. The
fourth is annual, and fmaller than the
others ; extremely univerfal, and in flower
the creatett part of the year; it has a very
loofe {preading panicle growing all on one
fide’, the lower braces of it often com-
ing out in pairs: the foicules producing
3 or 4 flowers: the ftalk is oblique and
compreffed.

I muft give you one caution in examin-
ing thefe and the reft of the panicled grafles,
which is this—that you fhould take them
at the time when they are arrived at full ma-
turity; that is, when the panicle is com-
pletely expanded, and the flowers fhow
their ftamens: for, at different periods of
their exiftence, thefe grafies put on fuch
various appearanices, that they have deceived
many eminent botanifts into forming feveral
{pecies out of one. ‘To have the hiftory of
a plant ei ps we ought to examine it
every day during the whole time of its
growth. What a work would fuch a hif-
tory of ten thoufand plants form! but the
book of nature is inexhauftible.

The genus Fefuca or Fefcue grafs, though
lefs numerous than the laft, yet contains
19 fpecies. Sheep’s fefcue * is a well known
grafs, always to be found in dry pattures,

1 This is what Linnæus calls Panicula fecunda.

* Feftuca ovina. Stillingfl. t. 8.

5 and

GRASSES.

and fheep commons. It has a clofé con-
tracted panicle, growing on one fide; the
fpicules having from 3 to 6 flowers; the
valves of the flowers are very fharp pointed,
but feldom properly awned; the culm is
rather fquare than round, almoft naked,
and the leaves are fetaceous !.

Another Fefcue ™, extremely different
from the former, grows in watery places,
ponds, and ditches. It has a loofe panicle
of a confiderable length, but little branch-
ing, growing on one fide; the branches of
the panicle are fometimes fingle and fome-
times double; the fpicules are round, li-
near, and awnlefs, almoft an inch long,
and prefled clofe to the ftalk; varying in
the number of flowers from 9 to 12. ‘The
leaves are not round like thofe of the laft,
but flat ; and the culm is very long, pro-
cumbent, branching, and flatted. The
feeds of this being large and fweetifh are
gathered for the table in Poland and fome
other countries, and appear there under the
name of Manna.

In this grafs we have another inftance of
the changes wrought by foil and fituation.
Three fpecies having been made out of one,
until experiment detected the truth, and
informed us that the feeds of the fre Fef-
cue fown in a dry foil, become the firft

! Very narrow, like thofe of rufhes.
™ Fefiuca fluitans ; flote Fefcue. Curtis, Lond. I. 7.

year

139

149

Bromus.

LASER ANT.

year /piked, and the fecond meadow” Fefcue-
grafs. Nay ta// Fefcue, a fourth fpecies,
has fo many marks in common with the
laft, that it is matter of doubt whether this
alfo may not be a variety only °.

The Bromes are very nearly allied to the
Fefcues. ‘They are diftinguifhed however
by being all bearded, and the beard or awn
{pringing from the back, or below the tip
of the chaff: whereas the Fefcues are often
beardlefs ; and when the flowers have a
beard, it is an elongation of the chaff itfelf.

No grafs is more common in many paf-
tures than Fie/d-Brome grafs.. It has a loofe
unbranched panicle: the fpicules are ovate,
the flowers are obtufe, and the beards are
firaight. It is an annual plant : and varies
fo much as to have obtained the name of
polymorphus or many- né is The two
principal varieties? are, 1. that which has
a {oft down all over the Les leaves and
ftalks; with larger, heavier fpicules ; 2.
that which is {mooth all over; with the
{picules thinner, and not hanging down fo
much, but often rather ereét. Between
thefe are two other varieties, 1. with the
leaves downy, andthe panicle almoft {mooth;

* Feftuca pratenfis. Curt. obf. t. 5.

° See Hudfon Fiora Anglica, edit. 2. p. 47.

P Bromus mollis & fecalinus Linnæi. Mr. Hudfon,
after Scopoli, has very judicioufly made them one,
under the title polymorphus. Curtis, Lond. I. 8. figures
the mollis—Morifon figures this in t. 7. f. 8: and

fe calinus in f. 16.

2, with

GRASSES,

2. with the lower leaves only alittle downy,
and the panicle quite {mooth. Other con-
necting links may eafily be remarked by
thofe who are induftrious in hunting after
varieties.

There are three very large {pecies of this
genus, to be met with in qouds and hedges,
but feldom in paftures*. —They have great,
branching, nodding panicles. Barren By
is not very tall ; ‘but the Giant and Wood
Bromes are three feet in height. Their
fize, added to the charaéter and air of the
genus, mark them out fo well, that you
will not eafily miftake, when you fee them.

141

You will get an idea of the Oat grajfes Avena.

from the corn of that name, which having
the parts of frudtification larger than in the
grafles, gives you an advantage i in the exa-
RE Bearded Oat srafi, vulgarly
called Wild Oats, is alfo well known asa
dreadful weed among corn. Yellow Oat
grafs is common in meadows and paftures:
it is a neat pretty grafs; and will difcover
itfelf to you by the finenefs and yellownefs
of its panicle.
The charaëters of the above-mentioned

fpecies are thefe:
1. Two flowers in one calyx: the feeds

fmooth, and one of them bearded.

Cultivated Oats.

+ Bromus fterilis, Curtis I. 9. giganteus Curt. 5. 7
& nemoralis,

2. Three

142

Arundo.

LD Ogi Bie: Ye: Oh eae Gi

2. Three flowers in one calyx: hairy at the
bafe; and all of them bearded. /f/d
Oats.

3. Panicle loofe: three flowers in a fhort
calyx; and all of them bearded. 1¢/-
low Qat grajs*.

The woollynefs of the flowers in the
Reed will fhow you this genus as foon as
it unfolds its panicle. It is a grafs, though
vulgarly not regarded as fuch, becaufe it is
not ufed for the fame purpofes with the
grafles. That however makes no difference
to us, whofe province it is not to regard
the ufes to which plants are put, but their
ftru@ure. If hufbandmen will not admit
Reed to be a grafs, they take in other plants
to their idea of grafs which we exclude,
{uch as Clover, Lucerne, Saintfoin, &c.
‘The reafon is, that they confider grafs as
an herb adapted to feed cattle: whereas
naturalifts define it to be an herb which
has generally three ftamens and two piitils ;
always an unbranched, knotted, hollow
item, and fimple linear leaves.

Though you are perfectly acquainted
with the Reed’, it is perhaps rather by fee-
ing it nodding its large panicles in the wa-
ter at a diftance; or elfe by the ufe which
your gardener makes of the long light {tems

r Avena fativa, fatua & flavefcens Linnai. Curtis,
Lond. III. 5. .

* Arundo phragmitis Linnæi. Moris, 8. 8. 1.

for

GRASSES. 1144

for hedges to guard his tender plants, than
by its fruétification. You will not there-
fore be difpleafed to be told that it is diftin-
guifhed from the other fpecies, which are
fix, by the loofenefs of its panicle, and by
having five flowers growing together.

Wat are now arrived at the laft divifion
of corn and grafles, containing thofe whofe
fructification is always in a {pike properly
fo called. Of thefe,

Secale or Ric, has two flowers included in
the fame calyx.

Triticum or Wheat, has feveral flowers in
one calyx.

Hordeum or Barley, has a fix-leaved invo-
lucre, containing three flowers; and
the flowers fimple.

Lolium or Darnel, has a one-leafed invo-
lucre, containing one flower only; but :
that flower compound.

Cynofurus or Dog’s-tail grafs, has a one-
leafed lateral involucre, and a com-
pound flower.

In Rie, the exterior valve or chaff of the secale:
corolla ends in a long beard or awn. The
flowers are fefile, and there is frequently a
third between thefe, which is lefs and pe-
dunculate: the filaments hang out of the
flower. Our cultivated fpeciest is known
by the rough hairs upon the chaff.

t Secale cereale Linnei.

In

144

- Hordeum.

Laren ER XIII.

In Barley allo the exterior valve of the
corolla ends in a long awn. The flowers
are fete) 2lhé/dilements being fhorter
than the corolla do not hang out, an there-
fore Barley is not liable to be damaged by
rain as Rie and Wheat.

There are four forts of Barley.

1. The common, diftinguifhed by its two
rows of erect beards; all “the flowers being
perfect and bearded.

2. The Jong-eared, having the grains re-
gularly ranged in a long double row, lying
clofe over each other; and flowers on the
fides, without piftils or beards.—Thefe
two fpecies have the chaff very thin.

3. Sprat Barley, with fhorter, broader
ears, longer beards, the grains placed clofer,
and the ftraw fhorter and coarfer. This
alfo has imperfect flowers on the fides of
the ear.

4. Winter or Square Barley, very diftinét
by having fix rows of grains equally ranged,
all furnifhed with awns, and perfect. The
grain of this is large.

Befides thefe fpecies of corn, the genus
contains feveral grafies. Wall Barley grafs*
is very common by way fides, and under

1. Hordeum vulgare. 2. Hordeum zeocriton.
3. Hordeum diftichon. 4. Hordeum hexaftichon;
called alfo bear and dig.

"Hordeum murinum Linnei. Curt. Lond. 5. 9.
Fl. Dan, t. 629. Mor. hit, t. 6, f, 4.

walls :

CORN. | 145
walls: and Meadow Barley grafi', which

is very like it, only that it has a longer.
ftalk, and a fhorter {pike, is found in moift
meadows. “The common name of this lait
is Rie-grafs; and indeed it refembles Rie
more than Barley. I have feen it cultivated
alone; but the fort which is generally fown,
and vuloarly called Rie-grafs, is in reality
Ray-grafs, which will be announced to you
prefently. Thefe two forts, though appa-
rently fo alike, and thought to be but varie-
ties by many, are however very diftinguifh-
able: the Wall Barley-grafs having the im-
perfect lateral flowers bearded, and the
intermediate involucres ciliate; whereas the
Meadow Barley-grafs has the fame flowers
beardlefs, and the involucres very narrow,
like briftles, and ‘rough.

In Wheat the exterior valve of the co- Triticum:
rolla is fometimes bearded, but not always.
There are generally three or four flowers in
the fame calyx, and the middle one is fre-
quently imperfect. The filaments hang
out, but not fo much as in Rie.

1. Common Wheat has four flowers in one
calyx, the chaffs are {mooth, turgid, im-
bricate; fometimes it has fhort beards, but
more often none: hence and from the co-
lour, &c. are feveral varieties which hui-
bandmen notice, and we have nothing to
do with.

‘Hordeum pratenfe. F1. dan.t. 630. Mor. hifte
DS 6 6.

1. Triticum hybernum.

L. /— eff L 2. Sumner =

146

LETTER ‘XII

2. Summer or Spring Wheat, has alfo four
flowers together, and agrees wil the for-

"mer in the other characters, except that it

is always bearded.

3. Grav Wheat has villous, turgid, im-
bricate obtufe chaffs, containing ie flow-
ers. ‘The ears are large, heavy, and nod-
ding; the beards are very long, and drop
off when the grain is full grown: the chafF
being villous all over, gives the ear a gray
appearance.

4. Cone Wheat has villous, turgid, im-
bricate chatis; and the ear of a pyramidal
form, ending in a flender point: the beards
are long and rough.

5. Polonian Wheat has two flowers only
in each calyx, naked, and having very Jong
awns; with the teeth of the rachis or re-
ceptacle of the {pike bearded. ‘The ears
are long and heavy.

6. Spelt has four flowers, but two only
produce any grain; the outer ones are
abortive, as the lower ones are in every
ear: the outer chaff of the perfect flowers

“has a beard about an inch long, The flow-

ers are more conical, and the grain is lefs
than in wheat: the chaff alfo is adherent.

2. Triticum æftivum.

3. Triticum turgidum: called alfo Gray Pollard,
Duck-bill and Fuller’s Wheat.

4. Not noticed by Linnæus.

5. Triticum Polonicum.

6. Triticum Spelta. Ido not know that this fort is
ever cultivated in England,

Few

CORN.

Few plants are more univerfal than one
grafs of this genus: it is known by the
name of Dogs-grafs, and generally execrated
by hufbandmen under the name of Couch,
or Quich, which is but a corruption of
Quick, the ancient term for /uimg. It well
deferves this appellation, for it runs prodi-

gioufly at the root, and, like Hercules’s -

hydra, the more you hack and cut it, the
fafter it propagates itfelf. It is diftinguifhed
from the feveral fpecies of corn by the
fmallnefs of the ear and the grain, and
alfo in the being perennial; whereas all
forts of corn are annual: from the other
grafles of the fame genus, by having many
flowers, about five generally to one calyx,
and thofe not bearded, but very fharp-
pointed at the end”. There is another
{pecies, which has about four flowers in a
calyx, and is bearded*. This grows in woods
and hedges.

Before I quit this genus I muft obferve,
as a fingularity, that it is not known, with
any degree of certainty, to what country
we are originally indebted for the feveral
fpecies of corn, or whether they now grow
wild in any. One fays that Wheat came
firft from Africa; others, with more pro-
bability, that it travelled into Europe from

* Tritieum repens Linnagi. Schreb. t. 26. FI. dan.
748. Mor. hift. t. 1.f. 8. The number of flowers
varies from 3to 8. Hudfon.

* Triticum caninum Linnzi, Mor. hift. t. 1. f. 2.

Ee the

148

Lolium.

LET Eye XIII.

the Eaft. Linnzus affirms that Rie grows
naturally in Crete; and Spring Wheat,
with Sprat Barley (Hordeum diftichon), in
Tartary: but upon what authority I know
not. A late traveller alfo found barley and
oats in Sicily growing hke weeds among
the bufhes, but he does not pretend to de-
termine whether they grew there origi-
nally wild, or whether they were ftrag-
glers from the fields where they had been.
cultivated *.

Lolium or Darnel-grafs 1s an exception to
the general character; for it has only one
chaff or leaf to the calyx. The reafon of
this is, that the {picules are feffile, and in
the fame plane with the culm, which by
this pofition is enabled to perform the office
of the deficient leaf of the calyx in proteét-
ing the feed. This fingle chaff contains fe-
veral flowers. Of the two common fpecies

Y It is faid alfo to be wild in Siberia.
= Voyage en Sicile, &c. Laufanne, 1773. Diodorus
Siculus, from the report of others, and Pliny, aflert
that grain grew in the Leontine fields, and other parts
of Sicily, fpontaneoufly ; but this was only during the
reign of Ceres. Ariftotle alfo fays (de Mirabil. Auf-
cult.), that there is a wild Wheat in the neighbourbood
of Mount Ætna. The pafflage in Homer’s Odyficy is
well known:
& The foil untill’d a ready harveft yields,
‘6 With Wheat and Barley wave the golden fields.”
Wheat, Barley, Vetches, Sefame, &c. are faid, by
Berofus, to be wild in Babylonia, between the Tigris
and Euphrates.

in

GRASSES.

in this genus one is perennial’*, the other
annual, The firft is found naturally in
meadows, paftures, and by way-fides. The
diftinétive marks of the fpecies are, that
the fpicules in the firft are longer than the
calyx, and the flowers beardlefs: whereas
in the fecond, which is a weed among the
corn, the {picules are only of equal length
with the calyx, and the flowers have fhort
beards. Sometimes however it happens that
the flowers of the perennial fort have little
beards, and thofe of the annual none: but
you may always know them, not only from
their duration and place of growth, but be-
caufe the fecond is larger in every refpeét ;
the ftalk higher, the {pike longer; the fpi-
cules alfo are much more remote, {fo that
they do not touch each other, as they do
in the firft.

149

Cynofurus, or Dog’s-tail grafs, was the Cynofu-
Jaft-mentioned of this diyifion. ‘The cha-

racter of the genus is taken from a lateral
leaf to each calyx, which Linnæus calls
the receptacle, involucre or bracte: this

* Lolium perenne Linnzi. Schreb. t. 37. FI.
“ans 747. | Mor. hilt.t. 2-724; Pl. gn f. 16, This is
the fort which has been long cultivated in England under
the name of Rie-gra/s, which is a corruption of Ray-
grafs; and that is derived from the French Yoray, a
name given to the fecond fort, from its quality of aftect-
ing the nerves, fomething like drunkennefs: which
makes it to be reputed a dangerous weed among Wheat.

» Lolium temulentum Linnei. Schreb. t. 36. FI.
dan, 160.

L 3 gives

159

Anthox-
anthum.

LETTER XIII.

gives the fpike an air by which the genus
is eafily known from all others. There is
an elegant {pecies*, very general in parks
and on commons, and Foul alfo in other
paftures, which has thefe bractes pinnati-
fid, or toothed like a comb: the corolla
does not open, but clofely invefts the feed,
which therefore does not fall; the fpicules
have from three to five flowers, are all
turned the fame way, and do not fit clofe
to the receptacle, or common ftalk of the
fpike; one peduncle fupports fometimes
two or three of thefe fpicules. The ftalk
is very erect and flim, and the leaves are
narrow and {mooth.

There remain ftill fome grafles which
militate againft the artificial fyftem, and are
therefore not to be found in the third clafs
of Linnzus’s, But as we are not bound ta
follow him fervilely, we will rather follow
nature, who is a better guide.

Earlier than moft of the reft flowers a
grafs, called from thence Vernal Gra/s *.
Linneus has named it Authexanthum, from
the yellownefs of its fpike. This will
ferve at prefent to introduce it to your ac-
quaintance, until you have an opportunity
next fpring to examine the flowers more
minutely, It has obtained the epithet of

© Cynofurus criftatus Liz. Crefted Dog’s-tail,
Schreb. t. 8. f. 1. Stillingfleet, t. 11. Curtis obf. t. 6.

Curtis, Lond. I, 4. and obferv. t. 1. Stilling-
ETS SE CR 3

edoratum

GRASSES.

odoratum from the {weet odour which it
communicates to hay. This genus ftands
alone in the fecond order of the fecond
clafs. Each calyx fuftains but one flower;
each valve of the corolla has an awn, one
bent, and proceeding from the bafe, the
other almoft from the top: the two fila-
ments are very long; and the two ftyles
are filiform: the chaff of the corolla adheres
to the feed. There are three {pecies of the
genus: ours is diftinguifhed by the {pike
being of an oblong form; and the flowers
growing on fhort peduncles, and being
longer than the beards.

There is alfo one fpecies of grafs, called
Cinna, in the fecond order of the firft clafs.

151

But in the firft order of the twenty- Holcus.

third clafs° are feveral genera; of which
the Holcus or Soft grafs is moft likely to
come under your obfervation. This, and
all the others, have {maller imperfect flow-
ers among the perfect ones; a circumftance
which conftitutes them of that clafs. They
have all bivalvular chaffs for calyx and co-
rolla; three ftamens, two piftils, and one
feed, together with the whole port or air
of the plants we have been juft confidering :
circumftances which plainly denominate
them grafles. Holcus differs from its neigh-
bours, in having two flowers inclofed in
one calyx, which is beardlefs; whereas the

© Polygamia Moncecia.

L 4 outer

v52

LETTER XIII

outer valve of the corolla generally has a
beard. ‘The imperfect flowers have nei-
ther corolla, piftil, nor feed; but only
three ftamens within the bivalvular chaff
of the calyx. The two common wild fpe-
cies are thus diftinguifhed: Meadow Soft
grafs ‘has villous chaffs: the perfeét flow-
ers are beardlefs; the imperfect have a bent
awn. Creeping Soft grafs® has {moothith
chaffs: the perfect flowers are beardlefs,
but the imperfect have a jointed awn. They
are very much alike, but the calyx is more
acute in this than in the former, or indeed
than in any of the fpecies. The firft grows
in paftures ; the fecond in corn-fields and
hedges.

Since it is not uncommon to find incom-
plete or imperfect flowers among thofe
which are perfe&t, in many of the grafles,
which are ranged by Linnæus in his third
clafs; you will perhaps afk me why he has
not either put them alfo in the twenty-
third, or elfe ranged them all together in
the third. To this queftion I cannot re-
turn you a better anfwer, than that the
imperfect flowers feem not fo conftant and
regular in the one as in the other; or per-
haps are to be met with only in one {pecies
of the genus.

f Holcus lanatus Lin. Curtis, Lond. IV. 11.
Schreber, t. 20. f. 3.

® Holcus mollis Zin. Curtis, Lond. V. 8. Schre-
ber, t. 20. £ 2.

We

GRASSES.

We have now run through the oraffes :
there are many other plants very nearly al-
lied tothem; as Schenus or Bog rufh, Cy-
perus, Scirpus, Club rufh or Bulrufh*, all
three very numerous genera, Eriophorum
or Cotton grafs', &c. in the firft order of
the third clafs. Cat’s-tail*, Bur-reed',
and all the Carices or Sedges™, in the
third order of the twenty-firft. Thefe have
the manner of growth, the leaves, the ap-
pearance of grafs; they have alfo three fta-
mens: but the ftalk is filled with a fpongy
fubftance, and the flower is deftitute of
petals. Finally the Ru/hes and fome few
others, in the firft order of the fixth clafs,
have a fix-leaved calyx, a hexapetalous co-
rolla, or none, fix ftamens, and the feeds
in a triangular capfule.

I have not told you all this while that
Sugar * is a grafs of the firft divifion, which
perhaps you did not expect. But if you
are not tired, dear coufin, Iam; fo adieu
for the prefent.

» Curt. Lond. 4. 4. 5. maritimus.

? Curt. Lond. 4. 9, 10.

© Curt, Lond. 3.61, 62,

1 Curt. Lond. 5. 66, 67.

™ Some of the fpecies are figured in Curtis, Lond. 3.
63. & 4. 60, 61, 62.

"Saccharum officinarum. Liz, Sloan, jam. t. 66.
Rumph, amb. 5. t. 44.

LEMTER

153

Casa 9

‘EP PER: XIV:

OF OTHER PLANTS IN THE CLASS
TRIANDRIA.

July the 1ft, 1774.

Wik are not to fuppofe that, becaufe
the laft letter was engrofled wholly
by Grafles, the third clafs therefore of the
fyftem contains no other plants. In truth
there are no fewer than feventy-fix genera,
and fix hundred and eighteen fpecies, in
the three orders of this clafs taken toge-
ther. You fee however, that though the
grafles do not occupy the whole, they make
a very large proportion of it.

There are fome very beautiful genera in
the firft order of this clafs, particularly the
Ixia and Iris, or Fleur-de-lys °. Thefe with
Crocus, Gladiolus, Antholyza, and a few
others not eafily met with, agree in having
a Spathe or fheath inftead of a calyx; a
corolla of fix petals, or at leaft cut into
fix parts; generally three ftigmas, or one
that is trifid; and a triangular, trivalvular,
trilocular capfule to inclote the feeds: they
have alfo long, narrow leaves, fomething
refembling thofe of grafs—Linnæus calls

° Corrupted into Flower-de-luce,
‘ them

| TRIANDRIA.
them Enjfiform, or fword-/baped’. Thefe

plants are very nearly allied to the liliaceous
tribe 4, and are indeed enrolled in it by the
generality of authors who have aimed at
framing a natural arrangement.

153

Take any fpecies of Jr, either the Iris.

blue or white forts, which you have fo
abundantly in the borders of your fhrub-
beries and plantations; or elfe the yel/ow*
one, common in wet places, and ufually
called flag. In the firft place you will ob-
ferve, that whether the flowers are open
or clofed, each has its own fheath, fepa-
rating it from the others. ‘The corolla at
firft feems to confift of fix petals, but you
will quickly fee that the parts are all united
at the bafe: the three outermoft of thefe
parts or petals are bent downwards, and
thence are called fa//s; the three inner ones
ftand ereét, and have the name of fard.
ards. In the centre of them are three other
petals, as they feem to be; but in reality
they are the ftigma thus divided into three
parts; and under each divifion you will de-
tect a fingle ftamen lurking, with the fila-
ment bent along with the ftigma, and ter-
minated by a large oblong, flatted anther:

? Hence in his Natural Orders he has kept thefe toge-

ther, with the addition of fome others, under the title
of Enfate.

4 See Letter I.

Iris Germanica Linnæi. Blackw. t. Go.

* Iris Florentina Linnei. Mill. fig. t. 154.

* Tris pfeudacorus Linnæi, Curtis, Lond, ILE. 4.

for

LETTER: wav,

for the germ you muft fearch below the
flower, and there you will find it a green
oblong body; which when the flower is
faded and fallen, becomes in moft fpecies a
three-cornered capfule, opening by three
valves, and having the feeds ranged in three
cells. We have not yet noticed a fet of
fmall bodies forming a villous line along the
middle of the reflex petals; but this you
perceive is not common to all the {pecies ;
your blue and white Iris having it, but not
your yellow flag: it cannot therefore be a
mark of the genus. However it may ferve
the purpofe of fubdividing it, or furnifhing
a fpecific charaëter. When you have fi-
nifhed with the fruétification, you will re-
mark that the leaves are very narrow in
proportion to their length; and that they
are not unaptly termed enfiform from the
fimilitude of their fhape to that of a broad-
iword. If you can have the heart to pull
one of thefe fine plants out of the ground,
you will fee that the roots are not fibrous,
but oblong and flefhy: I guefs however
that you will take my word till the autumn,
when the gardener will be removing fome
of them, or at leaft expofing their roots,
when he digs his borders.

You may diftinguifh the 4/ue or German,
the white or Florentine, and the ye/low or
marfb Iris, fpecifically thus: The two firft
have the corollas bearded; the firft and
third have feveral flowers upon the {tem ;

, the

TRIANDRIA:?

the fecond has only one or two flowers,
and the peduncles are not fo long as in the
firft; the third has the corollas beardlefs,
and the interior petals lefs than the divifions
of the ftigma*. But why all this parade,
fay you, when we know them by their
hues; blue, white, and yellow? Truft
not too much to colour, fair coufin. What
if an Iris were to prefent itfelf with blue
flowers, and only one or two on the item,
or without beards; or with the flowering
ftem fhorter than the leaves, would fuch
be of the fame fpecies, merely becaufe the
corolla is of a blue colour? No furely:
and we pay more refpect to thefe circum-
{tances than to colour, not becaufe we
efteem them more, but becaufe they are
more certain and permanent.

The Chalcedonian Iris* has ftems two
feet and an half high, fupporting one very
large flower; the three ftandards are very
broad and thin, with black and white
ftripes ; the three falls are of a darker co-
lour: this is one of the bearded forts.

Among thefe handfome fpecious plants,
let us not forget the humble Per/an Iris “,
feldom rifing three inches from the ground,
but beautiful in its colours, fragrant in its
cent, and flowering at a time when few

* They are all three diftinguifhed from fome other
fpecies by the flowering ftalk ftanding up fuperior to the
tips of the leaves.

Y Tris fufiana Linnei. Curt. Magaz. 91.
~ Tris Perfica Linney,

beauties

15?

LETTER XIV.

beauties dare truft themfelves to dubious
fkies and inclement air’. One or two
flowers come out together: the ftandards
are of a pale fky blue; the falls are of the
fame colour on the outfide, but the lip has
a yellow ftreak running through the mid-
dle, and on each fide are many dark {pots
with one large deep purple {pot at the bot-
tom: they have no beard. ‘The leaves are
hollowed like the keel of a boat, and are
about fix inches long. You will be glad to
entertain this pretty dwarf, when there is
little elfe to amule you in this way befides
Crocufes and Snowdrops..

I have fent you this little nofegay of
handfome flowers, to make you amends for

~ all the dry chaff and hay with which I fa-

tigued you in my laft.

* February. This is figured in Curtis’s Magazine,
n. 1. And feveral other forts are figured in that elegant
work :—as I, pumila t. g.—variegata 16.-verficolor
21.—fibirica 50.—{puria 58.—ochroleuca 61.—fufiana
gi.—By this aflemblage we are much helped in diitin-

_ guifhing the fpecies.

LEDS ER

(issa:r)

BED TER KV

OF THE CLASS TETRANDRIA.

July the 8th, 1774.
ONSCIOUS, dear coufin, that the

nofegay of my laft was too {mall to
employ you long, I have hafted to fend you
the fourth clafs, which is rather more nu-
merous than the third in the genera, of
which it contains eighty-five; but far lefs
fo in the fpecies, there being no more of
thefe than three hundred and ninety.

You will have fome examples in this
clafs of aggregate flowers, the general na-
ture of which I explained to you before’ ;
but you will be perfect miftrefs of it I am
perfuaded, when you have confidered the
ftructure of the Tea/el and Scabious. Thete
and all others of this natural order have
monopetalous corollas, fucceeded by one
feed, to which they are fuperior. A num-
ber of thefe are included within one com-
mon calyx, as in the compound flowers,
from which they differ, in having the fta-
mens four in number, and totally diftinét,
with a calyx proper to each little flower;
they might however eafily be confounded

Y In Letter VI.
with

160

Dipfacus.

Scabiofa.

LETTER XV.

with compound flowers, if the general form
and appearance only were attended to.

The two genera of Teafel and Scabious
agree in having the common calyx poly-
phyllous, or confiftine of many leaves.
The firft has chaffs between the flowers on
the receptacle, or common bafe of them
all; the form of which is conical. The
fecond has thefe chaffs in fome fpecies, but
in others the receptacle is naked; the form
of it is convex: it is remarkable for a dou-
ble calyx to each little flower, befides that
which is common to the whole. The
leaves of the calyx are very long in the
Teafel, and in feveral rows in the Scabious.

Such are their principal generic diftinc-
tions. Common Teafel is feparated from
its congeners, by its feflile leaves, which
are ferrate or toothed about the edges. The
conical head of the T'eafel is furnifhed with
{tiff beards, which in the wild fort* are
ftraight, but in the cultivated hooked *.
This difference did not feem to Linnæus
confiderable enough to make them fpeci-
fically diftinét. Haller ; Jacquin, and others,
are of a different opinion; and it is now
generally allowed that the cultivated T'eafel
is of a fpecies diftinét from the wild one.

Of Scabious there are no lefs than thirty-

2 Dipfacus fylveftris. Curtis, Lond. III. 9. Ger.
1167. 2.
: Lee fullonum Zinn, Ger. 1167. 1. Mor. 7.
vu]
5 four

TETRANDRIA.

four fpecies. The genus divides conveni-
ently into fuch as have the corollas of the
little flowers divided into four, and fuch as
have them divided into five fegments: of
the firft there are fourteen, of the fecond
twenty fpecies. Of our three wild forts
two are in the firft divifion, and one in the
laft. The common field Scabious ? is a
large, tall plant; the ftalk is hairy: the
lower leaves are fometimes almoft entire;
fometimes they, as well as the leaves upon
the fem, are pinnatifid. The outer flow-
ers are larger, and have the corolla deeper
cut than the middle ones, and the outer
feements are alfo largeft: they are of a pale
purple colour.

The other fpecies with quadrifid corollas
is called Devil’s-bit°, becaufe it has a fhort
tap root, which appears as if the end were
bitten off. The ftalks of this ate not fo
high, nor are they branching as in the firft:
they generally fend out two fhort pedun-
cles from the upper joint, oppofite to one
another, each terminated by one {mall blue
flower, as is the principal ftalk by one
larger; the little component flowers are not
irregular as in the former. ‘The leaves are
fimple and entire, (except fome on the
middle of the ftem, which havea few teeth, )
oblong and drawing to a point at each end.
This {pecies grows in paftures and woods,

» Scabiofa arvenfis Zim. Curtis, Lond. IV. 13.

© Scabiofa fuccifa Li#. Curtis, Lond. III, 10.

{

M and

161

162

‘LET. TER, XV.

and flowers later than the firft, which is
common in corn fields, and not uncommon
in paftures.

Small Scabious *, befides having quin-
quefid corollas, is diftinguifhed from the
two others by having the leaves next the
ground ovate and notched about the edges,
whilft thofe upon the {tem are pinnate ;
towards the bottom the pinnas are broader,
but in the upper ones very narrow: there
are about eight pairs of thefe, and the ter-
minating leaflet is large. The aggregate
flower is produced fingle, on a long pedun-
cle, the outer little flowers larger, and very
irregular, as in the firft {pecies, of a pale
blue colour. It is common in paftures,
efpecially where the foil is chalky.

Before you are got thus far, I am per-
fuaded your own mind has fuggefted to
you that a plant with dark purple flowers,
and a ftrong {weet odour, which your gar-
dener fows every year in the borders, is of
this genus. The name of Sweet Scabious:
has not led you, who are not governed by
mere names, to fuppofe this, but the evi-
dent fimilitude in the ftruéture. An accu-
rate examination of the flower will confirm
your fufpicion; and you will find it to be
one of thofe which have quinquefid irre-
gular corollas: the receptacle of thefe is
oblong; the common calyx confifts of

4 Scabiofa columbaria Lin. FI. dan. t. 314. PI.
ys. (I.

twelve

TETRANDRIA.

twelve linear folioles, of the length of the
aggregate flower, and bent back: he leaves
are > finely cut®. The colour of the corolla
varies from black to pale purple, red and
variegated, and fometimes the main flower
is furrounded by a fet of very {mall ones on
flender peduncles, as in the Hen and Chicken
Daify ; but all thefe are confefledly no other
than feminal varieties: though now fo com-
mon with us, this plant is originally from
the Indies.

This clafs comprifes another natural or-
der of plants, entitled Ste//ated, from the
manner in which the leaves grow upon the
ftem, feveral together in fees one above
another, radiating like the points of a ftar,
as it 1s commonly reprefented. 1 mutt ob-
ferve to you, that though in this cafe, and
in many others, a clafs or order takes its
name from an obvious or ftriking circum-
fiance in its ftructure, yet it does not fol-
low that all plants which have that ftruc-
ture are to be looked for there, or that this
is the only or even principal reafon of their
being kept together. When a plant of
this or that general appearance prefents it-
felf, you may reafonably prefume that it
ranks in this or that. order; but outward
appearances muft not carry you beyond

prefumption, and it is the ftruéture of.

© Scabiofa atropurpurea Zin. Ger. 724. 16.
M 2 the

Le

104

Galium.

LETTER XV.
the frudtification that muft determine you
at laft!.

In the Sre//ated plants the ftru€ture is
this: the calyx is extremely minute, di-
vided into four parts, and permanent: the
corolla 1s monopetalous divided into four
{egments; the ftamens are four in number;
the germ is double, and below the flower;
the ftyle is bifid; the fruit is globofe,
and contains two feeds. ‘The ftalk is qua-
drangular.

All the genera of this order refemble each
other fo much, that fome authors have re-
duced them into one. Madder has a bell-
fhaped corolla, fucceeded by two berries
with one feed in each. Sherardia and Wood-
roof § have funnel-fhaped corollas: the firft
has a little crown to the feeds, the fecond
has them globofe, without any crown. Ga-
/ium has a falver-fhaped corolla, and two
roundith feeds. This laft genus has twenty-
fix {pecies, twenty of which have the fruit
{mooth; in the remaining fix itus rough.
The number of leaves in each ftar or whorl,
together with the fhape of them, gives the
principal {pecific diftinétions.

f See what was faid upon this fubject with refpeét to
the Elder in Letter V. I muft add that ufe and prac-
tice is neceflary to give the proper tact in natural ob-
jects as well as in works of art: the fimilitudes and
analogies that ignorant perfons find being ufually truly
ridiculous.

£ Afperula odorata. Curtis, Lond. IV. 15.
White

TETRANDRIA. 165
Vhite Galiunt, or White Ladies Bedfraw

has four leaves in a whorl towards the bot-

tom of the ftem, and fix narrower ones
higher up. Great Ladies Bedfiraw', has
eight, a little notched about the edges,
ovate in form, and terminating in a point
or little hook. J¢e/low Ladies Bedfraw *
has alfo eight leaves, but they are very
narrow, an furrowed ; the flowering ftalks
are very fhort, and the corollas are y yellow:

The firft grows in moift meadows, and by
river fides the fecond in hedges, and on
heaths among the bufhes; fine third is
very common in paftures, on balks, and
by way fides. T'hefe three all have fmooth
feeds. . The common Ga/ium', known by
the name of Goofe-grafs or Cleavers, every
body knows to have rough feeds, by their
{ticking to the clothes as we pafs near the
hedges. The leaves alfo are rough, lance-
fhaped, and eight in number. The flowers
of all the fpecies, and indeed of the whole
tribe, are very fmall, but the plants are
known at firft fight by their air.

The Plantains are alfo of the firft order Plante ago.
of this clafs Tefrandria : they are numerous,
for there are twenty-four fpecies of them.
As a great number of {mall flowers grow
together in a fpike or oblong head, you

h Galium paluftre Zin. Fl. dan. 423.

1 Galium Mollugo Lin. Fl. dan. t. 455.

k Galium verum Zin. Curtis, Lond. n. 63. Mill.
fig. t. 139. f. 1.

7 Gal Aparine, Curtis, Lond. IL. 9.

M 3 mutt

166

LETTER XV.

muft feparate one of them to examine the
parts of the fructification diftinGly. You
will then find that each of thefe {mall flow-
ers has a quadrifid calyx and corolla, with
the border of the latter reflex: the fila-
ments are remarkably long: and the feed-
veflel is a bilocular capfule, opening hori-
zontally, and placed above the receptacle.

The Great ™ and Ribwort® Plantains are
doubtlefs well known to you; the firft fo
common by way fides, and the fecond in
pafture grounds. The Great Plantain is
diftinguifhed by its ovate, {mooth leaves,
and its round, naked, flowering-ftalk ° ter-
minated by a long {pike of flowers lying
clofe over each other’. Hoary Plantain 1
is nearly allied to this, but the leaves are
longer, and white with hairs; the {pike is
cylindric, but fhorter and thicker than in
the firft. Ridwort Plantain has the leaves
lance-fhaped ; a fhort, naked, ovate {pike ;
the fcape angular, and twifted. This,
and the other {pecies have the leaves marked
lengthwife, with very prominent ribs or
nerves.

By fubmitting to examine thefe plants,
which you were already acquainted with,
you will acquire a facility in difcovering

™ Plantago major Lin. Curtis, Lond. II. 11.

" Plantazo lanceolata Zin. Curtis, Lond. II. ro.
Pari e

° This Linnæus calls /capus, from its refemblance to
the fhaft of a column. P Imbricate.

4 Plantago medta Liz. Curtis, Lond. IV. 14.

fuch

LERRANDRIA,

fuch as are ftrangers to you; for you have
too much fenfe to defpife them becaufe
they are common, or deftitute of beauty:
in confidence of this, I have been ftudious
to feleét rather fuch plants as you may rea-
dily meet with, and are proper for exami-
nation, than thofe that are moft rare and
valuable. If you were in the neighbour-
hood of a famous botanic garden, I might
be nicer in my choice, and at the fame time
prefent you with greater variety, but per-
haps after all, I might not be more ufeful,
or you more amufed: at leaft I fhall hope
for the continuance of that indulgence a
little longer with which you have hitherto
honoured me".

But to return to our bufinefs; there is a
plant of this fourth clafs and firft order,

which I muft not omit prefenting to you, °

were it but for the name’s fake. Ladies Alche-
Mantle has a calyx of one permanent leaf, milla.

divided into eight fegments, four of which
are larger, and four fmaller; it has no co-
rolla; and only one little feed to each flower.
There are three fpecies of Ladies Mantle.
1. The Common, 2. The Alpine, and

© Students in Botany who live in or near London, or
come occafionally to the great city, will be happy to
profit by Mr. Curtis’s excellent Gardes, at Brompton,
where a confiderable number of plants is arranged and
named, fo that he that runs may read.

1. Alchemilla vulgaris. Lin. Mor. hift. f. 2. t. 20.
f, 1. Mill. fig. pl..18.

2. Alchemilla alpina. Lin. FI, dan, t, 40.

M 4 ig Fe

168

BETTER XY:

. The five-leaved. The firft is known by
rae fimple, lobate leaves, nicely ferrated
about the edge, and Mca into from eight
to twelve greater parts: before the leaf ex-
pands it is folded or plaited at each of thefe
divifions, and hence the name. The flow-
ers grow in bunches, are inconfiderable in
point of fize, and alfo of colour, for hav-
ing no corolla they are only g green, Or what
botanutts call herbaceous. It is an humble,
but an elegant plant, and grows in high
paftures, but not common.

Alpine Ladies Mantle is much more ele-
gant than this, with its fhining filky leaves,
which are digitate, and indented at the end:
the folioles or component leaves vary in
number from five to nine. ‘The third fpe-
cies is very uncommon: it 1s a {mall plant,
quite {mooth, with digitate leaves, but each
of its five folioles divided half way into te-
veral fmaller ones.

The fecond order of this clafs has a fin-
gular plant, Cu/cuta or Dodder. It is with-
out leaves, has a ftalk flender as a thread,
which would trail along the ground did it
not lay hold on fome plant ftronger than
itfelf for fupport; not content with fup-
port, where it lays hold, there it draws its
nourifhment; and, at length, in gratitude ©
for all this, ftrangles its entertainer! I ima-
gine this account will not befpeak your af-

3. A. pentaphyllea Lin.
fection

TETRANDRIA.
fection for Dodder*. If you will be at the

pains of difembarrafling a poor fuffering
bean from its entangling ftalks, you will
fee that the flowers come out in {feffile
knots; that each of thefe has a calyx di-
vided half way into four or five parts; that
the corolla is of one petal divided into four
or five fegments at the edge: and that the
{eed-veffel is a bilocular capfule. This pa-
rafite, as Linnzeus juftly calls fuch plants,
faftens itfelf about beans, nettles, clover,
flax, heath, &c. and feeds upon them by
means of innumerable teats or glands which
it inferts into the pores of it’s fupporter’s
bark.

The Pondweeds, which are many, and
fufficiently common, will ferve for an in-
{tance of the third order. If your own
fifh-ponds are kept too clean to furnith thefe
plants, you may probably procure them
from fome of your neighbours; or, if they
were worth the carriage, I-could fend you
abundance from our moat. You will know
them by the leaves lying flat upon the wa-
ter; and by the ftem’s pufhing up a {pike
of inconfiderable fowers, that have no ca-
lyx, a corolla of four deciduous petals, four
germs terminated by obtufe ftigmas, with-

* Cufcuta Europea Lin. F1. dan. 199. The divi-
fions of the calyx, and corolla, and the ftamens, are
five in the Britifh fpecics; ours therefore is C. Epi-
thymum, and according to the ftriét laws of the artifi-

cial fyftem, fhould appear in the next clafs, It is fi-
gured in FI, dan. 42.

out

CET EVER XVe

out the interpofition of any ftyle, and be-
coming in time four roundifh feeds.

The bread leaved* fpecies is one of the
mof{t common, and is known by its oblong
ovate leaves. Perfoliate Pondweed ° has
heart-fhaped leaves embracing the ftalk, and
grows in running waters. Curled Pond-
weed” has lance-fhaped, waving leaves,
notched about the edges, and ftanding al-
ternate upon the ftem: this is found both
in running and ftagnant waters.

But of thefe enough—don’t hazard get-
ting wet, or catching cold, in fearch of
them. If any of thefe plants which I have
hitherto recommended to your notice, elude
your fearch, or have paffed their ftated time
of flowering before you find them, note
them down for next year: fo adieu, dear
coufin.

t Potamogeton natans. Lia, Miller illuftr. Ger.

821. 1.
“ P. Perfoliatum. Liv. F1. dan. 196, Ger. 822. 3.

-YP. Crifpum Lin. Curtis, Lond. 5. 15. Ger. 824. 2.

bd San gel i Seth

(et)

LETTER. XVL

THE FIRST ORDER OF THE FIFTH CLASS,
PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

March the 25th, 1775.

Y indifpofition of laft autumn has

given you ample leifure, dear coufin,
to make yourfelf miftrefs of the general ar-
rangement of plants, and of the firft four
claffes in particular. Since it is your earneft
defire, I have refumed my former prate as
early as poflible, that nothing may efcape us
this feafon. We have now a large clafs to
encounter with, containing more than a
tenth part of the vegetable world, for it
has two hundred and fixty-one genera, and
one thoufand five hundred and five {pecies,
It includes, as you may fuppole, feveral
natural orders, and fome fpecies are even
now ready for examination.

We will open the year, by your leave,
with the Primrofe, which has its name from
being one of the firft flowers that blow.
This, with fome others that refemble it,
form a natural order, entitled, for the fame
reafon, Preciæ"; and agreeing in having a
monophyllous, quinquefid, permanent ca-

* Præcoces, early,

lyx ;

Primula.

Na

iS)

LETTER XVI.

lyx; a monopetalous, quinquefid corolla;
and a capfule for a feed-veffel, fuperior or
inclofed within the calyx. The characters
of the genus are, an involucre under the
flower, or knot of flowers; the corolla
funnel-fhaped or falver-fhaped, with the
tube cylindric, and open at the top; the
ftigma globofe: the capfule unilocular. The
{fpecies* is diftinguifhed by its pentagonal
calyx, its cylindric oblong capfule, and the
wrinkled furface, and indented edges of
its leaves. ‘The three principal varieties, if
they are but varieties, are thus commodioufly
feparated. The Primrofey has one flower on
a naked ftem, and the corolla falver-fhaped.
The Ox-/ip” has feveral flowers on one naked
ftem, and the corolla falver-fhaped. The
Cow/lip* has many flowers on a naked ftem,
and the corolla funnel-fhaped. The yellow
of the two firft is very pale; the corolla of
the Primrofe is much the largeft ; that of
the Ox-lip a middle fize, between the two
others: the fimple unbranched flowering
{tem of the Primrofe is weak, and rathera
peduncle than a ftalk; the fcape of the
Ox-lip is fometimes near a foot high, and
ftrong; that of the Cowllip is generally
lower and weaker. I do not know whether

* Comprehending Primrofe, Ox-lip, Cowflip, and

-Polyanthus.

¥ Primula acaulis Lin. vulgaris Hudfon. F1. dan. 194.
* Primula vulgaris 8. Hudf. Fl. dan. 434.
* Primula veris Lin. & Hudf. FI, dan. 433.

5 I dare

PENT. MON. Precie.

I dare to tell you that all the beautiful
forts of Polyanthus, by you prized fo much,
are but an accidental variety of this fpecies,
which is certainly much difpofed to vary
even in its wild ftate. Thus the primrofe
has fometimes two flowers together, or
changes to green, or to red, or doubles its
corolla ; the Ox-lip fometimes has very few
flowers, and they are nearly as large asa
Primrofe; and the Cowflip has frequently
red flowers, then much refembling a {mall
Polyanthus.

See now by how many fteps you arrive
at a knowledge of thefe plants. You firft
determine their clafs and order, by feeing
that they have five ftamens, and one piftil;
having ftill an hundred and fifty-five genera
to encounter, you next fettle what fubdivi-
fion of the order they range under; and
finding that the corolla is monopetalous,
inferior, and fucceeded by a Veffel inclofing
the feeds, you are reduced to feventy-three
genera. Next vou difcover that they are of
the natural order of Preciæ, which leaves
you but ten genera to choofe out of. You
are now got within fo {mall a compafs that
it cannot be very difficult to afcertain the
genus, the fpecies which are ten in number,
and the fubordinate varieties. I do not
make all this parade, in order to enable you
to diicover a plant which you were perfectly
acquainted with beforehand, but to fhew

! you

dE

174

SET TBR XV

you how you are to proceed with a plant
you do not know, from this inftance of one
which you do.

_ Or you may take it thus—You have a
plant in flower, which for the prefent we
will fuppofe you to be unacquainted with.
You firit examine the ftamens and piftils; :
and by the number of thefe you determine
your plant to belong to the fifth clafs
and the firft order. You next confult the
fubdivifions of that order, and find it be-
longing to that which has monopetalous
inferior corollas, withthe feeds inclofed ina
veflel. Seeing farther that your plant has a
monophyllous calyx cut into five fegments,
that the corolla is alfo divided in the fame
manner: this added to the foregoing circum-
{tances fhows you that it ranges under the
natural order of Precie. Here remarking
an involucre under the flowers, the tube of
the corolla cylindric, and open at top, and
the capfule unilocular or one-celled, you
are aflured at length that your plant is of
the genus Primula. But finding that the
leaves, inftead of being wrinkled, are per-
fectly imooth, flefhy, and either entire, or
fharply notched about the edges, you are
well aflured that it is a diftinét fpecies ; and
upon inquiry difcover it to be the 4uricula?,
the elegant, the powdered Auricula, fo
‘much efteemed by florifts, and {fo various

> Primula Auricula Lin, Ger. 784, 5, 6.
in

PENT, MON. Precie. 175;

in the fize and colours of its corolla, when
in a ftate of cultivation.

All the other plants of this natural order Meadia.
are pretty, if not fpecious. Meadia, per-
verfely altered by Linnæus to Dodecatheon‘,
is an American plant, but flowers well and
early in our climate. It has a rotate or
wheel-fhaped corolla with reflex petals: the
ftamens fit upon the tube ; and the capfule
has one cell only, and is oblong. This is
fufficient for the complete detection of the
plant, fince there is only one known fpecies.
The leaves however are fmooth; the
flowering ftems are naked, eight or nine
inches high, and fuftain many flowers, each
of which hasa long flender peduncle, which
is recurved fo that the flower hangs down;
the corolla is of a beautiful light purple.
If you have not this plant already in your
garden, procure it againft next {pring ; you
will be pleafed with the ftruéture and ap-
pearance of it.

Cyclamen refembles Meadia in its wheel- cycta-
fhaped reflex corolla, but the tube is globu- men.
lar, and remarkably fhort, with the neck
prominent ; the ftigma, which was obtufe
in that, is acute inthis. The feed-veffel is
roundifh and flefhy, :aclofing feveral angu-
Jar feeds: Linnæus calls it a berry covered
with a capfular fhell There are feveral
{pecies or varieties of Cyclamen ; for it is
doubtful whether they are pofitively dif-

* Curtis’s Magaz. 12. Mil. fig. pl. 174. Pl. 12. f. 2.
tinct

176 errr ER AVR

tint or not. The moft common‘ has
heart-fhaped angular leaves, marked with
black in the middle. The flowers appear
alone, before thefe, rifing immediately from
the root: when they “fall, the peduncles
twift up like a fcrew, inclofins the germ
in the centre, and lie clofe to the gr OHA
among the leaves, which grow very thick
together, and protect them “all winter. The
common colour of the corolla is red, but it
varies to purple and white. There is one
fort which has the leaves purple under-
neath; and another which has the veins
only purple, and the upper fide veined and
marbled with white: the flowers white
with a purple bafe. ‘The Perfian fort has
leaves like the laft in colour, but quite en-
tire about the edges, the flowers large, pale
purple with a bright red or purple bafe*,
All thefe, and other différences, whether
fpecific or not, make a moft agreeable va-
riety, and are very beautiful.

There are two wild plants of this natural
order which J muft recommend to your in-
fpection for their beauty. They grow in
the water, and therefore you muft procure
them by another hand.

Meny- Marfh Trefoil, Buckbean or Bog-bean*
anthes- will difcover itfelf to you immediately by

¢ Cyclamen Europæum Lin. C. coum is figured in
Curt. Magaz. t. 4.—Perficum, in t. 44.
¢ Miller’s fig. pl. 115.
f Menyanthes trifoliata Zim. Curtis, Lond. IV. 17.
, the

PENT. MON. <A/perifoliz. yy
the corolla being fringed all over; it is fun-
nel-fhaped, with a fhort tube, and the bor-
der divided beyond the middle; the colour
is white, but red on the outfide ; the ftigma
bifid; and the feed-veffel a capfule of one
cell. The fpecies is diftinguifhed by its
ternate leaves ; whence, and from its fitua-
tion, it has the name of Mar/h-trefoil; and
becaufe each of the component leaves is of
the fize and fhape of a bean-leaf, it is alfo
called Buckbean or Boghean. The flowers
grow ina loofe {pike at the top of the ftem.

Water Violet® has a falver-fhaped corolla Hottonia.
not fringed, the tube longer than in the aft,
the colour white or faint purple, with a
yellow eye: the ftamens are placed upon the
tube of the corolla; the ftigma globofe; and
the feed-veffel a capfule of one cell, as in
the laft. The leaves are wholly immerfed
in the water, and finely pinnate; the flower-
ftem is naked, and rifes five or fix inches
above water; towards the top are two or
three whorls of flowers, and it is terminated
with a clufter of them; the whole forming
a kind of conical {pike.

Another natural order of this clafs con-
tains the plants entitled Æ/berifoliæ or rough-
leaved. Thefe are not fo beautiful as the
lait; but you are by this time become too
goed a naturalift to be led away by gaudy
colours or fpecious appearances. Though
roughnefs of the leaves and {tem be a generay

# Hottonia paluftris Lin. Curtis, Lond. I. rr.
character

LETTER XVI

character of this order, yet it is more necef-
fary that the following character fhould be
found in the fruétification. The calyx is of
one leaf divided into five fegments, and
permanent: the corolla is monopetalous, di-
vided alfo into five fegments, tubulous, and
extending below the germs: the five ftamens
grow from the tube of the corolla: and there
are four naked feeds to which the calyx
ferves as a capfule. We may remark far-
ther, that the leaves are placed alternately,
or without order on the ftem; and that the
{pike of flowers, before they open, is re-
flex. With fo ample a train of circum-.
ftances to direct you, there cannot be much
difficulty in knowing when you meet with
one of this rough-leaved tribe of plants ;
efpecially as they wear the fame drefs, and
have a ftrong family likenefs.

Out of cighty-three fpecies, which this
order contains, you may perhaps know fome
of the following, and from them you will
have an idea of the reft. Helotrope or
Turnfole, Moufe-ear Scorpion-grafs, Grom-
well, Alkanet, Hound’s-tongue; Pulmo-
naria, Comfrey, Cerinthe, Borage, Bug-
lofs, and Viper’s Buglofs. If you examine
the corolla of thefe plants, you will obferve
that fome of them have five fcales in the
tube of it, whilft others have none; this
circumftance, together with the fhape of
the corolla, will furnifh the principal gene-.
ric diftinétions. Thus Gromwell, Pulmo-

5 nara,

PENT. MON. A/perif. 179

naria, Cerinthe, and Viper’s Buglofs, have
the tube of the corolla naked; the reft have
the five fcales. Heliotrope and Moufe-ear
Scorpion-grafs have falver-fhaped flowers ;
Gromwell, Alkanet, Hound’s-tongue, Pul-
monaria, and Buglofs, have funnel-fhaped
flowers; in Comfrey and Cerinthe the co-
rolla is ventricofe, fwells or bulges out to-
wards the top; Borage has a rotate corolla;
and in Viper’s Buglofs it is an irregular kind
of bell-fhaped corolla. Heliotrope has the
{cales; but the top of the tube is not clofed
by them, as it is in the Moufe-ear Scorpion-
grafs, Alkanet, Hound’s-tongue, Comfrey,
Borage. Hound’s-tongue has flat feeds fixed
to their ftyle by their inner fide only. Pul-
monaria has a pentagonal or prifmatic ca-
lyx. Cerinthe has only two hard, fhining
bilocular feeds. Buglofs has the tube of
the corolla bent.

Common Turnfole* has the leaves ovate, Helictro-
entire, wrinkled, and covered with a nap re
the lower fpikes of flowers are fingle, and
the upper ones double. The colour of the
corolla white, with a greenifh eye, and
fometimes light red. This is an annual 3

Jant.

Peruvian Turnfole‘ has a fhrubby ftem;
the leaves of a long ovate form, wrinkled
and rough, on fhort petioles; the flowers
are produced at the end of the branches in

* Heliotropium Europæum Lin. Jacq. auftr. 3. t. 207.
! Heliotropium Peruvianum Zin. Mill. fig. pl. 144.
N 2 fhort

180

Myofotis,

Litho-

fpermum.

CE) BR Xi:

{hort fpikes, ‘growing on clufters, the pe-
duncles divide into two or three others, and
thefe again into fmaller ones, each fuftain-
ing a {pike of pale blue flowers, which have
a peculiar odour.

Moufe-ear Scor pion-grafs * is common both
in dry paftures and heaths, and by the fides
of ditches and ftreams; in the former it is
hairy, in the latter {mooth, with the flow-
ers much larger, and extremely beautiful
when feen fufficientiy near, of a moft ele-
gant blue with a yellow eye. Linnzus
diftinguifhes this fpecies by the fmoothnefs
of the feeds, and by the tips of the leaves

being callous.

There are two forts of Grain tell wild.
The true Gromwell!', which name is a
corruption from Gray Millet, is not very
common ; it affects dry foils, efpecially chalk,
and is found chiefly in woody places, or
among bufhes. You will know it by its
whitifh, fhining, oval, hard feeds; which
latter quality gave occafion to the Latin
name, from the Greek, Litho/permum™.
Or if it be not far enough advanced to fhow
the feeds, obferve that it is a much larger
and more branching plant than the next ;
the leaves are lance-fhaped; the flowers are
{mall, and come out fingle from the axils

* Myofotis fcorpioides Lin. Curtis, Lond. IT. 13.
1 Lithofpermum officinale Liz. Mor. hift. {. 11, t

Gris rs Ger. 609! 2

nm Stone-feed,

PENT. MON. A/perif. 18x

of the leaves on fhort peduncles; the co-
rolla is white or yellowifh, with a greenifh
tube. ©

Corn Gromwell” is a common weed among
corn, and differs from the former in its
wrinkled, conical feeds; the leaves alfo are
ovate, and fharp-pointed; the flowers are
chiefly on the top of the ftem among the
leaves; the corolla is white, with dhe: tube
{welling at top. Both fpecies have the co-
rollas fcarcely extending beyond the feg-
ments of the calyx ; and both have the roots
tinged with red, whence the latter has the
name of Baflard Alkanet.

Hound’ s-tongue? isa large plant that grows Cyno-
common by hedges and way fides; it “has a gloffum.
ftrong fmell He that of mice. The co-
rolla is of a dirty red, or the colour of
blood that has ftood fome time. It is dif-
tinguifhed from the other {pecies by the fta-
mens being fhorter than the corolla; the
leaves broad lance-fhaped, nappy, and fit-
ting clofe to the ftem without petioles.

Comfrey ? is common by water fides. The symphy-
leaves are large, long, hairy, and ending tum.
in a point; from. their bafe on each fide
runs a border down the ftalk4 From the
upper part of the ftalk come out fome fide-

" Lithofpermum arvenfe Lin. FI. dan. 456. Mor.
f, 7. Ger Gro, 4.

° Cynogloffum officinale Lir. Curtis, Lond. IV. 16,

P Symphytum. oficinale ZLinnæi. Curtis, Lond.
TV. 18.

4 This is what Linnæus calls decurrent.

N 3 branches,

192

Cerinthe.

Borago.

Lycopiis.

LETTER XVI.

branches, with two fmaller leaves, termi-
nated by loofe bunches of nodding flowers ;
the corolla of a yellowifh white, in fome
places purple.

Of Cerinthe there are two fpecies only,
diftinguifhed by the larger fort having ob-
tufe, open corollas ; the lefs + having fharp,
clofe corollas. The leaves of the firft are
fea-green {potted with white ; it varies with
prickly and {mooth leaves, with yellow and
purplifh red corollas. It grows wild in
Italy, the fouth of France, Germany, and
Switzerland. The fecond has more flender
{talks; the calyx large, the corolla {mall
and yellow. This is found naturally in the
Alps. Both are not uncommon in gardens.

Borage‘ is an annual plant, which comes
up in your kitchen garden, without the
care of the gardener. The whole plant is
rough ; the leaves are large, and broad lance-
fhaped. The flowers came out in loofe,
naked bunches, on long peduncles, at the
end of the ftalks: the calyx, with the co-
rolla, fpreads out quite flat: the colour of
the corolla is a fine blue, which fometimes
fades to white, or changes to red.

Buglofs * is common among corn, and by

* Cerinthe major Lin. Mill. fig. gt.

* Cerinthe minor Lin. Jacq. auftr. 2. t. 124.

* Borago officinalis Lin. Mor. hift. f. 11. t. 26. f. 1.
Gr. 707. 1%

“ Lycopfis arvenfis Lin. Curt. Lond. 5. 17. Mor. t.
26. f. 8. Ger. 799. 3.

Way

PENT. MON. Campanacee. 183
way fides. A very rough plant, with blue

corollas veined with white.

Viper’s Buglofs* is a much larger plant Echium.
than this, with a large handfome fpike of
blue flowers. The ftalk is very erect and
fpotted: the leaves lance-fhaped, the lower
ones petiolate, the upper feffile. It is com-
mon among the corn in fome countries ;
alfo in fome paftures, by way fides, and
on walls.

You will find fome plants of this fifth
clafs and firft order which have a bell-fhaped
corolla of one petal. If they have a per-
manent calyx divided into five parts, and a
capfule for a feed-veflel, they belong to a
natural order entitled Campanacee *. Three
very large genera*, befides fome others,
belong to this order.

The genus Convolvulus ¥ is diftinguifhed Seek
from all others by its large, fpreading, ne
plaited corolla, with the edge either bathed
with ten notches, or flichtly quinquefid ;
two ftigmas; and a capfule wrapped up in
the calyx, generally bilocular, with two
-roundifh feeds.

From this genus I will fele& two wild

*Echium vulgare Lin. Fl. dan. 445. Ger. 802. 2.

* Bell-flowers.

* Convolvulus, Ipomæa, and Campanula: the firft
has fixty-four ; the fecond twenty-two; and the third
fixty-fix fpecies.

Y So called from twining round any thing it comes
near; this property however is not common to all the

ip 2cies.
N 4 and

LETTER XVI.

and two cultivated fpecies, for your exa-
mination.

Small Bindweed*, which is fo common a
weed among corn, has fagittate leaves * acute
both ways, and one flower upon a round
long peduncle. The weak ftalks trail on
the ground, unlefs they meet with fome
other plant to fupport them; the corolla is
either white, or red, or variegated; and if
the plant came from India it would be cul-
tivated for the beauty of the flower: I do
not however recommend you to grow fond
of it, for it creeps intolerably at the root.

Great Bindweed* has fagittate leaves as
well as the laft, but truncate or cut off be-
hind; the flowers come out fingle alfo, but
on fquare peduncles. This is a much larger,
ftronger plant than the other, rifing in
hedges or among bufhes and fhrubs, ten or
twelve feet high: the corolla is very large,
and always pure white; immediately under
the calyx is a large heart-fhaped involucre
of two leaves. The former fpecies has thefe
two leaves, but they are very narrow, and
in the middle of the peduncle.

Purple Bindweed®, an annual fpecies cul-
tivated in flower gardens under the name of
Convolvulus major, has heart-fhaped undi-

+ Convolvulus arvenfis Zin. Curtis, Lond. II. 13.
* Shaped like the head of an arrow.
> Convolvulus fepium Lin, Curtis, Lond. I. 13.
Blot
© Convolvulus purpureus Lin. Ehret. pict. t. 7. f. 2.
Curtis’s Magaz. 113.
vided

PENT. MON. Campan. 185

vided leaves, the feed veflels hanging down

-after the flower is gone, and the peduncles
fwelling. This, if fupported, will climb to
the height of ten or twelve feet. Though
the moft ufual colour of the corolla is pur-
ple, yet there are varieties white, red, and
whitifh blue.

Tricolor Bindweed*, or, as it is vulgarly
called, Convolvulus minor, has lance-fhaped,
fmooth leaves, a weak falling ftalk, that
never climbs, and the flower coming out
fingly. The corolla is a beautiful blue with
a white eye; but fometimes all white or
variegated. This is alfo annual. Its na-
tive country is Portugal. The former is
wild both in Afia and America.

This genus contains feveral remarkable
plants; as Scammony*, Turpethum or Tur-
bith, and Falap.

Ipomea has rather a funnel-fhaped than
a campanulate corolla; a globofe ftigma,
and a trilocular capfule*; but the plants
that range under this genus being natives of
the Weft Indies, and confequently require
ing much heat to raife and preferve them,
may probably not come within your view;
and therefore I fhall not enlarge upon them.

_In Campanula you will of courfe expe& Campa
to find a campanulate or bell-fhaped co- ul.
rolla; but it is worth your obfervation that

* Convolvulus tricolor Lin. Curtis's Mag. 27.
* Conv. Scammonia. Lin, Mill. fig. 102.
f See Mill, fig. 214.

the

186

L'EUNT ER : Vibe

the bottom of it is clofed with five valves,
concealing the receptacle, and that the fta-
mens take their rife from thefe valves. The
ftigma is trifid, and the feed veflel is a cap-
fule, below the flower, having three or five
cells, and at the top of each a hole, through
which the feeds are fcattered when ripe.
You fee by this time how curious and how
various the ftructure of the parts of fructi-
fication is. By thus examining them fingly,
and comparing them one with another, you
will in time grow an eminent botanitt,
and acquire a facility in determining the
genus, ipecies, analogy, and connexion of
vegetables.

There is a little Be//-flower that grows
frequent in dry paftures, and on almoft
every heath and common, with is nodding
blue corolla anfwering well to its name.
The botanifts have confpired to call it round-
Jeaved Bell-flower®; for what reafon per-
haps you will wonder, fince you will dif-
cover no leaves upon the ftem but what are
linear, or very long, narrow lance-fhaped :
if however you take a young plant, or at
leaft one in full vigour, and fearch among
the grafs clofe to the ground, you will fee
thefe leaves, which are not fo properly
round as heart” or kidney-fhaped’. This fort
flowers towards the latter end of the fum-
mer, and all the autumn, till froft puts an

= Campanula rotundifolia Linnei. Curtis, Lond. IV.
21. » Haller. * Linnæus,

end

PENT. MON. Campan.

end to it; and frequently has a white co-
rolla. Rampion*, which was formerly culs
tivated for its roots to eat in fallads, is now
fo much neglected, that your kitchen gar-
den perhaps may not furnifh it; and in its
wild ftate it is by no means common. This
has upright ftalks, two feet high; the
leaves undulating, thofe next the root
fhort, lance-fhaped, inclined to oval: to-
wards the upper part of the ftem, and clofe
to it, fmall flowers are produced, with a
blue or white corolla.

Peach-leaved Bell-flower * is abundant in

your flower borders, both blue and white;
but fince your gardener has obtained -the
double forts, he has probably deipifed the
fingle ones fo much as to have deftroyed
them, and at the fame time to have deprived
you of the power of determining the ge-
nus: you will however know this to be a
Campanula by its air; and you will deter-
mine the fpecies by the leaves, which
are ovate near the root, and on the ftalk
are very narrow lance-fhaped approaching
to linear, flightly ferrated about the edge,
fit clofe-to the ftem, and are remote from
each other. |

I remember your hall chimney ufed to be
adorned in fummer with the pyramidal or
feeeple Bell-flower™, ftrutting out like a fan,

* Campanula Rapunculus Linnai.
? Campanula Perficifolia Linnæi.
# Campanula pyramidalis Linnei.

by

187

188

L'ŒUNT ERVXVE

by means of a frame of little fticks. This

has {mooth, heart-fhaped leaves, ferrated
about the edge; thofe on the {tem lance-

fhaped : the ftems are fimple and rufh-like:

the flowers come out in feflile umbels from
the fide of the ftem. Such are Linnzus’s
{pecific characters.

There is the Grant Throatwort", wild,
but not common, in bufhy places and
hedges: known by its ftrong, round, fin-
gle ftalks; its long ovate leaves, inclined
to lance-fhaped, flightly ferrated or toothed
like a faw on their edges: towards the up-
per part of the ftalk the flowers come out
fingly upon fhort peduncles. Pray remark,
that after thefe are faded, the feed-veflels
turn downwards till the feeds are ripe, and
then rife up again.

Great Bell-flower°, vulgarly called Can-
terbury bells, is much more common in
the like places. This has ftiff, hairy, an-
gular ftalks, putting out a few fhort fide-
branches. The leaves are like thofe of net-
tles, hairy, and deeply ferrated on their
edges: towards the upper part of the ftalks
the flowers come out on fhort trifid peduit-
cles, and have hairy calyxes.

Small Canterbury Bells? is common in

® Campanula latifolia Zin. FI. dan. 85. Ger. 448. 3.

° Campanula Trachelium Lin. Mor. hift. f, 5. t. 3.
f. 28. Ger. 448. 1.

P Campanula glomerata Linneær, Mor, t. 4. f. 40

& 43. Ger. 449. 4.
paftures,

PENT. MON. Campan.

paftures, efpecially in a chalky foil. In dry
places it is very {mall, and in a moift foil
will grow to the height of two feet. The
ftalk is hairy, angulate, and unbranched ;
the lower leaves are broad, and peduncu-
late; thofe on the ftalk long, narrow, fit-
ting clofe to the ftalk, and even embracing
it: towards the top of the ftalk, from the
axils of the leaves, two or three flowers
come out together, and a larger bunch ter-
minates it: the flowers are feflile.

© Venus’s Looking-gla/s* is a Campanula,
witha weak, low, and very branching ftalk;
the leaves oblong, and a little notched ; the
flowers folitary, and the feed-veflels of a
prifmatic form. Corn-bell-flower* very much
refembles this; but the ftalk is ftiff, and
branches little; the leaves are more deeply
notched, and waving; the flowers come out
in parcels, and the calyx is longer than the
corolla. ‘This is a common weed among
corn. Thefe two have fcarcely bell-fhaped
corollas, any more than another plant of
this Campanulate order, entitled Greek Va-
lerian or Facob’s Ladder*, which has the co-
rolla rather rotate, with the tube fhorter
than the calyx, but clofed with five valves,
into which the ftamens are inferted, as in

4 Campanula fpeculum Liz. Curtis Magaz. 102.
* Campanula hybrfda Lin. Mor. t. 2. f. 22. Ger.
439: 2. ‘ \
* Polemonium cæruleum Zin. FI, dan. 255. Ger.
1076. 5. |
Campanula:

189

Polermo-
nium.

190

LETTER XVI

Campanula: the ftigma alfo is trifid, as in
that, and the feed-veflel a trilocular or three-
celled capfule, but inclofed within the flower.
The circumftances that diftinguifh this from
the other two fpecies are, that the leaves are
pinnate, the flowers erect, and the calyx
full as long as the tube of the corolla ; in
which you fee it recedes a little from one
character of the genus. It is blue, and cut
into five roundifh fegments. I {carcely
need caution you not to be mifled by names,
which being ufually given by ignorant
perfons, are very fanciful or erroneous.
Thus here, you may as well fuppofe Po/e-
tnonium to have an affinity with a ladder as
with valerian: indeed the fame circumftance
of the pinnate leaves probably gave occafion
to both names.

I am almoft afraid to prefent you with a
fet of plants, which from their lurid, dufky,
difmal, gloomy, appearance, are kept to-
gether under the title of Luride. They
have alfo moft of them a difagreeable {mell,
which, with their forbidding look, will de-
ter our young coufin from examining them,
fhe not being yet {ufficiently tinétured with
enthufiafm to go on in fpite of fuch circum-
ftances. Indeed I would not with her to be
too bufy with fome of thefe in/ane roots
that take the reafon prifoger, and which I
can never collect and examine myfelf, with-
out their affeCting my head. You will
confider that nature has kindly given us

notice

PENT. MON. Luride. 191

notice in general of approaching danger, by
means of our fenfes; and accordingly fome
of thefe Lurid plants are highly poifonous ;
moft of them are fo in fome degree, though
foil and climate may mitigate the poifon,
and even render them wholefome. I will
felec&t fome of the leaft difagreeable in fmell
and appearance; or, if they be otherwife,
will announce it to you. Befides the cir-
cumftances of five ftamens and one piftil,
thefe plants agree in a permanent calyx di-
vided more or lefs deeply into five fegments ;
a monopetalous corolla, divided alfo into five
fegments, tubulous, irregular; the feed-
veflel bilocular, and either a capfule or a
berry, inclofed within the flower.

Of Verbafcum, or Mullein, thereare feveral Verbaf.
fpecies wild, one very common, and another °°:
not uncommon. Their general characters
are, that the corolla is rotate, and flightly
irregular; the ftamens unequal in length,
bending down, and generally clothed at bot-
tom with a coloured fringe; the ftigma
obtufe, and the capfule bivalve, and opening
at top.

The common fpecies is the Great or
Hoary Mullemm‘, which grows moftly under
banks or hedges. It is a biennial plant ;
the firft year forming its root, and a fet of
large, broad leaves, extremely woolly on
both fides, and fpreading on the ground,

* Verbafcum Thapfus Linnæi. FI, dan, 631. lov.
bit. £ 5,0 Of 1. Ger. 733. 1.

with

192

Datura.

L:E TyT ER, XVIe

with fcarcely any petioles: the fecond year
it fends up a fingle ftem, fometimes five
feet in height, with decurrent leaves on it,
woolly as the radical ones ; and on the topa
clofe {pike of yellow flowers, which have
an odour not difagreeable.

The other which I hinted at is the Black
Mullein*, growing in fimilar places, abun-
dantly in fome, but by no means fo exten-
fively. It has not fo high a ftem; the fhape
of the lower leaves is that of a heart much
lengthened out, and they are petiolate ; the
leaves on the {tem ovate, fharp-pointed and
feffile; all of them are pale green on the
upper, and hoary on the under ee face; and
aré indented about the edges. The ftalk is
terminated by a long {pike of yellow flowers,
formed by fhort clufters or {picules on the
fides of the principal ftalk.. The corolla is
yellow, with the filaments fringed or bearded
with purple. It has the name of black, I
prefume, merely becaufe it is not white,
like the other.

Datura, Stramonium, or Thorn Apple, has
the calyx tubulous, {welling in the middle,
five-cornered, and deciduous; the corolla
funnel-fhaped, fpreading out gradually very
wide from a long cylindric tube, into a pent-
angular border with five plaits: the capfule
is quadrivalvular, or opens into four parts.
The flowers of thefe are large, and rather

* Verbafcum nigrum Lin. Mor. hift. f. 5. t.9. f. 5. ,
fpecious,

PENT. MON. Luride. 193

fpecious, andthe capfules are remarkable for
their fize.

The common Thorn Apple’ has fmooth
leaves, irregularly angular, and {melling dif-
agreeably; the flowers come out from the
firft divifions, and near the extremities of the
branches ; the corolla is white, and each an-
gle of it ends in a long point ; the capfule is
ovate, covered with ftrong thorns, and grows
erect.

Another fort “, cultivated fometimes in
flower gardens, has purple flowers; it has
alfo purple ftalks, which are ftouterand taller
than thofe of the laft; the leaves are alfo
larger, and more angular and notched; the
capfule is larger, but much like that of the
common fort. One of them, having the
capfule armed with very {trong fpines, has
the epithet of ferce *.

Henbane Y is a very common plant, and Hyoty-
has often done mifchief to fuch as will not #™¥*
fuffer their appetites to be corrected by their
fenfes. You will agree with me that the
{mell is fufficient to deter any perfon from
eating it. I cannot however difpenfe with
your examining the flower, which is really
beautiful on a near view. ‘The corolla is

funnel-fhaped, and obtufe; of a pale yel-

¥ Datura Stramonium Zin. Curtis, Lond. n.61. FI.
dan. 436. Ger. 348. 2.

# Datura Tatula Lin.

* Datura ferox. Lin. Mor. t. 2. f. 4.
» * Hyofcyamus niger Lin, Ger. 353. 1.

O lowifh

194

Nicoti-
ana.

LETTER © XVE

lowifh colour, beautifully veined with pur-
ple. The ftamens are of different lengths
and bent; and the capfule is involved in
the calyx, of an oval form, and covered
with a hemifpherical lid, which, by falling
off, announces that the feeds are ripe.

The common wild fpecies is diftinguifhed
from the others by its finuate leaves, em-
bracing the ftalk, and by the flowers fit-
ting clofe toit. The whole plant is covered
with long hairs, from which exudes a
clammy, fetid juice: the leaves are very
large, and remarkably foft; and the flowers
come out in a very long fpike, rather on
one fide. It grows on banks, dungnhills,
and way-fides about villages, and is a bien-
nial plant. There are other forts, but nei-
ther wild nor much cultivated.

You who have fuch an averfion from
tobacco in all the ways of ufing it, will not
be difpleafed at finding it in this lurid or-
der. Notwithftanding it is fo generally
taken, the oil of it is the ftrongeft of the
vegetable poifons. It is a plant however
neither unornamental for your garden, nor
dangerous, nor even difagreeable to exa-
mine. The effential generic characters are,
that the corolla is funnel-fhaped, the bor-
der plaited; the ftamens a little inclined;
the ftigma notched; the capfule ovate,
marked with a furrow on each fide, bival-
vular, and opening from the top. ;

Commot-

.

PENT. MON. Luride.

Common or broad-leaved Tobacco? is dif-
tinguifhed by its broad lanceolate leaves,
which are about ten inches long, and three
and an half broad, fmooth, ending i in acute
points, and fitting clofe to the ftalks ; the
corollas are of a pink purple, and end in
five acute points. There is a fort like this,
or perhaps a variety of it, called Oroonoko
Tobacco, which is a larger plant, the leaves
more than a foot and half long, and a foot
broad; very rough and glutinous ; the bafe
embracing the ftem: the corollas are of a
pale purple.

Another fpecies, called Enghih Tobacco *,
might eafily be miftaken for a Henbane, if
you did not remark the regular form of the
corolla, and the want of a lid to the cap-
fule. It is a lower plant than the others ;
the leaves are ovate, entire, and on fhort
petioles. The flowers come out in loofe
bunches on the top of the ftalks; the co-
rolla has a fhort tube, fpreading out into
five obtufe fegments, of a greenifh yellow
colour. Though this has the epithet of
Englifh, you are not to fuppofe it to be an
European plant, for it is a native of Ame-
rica, as well as all the other fpecies, which
are at leaft feven in number.

a

How the fame plant fhould come to have Atrops.

the gentle appellation of Be/la-donna, and

* Nicotiana Tabacum Linnai, Mill. fig. 185. 1
PI, 12. f. 1.
* Nicotiana ruftica Linnzi. Blackw. t. 437.

O 2 the

>

EE ANT ERP XVE:

the tremendous name of Æfropa?, feems
ftrange, till we know that it was ufed as a
wath among the Italian ladies, to take off
pimples and other excrefcences from the
{kin ; and are told of its dreadful effects as a
poifon. Linnæus has joined them, mak-
ing //ropa the generic, and Be//a-donna the
{pecific or trivial title. . The principal cha-
racters which he gives of the genus are
thefe—the corolla is bell-fhaped; the fila-
ments grow from the bafe of it, are clofe
at bottom, but at top diverge from each
other, and are arched; the feed-veffel is a
globofe berry, fitting on the calyx, which
is large.

Our fort, for there are fix fpecies of the
genus, 1s a great branching plant, with ovate,
entire RE and large fea coming out
among the leaves fingly, on long peduncles ; ;
the corolla is of a dufky ees colour on
the outfide, and of a dull purple within 3
the ftalks rai a tinge of the fame spears
as have alfo the Ra towards autumn.
The berry is round, of a fhining black when
ripe, and not unlike a black cherry i in fize
and colour; it contains a purple juice of a
mawkifh {weetneis, and has frequently en-
ticed children to tafte it at their peril. I
have known however the fame poifonous
eiteéts follow from eating the young fhoots

> From Atropos, the name of one of the furies. Fi-
gured by Miller, pl. 62. Fl. dan. 758. Ger. 340.

Blackw. 564. Curtis, Lond. 5. 16.
of

PENT. MON. Luride.

of the fpring boiled, as from the crude ber-

ries of autumn. Deadly Night/hade is rare-

ly cultivated, and not common wild; it

fkulks in gloomy lanes, and uncultivated
places, but is too frequent near villages in
fome countries.

You have heard of the Mandrake’s Groan, .

and ‘ of fhrieks, like Mandrakes torn out
‘ of the earth:”’ fuperftition having endued
this plant with a fort of animal life, fatal
to whoever prefumed to deftroy it by dig-
ging up the root. It was famous, as Opium
now, for procuring fleep; whence Cleo-

patra fays,

—‘“ Give me to drink AZandragora,
€ That I might fleep out this great gap of time
My Anthony is away.”

And the vile Iago boafts that

—— Not Poppy, nor Mandragora,

*¢ Nor all the drowfy fyrups of the world,

“€ Shall ever med’cine thee to that {weet fleep
*¢ Which thou hadft yefterday.”

Since Mandrake groans and fhrieks when.

injured, it muft needs have a human form;
and accordinely fuch have been carried
about for fale, notwithftandins the danger
that attends the procuring it; but this is
cunningly avoided by tying a dog to the
root, and thus making the blind fury of the
poor Mandrake fall upon the innocent dog
inftead of the agsreflor. Thefe pretended

O 3 Mandrakes

197

Phyfalis.

LETTER XVI.

Mandrakes are faid to be roots of Angelica
or Bryony, either cut into form, or com-
pelled to go through earthen moulds put
into the ground for this purpofe: they were
ufed in magical incantations; and though
thefe are now pretty much out of fafhion,
yet I have had them very gravely offered
me for fale. Linnzeus formerly made this a
diftin& genus from the laft, but. on fecond
thoughts he has made it a fpecies of Atro-
pa‘, diftinguifhing it from the others, by
its having no ftems except the {capes which
fupport a fingle flower. The root is like
that of a parinep, fometimes forked; next
the ground there is a circle of large, broad
leaves ; the /capes or naked ftalks that fup-
port the flowers are but about three inches
long; the corollas are five cornered, and of
a greenifh white or purplifh colour; the
berry is as large as a nutmeg, and of a yel-
lowifh green. The root and leaves are ftink-
ing, andthe whole plant is poifonous,though,
in {mall dofes, it is ufed medicinally.
Another genus of this fame natural order
is Phyfalis ; the characters of it are thefe—
the corolla is wheel-fhaped ; the filaments
and anthers are convergent or bend towards
each other; and the feed-veflel is a berry
inclofed within the calyx, which grows to
a large inflated, coloured bladder. Winter-

* Atropa Mandragora. Mill. fig. pl. 173. Blackw.
364.
Cherry,

PENT. MON. Luride. 199

Cherry 4, of which you have fuch abund-
ance under your fhrubs, is a fpecies of this
genus. The diftinguifhing marks are, that
the leaves. are double or conjugate, that is,
come out in pairs, are entire about the
edges, or but very flightly indented, and
fharp pointed ; the ftalk is herbaceous, and
a little branching at bottom. The roots
creep fo far as to be troublefome; the ftalks
are only about a foot high; the leaves are
of various fhapes, and have long petioles :
the flowers are produced fingly from the
axils of the ftalks on flender peduncles ;
and have a white corolla, which, with the
calyx, leaves, and ftalks, is hairy. This
plant, which is fo humble and inconfider-
able all the fummer, attracts your notice
in autumn, by its great inflated calyx turn-
ing red, and difclofing the round red berry
within it, about the fize of a fmall cherry.

But the principal genus of this natural solanum.
order is the Night/hade, or Solanum, whence
fome authors have entitled thefe plants So-
lanaceæ. ‘There are no lefs than forfy-fix
fpecies of Solanum; out of which I fhall
feleé&t, as ufual, both fome wild and culti-
vated forts, fuch efpecially as are either
moft important, or moft likely to be within
your reach,

You will eafily know the genus by its
wheel-fhaped corolla; by its large anthers
clofed in the middle of the corolla, and

* Phyfalis Alkekengi. Blackw. 161.
O 4 feeming

LETTER XVI.
feeming to form but one body; and by its
bilocular berry.

Some of the fpecies have prickly ftalks

and leaves; others are unarmed: hence a

_ commodious partition of the genus into two,

fubdivifions.

A fhrubby, tall fort, from the Madeiras,
without any {pines or prickles, has long been
an inhabitant of the greenhoufe, which it
adorns with its fplendid red berries ali the
winter : the gardeners know it by the name.
of Amomum Plinu ; and it is often called:
Winter Cherry; fuch is the dearth of dif-
tinétive names, and fuch the confufion arif-
ing from the want of a regular language,
like that which Linnæus rit intsodueeth
into Botany. ‘The leaves are lance-fhaped,
and have a waving edge‘: the flowers
grow in {mall umbels, clofe to the branches;
the corolla is white; and the berries are as
large as a {mall cherry; generally red, but
Torctinee yellow.

Another fhrubby fort, without fpines, is
the Woody N ight/hade, or Bitter-/weet ®,
which grows commonly wild in aide
hedges. PT his has a climbing, flexuous ftalk :
the lower leaves lance- -thaped, the upper
ones fometimes trifid: the flowers are in
bunches, or branched cymes, coming out
from the axils of the leaves; the corolla

€ Solanum Pfeudocapficum Liz.
* Linnzus calls them repand.
® Solanum Dulcamara Lin. Curtis, Lond. I. 14.

revolute,

PENT. MON. Luride.

revolute, purple, marked with two fhining
green fpots at the bottom of each fegment ;
and the berries red.

Garden Night/bade* is alfo unarmed, but
not fhrubby. it is an herb, an annual.
The leaves are on long petioles, and being
of a foft texture, are inclined to hang down.
They are either of an ovate or rhomboid
form, with long points, angulate and notch-
ed about the edges: the flowers grow on a
kind of nodding umbel; the corolla is white,
and the berry is black. It is a common
weedion dunghills, in gardens, and other
richly cultivated places. It varies with
yellow and red berries; and in the form of
the leaves. |

Potatoe * is of this genus, as you will be
convinced, if you compare the ftru&ture of
the flower with that of the other fpecies,
Linnæus characterifes it by thefe diftinc-
tions—that the ftalk is herbaceous and un-
armed, the leaves pinnate and quite en-
tire, the peduncles fubdivided : the corol-
las are either purple or white, and the berry
is large.

Tomatos or Love-apple * is another fpecies
of Nightfhade, which is alfo admitted to
the table, and eaten with impunity, in
{pite of the ill neighbourhood in which it is

À Solanum nigrum Lin. Curtis, Lond. II. 14.
* Solanum tuberofum Lin. The Englifh name is evi-
eid a corruption of the Indian Batatas.
* Solanum Lycoperlicum Lin. Blackw. 133.
found.

LETTER: XVE

found. ‘This has an unarmed, herbaceous
ftem, which is very hairy; the leaves alfo
are pinnate, but cut; and the flowers are
borne on fimple unbranched bunches; the
corolla is yellow, and the fruit or berry
is large, flatted, and deeply furrowed.

Melongena or Mad Apple” is ao of this
genus; it is cultivated as a curiofity for the
largenefs and fhape of its fruit; and when
this is white, it has the name of Egg plant;
and indeed it then perfectly refembles a
hen’s egg in fize, fhape, and colour. The
ftem of this is herbaceous, and without
prickles; the leaves ovate and nappy; the
peduncles pendulous, and growing thicker
towards the top, and the calyxes unarmed.
The corollas are purple, and the fruit va-
ries much in colour. The three laft fpe-
cies recede a little from the character of
the order; for the Potatoe and Tomatos
have many cells to the fruit, and this has
but one.

The prickly forts of Solanum are natives
of hot countries, and moft of them are
brought to us from the Spanifh Weft Indies :
they will not therefore commonly fall un-
der your obfervation.

Capficum, or Guinea Pepper, is alfo of this
lurid order; its beauty and ufe lies in the
fruit, which Linnæus calls a dry or juice-
lefs berry, and others a capfule or pod.

Solanum Melongena Liz, Pluk. phyt. t. 226. f. 2.
This

PENT. MON. Luride.

This circumftance, together with the ro-
tate form of the corolla, and the anthers
being connivent or converging, make up
the eflential characters of the genus. Lin-
nzus has only five fpecies, one annual”, with
an herbaceous ftem, the reft perennial with
woody ftems”. Others make many more
fpeciés from the different form of the fruit ;
which indeed varies much both in fhape
and colour, and intermixt with the white
flowers and green leaves, makes a pleafing
variety: but Linnæus does not allow the
form of the fruit in this genus to be perma-
nent enough toconftitute {pecific differences.
They are all very hot, and hence have the
names of Bell Pepper, Hen Pepper, Bar-
berry Pepper, and Bird Pepper. The Bell
Pepper, which has large, {welling, wrinkled
fruit, with a flefhy tender fkin, of a red
colour when ripe, is the only fort fit for
pickling. Cayan Pepper is made from the
laft, whofe fruit is {mall, oval, and of a
bright red, and much more pungent than
the reft. Moft forts of Capficum come
from both Eaft and Weft Indies. Though
they are ufed in hot countries fo univerfally
with their food, yet the ripe fruits thrown
on the fire will emit ftrong noifome va-
pours, which occafion violent {neezing,
coughing, and often vomiting, in thofe
who are near; and mixt in {nuit will have
™ Capficum annuum, Blackw. 120.
* Capficum baccatum, finenfe, groflum & frutefcens,
the
3

203

Lonicera.

BETTER ©: XVI.

the fame effects to a violent and dangerous
degree: fo that thefe plants, though not
ftridtly poifonous, are however worthy a
place in the lurid tribe.

In this firft order of the fifth clafs are to
be found feveral well known fhrubs ; among
which the Honey-/uck/eiseminent. Of thefe
the Italian°, and Wild? {pecies are the prin-
cipal. They are diftinguifhed by the firft
having the upper pairs of leaves connate, or
fo joined as to form but one, and the ftalk
running through the middle of them: where-
as in the wild honey-fuckle they are all dif-
tinét. The Dutch or German Honey-fuckle
of the gardens is fuppofed to be a variety
only of this, though it is much ftronger,
and not fo apt to climb. ‘The Woodbind
has indeed very flender trailing branches,
twining round the boughs of trees, and
climbing to the very tops of them.

Trumpet Honey-fuckletis a North Ame-
rican; it agrees with the Italian in having
the upper leaves connate ; with the Wood-
bind in its flender trailing branches: but
differs from both in the whorls of flowers
being naked or void of leaves, and the co-
rollas being almoft regular; the leaves alfo

° Lonicera Caprifolium Linnæi. Hort. angl. t. 5.
Pier. 4.4.

P Lonicera Periclymenum Linz. Woodbind. Curtis,
Lond, I. 15.

2 Lonicera fempervirens Lin. Riv. mon. 116.
are

PENT, MON. SArubs. 20

Una

are evergreen, and the corollas are bright
{carlet on the outfide, and yellow within.

There are other fpecies, which you will
find among the fhrubs, differing in appear-
ance, and receding fomething in charac-
ter from Honey-fuckles properly fo called.
Thefe have always two flowers only com-
ing out together; whereas in the former the
flowers go in whorls or heads many toge-
ther. F/y Honey-fuckle' has the two ber-
ries that fucceed the two neighbouring
flowers diftinét; the leaves are entire and
hoary; and the corollas are white. Red-
berried upright Honey-fuckle* has the two
berries joined together; the leaves lance-
fhaped and {mooth; the corollas are red on
the outfide, but pale within. This is not
fo tall growing a plant as the other.

The five recited {pecies agree in having a
monopetalous irregular corolla, except that
in the Trumpet Honey-fuckle it is almoft
regular; in the genuine Honey-fuckles the
tube is remarkably long. The feed-vefiel
in all is a berry growing below the flower,
and inclofing feveral feeds; though the laft
has only two.

The numerous genus of Rhamnus, con- Rhamnus.
taining twenty-feven fpecies, is alfo of the
firft order in the clafs Pentandria: thefe are
either thorny, prickly, or unarmed. Buck-

* Lonicera Xylofteum Lin. Mill. fig. 167. 1.
* Lonicera alpigena Lin. Mill. fig. 167, 2.
thorn

BEAT ER VE

thorn* is one of the firft; having thorns
terminating the branches, the {tem ere&,
the leaves ovate, and the calyx cut into
four fegments: the berries have four feeds
in them, and if you wet them and rub them
on white paper, they will {tain it of a green
colour. ] mention thefe two cifcumftances,
becaufe they who gather the berries for fale
are apt to mix others with them: and I
know you will be interefted in them, when
I inform you, that the fine green colour",
which you ufe in your miniature painting,
is made from thefe berries. If you fhould
have the curiofity to fearch the hedges for
them, in order to make this paint yourfelf,
you muft not be furprifed if you do not find
them on every Buckthorn fhrub; for all
the flowers are incomplete, fome plants
having them with ftamens, others with a
piftil only ;,and the former of thefe are
never fucceeded by fruit.

Berry-bearing Alder‘ is one of the un-
armed fpecies. It grows in woods, is a
black looking fhrub, with bunches of in-
confiderable herbaceous flowers, with a
quinquefid corolla, fucceeded by black ber-
‘ries containing four feeds: the leaves are
ovate, fmooth, and quite entire.

* Rhamnus catharticus Liz. Fl, dan. 850. Duham.
50. Ger. 1337.

* Verd de veffie.

* Rhamnus Frangula Lia, Fl. dan. 278. Duham.
yoo. Ger. 1470.

Another

PENT. MON. Shrubs.

Another of the unarmed divifion is the
Alaternus”, formerly {o fhorn and beclipped
in hedges, and covering of walls; but
now feen chiefly among other evergreens,
taking its natural form. pers leaves are ex-
tremely fhining, generally notched or ferrate
about the edges; the flowers have a trifid
ftigma, and are incomplete, like thofe of the
Buckthorn: the corolla is quinquefid, and
the berry has three feeds. There are fe-
veral varieties of A/aternus, differing in the
fhape of the leaves, and depth of the ferra-
tures; they are alfo fometimes blotched or
variegated. This fhrub is frequently con-
founded with Pdilyrea, from which it may
be known at all times by the pofition of the
leaves, which is alternate in this, and Oppo-
fite in that: when the two fhrubs are in
flower, you perceive other more eflential
diftinGions.

Paliurus, or Chriffs-T ae , is one te the

prickly divifion. It has double prickles, the.

under ones reflex ; and is another inftance
of irregularity in this genus, the germ being
trilocular, furrounded by a membranaceous
rim, and crowned by three ftyles. It has a
pliant weak ftem requiring {ome fupport ;
the flowers grow in clufters, and are of a
greenifh yellow colour: the corollas are
quinquefid. Being very common in Palef-
tine, it is fuppofed to be the thorn with
which our Saviour was crowned.

Rhamnus Alaternus Zin, * Rhamnus Paliurus Lin.

The

20%

208

Coffea,

PET ERO VV:

The common characters of all thefe is,
that there is only a calyx or corolla, with
five {mall fcales, one at the bafe of each
divifion, bending towards one another, and
defending the ftamens; the feed-vefiel a
roundifh berry, divided within into fewer
parts than the corolla or calyx.

Currants and Goofeberries *, the Ivy* and
the Vine*, arealfo of this paler Monogynia ;
but being ik well known to you and every
body, I will not dwell on them, having
already run out this letter to fo great a
length.

Some other trees and fhrubsarelefs known,
becauie they are the growth of hotter climes.
Such is the coffee”, originally of Arabia,
though now common in both the Indies.
It is known by its falver-fhaped corolla, with
the ftamens growing upon thetube of it; and
by its féed-veflel, which is a berry below the
flower, containing two feeds, covered with
an aril, or detached coat. This tree does
not grow above fixteen or eighteen feet
high ; ; the leaves are large, of a Tucid green,
lance- fhaped, and waving about the edges.
The flowers are produced i in clufters, alote
to the branches ; the corollas are quinquefid,
of a pure white colour, and a very grateful
odour. It is an evergreen, and at all times
makes a beautiful appearance.

7 Ribes Linnai. z Hedera Helix Lin.

@ Vitis vinifera Lin.

> Coffea Arabica Linnei. Blackw. 337. Dougl.

et Ellis monogr.
Cefirum

PENT. MON. Shrubs. 209

Cefirum or Baftard Fafmine is a fhrub of cefrum.
the Weft Indies, and therefore requires a
ftove to keep it alive in thefe northern coun-
tries. It has a funnel-fhaped corolla; the
filaments have a little proces in the middle;
and the feed-veffel is an unilocular berry,
containing feveral feeds. One fpecies* has
clufters of herbaceous flowers on fhort pe-

, duncles, {melling {weetly in the night.

And another, with leaves of a lively green,

*. ‘and great confiftence, has clufters of white

flowers, fitting clofe to the ftalk, fmelling
{weet in the day time.

Diofma is a genus of fhrubs from the Diofma.
Cape of Good Hope. ‘Thefe are of another
phalanx, having five petals to the corolla,
which is inferior, or inclofes the feed-veflel.
The germ alfo is crowned with five necta-
ries, and becomes three or five united cap-
fules, containing each one feed, with an
elaftic Ari/ involving it. ‘The flowers are
fmall, but elegant; white, and of an agree-
able {picy odour.

Other foreign trees and fhrubs of this
clafs and order are, the Jrox-wood tree‘, the
Phylicas, the Mango-tree', and tome others:
but fince it is not probable that you will
meet with thefe, I have not troubled you
with their characters, or any account of
them.

© Ceftrum no@urnum Zim. Dill. elth. t. 153. f. 185.
* Ceftrum diurnum Lin. Dill, elth. t. 154. f. 186.
€ Sideroxylon, f Mangifera Indica Lin.

There

210
Phlox.

Mirabilis.

LETTER XVI.

There remain fome fpecious plants to be
noticed, which are commonly cultivated in:
flower gardens for their beauty. Such are
all the fpecies of Lychnidea®: which you
will know by their falver-fhaped corolla,
with a bent tube; their filaments of un-
equal length; their trifid ftigma; their prif-
matic calyx; their three-celled capfule, with
one feed in each cell. They are perennial
plants; the corollas of moft of the fpecies are
large, and of a purple colour ; and the leaves
are lance-fhaped. They are the produce of

North America.

Upon the firft difcovery of the New
World, as America was vauntingly called,
every thing found there was reprelented as
wonderful. Strange ftories were related of
the plants and animals they met with, and
thofe which were fent to Europe had pom-
pous names given them. One of thete is
the Marvel of Peru, the only wonder of
which is the variety of colours in the
flower. It appertains to this-clafs and order,
and has the following generic marks—the
corolla is funnel-fhaped, the ftigma globofe;
and there is a globofe neétary incloting the
germ, which afterwards hardens to a kind
of nut. There are three {pecies: firft, the
common Marvel of Peru®, which has fo
much variety of colour in the flowers of the
{ame plant; thefe are produced plentifully

& Phlox Linnai. See Mill. fig. 205:
* Mirabilis Jalapa Lin, Blackw. t. 404.
: |

PENTAND. MONOG.

at the ends of the branches, and in hot
weather do not open till towards evening;
but when it is cool covered weather, éon-
tinue open the greateft part of the day.
Secondly; that whofe root was fuppoted,
though erroneoufly; to yield the Jalap'; the
flalks of this are fwollen at thé joints, the
leaves are {maller and the flowers fit fingly;
clofe in the axils of the leaves : they are not
variable, but all of a purplifh red, and not
much more than half the fize of the others :
the fruit alfo is very rough: In the Weft
Indian iflands, where it is very common,
they call it four o'clock flower. Thirdly
the long -jlowered Marvel of Peru*, whofe
coroilas are white, and have remarkably
long tubes ; they have a mufky odour, and
keep clofe fhut all the day, expanding as
the fun declines: they grow in bunches like
the firft fort, and fhe’ feeds are rough like
the fecond : this differs from both the others
in having weak. ftalks that require fome
fupport ; and thefe, with the leaves, are
hairy and vifcous. This fpecies is from
Mexico, and has not been long known.

Z1F

The Cr cfféd Aniarantk belongs alfo to this Celcfia:

place ; it is commonly called Cut s comb,
from the form in which the head of flowers
grows. It ranges in the divifion of incom-
plete, inferior flowers: and the generic
characters are—that the exterior calyx con-

5 Mirabilis dichotoma Lin. Mart. cent. t. r.
* Mirabilis longiflora Lin.

P 2 fifts

212

PES ERA VISE

fiits of three dry, coloured leaves, within
which is a corolla or fecond calyx, con-
fitting of five ftiff, fharp-pointed leaves :
that ee is a {mall rim furrounding the
germ, from which the filaments take their
ee and that the feed-veflel is a round cap-
files opening horizontally, and containing
three feeds.

There are many fpecies; but that which
is fo much efteemed for the variety of form
and colours in its fine creft of flowers, is
diftinguifhed by oblong ovate leaves ; round,,
{triated peduncles ; at oblong fpikes'. The
colours are red, purple, yellow, white,
and variegated; and fome are like a fine
plume of fcarlet feathers. You mutt
not however confound thefe plants with
the Amaranth or Prince’s Feather, which
you will find in a place far diftant from
this.

One natural order more fhall, if you
pleafe, conclude your labours, and my prate,
for the prefent. ‘It has its name” from
this circumitance; the divifions of the co-
rolla are turned or bent in the fame direction
with the apparent motioh ef the fun. But
befides'this fingularity, *the'flowers of this
order have a'one-leafeë calyx divided into
five fegments; a corolla of one petal; and
a fruit “confifting of two veflels, containing
many feeds. In moft of the genera thete

1 Celofia criftata Lin. m Contortæ Lin.

5 fruits

PENT. MON. Contortæ. 21

fruits are follicles*. The corollas in the
greater part are funnel-fhaped ; and are fur-"
nifhed with a remarkable neéfary.

The common Periwincle, which covers Vinea.
the ground and creeps about the bottoms of
the hedges, in many parts of your planta-
tions, may ferve you very well for an ex-
ample of this order. It has a falver-fhaped
corolla, fucceeded by two erect follicles,
which contain feeds that are called naked or
fimple, to diftinguifh them from thofe of
{ome other genera, which are winged. You
will obferve alfo that the tube of the corolla
forms a pentagon, at top; nor will it efcape
you, that there are two large ftigmas, one
over the other.

Linnæus will not allow that the little
running fort®, and the upright one with
larger flowers’, are diftinét fpecies. With-
out entering into any controverfy on a
matter not eafy to fettle, you know them
afunder not only by their fize, but by the
ftalks of the firft lying on the ground, and
the leaves being narrower, and fharp-pointed
towards either end, that is lance-fhaped,
and on very fhort petioles; whereas the
{talks of the fecond are upright, and will
climb alittle, and the leaves are hollow at

" This is a dry feed-veflel, of one cell and one valve ;
the feeds lie loofe in a down, and the fhell opens on one
fide to let them efcape,

° Vinca minor Lin. Curtis, Lond. III. 16.

P Vinca major Lin. Curtis, Lond. 1V.19. Pl. 32.

LS.
F3 the

Wo

214

Nerium.

LETTER. XVI
the bafe, and ovate, fharper pointed at the
end, and on longer petioles.

There’ isa Eire fort, called Upright Peri-
qwincle, for which we are obliged to the
Ifland ue Madagafcar, and of courte it: res
quires the protection of a ftove, in our cold-
er climates. It has a ftiff, upright, branch-
ing ftalk, woody at bottom ; the leaves are
= an oblong ovate fhape, {mooth and fuccu-
lent, and fitting pretty clofe to the branches ;
(orn the axils of thefe come out the flowers,
on very fhort peduncles, generally fingle,
but fometimes two together: the tube of
the corolla is long and fender, the brim very
flat, the upper furface of a bright crimfon
or peach colour ; the under ne a pale flefh
colour : and le is a conftant fucceffion
of thefe beautiful flowers from February to
O&tober : the corolla is fometimes white.

The Oleander® is one of the moft beauti-
ful plants of this tribe. The genus has two
erect follicles, like the laft ; but the feeds
inclofed in them are downy : there isa fhort
crown alfo terminating the tube of the
corolla cut into narrow “fegments, and the
divifions of the corolla are oblique to the
tube. This fhrub grows to the height of
eight or ten feet; the branches come out
by threes from tHe main ftem; and the
leaves alfo come out by threes ‘from the
branches, on very fhort petioles, point up-

4 Vinca rofea Lin. Mill. fig. 186.
* Nerium Oleander Liz. Figured in Miller’s illuftr,

wards,

PENT. MON. Contortæ. 215

wards, are very fuff, and end in fharp points.
The flowers come out in bunches at the
ends of the branches; the corolla is of a
bright purple, varying to crimfon or white.
It grows wild in feveral countries about the
Mediterranean Sea, but with us is generally
kept in tubs, not being hardy enough to
fuftain the feverity of all our winters.

But the moft admired of this tribe is the Gardenia.
Cape Fafmine*, which was firft difcovered
near the Cape of Good Hope by the fuperior
fragrancy of its flowers. The divitions of
the calyx are uniform and vertical, and the
feed-veflel is a two or four-celled berry,
below the flower. ‘The branches come out
by pairs; and the leaves are oppofite, clofe
to the branches, of a fhining green, and thick
confiftence: the flowers are produced at the
ends of the branches; the corolla is of one
petal only, but cut into many fegments, of
which it has fometimes three or four rows,
and then it is as large and as double as a
rofe: the anthers are inferted on the tube
without filaments. The colour of the corolla
is white, changing as it decays to a buff-
colour; andthe odour is that of Orange
flowers or Narciflus.

There is another plant of this order of Plumeria.
twifted corollas, called alfo a Fa/mine, with
the addition of Red, but of a very different
genus from the Jafmines properly fo called.
Plumeria or Red Fafinine has two reflex

* Gardenia florida Zin, Mill. fig. 180.
Px follicles,

216 LE TyT ER: XVis

follicles, with the feeds flat, winged, and
imbricate. There are four or five known
{pecies, all natives of the Spanifh Weft In-
dies, except one, which comes from Senegal.
The fort moft known‘ has oblong ovate
leaves, with two glands upon the petioles :
it grows to the height of eighteen or twenty
feet ; the ftalks abound with a milky juice,
and towards the top put out a few thick fuc-
culent branches ; at the ends of which come
out the flowers in clufters, fhaped like thofe
of the Oleander; of a pale red colour, and
having an agreeable odour. Thefe being
never fucceeded by the fruit in our northern
climes, you will not be able to difcern the
generic character.

Cinchona, The famous Fe/uits’ Bark is from a tree.
of this clafs and order“, approaching in its
characters to the natural tribe of Contorte:
to which alfo belong fome plants of the
fecond order of this fifth clafs, becaufe they
have two piftils: fuch are the Periplocas,
the Cynanchums, and the numerous genus of

Afclepias. A/clepias, containing twenty-feven fpecies.
Of this laft, you have the common Swa/low-
wort, or Tame poifon’, whofe root is fup-
pofed to be a powerful antidote to poifons :
it has a fhort upright ftalk, ovate leaves
bearded at the baie, white flowers growing

t Plumeria rubra Lin, Catefb. car. 2. 92. Ehret. t. 10.
" Cinchona officinalis Lin.
* Afclepias Vincetoxicum Lin. FI. dan. 849.

in

PENTAND. MONOG. 217
in proliferous umbels“, and each of them

fucceeded by two long, jointed follicles, in-
clofing feveral eyrnarcticd feeds, crowned
with a foft whitedown. This is a native
of the fouthern countries of Europe, and is
very hardy. Other fpecies are much larger,
growing to the height of fix or feven feet.
Some creep very much at the root, and be-
come troublefome in a garden. Others
coming from the Cape, or the warm parts
of America, require care and heat to preferve
them. Some have white, others purple,
orange, or red corollas. Some have the
leaves oppofite ; others have them alternate;
in fome again they are flat, whilft others
have their edges rolled back. Many of the
forts are very handfome. They all agree in
the following circumftances, which there-
fore form the generic character—that the
{egments of the corolla are bent back; that
five ovate, hollow neétaries, ending at bot-
tom in a fharp fpur, involve the ftamens and
piftils; and that each flower is fucceeded by
two follicles, inclofing many downy feeds.
Stapelia is fo remarkable a plant of this $tapelia:
tribe, that I muft not omit mentioning it.
This has a very large wheel-fhaped corolla,
divided beyond the middle into five feg-
ments, which are broad, flat, and fharp-
pointed. The nectary isa double ftar, one

of them furrounding, the other covering

¥ That is, the large umbels have fmaller ones iffuing
from them.
the

218

{

We Tree ER OSV

the ftamens and piftils. Two follicles, in-
clofing many flat, downy feeds, follow each
flower.

There are three known fpecies, all grow-
ing naturally at the Cape of Good Hope,
and all having fucculent branches, as thick
at leaft as a man’s finger. The three forts
are diftinguifhed by the indentures on the
fides of thefe leaflefs branches; which in
the firft * fpread open horizontally, ending
in acute points; in the fecond’ have their
points erect; and in the third * obtufe.

In the firtt {pecies the flowers come out
fingly on a fhort peduncle from the fide of
the branches towards the bottom: the co-
rolla is greenifh on the outfide, but yellow
within, having a purple circle round the
nectaries, and the whole is finely fpotted
with purple, like a frog’s belly. The
branches of the fecond fort are much larger,
and ftand more erect; they have four longi-
tudinal furrows, and the indentures are on
the ridges betweenthem. ‘The flowers are
much bigger than thofe of the laft, of a
thicker fubftance, and covered with fine
purplifh hairs: the ground of it 1s a greemifh
yellow, ftreaked and chequered with pur-
plifh lines.

But the great fingularity of thefe plants is
that the flow er when fully open has a fetid

* Stapelia variegata Lin. Bradl. fucc. 3. t.22. Cur-
tis Mag. 26.

¥ Stapelia hirfuta Lin. Mill. fig. 258.

* Stapelia mammillaris Lin, Burm. aff. t. 11.

{mell

PENTAND. MONOG.

fmell fo perfectly refembling that of carrion,
that the common flefh-fly depofits her eggs
in it, which frequently are hatched into
little worms, but never proceed any farther,
or become flies. A rareinftance this of an
animal miftaking its infting.

Having by this time fufficiently fatigued
you, [ leave you, dear coufin, to meditate
on this irregularity in the operations of na-
ture, and once more heartily bid you adieu.

LETTER

219

ee ET BORO Ve.

ON THE OTHER ORDERS OF THE FIFTH
CLASS, PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA, &c.

May the rft, 1774.

AM. not furprifed, dear coufin, at

your being folicitous to know what the
nectary is, which I mentioned feveral times
in my laft. But I am not difpofed at pre-
fent to fatisfy your curiofity any farther,
than to inform you, that it is an appendage
to the corolla, and that there is a juice in
it, probably of ufe to the plant, certainly
ferving for the food of bees, and number-
lefs other infects. It is a perfeét Proteus,
and puts on a far greater variety of forms
than the fon of Neptune. Another time I
may perhaps enter more deeply into this
matter; but at prefent we will go ftraight
on our way.

You will have great pleafure when I in-
form you, that the fecond order of the fifth
clafs * is almoft wholly made up of the Usn-
bellate tribe of plants’, which you are al-
ready fo well acquainted with: there are
however fome, which the circumftances of
having five ftamens and two piftils bring
into the fame divifion of the arbitrary fv{-

2 Pentandria Digynia Lin, » See Letter V.

L tem,
ie

PENTAND. DIGYN,

be
ie)
4

tem, thouoh theÿ are not naturally related
to them, A few of thefe we will examine,
before we enter into a detail of the Umbe/-
late tribe.

Many of them have incomplete flowers,
or are deficient in the corolla ; and may be
found among the O/eraceous plants in the
natural orders of Linnzus, by other au-
thors called Apetalous.

Such are all the Goo/efoots, of which there Chenopo-
are no lefs than twenty fpecies, moft ofdium.
them growing common on dunghills, and
in wafte places, and having no beauty to
attract your notice. “They are known by
their five-leaved, five-cornered calyx, in-
clofing one round, flattifh feed, fhaped like
a lens. One of the moft refpeétable {pecies
is the Englifh Mercury or Allgood*, grow-
ing frequently in wafte places, and by walls
and way-fides; and cultivated in fome
places as a fubftitute to Spinach. The leaves
of this are triangular, quite entire, waving,
and having the under furface covered with
a kind of meal; the flowers grow in com-
pound fpikes, which are deftitute of leaves,
and ipring from the axils.

Beet is very nearly allied to thefe in its Beta.
characters; but it is diftinguifhed by hav-
ing a kidney-fhaped feed, wrapped up in
the fubftance of the calyx. In its wild
ftate, on the fea-coaft, and in falt marfhes 4,

¢ Chenopodium Bonus Henr eus Lin. Curtis, Lond.
ul. 37. Ger. 32. 4 Peta maritima Lin,

if

222

Salfola.

LETTER xVil

it has two flowers coming out together;
the ftalks are weak, and lie moftly « on the
ground, the leaves are triangular and oblique
or vertical; the divifions of the calyx are
equal and not toothed at bottom, and it
flowers the firft year of its rifing from feed.
The garden fort * has many flowers coming
out together, the ftalks ere, the leaves
oblong “lance- -fhaped, thick and fucculent ;
the divifions of the calyx ate toothed at the
bafe, and it does not flower till the fecond
year.

It fometimes has pale green leaves, and
{mall roots; fometimes dark red ot purple
leaves, with large purple roots fhaped like
a carrot ; but thefe are not generally tuppofed
to be diftina {pecies.

The Glafworts are alfo of this Okraceous
tribe. They are diftinguifhed by having a
large feed, {piral like a Mee covered wah
4 kind of capfule which is wrapped up in
the calyx. ‘There is one fort that grows
wild in the falt marfhes', which Hes a
herbaceous ftalk that lies on the ground;
awl-fhaped, rough-leaves terminating in
{pines ; the calyxes edged; and fitting clofe
in the axils, and a trifid fty le.

Another fort which grows wild in
warmer countries, has alfo herbaceous

© Beta vulgaris Lin:
f Salfola Kali Lin. Fl. dan. 818. Mor. hift. 3. 5. t.
Tarte

€ Salfola Soda Lin. Jacqu. hort. t. 68.
fpreading

PENTAND. DIGYN.

fpreading ftems ; but it is a much larger
plant than the other, and the leaves have
no fpines. ‘Thefe or any of the forts yield
the cauftic alkaline falt, which is fo necef-
fary in that moft elegant and ufeful manu-
facture of glafs; but this is the fort gene-
rally ufed.

The Globe Amaranth” is of this clafs and Gom-

order. Its fine round head is compofed o
many flowers, which have a large, boat-
fhaped, flat, coloured calyx, of two leaves;
a corolla divided into five rude, villous feg-
ments; a cylindric nectary, divided into
five parts at top; a ftyle cut half way into
two; and a capfule opening horizontally,
and containing one feed. India is its native
country: the ftalk is erect and annual; the
leaves are lance-fhaped, as are the branches
and peduncles, which are long and naked,
except that a pair of fhort leaves grows
clofe under each head of flowers, which
always comes out fingle. “he calyx and
corolla being dry and chaffy, will retain
their colour feveral years, and hence their
name of Amaranth or incorruptible. Bright
purple is the ufual colour, but fometimes
the heads are brilliant white, or filver-
coloured. The name muft not lead you to
fuppofe this, any more than the crefcd
Amaranth, to be of the fame kind with the

f phrena.

true Amaranth’. When you are told that Ulmus.

k Gomphrena globofa Lin, Mill, fig, pl. 21.
* See Letter XXVIII.
the

224 ier yen VIT

the En is of the fame clafs and order, and
alfo one of the incomplete tribe, as having
no corolla, you will probably reflect that
an artificial fyftem is very different from a
natural arrangement: and in this you are
not miflaken ; but then you muft contider,
that an artificial fyftem is the only one
that can enable you to find out the genera
and fpecies of plants, which 1s the art I
propole to inftruét you in. Few perfons
know that the Elm has any flower, be-
caufe it 1s inconfiderable in fize and appear-
ance, and comes out in an early inclement
feafon: however this tree in reality abounds
in flowers, before the leaves make their ap-
pearance. They have no corolla, but a
quinquefid calyx: the flower quickly pañles,
and is fucceeded by one feed covered and
furrounded by a flat membrane. The dif-
ferent forts, known by the names of Rough
Witch Elm, Smooth-leaved Witch Elm, Witch
Hazel, Englifh Eln, Dutch Elm, Upright
Elm, &c. are fuppoted to be varieties of one
{pecies *; andall have doubly-ferrated leaves,
unequal at the bafe.

Gentiena The Gentians are alfo of this clafs and
order, and of that fubdivifion which has
monopetalous inferior corollas. “They are
diftinguifhed from the other genera of this
fabdivifion by the capfule, which is ob-
long, round, and fharp-pointed; has one

k Ulmus campeftris Zin. Duham. t. 108, Hunter’s
, vel. filva, p. 114.
cell.

PENTAND. DIGYN.

cell, opens by two valves; and has two
receptacles on the infide, each adhering
lengthwife to one of the valves. The form
of the fruit is conftant; whereas the figure
and number of parts in the flower vary in
the different fpecies, which are numerous !,
Great part of the fkill and fagacity of the
botanift confifts in feizing thofe parts which
are conftant in all the fpecies, for the ge-
neric characters, and in this confifts the
great merit of Linnæus; writers before him
having either taken all parts indifcrimi-
nately, or elfe the fame part invariably for
this purpofe.

The fpecies have either four or five pe-
tals, and the latter have either funnel-
fhaped corollas, or elfe approaching to bell-
fhaped; hence a threefold divifion of the
genus.

The principal of the genus is the Great
Yellow Gentian™, which has a fingle ftalk,
three feet high, covered with leaves that
are large, ovate, marked underneath with
nerves meeting at the tip; the lower ones
petiolate, the upper feflile. ‘There is but
one flower to a peduncle, but they grow
round the ftalk in whorls: the calyx re-
fembles a double fpathe: the corolla is
rotate, cut into five fegments"; the colour
yellow irregularly dotted. The root is very

1 Thirty-nine.
= Gentiana lutea Lin, Mill. fig. 139. 2.
* Varying fometimes as far as eight,
large,

te
to
ON

Chlora.

LETTER XVII.

large, and remarkably bitter; it communi-
cates the bitternets fo mhchito thie whole
plant, that it remains always untouched by
the cattle in the mountainous paftures of
Germany and Switzerland, where it grows
naturally.

The Lefer Centaury ° is of this genus,
and is diftinguifhed by its dichotomous
ftalk, and its funnel-fhaped corollas divided
into five fegments; they are of a bright
purple colour, but often fade to white.
This plant is annual, and varies much in
height. according to the foil, from three or
four inches toa foot. ‘This is extremely
bitter as well as the other.

There are feveral beautiful littl Gen-
tians, with flowers of the fineft blue that
can be imagined, growing wild in the Alps.
One of them is “frequently cultivated in
gardens, under the name of Gentianella’,
and is fingular for having its fine bell-fhaped
azure flowers larger than the whole plant
befides.

Yellow Centaury * is alfo naturally of this
genus; but has been removed to the eighth
clafs ; firf with the title of Black/tonia, and
now under that of Chlora.

But methinks you are étions to be

° Gentiana Centaurium Lin. Chironia Centaurium
Curtis, Lond. IV. 22.
’ Gentiana Acaulis Lin. Jacquin auftr. 2. t. 135.
Curt. Magaz. 52.
« Chlora perfoliata Lin. See Letter XIX.
on

UMBELLAT &, 227

en ground: youiare-better acquainted with,
And indeed you are already fo well verfed
in the nature of the umbellate tribe, that I
am perfuaded you wall find little difficulty in
determining the genera and {pecies. Many
of them are very generally known, either
for their ufe in medicine or the’ kitchen,
or ‘elfe for their poifonous qualities. Moft
of thofe which grow on dry foils have
roots that have an! aromatic pungent fmell
and tafte ; whilft thofe which grow in moift
places or in the water, as many of them
do, are in a greater or lefs degree poifonous.

: You have long fince been able to diftin- scandix,
guifh true Parfley and Chervil from Fool’s-
Parfley'. There is another wild plant that
grows upon banks and by way-fides, called
Hemlock-Chervil*, which has been. mif-
taken for Garden-Chervil‘, and has pro-
duced bad effects, when put into foups: it
is not however fo dangerous, becaufe it
does not grow wild in gardens, and we
muft go out of our way to poifon ourfelves :
on another account however it is more dan-
gerous, becaufe it is not only of the fame
divifion, as having partial involucres only,
but alfo. of the fame genus; and therefore
liable to be miftaken for the true Chervil,
even when in flower, which Fool’s-Parfley

© See Letter V,

* Scandix Anthrifcus Lin. Curtis, Lond. I. 19.

* Scandix Cerefolium Lin. Jacquin auftr. 4. t. 390.
Compare PI, 13. f. 2, & Pl. 5. f. 3.

Q2 cannot

228

Sium.

LETTER XVII.

cannot be. ‘They have both a radiate co-
rolla, petals notched at the end, the flowers
in the middle often incomplete and produc-

ing no feed, and the fruits of an oblong

fhape. However, notwithftanding all this
fimilitude of character, they are eafily to be
diftinguifhed both in and out of flower.
Hemlock-Chervil is a much lower plant;
the ftalks are {mooth indeed, and the leaves
finely cut, but they are hairy, the divifions
much fmaller and clofely placed, and the
green much deeper than in Garden Chervil;
the corollas alfo are uniform, the feeds
ovate, and very rough. Garden Chervil is
a tall, genteel, fmooth plant; the umbels
come out on the fides of the branches, and
fit clofe to them; and the feeds are long,
narrow and fhining. After all, I am per-
fuaded that when you have an opportunity
of comparing thefe two plants together, as
you eafly may, the gardener furnifhing
you with one, and the other being fo com-
mon in a wild ftate, you will wonder that
any perfon fhould ever have confounded
them. Here you fee we have an inftance
of an umbellate plant, growing on dry land,
that is poifonous; you are not therefore to
conclude that all thefe are wholefome, any
more than that every water fpecies is
poifonous. ;

We have another inftance of fatal confu-
fion, not in two plants of this tribe, but in
one of this, with another of a different clats ;

8 namely,

UMBELLATÆ.

namely, of the Creeping Water Parfnep”,
with Water Cre/s*, which belongs to the
cruciform flowers. You are fo well mif-
trefs of both tribes, that it is impoflible you
fhould miftake them when in flower; but
this is not the time when Water-Crefles
are eaten, and this plant is fo different in
its flowering ftate, that I am perfuaded an
eater of it would think himfelf impofed
upon, if he were then fhown it for Water-
Crefles. When they are both young they
are really not unlike; and fince they fre-
quently grow together, the one may fome-
times be gathered for the other; though I
muft confefs that I have not met with the
miftake more than twice, and that only in
a fingle piece among a confiderable quan-
tity: however, the leaves of Water Parf-
nep are of a light green; the fmall leaves
compofing the whole winged or pinnate
leaf are longer and narrower, ferrated on
the edges, and pointed at the end; whereas
thofe of Water-Crefles have a tincture of
brown upon them, the leaflets are roundith,
and particularly the odd one at the end is
very large and blunt, and they are none of
them regularly ferrated, but have only a
few indentures on their edges.

* Sium nodiflorum Lin, Fl. dan. t. 247. Mor, hift.
fo, te Grea.

* Sifymbrium Nafturtium Zin, FI], dan. t, 690.
Mor. hift. f. 3. t. 4. f. 8. Ger. 257. 5. Compare PI,
13. f. x. with PL ar,

Q 3 The

229

230

Conium.

LETTER XVII.

The characters by which you will know
the Water-Parfnep when in flower. are
thefe—it /has both an univerfal and partial
involucre, the flowers’ are all fertile, the
petals are heart-fhaped, and the feeds are
ovate and ftreaked.’ “Thisfpecies is dif-
tinguifhed from the others by its pinnate
leaves, and the umbels of flowers fitting
clofe to the ftem, in the axils.

Another poifonous herb.of great fame is
the Hemlock”. A tall plant, three feet
high and more, eafily known by its purple-
{potted ftalk. It ‘has both involucres, the
univerfal of three}: four, five, or feven
broadifh reflexed leaves; the partial of three
or four broad leaves ‘only, on one fide of
the umbel; both very fhort. The flowers
are all fertile; irregular without, regular
within: the petals heart-fhaped. The fruit
is almoft fpherical, marked with five notched
ridges. The common fpecies is diftin-
guifhed by its {mooth ftreaked feeds. The
leaves are large, abundant, of a dark green
but fhining, triply pinnate, with the laft
divifions obtufely indented; :1t has many
umbels of white flowers, with numerous
{preading rays. It grows wild on ditch
banks, in fhady lanes, about dunghills and
church-yards: and is a biennial plant.

The waters afford other poifonous herbs,

~ Conium maculatum Lin, Curtis, Lond. 1. 17.
Ger. 1061. ‘ ' .
as

UMBELLAT Æ. 231

as Water-Hemlock *, Long-leaved Water-
Hemlock ¥, Hemlock Water Dropwort*, and
Common Water Dropwort*: but let us quit
thefe ill-omened plants, and proceed to
others more innocent, and more within
your reach.

Two umbellate plants you will be fure Chero-
to find under every hedge, called /Vi/d Cher- PPYlam-
vil” and Rough Chervil*: they are both of
the fame genus, but of a different genus
from Garden Chervil. They have partial,
but no univerfal involucres; thefe are of five
leaves, concave and bent back; fome flow-
ers in the middle drop without leaving
feeds; the petals are bent in and heart-
fhaped; and the fruit is oblong and {mooth.
The firft, vulgarly called Cow-eed or Cow-
parfley, has a {mooth ftreaked ftalk, and
the joints {welling but a little. The fecond
has a rough ftalk, and the joints more tu-
mid. ‘The firft is remarkably leafy, and
the leaves very large, and generally fmooth,
except the nerves. The. fecond has hairy

* Phellandrium aquaticum Lin. Mor. hift. f. 0. t. 7,
07. Caer, 1003. 2.

¥ Cicuta virofa Lin. F1. dan. 208. Mor. hift. f. 9.
t. 5 f. 4. Ger. 256. 4.

+ Oenanthe crocata Lin. Philof, Tranfac. for 1747.
Ger. 1059. 4.

* Oenanthe fiftulofa Liz. Fl. dan. 846. Mor. hift.
f.9. te 7. f. 8. Ger. 1060.

> Chærophyllum fylveftre Zin. Curtis, Lond. IV.
25. Mor. hift. t. 11. f. 5. °

© Chærophyllum temulum Ziz. Curt. Lond, n. 61.
Mor. hift. t, 19, f. 7. Ger. 1038, 2.

Q4 leaves,

232

Daucus.

LETTER XVII.

leaves, not fo large, nor fo much divided ;
the umbels ufually nod, and the feeds are
deeply ftreaked. Both fometimes have a
leaf at the origin of the univerfal umbel:
both have a ftrong fmell, and approach in
their qualities to the forementioned plants,
but not enough to denominate them poi-
fonous.

Some of this tribe are fo generally ufed in
food, that they are univerfally known, and
therefore it feems impertinent to fay any
thing to you about them; and yet you may
have. eaten the roots of eee and Parfneps,
the ftalks of Angelica, Celeri and Finochia,
the leaves of Parfley, Fennel, and Sampire,
the feeds of Coriander and Carraways, with-
out knowing one of the plants when they
they are prefented to you. However, when
you meet with any of thefe in flower, you
afcribe them immediately to the umbellate
tribe. Carrot, Sampire, and Angelica range
among thofe which have both inyolucres;
Coriander has a partial involucre only ; and
the reft have neither one nor the other.
Carrot* has a large winged involucre: fome
flowers in the middle drop without feed, and
the fruit is {tiff with briftles. The outer
flowers are very irregular: and the whole
umbel, as it approaches a ftate of maturity,
takes a hollow form, very like a bird’s nett.

« Daucus Carota Lin. -In the cultivated fort all the
flowers are fertile. F1. dan. 723. Mor. umb, t. 2. Ger,

1028.
The

UMBELLATÆ. 233

The leaves are rough andhairy. The gar-
den Carrot differs little from the wild one,
but in the fize and tendernefs of the root.
Sampire® has the umbel not flat, or hol- Crith-

low like the laft, but hemifpherical, the 7“
flowers all alike and fertile, the petals flat,
the fruit ovate, flatted. The ftalks are fuc-
culent, the leaves pinnate, compofed of three
or five divifions, each of which has three or
five {mall, thick, lance-fhaped leaves ; the
corollas are yellow. ‘This herb ftrikes its
roots deep into the crevices of the rocks, and
hangs down; growing chiefly in places difh-
cult of accefs, the herb- gatherers are tempted
to fubftitute another plant’, which they ob-
tain without trouble on the beach, but
which has none of the warm, aromatic qua-
lity of the Sampire. Thofe who live on the
. Eaft coaft muft wonder what is meant by
calling the occupation of aSampire-gatherer,
dangerous trade, when they obtain it walk-
ing at their eafe on the flat fandy fhore.
But theirs is a roundifh, jointed, taftlefs
ftalk, with a tough ftring running through
the middle of it®, inftead of a flat leaf, with
a pungent tafte. This Marfh Sampire ranges
in the firft order of the firft clafs, and is
burnt to make kelp for the glafs-works.

© Crithmum maritimum Liz. Jacqu. hort. 2. 187.
Ger. 533. 1.

Inula crithmoides Zin. Golden Sampire.

& Salicornia europea Lin. Marth Sampire, called
alfo jointed Glaffwort or Saltwort. FI. dan. 303.

Blackw. 598.
Lies Here

234

Angelica,

LETTER XVII.

Here you fee what confufion of names we
have again, and how difficult it muft beto
obtain the plant you want, without know-
ing fomething more of it than the name. It
is generally true of objects much in requeft,
that where people have them not, they
fubftitute others, to which they give the
fame title, whether they have the fame qua-
lities or no; by which, if they do not injure
themfelves or their neighbours, they at leaft
miflead the incautious and unexperienced
naturalift.

Angelica has large globofe umbels, all the
flowers in them are regular and fertile, the
petals are inflex, or bent upwards at theend ;
the fruit is roundifh, cornered, or furrowed, -
and terminated with two reflex ftyles.

The cultivated® and wild’ Angelica are
allowed on all hands to be diftinét fpecies.
They have both pinnate leaves; but the
firft has the odd lobe at the end divided

generally into three parts; the fecond has

all the leaflets equal, lance-fhaped, and fer-
rated about the edges. The firft is a much
larger plant in all refpeéts, the leaflets
broader, rather ovate than lance-fhaped,
and the corollas greenifh: the fecond has a
thinner and lefs fucculent ftem, fcarcely

* Angelica Archangelica Zin. Fl. dan. t. 206. Ger.

[TE ME
' Angelica fylveftris Zzz. Mor. hift. f. 9. t. 3. f. 2.
Ger. 999. 2.

any

UMBELLATÆ, 235

any univerfal involucre, and the corollas
tinged with red.

Coriander * has no proper univerfal invo- Corian-
lucre, though there be fometimes one leaf, um
asin the Wild Angelica ; the partial one con-
fifts of three leaves, and is fhort. The
flowers in the middle produce no feed; the
petals are bent inwards, and heart-fhaped;
the outer ones large. The fruit is fpheri-
cal, as you know. The calyx of each
little flower is more evident in this than in
the other umbellate plants. The divifions
of the leaves next the ground are broad;
thofe of the upper ones narrow: they and
the whole plant are fmooth, and have a
ftrong rank fmell, like bugs.

Parfnep' has all the flowers fertile and Pañinaca.
regular, the petals entire, and bent inwards ;
the fruit oblong, flatted and furrounded
with amembrane. The leaves are fimply
pinnate. The garden Parfnep differs not
{pecifically from the wild, which has hairy
leaves, whereas thofe of the firft are {mooth ;
but {moothnefs is acommon effect of cul-
ture. Thecultivated plant is alfo of courfe
much larger, and the roots fucculent and
efculent : both have yellow corollas.

Fenne/™ has likewife all the flowers fer- Ancthum.
tile and regular; and the petals entire and

* Coriandrum fativum Zin. Blackw. 176. Ger. 1012.
? Paftinaca fativa Lin. Ger. 1025.
~ ™ Anethum Feeniculum Lia, Mill, Dluftr. Moris, f. 9.
Ba. f 1. (Gr: 1092,

7 | bent

236

Carum.

Apium.

LETTER XVII:

bent inwards, as in the laft: the fruit is
nearly ovate, flatted, and ftreaked, Dy//",
which is alfo ofthis genus, has the fruit
furrounded with a membrane, and more
flatted than that of Fennel. Sweet Fennel
is but a variety of the common fort, though
the lobes of the leaves are longer, more
flender, and not fo denfe as in that; the feeds
are longer and much fweeter. Finochia is
probably another variety, though a much
humbler plant, {welling much in breadth
and thicknefs juft above the ground. The
leaves of all thefe are very finely cut.

Carraway ° has no proper involucre, but
a fingle leaf at the origin of the univerfal
umbel; the middle flowers fall without
feed; the petals are keeled, bent inwards,
and notched at the end; the feeds are of an
oblong ovate form, and ftreaked.

Parfley? and Smallage, or Celeri3, are of
the fame genus. They have a fort of invo-
lucre, generally of one leaf; all the flowers
fertile ; the petals equal, and bent inwards ;
the fruit {mall, ovate, and ftreaked. They
have both winged leaves, with the leaflets
linear on the ftalk in Parfley, wedge-fhaped
in Smallage, of which Celeri is only an im-
provement from warmer countries. Our
wild Smallage however, which is common

" Anethum graveolens Lin. Ger, 1033.

© Carum Carui Lin. Mor. umb. t. 8. Ger. 1034.

P Apium Petrofelinum Lin. PI. 5. f. 1. Ger. 1013.

* Apium graveolens Linnai. FI, dan. 790. Moris, t. g.
f. 8. Ger. 1014.

by

UMBELLATÆ. 237

by ditches and brooks, cannot be rendered
efculent by culture.

Earth-nut or Pig-nut, * whofe roots are Bunium.
like a {mall potatoe and eatable, has both
involucres, the leffer ones narrow as a hair ;
the flowers in aclofe umbel, all fertile ; the
corollas regular, with heart-fhaped petals;
and the fruit ovate. It grows, not uncom-
monly, wild on dry paftures.

Ferula*, in the dry ftalk of which Prome- Feruta,
theus brought fire from heaven, has both in-
volucres; all the flowers fertile, the petals
heart-fhaped; the fruit oval, flat, and
marked with three ftreaks on each fide. [It
is fo lofty and large a plant as to have ac-
quired the name of Fennel-giant ; the lower
leaves fpread two feet, and are fubdivided
into very long, narrow, fimple leaflets ; the
ftalk is hollow, jointed, and will grow ten or
twelve feet high: when thefe are dry they
have a light dry pith, which readily takes
fire ; andthe people of Sicily ufe it as tinder.

It is a fpecies of Ferula that produces the
Aa fetida*.

Cow-Par/nep* isa very large plant, though Heracle-
not fo gigantic as the laft. It has two um:
involucres, but as they are very apt to drop
off, you may eafily be deceived in that re-

* Bunium Bulbocaftanum Liv. Curtis, Lond. IV. 24.
Ger. 1064. 1,2. There is a fmaller and a greater fort.

* Ferula communis Lin. Ger. 1056.

* Ferula Affa foetida Lin. Kœmpf, ameen. t. 536.

“ Heracleum Sphondylium Lin Mor, hift, f. 0. t. 16.
f. 1. Ger, 1009,

{pect.

238

Scandix.

Rhus.

LETTER XVII.

fpet. The corolla is very irregular, bent in
and notched. ‘The fruit isovate, notched,
flatted, ftreaked, and with a membrane
round the edge. In moft of the fpecies, the
middle flowers fall feedlefs ; but in our com-
mon one all the flowers are fertile : the
leaves are winged, and the lobes pinnatifid.
This plant grows common in meadows and
paftures.

Shepherd’ s-needle or Venus’s-comb* is re-
markable for long proceffes or beaks termi-
nating the feeds, and giving it the appear-
ance of Geranium, when in fruit. It is of
thefame genus with Chervil, and is a com-
mon wecdamong corn. But of thefe umbel-
late plants enough.

Of the third order of this fifth clafs we
have feveral trees and fhrubs ; asthe Varnifh-
trees and Sumach, Wayfaring trees and
Lauruftinus, Caflines, Elder, Bladder-nut,
&c. The firft are known by their inferior
flowers, their five-leaved calyx, their co-
rolla of five petals, and their berry with
one feed in it.

Virginian Sumach* is common among
your fhrubs, and known to you by the
young branches being covered with a velvet-
like down, refembling both in colour and
texture a ftag’s horn when firft budding ;
the branches are crooked and deformed; the

" Scandix Peéten Zin, Curt. Lond. 5. 21. Mor.
bff otal. fa. Ger. 1040.1. Pl./73) igs
“ Rhus typhinum Liz, Duhamel,

leaves

PENTANDs 3, 4,164

leaves are winged, with fix or feven pair of
lance-fhaped bee fharply ferrated, and
nappy beneath. The flowers are produced
in clofe tufts at the ends of the branches,
and are followed by feeds inclofed in purple,
woolly, fucculent covers, which givethem
their autumnal hue, when the leaves fade
firft to purple and then to feuillemort co-
lour.

233

Wayfaring-tree*, Marfb-elder’, and Lau- vibur-

cs fog es
rufiinus*, are all of one genus ; having fupe- num.

rior flowers, a five-leaved calyx, a corolla
divided into five fegments, and a berry in-
clofing one feed.

The firft has heart- fhaped leaves very
much veined, ferrated-about the edges, and
white cihelctleathi aie fecorid-had bed
leaves, with glands upon the petioles ; the
flowers round: the outfide of the cyme are
barren, with the corollas much larger than
the others. The Ge/der Rofe is a remark-

able variety of this, with the flowers growing
in a ball, and every one of them barren. he
third bis the leaves ovate, and entire, with

_ the veins underneath villous : this is an ever-

green.

The fourth order is a very fmall one, Parnafiia,

compriling only two genera; of which Par-

* Viburnum Lantana Lin. Duhamel, t. 103... Ger.
1490.

¥ Viburnum Opulus Zim. Fl. dan. 661. Duham. t.
16. Ger. 1424. 1.

? Viburnum Tinus Lir. Curt. Magaz. 38.

naffia

240

Statice.

Linum.

LETTER XVII.

nafia* is one. This grows wild in wet
meadows, and on the borders of marfhes, but
not very common. It is eafily known by its
calyx divided into five parts ; its corolla of
five petals; five heart-fhaped netaries, fur-
nifhed with hairs, upon the top of which are
little balls; a large ovate germ, without any
ftyle; but four ftigmas; and a capfule of
one cell and four valves. It has a fingle
ftalk, with one heart-fhaped leaf on it, em-
bracing the ftalk, and one flower only ; the
corolla is white.

Of the fifth order, Pentagynia, is Thrift,
Flax, &c. Thrift» has the calyx of one
leaf, entire, plaited and dry, like chaff; a
corolla of five petals; andone feed crowned
with the calyx. Thefe are the characters
ofthe genys, which has twenty-two {pecies.
Common Thrift has a threefold involucre or
common calyx, and the flowers growing in
a round head, upon the top of a naked ftalk ;
the leaves, which form a clofe tuft near the
ground, are linear. The corollas are red, of
different fhades, from pale flefh colour to
bright fcarlet; varieties occafioned by foil
and fituation ; for this plant is found both
on falt marfhes and mountains. Thrift was
much ufed formerly for edging the borders
in flower gardens, but it is now almoft en-
tirely out of date.

Flax has alfo a corolla of five petals; but
the calyx is five-leaved, and the capfule

2 Mill. illuftr. Fl. dan. 584. Ger. 840. 1.

b Statice Armeria Liz. Ger. 602. * Scariofe

opens

PENTAND, 3, 4, 5.

opens by five valves, having ten cells within,
in each of which is one feed. There are
no lefs than twenty-two fpecies of Flax:
that whofe ufe is fo extenfive* is diftin-
guifhed from the reft by thecalyx and cap-
fule being pointed, the petals being notched,
the leaves lance-fhaped, and alternate upon
the ftem, and the ftalk unbranched. On
the top of this are four or five flowers, with
beautiful blue corollas, very apt to fall off.
It is an annual plant, about a foot and half
high, in the fields. In the garden it will
grow fix inches higher, and branch a little
where it ftands detached.

Both the ufe and beauty of Flax will in-
tereft you; fo I leave you with this impref-
fion, and bid you once more adieu.

‘Linum ufitatifimum Zim. Curt. Lond, 5. 22.
Mor, hift. f. 5. t. 26. f. 1. Ger. 556.

R BETTER

241

HET TER XVI
E HE CLASS HEX ANDRIHIA,

May the 15th, 1775.

E are returned, dear coufin, to the

point from which we firft fet out‘;
the lihaceous tribe of plants being included
in the firft order of the fixth clafs, in the
Syftem of Linnæus. Thefe fuperb and beau
tiful flowers have gained fo much on the
efteem of the curious in Europe, that they
have {pared neither trouble in fetching them
from the fartheft parts of the Eaft, nor ex-
penfe in cultivating them at home. Hence
they are fo generally known, that perfons
not at all verfed in Botany readily find them
to be of the fame family. You certainly are
at no lofs to determine their general relation
and ana logy, from the hints which were
thrown out in the firft letter, and the ex-
perience you have fince acquired. It re-
mains therefore only to be acquainted with
their generic and fpecific characters; to
which end I fhall prefent you with fome
that may be moft within your reach: were
T to fet es ery liliaceous plant before you, th
beauty of which merits your attention, I

© See Letter I.

fhould

HEXAND. LILIACEÆ, 243

fhould almoft exhauft the tribe. Two cau-
tions you are to obferve: firit, that the
whole liliaceous tribe is not confined to the
clafs Hexandria', though the far greater
part of itis; fecondly, that other plants, few.
indeed in number’, are to be found in the
fame order.

You remember that the Lily had no
calyx; you are not however to fuppote that
the whole tribe is deftitute of this impor-
tant part of the flower. It is a circumftance
that occafions a threefold fubdivifion of the
order, into fuch as have a calyx; fuch as
have a fpathe or fheath, covering the co-
rolla whilft a bud, but torn and forfaken
by the corolla when it is expanded; and
laftly, fuch as have the corolla quite naked.

You would not perhaps have fufpeéted at Brom:lia.
firft fight that the Azanas or Pine- Apple ss,
of ie tribe. It is almoft the only genus
capable of mifleading you. ‘The flower has
a trifid, fuperior calyx, a corolla of three
petals, a fcale faftened to the bafe of each
petal; the fruit is a fort of berry. The
{pecies “is diftinguifhed by its long, nar-
row, pointed ened! like thofe of Aloes,
ferrated on the edges, and fet with tender

See Letter XIV.

£ Eighteen genera out of 65. The whole cjafs has
eighty-one genera and four tt ed and feventy-taree
{pecies.

h Bromelia Ananas Linnz?. Comm. hort. 1. t. 57.
Trew Ehret. €. 2.

R 2 {pines ;

244

Tradef-

cantia.

Galan-
thus.

LETTER XVIII.

{pines ; and by the fruit being terminated
with a bufh of leaves, commonly: called the
crown, which being planted takes root,
and produces another fruit. ‘There are dif-
ferences in the fruit, proper to be remarked
by thofe who cultivate this luxury; but
they are no more than varieties of the fame
fpecies, and therefore do not concern us as
botanitts.

Tradefcantia, or Virginian Spiderwort', is
another of the liliaceous tribe furnifhed with
a calyx, which in this is three-leaved; the
corolla alfo has three petals, and the cap-
fule has three cells. It is remarkable for
having the filaments fringed with pur-
ple jointed hairs. The fpecies common
in gardens is. diftinguifhed from feven
others, by its fmooth, erect ftalk, and by
the flowers growing in clufters at the top
of it. Thetfe are of a fine purple, and
blow in fucceffion moît part of the fummer,
though each flower continues open but a
day. From the number of parts in the
fructification, and its enfiform leaves, this
plant will range in the fame natural order
with Jrzs and its congeners *.

Of thofe which have a /pathe or /heath
inftead of a calyx, there is the modeit, the
humble, the early Szow-drop'; that comes

* Tradefcantia Virginica Lin. Mor. hifi. f. 15. t. 2.
f. 4. Curt. Mag. 105. Pl. 14. f. 3.

* Called Erfatæ by Linnæus. See Letter XIV.

* Galanthus nivalis Lin. Jacq. auftr. 4. 313. Ger.
147. Park. parad. 107.

one

HEXAND. LILIACEÆ. 245

one of the firft of the year to falute us, and,
no lefs white than the {now itfelf, is fre-
quently covered by it. This is diftinguifhed
by its fuperior corolla of fix petals, of which
the three inner ones are fhorter by half than
the others, and notched at the end. Thefe
are fuppofed to be the neétary. More :
needs not to be faid of a flower fo univer-
fally known.

Narciffus is another of this divifion. Narcifus.
There are many fpecies, all united by thefe
characters: a fuperior corolla of fix equal
petals, and a funnel-fhaped nectary, of one
piece, within which are the ftamens. The
moift known fpecies are the common white
Narciffus™, the Daffodil *, the Polyanthus
Narciffus°, and the Fonguil’. The firft
and fecond, in a natural ftate, have only
one flower burfting from the fame fheath ;
the third and fourth have feveral: the firft
has the neétary or cup in the middle of the
flower, wheel-fhaped, very fhort, chaffy,
and a little notched at the edge: the 1e-
cond has a large, erect, curled, bell-fhaped
cup 4, fometimes as long as the ovate petals

of

™ Nareiflus poeticus Lin, Ger. 124. 7. Park. parad:
7

* Narciflus Pfeudonarciflus Lin. Ger. 133. 2.

° Narciflus Tazetta Lin, Pl. 14. f. 2. of this work.

P Narciflus Jonquilla Lin. Curtis, Bot. Mag. 15.

4 Milton has made poetical ufe of this cup :-———
“ And Daffodillies fill their cups with tears
** To ftrew the laureate hearfe where Lycid lies.”

R 3 | Shakefpeare

Amaryl-
lis.

LE DTEÆER XVI
of the corolla: the third has a beil-fhaped,

plaited cup, truncate at the end, and one
third of the length of the petals; this has
flat leaves, whereas the fourth has them
fubulate, long, and narrow like a rufh;
this alfo has a fhort bell-fhaped cup. The
efteem in which thefe flowers have been
always held, is the occafion that a great
number of beautiful varieties have been
produced from the plain fimple parents.
The Dutch catalogues have no lefs os
thirty varieties of Polyanthus Narciffu
and in the other three the cup is help
changed into petals by culture. The pe-
tals of the firft are white, and the cup yel-
low: the petals of the fecond are naturally
pale brimftone, and the cup yellow: the
petals of the third are either white or vel-
low, with orange-coloured cups : and the
fourth is all yellow.

There is no genus of plants in the whole
round of vegetable nature more fuperb in
its flowers than the beautiful Amarylhs:
known by its fuperior, bell-fhaped corolla

of fix petals; its ftamens of unequal length ;

and its trifid ftigma. Befides feveral other
{pecies, either lefs obvious, or lefs beauti-
tiful *, you will find here the ‘acobea

Shakfpeare informs us of the early appearance of

this flou er :——

——** The Daffodil
6€ That comes before the {wallow dares, and takes
« The winds of March.”

"A. vittata. Curt. Magaz. 129.—A. crifpa, figured
by John Miller in his 8th Plate.
Lily,

LILIACEZÆ,

Lily*, which produces but one, or at moit
two, of its large, deep-red flowers, from
the fame fheath; the three under petals
are larger than the others, and with the
ftamens and piftil are bent downwards:
the whole flower ftands nodding on one
fide of the ftalk, and makes a moft beauti-
ful appearance, efpecially in the fun, when
it appears to be powdered with gold duff.

The Mexican Lily‘ has feveral flowers,
generally from two to four, burfting from
the fame fpathe; the corolla 1s bell-fhaped
and regular, the three outer petals are re-
verfed or reflex at the tip, the three inner
ones are ciliate at the bafe; the {ftamens and
piftil are bent downwards. . The flowers
are large, of a bright. copper; colour, in-
clining to red; and the ftyle is red, which
is unufual: the bafe of the corolla is of a
whitifh green. | |

The Guernfey Lily * has alfo many flow-
ers in the fame fheath, the corollas revo-
jute, or rolled back, and the ftamen and
piftil upright.. The corollas are of the
richeft red: colour, powdered with gold.
This fine flower is fuppofed to have come
originally from Japan; and to have been

* Amaryllis formofiffima Lin. Mill. fig. pl. 23. Curt.
Magaz. 47.

* Amaryllis Reginæ Ziz. Mill. pl. 224 J. Mill.
iluftr.

“ Amaryilis farnienfis Liz. Douglas monogr. Ehret.

4, 9. f, 3.
R 4 left

to

NI

Tulipa.

Conval-
laria.

LETTER XVIII.

left by a wrecked veflel on the coaft of the
ifland of Guernfey ; where, being protected
among the fand by the fea reed, it fprung
up to the great furprife of the inhabitants.
The Tulip and fome others which I fhall
now prefent to you, agree with the Lily in
having naked, unprotected corollas *. The
Tulip”, unbounded in the variety of co-
lour, in the cultivated ftate of its gaudy
flowers, has an inferior bell-fhaped corolla
of fix petals, and no ftyle, but only a tri-
angular ftigma, fitting clofe to a long, prif-
matic germ. The fpecies is diftinguifhed
by its fhort lance-fhaped leaves, and its
upright flowers, from the Italian Tulip*,
whote flowers nod a little, have longer and
narrower lance-fhaped leaves, yellow co-
rollas never varying in colour, ending in
acute points, and having a fweet fcent.
The common colour of the Eaftern Tulip,
in a ftate of nature, is red. ‘This, when
broken into ftripes by culture, has obtained
the imaginary value of a hundred ducats for
a fingle root, among the Dutch florifts.
How different is the {weet, the elegantly-

Y Linnæus has fplit the liliaceous tribe, in his natural
orders, into the Enfatæ before mentioned ; the Spathacee
juft gone through; and the Coronariz into which we
now enter. Some alfo of his Sarmentacee belong to
this tribe.

“ Tulipa Gefneriana Lin. Ger. 138. 3. 4. & 139—
146.
* Tulipa fylveftris Lin. FI. dan. 375. Ger. 138.
3, 2.

6 modeft

LILIACE &.

modeft Lily of the valley *, from the flaunt-
ing beauty of the Tulip! The pure, bell-
fhaped corolla, is divided at top into fix
fegments, which are bent back a little:

aid the feed-veffel is not a capfule, as in

moft of this clafs, but a berry, divided.

however into three cells, in each of which
is lodged one feed: this berry, before it
ripens, is fpotted. I doubt not but that
you have often fearched for it in vain, be-
caufe this plant {eldom produces its fruit :
the reafon is, that it runs very much at the
root, and increafes fo much that way as
almoft entirely to forget the other. I have
feen large tracts covered with it, in the re-
mote recefles of woods, without a fingle
berry; and the way to obtain them is to
imprifon the plant within the narrow cir-
cuit of a pot, when, by preventing it from
running at the root, it will take to increaf-
ing by ‘the red berry. ‘This fpecies is dit-
tinguifhed from Solomon’ s-feal, and others
of the genus, by the flowers growing ona
{cape or naked ftalk ; at has only two leaves,
which take their rife immediately from
the root.

249

The Hyacinth is one of the moft favoured Hyacin-
plants of the florifts. In the natural ftate, ‘hes-

wherein you feldom fee it, the corolla is
fingle, and cut into fix fegments ; and there

7 Convallaria majalis Oe in Curt;) Lond.*§3 945° PI.
dan. 854. Ger. 410. This is one of the Sarmentacee
in the natural orders.

are

250

Aloe,

Agave.

LETTER) (XVIII.

are three pores or glands, at the top of the
germ, exuding honey. The fpecies from

whence all the fine varieties take their

rife*, has the corollas funnel-fhaped, di-
vided half way into fix fegments, and
fwelling out at bottom. This muft not be
confounded with the Wild Hyacinth or Blue-
beils of the European woods*, which has
longer, narrower flowers, not {welling at
bottom, but rolled back at their tips; the
bunch of flowers is alfo longer, and the
top of it bends downwards. ‘This is fre-
quently found with white corollas.

Aloe is a remarkable, beautiful, and nu-
merous genus, diftinguifhed by its erect co-
rollas, with a {preading mouth, divided
into fix fegments, and exuding a neétareous
juice at bottom: the filaments are inferted

into the receptacle. Linnæus reduces them

to ten fpecies, but there are many’ very
diftinét varieties, if not fpecies, under each.
They have all thick fucculent leaves, and
the fpecies may be feparated either by the
forms of thefe, or by the forms and manner
of growth of the flowers.

If you fhould hear of the Great American

Aloe” flowering any where in your neigh-

* Hyacinthus orientalis Lin. Mill. fig. pl. 148. Ger.
TI2—115.
* Hyacinthus non fcriptus Zin, Curtis, Lond. II. 18.
Ger. 114.
* Agave Americana Lin,
bourhood,

LILIACE Æ.

bourhood, you will find that it differs from
the Aloes properly fo called, by the corolla
being fuperior, or fitting on the top of the
germ, and the filaments being longer than
the corolla. In the firft aveunmance this
differs from almoft all the liliaceous tribe,
which have the germ inclofed within the
coroila. I fhould advertife you, that you
muft mount a ladder or {caffold to examine
the flowers, for they grow on a ftem that is
fometimes twenty feet in height. You
know it is a vulgar error that this plant
flowers once only in a hundred years; the
truth is, that in its own country it flowers in
a few years from its birth; but in our cold
inhofpitable climes, it takes many years to
produce its vait {tem and numerous flowers,
but the term of its life with us is uncertain;
after having flowered, it produces a number
of off-fets, and dies. This is not the cafe
in the Aloes properly fo called, and in them
the flowering ftem is produced from the
fide of the heart or central leaves, whereas
in this it iffues from the very centre, where
you obferve that the leaves lie very clofe
over each other before they expand.

Of plants not liliaceous, belonging to this
» “rft order of the fixth clais, theres is one
- fhrub, the Barberry °; and feveral plants de-
ficient in the corolla, as the Calamus Aro-

© Berberis vulgaris, Mill, fig. pl. 63. Ger. 1325.

5 maticus

252

Oryza.

Rumex.

L'PFENTSER L'EVIITS:

maticus or Sweet Rufh*, the Rattan‘, and all
the fpecies of Ru/h'.

The Rice® is almoft the only plant to
be found inthe fecond order of this clafs.
It has the exact form and ftruéture of the
Grafles, differing from them only in the
number of {tamens.

In the third order is the Dock, a nume-
rous and prolific genus, containing thirty-
one fpecies. It is known by the calyx of
three leaves, the corolla of three converg-
ing petals, and one triangular feed. Thefe
plants will not attract you by their beauty.
Their flowers are more numerous than con-
fiderable. Bloody Dock* has the valves of the
flowers quite entire, one of them bearing a
feed, and the leaves are lance-fhaped and
hollowed next the petiole. Curled Dock!
has the valves entire and graniferous; the
leaves lance-fhaped, waving about the
edges, and fharp-pointed at the end. Fid-
dle-Dock* has the valves notched about the
edges, one of them ufually graniferous, and
the leaves next the ground” fhaped like the

4 Acorus Calamus Lis. Blackw. 466. Mor. hift.
{..3: 6 re" PR At Ger. 02.
© Calamus Rotang Lin. Rheed. malab. 12. t. 64, 65.
f Juncus Lin. See Letter XIII. at the end.
® Oryza fativa Lin. Catefb. carol. 1. 14. Mill.
iluftr.
» Rumex fanguineus Lin. Blackw. 492. Ger. 390.
i Rumex crifpus Lin. Curtis, Lond. II. 20.
_# Rumex pulcher Lin. Mor, hift. f. 5. t. 27. £ 13.
body

HEXAND, TRIGYN.
body of a violin. The great Water Dock’

has the valves entire and graniferous; the
leaves lance-fhaped and fharp-pointed: the
common Blunt Dock" has the valves
notched and graniferous; the leaves oblong,
hollowed at the bafe, near which they are
notched, and obtufe at the end. Common
Sharp Dock” has the valves oblong, entire,
very {mall, the outer one graniferous; the
leaves oblong and hollowed at the bafe, but
drawn out into a long point. ‘Two com-
mon fpecies differ in one remarkable cir-
cumftance from all the reft; for they have
the ftaminiferous and piftilliferous flowers
on feparate plants, and therefore ftrictly
belong to the twenty-fecond clafs; but
they are evidently, as you will confefs
upon examination, of the fame natural ge-
nus with the Docks. Thefe are the Com-
mon? and Sheep’s Sorrel’, the firft growing
in meadows and paftures, the fecond on dry
fandy grounds; the firft with oblong, ar-
row-head leaves; the fecond with leaves
fhaped like the head of a halberd. Thus
you have the means of diftinguifhing eight
{pecies of Dock.

1 Rumex Hydrolapathum Hud/. Pet. 2, 1.

™ Rumex obtufus Zin. Curtis, Lond. III. 22. Ger.
388. 3.

" Rumex acutus Lin. Pet. 2. 3. Mor. 5. 27. 3.

° Rumex Acetofa Lin. Mor. hift. f. 5. t. 28. f. 1.
Ger. 396. 1. Blackw. 230.

P Rumex Acetofella Lin. Moris, t. 28. f. 11, 12.
Ger. 397. 3. Blackw. 307. Curt. Lond. 5. 29.

Meadow-

293

254

Colchi-
ca,

Alifma.

LETTER XVIII.
Meadow-Saffron 4 is alfo of this order,

and clearly of the liliaceous tribe; its re-
femblance to Crocus or Saffron is obvious.
Like that it has a /pathe for a calyx; a co-,
rolla divided into fix parts, with the tube
extending down to the bulb; and a trilo-
bate capiule, of three valves and three cells.
So that were it not that the one has three
ftamens with one ftyle, and the other fix
ftamens with three “ftyles, they would be
of the fame genus. Meadow-Saffron has
flat, lance-fhaped, erect leaves, and flow-
Conf hght purple; the firit coming out
in the {pring 1g, the latter in the autumn.

Of the laft order of this fixth clafs are
the Water Plantains, eafily known by the
calyx of three leaves, the corolla of three
petals, fucceeded by feveral compreffed cap-
iules, each containing one feed. Great Wa-
ter Plantaima* is common enough in wet
places, and on the banks of rivers and
brooks: it is diftinguifhed from its fellows
by its ovate fharp-pointed leaves, and its
obtufely triangular fruits. This is one of
the plants in which you cannot err; if the
differences of all were as ftrongly marked,
your trouble would be diédinifhe ed, but hes
your genius and fagacity, dear RAR would
Let hare toinuch rio se Tr

4 Colchicum autumnale Zin. Ger. 157. Blackw. 566.

* Alifma Plantago Zin. Curt. Lond. 5. 27. Fl.

dan. 561. Mill. illuftr. Ger. 417. 1.—A. Damafonium.

Curt. ‘Lond. ‘5. 28. Ger. 417. 2.
LEPPER

(2 255% +)

ELEAT TD ER.) ~ XIK.

THE CLASSES HEPTANDRIA, OCTANDRIA,
ENNEANDRIA, AND DECANDRIA.

June the rft, 1775.

ATURE feems to have no delight in zut.
the number feven; the feventh be-
ing the fmalleft of all the claffas: containing
no more than feven genera, andten fpecies,
Of thefe I fhall feleét only one for your ob-
fervation, which fhall be the Her/e-Chef/nut*.
It is of the firft order, and thefe are the prin-
cipal characters of the genus—a {mall calyx,
of one leaf, flightly divided at top into five
feements, and {welling at the bafe ; a corolla
of five petals, inferted into the calyx, and
unequally coloured, a capfule of three cells,
in one or two of which only isa feed. Lin-
næus fays that thous gh no more than one
feed generally comes to perfeétion, yet there
are two in the young capfule. But furely
the third cell is not made for nothing; and
therefore I fhould fufpeét that in Afia, the
native clime of this fine tree, the capfule
contains three nuts. The form of the Hor/e-
Che/nut 1s grand, the pyramids of flowers
beautiful, and making, with the large digi-
tate leaves, a fine whole.
*-7Efculus Hippocaftanum Zia. Mill. illuftr. Hunt.
Evel-filva, p. 359.
; THE

Fropzo-
lum.

Oenothe-
aa

LETTER XIX.

THE CLASS OCTANDRIA.

The eighth clafs has forty-four genera,
and two hundred and feventy-three {pecies,
Indian Nafturtium or Indian Cre/s* 1s one of
thefe; the calyx is inferior, of one leaf cut
into five fegments, and terminated by a fpur;
the corolla has five unequal petals, and 1s
fucceeded by three dry berries, in each of
which is one feed. ‘The greater {pecies” is
moft common in the gardens, and is known
by the leaves being divided at the edge into
five lobes, and being peltate, or having the
petiole faftened to the middle of the leaf’s
furface: the petals are blunt at the end in
this; whereas in the fmaller fort’ the pe-
tals are fharp-pointed. The corollas of both
are large, and of a fine orange colour.

Tree Primrofe, a Virginian plant, now fo
common in the European gardens, has a ca-
lyx of one leaf, cut into four fegments, a
corolla of four petals, anda cylindric capfule
of four cells, containing naked feeds. The
broad-leaved fort”, which is moft common,
has flat, lance-fhaped leaves, and a hairy
ftalk: the corolla is ofa fine yellow, fhut
ufually during the day, but expanding in the

* Tropeolum Lin.

* Tropæolum majus Lin. Curtis Magaz. 23.

* Tropæolum minus Lin. Curtis Mag. 98.
eee biennis Lin. Fl, dan. 446. Mill.

uftr.

evening ;

OCTANDRIA. 257
evening ; whence fome call it Nightly Prim-

rofe.

Our European /Villow-herbs are nearly Epito-
allied to this, differing only in having a
calyx of four leaves, and downy feeds. There
is one fort common in old gardens called
French Willow*, with narrow lance-fhaped
leavesinclining to linear, irregularly fet upon
the ftalk ; irregular flowers, and ftamens
bent down, The hairy fort ¥ growing com-
mon in wet places, by ditches, hedges, and
ftreams, and vulgarly known by the names
of Codlins andCream, or Goofeberry Fool, from
the fmell of the leaves when flightly bruifed,
has lance-fhaped leaves, ferrate about the
‘edges, running down the ftalk, the lower
ones oppofite: the ftamens of this and of
all our common fpecies are upright, and the
petals bifid. Four of the flamentsare fhort,
and the other four rife to the top of the tube
of the corolla, each four forming a regular
{quare. I do not know whether it is gene-
rally fo, but this year I could fcarcely find
any but what had been gnawn by infects; fo
that if I had not known the plant well, I
fhould have been puzzled to determine even
the clafs, ‘The flowers are large, {pecious,
and of a purple colour.

The heath genus contains no lefs than fe- Erica.

_ *Epilobium anguftifolium Liz, Curtis, Lond. II.

24. Ger. 477. 7. 1
* Epilobium hirfutum Zin, ramofum Hud/. Curtis,

Lond. IL. 21. Ger. 476. 6.

S fenty-

58

Lf ToT E.R ;XIX.

venty-four {pecies of lowly fhrubs, which are
by no means deftitute of beauty, though the
commonnefs of one fpecies renders it. con-
temptible*. They all agree in thefe charac-
ters—a calyx of four leaves, inclofing the
germ, a corolla of one petal, cut into four
fegments; the filaments inferted into the re-
ceptacle; the anthers bifid; and a capfule of
four cells.

Common Heath*, which is fo generala plant,
that vaft tra¢éts of land take their name
from it, is diftinguifhed by the anthers being
terminated with va an awn, and lying within
the flower, tne ftyle appearing behind it,
the corollas bell-fhaped, and not quite re-
gular, the calyxes double, the leaves op-

-pofite and fhaped like the head of an arrow.

Fine-leaved Heath” has crefted anthers ly-
ing within the corolla; the ftyle hardly
iflues from it; the ftigma is capitate; the
flowers grow many clofe together ; the co-
rollas are ovate and of a bluifh colour; the
leaves are produced in threes; and the bark
is afh-coloured. Crofs-leaved Heath° has
the anthers as in the firft; the ftyle lies
within the corolla; the flowers grow ina
head; the corollas are ovate; and the leaves

Fen the wild heath difplays its purple dies.

4 Erica vulgaris Lin. Curtis, Lond. V. 30, FI.
dan. 677. Ger. 1380. 1.

> Erica cinerea Lin. Curtis, Lond. Il. 25. Ger.
1382. 7.

© Erica Tetralix Zin. Curtis, Lond. I. 21. Fi.
dan, 81.

are

OCTANDRIA. 25g

are produced in: fours: this grows in the
wet and boggy parts of heaths, and is a
handfome fpecies. The foreign forts, moftly
from the Cape of Good Hope, are eminently
beautiful, but not being commonly met
avith, I fhall not trouble you with them.

Mezereon, which you value for vifiting Daphae.
you at a time when you have very few
vifitors, and alfo for its pleafant odour, is
of this clafs, and of the firft order, as well
as all the foregoing. It has no calyx, but
a monopetalous, funnel-fhaped corolla, in-
clofing the ftamens, and the border cut
into four fegments: the fruit is a roundifh
berry containing one feed. This fpecies “
is diftinguifhed from the reft of the Daphie
genus by its feflile flowers, growing by
threes from the fame joint; and by its lance-
fhaped deciduous leaves. ‘The corollas are
peach-coloured, deeper red, or white, and
the berries of the two firft are red, of the
laft yellow.

There is a fort* not uncommonly wild
in woods, and fhady hedges, which is an
evergreen, and has the flowers coming out
by fives, from the axils; the corollas are of
a yellowifh green, and the leaves are lance-
fhaped. ‘This is rather a difmal plant in
refpect of its fituation, time of flowering,

“Daphne Mezereum Lin. FI. dan. t. 268. Ger.
1402. 2.
© Daphne Laureo'a Lin. Spurge Laurel. Ger. 1404.
Blackw. 62.
S 2 and

260

Chlora.

Polygo-
num.

LETTER XIX.

and colour of the corollas; nor has it the
fame agreeable fcent with the Mezereon:
it is not however without its value as an
evergreen, and flourifhing under the deep
fhade of trees. Both fpecies are very hot
and cauftic in their nature; notwithftand-
ing which birds are greedy of the berries.

Yellow perfoliate Gentian‘ is now re-
moved from the other Gentians, to the fe-
cond order of this clafs, becaufe the num-
ber eight prevails in the ftamens, calyx,
and corolla: in other circumftances it agrees
with the genus in which it formerly ranged.
It is found in paftures, on a chalky foil,
and is eafily known by its yellow corollas,
and upright fmooth perfoliate ftalks.

The third order has a large genus con-
taining twenty-feven fpecies, among which,
befides other common plants, are Bort,
Knot-gra/s, Buck-wheat, and Black Bind-
weed.

Biflort © has a fingle, undivided ftalk,
terminated by one fpike of flowers; and
lance-fhaped leaves, generally hollowed at
the bafe, running along the petiole, or
forming a membrane along each fide of it,
and waved. ‘The root is large for the fize
of the plant, and turns and twifts in the
ground.

f Chlora perfoliata Zin. Ger. 547. 2.
= Polygonum Biftorta Lin. Curtis, Lond. I. 22. and
Mill. fig. pl. 66. Ger. 399. 1.
Knot-

OCTANDRIA.

Knot-grafs * is a very common weed in
places that are trod. The little flowers are
produced from the axils of the ftalks, which
are herbaceous, and trail upon the ground;
the leaves are lance-fhaped, and, being of
different fize and breadth in different foils,
have given occafion to the forming diftinc-
tions, which are but varieties.

Buck-wheat', which makes a pretty ap-
pearance when cultivated, has arrow-fhaped
leaves hollowed at the bafe, the ftalk up-
right, though weak, fmooth and unarmed,
and the angles of the feeds equal,

Black Bindweed* is not very unlike this;
but the leaves are heart-fhaped, the ftalk
angular and twining, and the flowers ob-
tule. The anthers alfo are purple; and
the bafe of the petioles is perforated beneath
with a pore. This is not an unfrequent
weed among corn.

All the fpecies agree in having no calyx;
a corolla divided into five fegments, that
might eafily be taken for a calyx ; and one

o
naked, angular feed.

THE CLASS ENNEANDRIA.

The ninth clafs has not fo many genera
as the feventh, but it has many more fpe-

À Polygonum aviculare Liz. Curtis, 1.27. Ger. :

565.
* Polygonum Fagopyrum Lin. Ger. 80.
* Polygonum Convolvulus Zin. Curtis, Lond.
AN: 29.
+4 cies,

261

bo
ON
bo

Laurus.

Anacar-
dium.

_L Ea (ip Be perks

ies ', and among them feveral very remark-
able ones; as the Bay, Cinnamon, Catiia,
Camphor, Benzoin and Safiafras, all com-
prehended under one genus” ; Acajou or
Cafhew Nut, and Rhubarb. The Bay ge-
nus has the following charaéter: no calyx,
but a corolla refembling a calyx, and di-
vided into fix parts in moft of the fpecies ;
a neCtary of three glands, each terminated
by two briftles, furrounding the germ; the
filaments in three rows, with two round
glands near the bafe of the three that form
the inner row; the fruit an oval drupe or
plum, inclofing a nut.

The true Bay” is known by its lance-
fhaped, veiny evergreen leaves ; the corolla
recedes from the general Ra in being
quadrifid, or cut into four fegments. It va-
ries alfo in the number of ftamens from eight
to fourteen ; and it recedes from the clais
in having incomplete flowers on feparate
plants. Linnaeus however has kept it here
becaufe it has the effential characters of this
genus, particularly the glands on the inner
filaments. You will fcarcely have the good
fortune to meet with the other fpecies, at
leaft in flower.

_ Acajou or Cafbew°® we know chiefly by

' Twenty-eight : and only fix genera.

m Laur

" Taurus nobilis. Laurel is known only to modern
times, and ranges in the clafs Icofandyi ia under Prunus.
Alexandrian Laurchisia Radeus.in.Clats X XIE

° Anacardium occidentale Li.

the

ENNEANDRIA.

the nut, which grows at the end of a flefhy
body as large as an orange, and full of an
acid juice ; this Linnæus calls the receptacle.
Between the two fhells is a thick, black
inflammable oil, with which you may mark
your linen, for it will not wafh out. It alfo
makes the fineft black varnifh. I need not
caution you againft putting this nut into
your mouth to crack it. The oil is very
cauftic, and will raife blifters in the tongue.
If it fhould ever be your fortune to fee this
tree in flower, you will obferve that the
calyx is five-leaved; that the corolla confifts
of five reflex petals; and that there are ten
filaments, whence Linnæus firft put it into
the tenth clafs; but one of thefe being con-
{tantly without an anther, he afterwards re-
moved it tothe ninth. More recent obfer-
vations however have afcertained that the
Anacardium has perfect and ftaminiferous
flowers on diftinét individuals: it belongs
therefore to the fecond order of the twenty-
third clafs, Polygamia Diecta.

263

Thefe are of the firft order, RAubard is Rheum:

of the fecond, Trigynta; there being no
plants known of this clafs with two piftils.
The characters of this genus are, a flower
without a calyx; a corolla of one petal, di-
vided into fix fegments; and one large
triangular feed, much like that of the

Docks’. No lefs than four fpecies have

Ê They are both placed in the fame natural order,
namely the fifth divifion of the Oleracce,

S 4 been

264

LET TER © X{X:

been fent over and cultivated at different
times under a notion of their being the true
Tartarian Rhubarb. Of thefe the Rhapon-
tick’ has migrated from the apothecary’s
fhop into the kitchen, the petioles of the
leaves being much efteemed for making
tarts. The leaves are fmooth, ofa roundifh
heart-fhape, with the petioles thick, reddifh,
a little channelled on their lower part, but
flat at the top: the flower ftems are red, ©
grow from two to three feet high, and are
terminated by thick, clofe, obtufe {pikes of
white flowers, coming out in June. This
grows wild near the Pontic, Euxine or Black
Sea.

There is a good teftimony for the three
others being the true Rhubarb; and J think
it not improbable but that they may all be
cultivated in Tartary for their roots. One
of thefe” has longer leaves than the Rhapon-
tic, running more to a point, much waved
on their edges, a little hairy on their upper
fide, and they appear much: earlier; the
petioles are not fo much channelled on
their under fide, and are plain on the upper;
they are alfo neither fo red nor fo thick:
the flower ftem is of a pale brownifh co-
lour, about four feet high, dividing into
feveral loofe panicles of white flowers,
which appear in May.

Another * has very fmooth, fhining,

+ Rheum Rhaponticum Lin.
* Rheum Rhabarbarum Zin.
* Rheum compactum Lin, Mill. fig. pl. 218.
6 - heart-

ENNEANDRIA.

heart-fhaped leaves, not running out fo
much to a point as the fecond, bat more
than the firft; they are very broad towards
the bafe, ee a little waved and indented
on their edges: the petioles have fcarcely
any channels, and are flat on their upper
fide; they are pale green, and almoft as
large as thofe of the firft fort. The flower-
{tem is pale green, five or fix feet high, the
upper part dividing into {mall branches,
each fuftaining a panicle of white flowers
ftanding erect, “and appearing the latter end
of May.

A fourth fort, called Palmated Rhubarb‘,
differs greatly from the others, and is known
immediately by its palmated and very fharp-
pointed leaves. The flower-ftem is red,
and fix or feven feet high: the flowers are
in loofe panicles. Whatfoever may be the
cafe with the other fpecies, there is the
moit undoubted evidence of this being the
true T'artarian Rhubarb.

There is one wild plant of this clafs,
which is of the third order, having fix
ftyles. It grows in the water, and having
handfome files coloured flowers, with long
narrow leaves, is called Flowering Rufh*; ve
the flowers are produced at the end of a

* Rheum palmatum Lin. Mill. illuftr. Philof. Tranf.

1765.
* Butomus umbellatus Lin. Curtis, Lond. I. 29.
Fl. dan. 604. Mill, illuftr. Mor, f. 12. t. 5. fi sok

Ger. 29.
naked

265

Butomus.

266

DiGam-

nus.

LETTER XIX.

naked ftalk, in an umbel. They have no
calyx, but a three-leaved involucre, a co-
rolla of fix petals, and fix capfules of one
valve, gaping on the fide towards the centre
of the umbel, and containing many feeds.

THE CLASS DECANDRIA.

The tenth is a much more confiderable
clafs, having ninety-five genera, and five
hundred and thirty-fix fpecies. The firft
order being very numerous, Linnæus has
made a commodious fubdivifion of it into
fuch as have corollas of many petals, of
one petal, or none; and the firft of them
he has fubdivided again into fuch as have
irregular and fuch as have equal corollas.
Moit of thofe with irregular polypetalous
flowers are very nearly allied to the papi-
lionaceous, tribe, with which you are al-
ready acquainted. Of thefe the moft known
are the Fudas-tree, Locuft-tree, Flower-
fence, Brafiletto, all the numerous fpecies
of Caffia, Balfam of Tolu-tree, and Nickar-
tree; moftly the produce of South America
and the Weft Indies. White Ditiany or
Fraxinella* is alfo of this fubdivifion, but
not of the papilionaceous tribe.

This elegant flower is known by its five-
leaved calyx; its corolla of five ipreading
petals; the filaments fet with glandulous

* Diétamnus albus Lin. Mill. fig. pl. 123. & PI. 16.
f, 2. of this work.

points :

DECANDRIA.

points: it is fucceeded by five connected
capfules, containing two feeds covered with
a common ari/.

There is only one fpecies of Fraxsnella,
varying in the colour of the flowers, which
are either pale red ftriped with purple, or
elfe white. It has pinnate leaves, fome-
what refembling thofe of the Afh. The
whole plant emits an odour of lemon peel,
but when bruifed has a balfamic fcent.

Among the plants with regular or equal
polypetalous corollas, you will find Logwood,
Meliasor the Bead-tree; Guatacum, Rue,
and Dionæa Mufcipula, fo curious for that
fenfitive quality of the leaves, by which it
entraps infects that light upon them.

Rue is diftinguifhed by thefe ‘generic Ruta.

characters—a calyx divided into five parts ;
concave petals; ten honied pores at the
bafe of the germ, which is raifed on a re-
ceptacle punched with the fame number of
pores ; and laftly, a capfule cut half way
into five parts, confifting of five cells with-
in, and containing many feeds. If I do not
give youa Burien refpecting the common
Rie “of the gardens, you may probably be
puzzled in examining its flowers; for there
is only one flower on a branch which will
anfwer to the generic charactere; in all
the reft you are to fubtract one fifth from
every part of the fructification. ‘This cir-

* Ruta graveolens Lin. Mor. hift. f..5.t.14. f. 3,

cumftance

LETTER XIX.

cumftance is not peculiar to Rue, but is
found in feveral other plants *, and has
been made an objection by fome to the Lin-
næan fyftem. The illuftrious author has
extricated himfelf from the difficulty by
forming his character upon the principal
or primary flower, as he calls it, and an-
nouncing the anomaly. There are other
plants, which in all the reft, add a fifth
to the number of parts in the primary
flower 7.

Garden Rue is fpecifically diftinguifhed,
partly by this circumftance, of having the
fide flowers quadrifid, and partly by the
leaves being decompounded. ‘There are
fome differences in this fpecies: common
garden Rue has the component lobes of the
leaves wedge-fhaped, and the ftamens longer
than the corolla; another, alfo frequently
cultivated, has narrower lobes, the flowers
in longer, loofer bunches, and the ftamens
equal in length with the petals, the feed-
veflel is alfo {maller ; a third has the lobes
of a linear fhape.

Andromedas, Rhododendrons, Kalmias, Ar-
butus, and a few others, have regular mo-
nopetalous corollas. The characters of the
lait are a very {mall calyx divided into five

* As in Cinchona, Myrfine, Euonymus europzus,
Thefium alpinum, Herniaria fruticofa, Gentiane 23—
2%. Linum Radiola, &c.

¥ Such as Adoxa Mofcha tellina. Curtis, Lond. IT. 26.
and fome others.

parts :

DECANDRI A; 269

parts: an ovate corolla pellucid at the bafe:
and the fruit a berry, with the feeds lodged
in five cells.

Strawberry-tree = is known by its woody a:butus.
ftem, its {mooth leaves ferrate about the
edges, and the cells of the berries having
feveral feeds. Some of the other {pecies
have weak procumbent ftems*; and fome
have only a fimple feed to each cell. You
are well acquainted with the Arbutus, by
- the ornament which it affords to your plan-
tations in the latter months, with its lucid
leaves thick covering the plant; and its
bunches of flowers of this year, accompa-
nied by the red round berries of the laft.

But let not the firft order of the tenth saxi-
clafs occupy too much of your time, fince fraga.
there are four other orders contained in it.

In the fecond you have all the Saxifrages,
forty-two in number ; agreeing in a calyx
divided into five parts; a crois of five pe-
tals ; a capfule of one cell, filled with many
fmall feeds, and terminated by two beaks
formed of the permanent ftyles. Of thefe,
Pyranidal Saxifrage* is efteemed for adorn-
ing halls and chimnies with its beautiful
pyramids of white flowers; which it will
do for a long time. ‘There are feveral va-

z Arbutus Lido Lin. Mill. fig. pl. 48. Ger. 1496.
* Arb. acadienfis, alpina & uva urfi.
> A. alpina & uva urfi.
© Saxifraga Cotyledon Lin. Mill. fig. 243. F1. dan.
241.
rieties

LETTER, XIX.

rieties of it, but they have all ff tongue-
fhaped leaves, with a cartilaginous ferrate
border, and colleéted into feveral rows clofe
tothe ground. From the midft of thete itfues
the ftalk, fuftaining the panicles of flowers.
Another {fpecies* was alfo formerly much
fhown out at windows and balconies in
imoky towns, and hence, with its being
really beautiful, had the names of London
Pride and None-fo-pretty, at a time when
few plants were generally known. This
has oblong or roundith leaves, deeply notched

-on the edges, fpringing from broad, flat,

furrowed petioles, near two inches long.
They furround the flowering ftalk, which
itfelf is deftitute of leaves, of a red colour,
ftitf, flender, and hairy. ‘The corollas are
white dotted with red.

Common White Saxifrage* flowers early
and in great quantities among the grafs.
The bottom leaves are kidney-fhaped,
hairy, and on pretty long petioles: the
{talks are hairy, and in good ground a foot
high, branching out from the bottom, and
furnifhed with a few fmall leaves, in fhape
like the others, but fitting clofe to the
ftem: the flowers terminate the ftalk in
{mall clufters ; the corollas are white, and
large for the fize of the plant: if any doubt
remains concerning it, pull it up, and you

3 Saxifraga umbrofa Lin. Mill. fig. 141. f. 2.
© Saxifraga granulata Liz. Mill. illuftr. Curtis, Lond.

I. 30. Ger. 841. 1.
will

DECANDRIA: 271

will find that the roots are like grains of
corn, and of a reddifh colour. In poor
ground this plant is very fmall, and has
only two or three flowers, fometimes but
one, on a fimple, unbranched. ftem.
Thefe, with moft of the other fpecies,
have upright ftems, but there are three
which have weak trailing ftalks. Of thefe
there is one which has much refemblance
to a mofs, when it is out of flower; and,
from the manner of its growth in a thick
tuft, it has acquired the Englifh name of
Ladies’ Cufbion®. The leaves are linear,
fome entire and others trifid: the little
flower {tems are three or four inches high,
flender, erect, and almoft naked, termi-
nated by {mall flowers of a dirty white.
The genus Dianthus, of this fecond or- Dianthus.
der, is numerous, as well as the laft, com-
prifing twenty-two {pecies, which agree
in having a cylindric calyx of one leaf, fur-
rounded at the bafe by four feales; a co-
rolla of five petals; and a cylindric, unilo-
cular capfule, for a feed-veflel. Many of
the fpecies are beautiful, as Sweet Williams,
the noble Carnation*, the Pink', with all
its numerous varieties, the China Pink*

f Saxifraga hypnoides Lin, FI. dan. 348. Mor. hift.
Paoli 236.

S Dianthus barbatus Lin.

* Dianthus Caryophyllus Lin. Mill. fig. 124.

1 Dianthus plumarius Lin.

* Dianthus chinenfis Lin. Mill. fig. pl. 81. f. 2.
Curtis Mag. 25.

& . diftinét

to

L'ETTER -XIX.

diftin@ from the former: feveral alfo of
the forts, which are wild in many parts of
Europe, though adorned with lefs fplendid
flowers, and more modeft in their preten-
fions, are not however without their beauty.
The Carnation is acknowledged, on all
hands, for a worthy leader of one of the
fineft natural orders, entitled from the La-
tin name of this fragrant flower Caryophy/-
leous plants. When we confider the fize
of the flower, the beauty of its colours,
the arrangement of its parts, and above all
the fingularly rich and fpicy odour that it
exhales, we cannot withhold that tribute
of admiration which will ever be given it,
unlefs by obtruding itfelf too frequently on
the eye, its real beauties become at length
difregarded.

The leading feature, in diftinguifhing
the fpecies of this genus, is the sflore/cence
or manner of flowering. Sweet William
and fome others have aggregate flowers ;
Carnation, Pink, China Pink, &c. have
many flowers on the fame ftalk, not how-
ever in herds, but folitary or feparate ;
fome few have one flower only on a ftem ;
and two or three have fhrubby ftalks. The
ether circumftances that difcriminate the
fpecies are, that the fcales at the bafe of the
calyx in the Sweet Wilham are of an ovate-
fubulate form, and as long as the tube of
the corolla; in the Carnation and Pink they

are

DECANDRIA.

tu
QI
Geo

are fubovate and very fhort; in the China
Pink they are fubulate, as long as the tube,
and hang loofe. The Sweet. William. has
allo lances fhaped leaves. Carnation and
China Pink have the petals notched. The
Pink has the corollas pubefcent at the bafe,
and the petals deeply cut. For ornament
and beauty you will gather thefe flowers
from your parterre ; but as a botanift you
will take them from a wall, or a dry un-
tilled foil, where their fimplicity and the
clearnefs of their natural characters will
make you full amends for the want of
{plendour. You would not always choofe
to be among full-drefled people at a ball,
or in a drawing room; but fometimes to
take a rural walk, and entertain yourfelf
with plain country manners.

In the third order, befides fome others, Arena-
there are four genera containing many fpe- ris, &c.
cies which have a good deal of fimilitude.
They are however thus well diftinguifhed.
Arenaria and Stellaria have a capfule of one
cell; Cucubalus and Silene, a capfule of three
éells: of the two former the firft has the
petals entire, the fecond has them bifid: of
the two latter, in both of which the petals
are bifid, the fecond has a crown compofed
of a fet of minute petals in the centre;
whereas the firft has nothing of this, or is
naked. Arenaria and Ste/laria have alfo a
five-leaved calyx; in Cucubalus it is much

inflated,

Sedum.

LETTER. XIX.

inflated, and in Si/ene it is fwelling. All

four have five petals in the corolla.
Spatling Poppy’ is not an uncommon

weed among corn and in meadows. You

will know it by the almoft round and

much inflated calyx, beautifully veined, fo
as to have the appearance of a fine network
thrown over it, and quite fmooth: the co-
rollas are not entirely naked, and are pure
white.

Sedums or Stone-crops are found in the
fourth order (Pentag ynia). They are known
by the general prevalence of the number
five in all parts of the flower: a calyx cut
into five fegments, a corolla of five petals,
five nectariferous fcales at the bafe of the
germ, and five capfules: not to mention
the twice five ftamens, and five ityles,
which form the characters of the clafs and
order. Many of them are not uncommon
in a wild ftate, particularly a fmall trailing
fort with yellow flowers growing in a trifid
cyme; and ovate, blunt, fmooth leaves,
imbricate and alternately adhering to the
{talk ™: other fpecies have white, and fome
red corollas. They grow chiefly on walls,
or in very dry foils.

1 Cucubalus Behen Zin. FI. dan. 857. Mor. hift.
f. 5. t. 20. f. r. Ger. 678. 2° Blackw. 268:

= Sedum acre Lin. Wall-pepper. Curtis, Lond. I.
32. Ger. 517. album 31. Ger, 512. 2.

5 Cackle,

>

DECANDRIA.

Cockle®, which is fo common a weed
among corn, has a membranaceous, one-
leafed calyx ; a corolla of five obtufe, un-
divided petals, and an oblong cap{ule of
one cell. The fpecies is diftinguifhed by
the roughnefs of the plant, the lencth of
the fegments of the calyx, and by the pe-
tals being entire and naked.

Of Lychnis there are feveral fpecies agree-
ing in thefe common characters. An ob-
long, fmooth calyx of one leaf; a corolla
of five petals flightly bifid; and a one-
celled capfule of five valves.

Scarlet Lychnis°®, commonly cultivated
in gardens, has the flowers growing in
bunches, fo that the whole forms nearly a
flat furface at top; the colour of the co-
rolla 1s a very high fcarlet.

Catchfly?, fo called from the clammy
juice exuding from the ftalks under each
pair of leaves, glutinous enough to entangle
{mall flies, is known by the petals being
. almoft ‘entire; the colour of them is red:
the leaves are long, narrow, and grafs-
like, efpecially the lower ones. The flow-
_ers of this and the foregoing are ufually
double in the gardens, and therefore ufe-
lefs to you in your botanical refearches.

There is a fort of Lychuis commonly wild

" Agroftemma Githago. Lin. Curtis, Lond. III. 27.
Ger. 1087. FI. dan. 576.

° Lychnis chalcedonica Lin.

P Lychnis Vifcaria Lin.

‘7e by

aye

Agrofem-

ma.

Lychnis.

5 EXT DE oR AIRE

by water-fides and in moift meadows, caïled
Ragged-Robin, Meadow-Pinks, Wild-Wil-
hams, or Cuckow-flower%, which has red
jagged petals, generally cut into four parts ;
and roundifh capfules, the mouth of which
has five teeth turning back. ‘There is alfo
another no lefs common in paftures, called
White Lychnis, or White Campion*, which
difters effentially from its congeners in hav-
ing the piftils feparate from the ftamens,
and on diftiné plants. I leave you, dear
coufin, with this irregularity, and wait a
day of leifure to purfue our botanical career.

4 Lychnis fios cuculi Liz, Curtis, Lond. I. 33. Ger.
600. I.

* Lychnis dioica Lin. F1. dan. 792. Mor. 5.21. 21.
Ger. 469. 1. with red flowers, |

LETTER

bake TER Ad.

THE CLASS DODECANDRIA.

June the roth, 1775.
OTHING difficult has hitherto occur-

red, dear coufin, in your determina-
tion of the claffes, the number of the fta-
mens alone having fufficed for that purpofe.
But no plant being yet difcovered with ele-
ven ftamens, among thofe which have them
diftina®, the eleventh clafs fhould be expected
to contain thofe plants which have twelve;
but here the number is found to be by no
means conftant, and Linnzus is obliged to
take into his clafs Dodecandria, all fuch plants
as have from twelve to nineteen ftamens in-
clufive. Nor is theeleventh clafs, with all
this latitude, an eafy one fora novice to de-
termine; the number of ftamens in fome
cafes being fewerthan twelve, in others more
than nineteen, or elfe coming out in parcels
at different periods. It is not very numerous,
containing but thirty-three genera and one
hundred and fixty-four fpecies.
Of the firft order, the moft known or the
moft remarkable are 4/arum, or Afarabacca, /—

* Brownea, which has naturally eleven ftamens, is of
the fixteenth çlafs, AZonadelphia.
RUE the

28

/

Afarum.

Portulaca.

Lythrum.

LED TER XX.

the Mangofteen, Winter's Bark, Purflain,
Lovfeftrife.

Afarabacca has a calyx cut half way into
three fegments, and fitting on the top of the
ftyle: no corolla: and a leathery captule, of
fix cells within, and crowned at top. There
are three ipecies—the Canadian, the Virgi-
nian, and the European’, which laft is diftin-
guifhed by two kidney-fhaped leaves, ending
bluntly.

Purflain has a bifid calyx inclofing the

germ: a corolla of five petals: anda capfule

‘of one cell, in which the receptacle is loofe ;

in fome fpecies it opens horizontally”, in
others it is trivalvular: the number of fta-
mens varies inthe different fpecies. The
Purflain, cultivated for fallads ‘, is a native
of the hot parts of America; it is known by
its wedge-fhaped leaves, and the flowers fit-
ting clofe-tothe ftalk; and it is one of thofe
which have the capfule opening horizon-
tally.

Loofeffrife has the calyx cut at the edge
into twelve portions; and inclofing the
cerm: the corolla of fix petals, inferted into

the calyx: the capfule bilocular, and con-

taining many feeds. Purple Loofefirife™ is
a handfome plant, adorning the banks of

* Afarum europæum Lin. FI. dan. 633. Mill. fig.
t 52.

" Capfula circumfciffa.

Y Portulaca oleracea Lin. Blackw. t. 287.

w Lythrum Salicaria Lin, Curtis, Lond. III. 28.
Ger. 476, 5.

rivers,

/

DODECANDRIA.

rivers, ponds, and ditches, with its fine {pikes
of purple flowers; the leaves grow in pairs,

and are lance-fhaped, with a hollowed bate ;
fometimes three leaves come out together
from the fame point, and the ftalk is hex-
angular; but this is only an accidental va-
riety. Our fpecies anfwers to the character
of the clafs in having twelve ftamens; but
there are fome which have but ten, nay even
only fix ftamens.

In the fecond order are only two genera
—Helocarpus, an American plant, little
known; and 4grimony, an European, and
fufficiently common. This has a {mall
quinquefd calyx, fitting on the top of the
germ, fortified with another: a corolla of
five petals, inferted intothe calyx, and one
or two roundith feeds in the bottom of the
calyx. ‘The number of ftamens is very un-
certain in this genus; fome fpecies having
twelve, others ten, others feven. Common
Agrimony*, which is found in woods and
by hedge fides, has interruptedly-pinnate
leaves on the ftalk, with the leaflet at the
end petiolate; the feeds are fortified with
briftles. The outer calyx grows faft to the
inner; and theftamens vary in number from
twelve totwenty.

The third order has alfo only two genera,
but they arenumerous ; Re/eda havingt welve
and Euphorbia no lefs than fixty-nine fpecies.

* Agrimonia Eupatoria Zin. Curt. Lond. 5. 32.

FI, dan. 588. Mill. illuftr. Ger. 712.
Ba No

iS)
“I
NO

Agrimo-

nla.

280

Refeda.

LETTER XX.

No genera are more difficult to determine
than thefe; the number and form of the
parts varying in the different fpecies. The
eflential character of the firft confifts in the
trifid petals, one of them melliferous at the
bafe ; and in a capfule of one cell, always
open: the calyx alfo is of one leaf, cut into
feveral narrow fegments, two of which
gape more than the others on account of
the melliferous petal; the ftamensare from
eleven to fifteen in number.

Dyer’ s-weed or Weld’ grows common in
barren paftures, dry banks, and on walls;
it 1s alfo cultivated for the ufe of the
dyers*. ‘The leaves are lance-fhaped, and
entire, except that they have one indentation
on each fide at the bafe ; and the calyx is cut
into four fegments. The corolla alfo has
three petals; the upper one melliferous,
and divided half way into fix parts; the
oppofite lateral petals are trifid; and fome-
times two {mall entire petals are added be-
low. Dyer’s-weed is a biennial plant, pro-
ducing the firft year a circle of leaves clofe
to the ground; and the next a ftalk ter-
minated by a long loofe {pike of yellowifh
flowers.

Sweet Refeda, or Mignionette*, has oblong

¥ Refeda Luteola Lin, F1. dan. 864. Ger. 494.
2 This is thought to be the plant with which the an-
cient Britons dyed their bodies.

* Refeda odorata Zin, Mill. fig. 217. Curt. Ma-
gaz. 29.
leaves,

DODECANDRIA. 281

leaves, fome of which are entire, and others
trifid ; the calyx of the flower is large,
equalling the corolla in fize. The flowers
are produced in loofe fpikes, on long pe-
duncles; are of an herbaceous colour, and
much efteemed for their agreeable odour,
like that of frefh Rafpberries.

Euphorbia has a corolla of four, and Lis
fometimes of five petals, glandulous in moft >!
fpecies, in fome fhaped Tike a crefcent, or
indented about the edges, in a few thin as a
fine membrane; commonly placed as it were
on the outfide of the calyx, which is of
one leaf, divided at the edge into four, or
in fome into five parts, and ventricofe or
{welling out. The ftamens are twelve or
more, iffuing forth at different periods.
The feed-vetiel is a capfule of three diftinét
cells united, with one roundifh feed in each
cell, and on the outfide fmooth, rough or
warted in the different {pecies. This ge-
nus being fo numerous, fome fubordinate
diftinétions are neceffary : and accordingly
Linnæus has divided it into feven feétions.
The firft contains the Exphorbie properly
fo called; or fuch as have a fhrubby, an-
cular, {piny ftem, generally void of Jeaves.
Phe fecond contains the fhrubby {pecies
without fpines. In all the other feétions
the ftems are dichotomous, or divide always
by pairs, and the flowers are borne in a kind
of umbel ; which, in the third feétion, is
commonly bifid; in the fourth, #rifid ; 7

the

282 LETTER XX.

the fifth, guadrifid; in the fixth, quingue-
jd; and in the feventh, multifid. —

Several fpecies of the firft fection yield
indifferently that acrid milky juice, which
when infpiffated is fent us under the title
of Euphorbium. The flowers are of little
beauty, and thefe plants have been noticed
rather for the fingularity of their form, and
the ftriking difference of their ftruéture,
from the plants of Europe, than for any
charms that they poflefs. The fpecies fup-
pofed to be that from whence the ancients
had the drug>, is known by a triangular,
jointed ftalk: the fpecies from which it is
faid we now have it‘, has a quadrangular
ftem, and double fpines: and the fpecies
which Linnæus fuppofes ought to be ufed ¢,
is multanegular with double fpines.

Medufa s-head° is of the fecond feétion.
The ftalks are clofely covered with tuber-
cles, lying over each other, and from the
fides of theie {pring many branches, which
are frequently fo entwined as to give the
idea of a parcel of ferpents. ‘The ends of
the branches have narrow fucculent leaves
readily dropping off, and a fet of white.
flowers. )

The plants of the other fections are com-

> Euphorbia antiquorum Lin, Comm. hort. 1. t. 12.
© Euphorbia canarienfis Liz. Comm. hort. 2. t. 104.
¢ Euphorbia officinarum Lin. Comm. hor. I. t. 11.
© Euphorbia Caput Medufæ Zin. Comm. hort. 1.
t. 17. |

monly

DODECANDRIA.

monly known by the name of Spurge, and
are moit of them wild in the different parts
of Europe. Two fpecies are common

weeds in kitchen gardens: one of them‘

belongs to the fourth fection, or thofe which
have trifid umbels: the fubdivifions of thefe
are dichotomous: the z#vo/ucellæ or braCtes
are ovate ; and the leaves are quite entire,
or without any notches about the edge;
they are ovate in form, and attached to the
falk by fhort petioles; each petal alfo has
two little horns; the other ® is of the fixth
feGtion, having quinquefid umbels; each
principal divifion fubdivides into three; the
involucellæ are fhaped as in the former; the
leaves are wedge-fhaped, and ferrate about
the edges ; and the petals are round and en-
tire. A third fpecies", common in woods,
is of the laft fection, with multifid umbels:
it is a larger plant, and perennial; whereas
“the others are annual: the zzvo/ucelle are
round and perfoliate; the leaves are very
blunt at the end.

Spurges having little beauty, they are fel-
dom cultivated in gardens. We muft how-
ever except the Euphorbia punicea, a mott
{plendid Jamaica plant, which flowers in
the collection of the Marchionefs of Rock-

f Euphorbia Peplus. Petty Spurge. Curtis, Lond. I.
35. Ger. 503. 10.

8 Euphorbia heliofcopia. Lin. Sun Spurge. Curtis,
Lond. I. 36. Ger. 498. 2

À Euph. amygdaloides Din. Wood Spurge. Mor. hift.
iio. t. fr Ger. 500, 9.

in cham,

283

284

Semper-
vivum,

EETTER XX.

ingham, and is admirably figured in Dr.
Smith’s Icones pidie. ‘This belongs to the
fifth feétion. One of the moft common is
a biennial {pecies, of the fame fection, with
the leaves oppofite and quite entire, called
Broad-leaved Spurge or Cataputia'. Its na-
tive place is Italy, and the fouth of France:
it grows three or four feet high; the flow-
ers are of a greenifh yellow, and the cap-
fules being very elaftic, the feeds are thrown
to a confiderable diftance. A fecond is pe-
rennial, and of the laft feGtion *; the zzvo-
Jucellæ are heart-fhaped; the petals are
formed like a crefcent; and the capfules
are {mooth; fome of the branches are bar-
ren, and others bear flowers and feed; on
the firft the leaves are narrow and fetaceous;
on the fecond they are lance-fhaped.

There is a genus’ of this clafs in which
the number twelve prevails in all the parts.
Having twelve ftyles, it is of the order Do-
decag ynia. The calyx is divided into twelve
parts; the corolla contifts of twelve petals;
and the flower is fucceeded by twelve cap-
fules, containing many {mall feeds. Common
Houfeleek™ is one of thefe, which, though
fo jucculent a plant, flourifhes on walls and

# Euphorbia Lathyris Liz. Mill. illuftr.

k Euphorbia Cypariffias Zin. Blackw. 163. f. 3.

* Sempervivum, nearly allied to the Sedums in the
tenth clafs. |

™ Sempervivum teétorum Zz. Curtis, Lond. IIf.
29. Fl. dan. 601. Mill, illuftr. Ger. 510. 1. Plate
17. of this work.

roofs.

DODECANDRIA.

roofs. The edges of the leaves are fet with
fhort fine hairs; and they do not grow ina
globular form, as fome other fpecies do,
but {pread open. From the centre of the
heads of leaves arifes a round, red, fuccu-
lent flower-ftalk, about a foot high, which
at bottom has a few narrow leaves, and at
top divides into two or three parts, each
fupporting a reflex range of flowers, with
red corollas. ‘Though the natural number
in this genus be twelve, yet you will find
it to vary exceedingly: nature being lefs
conftant in larger than in fmaller numbers.
With this fhort fketch, adieu, dear coufin,
for the prefent.

PEL TER

28

CL 28001)

LETTER. XXI.

THE CLASSES ICOSANDRIA AND
POLYANDRIA.

June the 211, 1775.

OU have already, dear coufin, taken
an imperfect view of the HE
clafs, as far as it relates to fruit-trees": you
are not however to fuppofe, either that all
thefe trees range in the clafs Icofandria, or
that no other ‘but them are to be found
there. No lefs than twenty-nine genera,
and two hundred and ninety-four fpecies,
are included in this clafs, a confiderable
portion of which is trees or fhrubs; many.
herbs however are found among ete
To diftinguifh this clafs Sa the next
from the tee and. from each other, remem-
ber always that it is not the number, but
the fituation of the ftamens which furnifhes
the claffical charaëter. In the next they
arife, as generally in the other clafies, from
the receptacle; but in this they {pring ei-
ther direétly, or with the parts of the co-
rolla, from the calyx °, which is of one leaf,
and not flat but hollow: the corolla is moft
frequently of five petals.

a ]n Letter VII. e Plate 18. f. 1€.
| Of

ICOSANDRIA. 287

_ Of the firft order, Caéfus is a very con- Cattus.

fiderable genus, comprifing the Me/on-thi/-
tles, Tor ch-thi fes, or Cereufes, and the
Opuntias or Indian Figs. Thefe all agree
in a calyx, whole at the bottom, but yet
confifting of feveral rows of leaves, and
placed on the top of the germ: in a corolla
which is double, or formed of feveral rows
of petals: and in having a berry containing
feverab-feeds in one: cell.

The Melon-thifiles are roundifh bodies,
without either leaf or ftalk. The Tieghs
thiftles have a long {tem without leaves,
which in many fpecies is ftrong enough
to fupport itfelf; but in fome trails along
the ground, or is fupported by trees: thefe
laft are called Creeping Cereufes. Opuntias
are compofed of flat joints connected to-
gether.

Thefe are all remarkable for a ftruture
different from that of other plants; but
fome of the Cereufes are much el for
the beauty of the flowers, which are per-
haps the more noticed, becaufe they are the
lefs expected from plants whofe appearance
is fo unpromifing. Thofe of the Great-
Flowering Creeping g Cereus® are near a foot
in diame on the infide of the calyx of a
{plendid yellow, and the numerous petals
of a pure white: hardly any flower makes,
fo magnificent an appearance during the fhort

P Ca&tus grandiforus Lia. Mill. fig. pl. go.
time

288

BET TER. CKET

time of its duration, which is one night
only ; for it does not begin to open till feven
or eight o’clock in tee evening, and clofes
Bene fun-rife in the morning, unlefs it is
gathered and kept in the ae by which
means I have prevented it from clofing till
about ten. This noble flower opens but
once; but when, to the grandeur of its
appearance, we add the fine perfume which
it diffufes, there is no plant that more de-
ferves your admiration. When it is not in
blow, you will know it by the creeping
ftem, marked longitudinally with about
five prominences.

Another fpecies of Creeping Cereus % is
more common, but fcarcely lefs admirable
for the beauty of its pink-coloured flowers,
which the plant produces in greater quan-
tity; they are alfo of longer duration, for
they not only boldly fhow their face to the
fun, but will even keep open three or four
days. When it is not in flower, this fpe-
cies is diftinguifhed by its very {lender
branches, covered with {pines, and marked
with ten prominences. But you are well
acquainted with this fine plant, w hich re-
quiring little heat, forms one of the prin-
cipal ornaments of your drefiing-room, in
the month of May.

There are many fpecies of Opuntia, In-

dian Fig, or Prickly Pear, all natives of
4 Cactus flagelliformis Lin. Ehret. pict. t. 2. Trew.

‘Ebr. t. 30. Curtis Mag. 17.

America,

ICOSANDRIA. | 289

America, and kept rather for their fingu-
larity than their beauty, having no leaves,
but a flat jointed ftalk, fet with knots of
prickles, briitles, or both. The Cochineal
Fig*, on which the infect of that name
feeds, is the only one that is unarmed:

this has oblong joints; the common fort *
has roundifh joints, with brufhes of briftles,
but no prickles.

In this {ame order you will find the Sy- Philadel-
ringa‘ .. The natural number in the calyx, Phus.
corolla, and capfule, is four; but fometimes
it is five. The tafte of the leaves like cu-
cumbers, and the odour of its white flow-
ers, like thofe of the orange, fufficiently dif-
tinguifh this well known fhrub from all
others. ‘The flight indentations about the
edges of the leaf feparate it from another
fpecies, which has none.

Here too will you find your Re Myrtus,
Myrtle, which has a calyx fitting on the
top of the germ, and generally ne into
five fegments ; a corolla oF five petals ; : and
a berry for a fruit. Some fpecies however
have a quadrifid calyx, and then the corolla
has four petals: others have an entire undi-
vided calyx. The Common Myrtle“, of
which there are many varieties, has the

r Ca&tus.cochinillifer L727. Dill. elth. €. 297. f. 383.

* Cactus opuntia Lin. Mill. fig. t. rgr. ;

t Philadelphus coronarius Lin. Duham arb. 82.
_ § Myrtus communis Lin, Mul. fig. 184. pp 18.
Ge
. U flowers

LED ER LE.

flowers coming out fingly, and an zavolucre
of two leaves upon the peduncle.

In the fecond order there is only the
Crataegus, a genus comprehending {everal
{fpecies of Thorn, and alfo two trees, the
Aria, or White Beam Tree”, and the Maple-
leaved Service“. The generic characters
are, a calyx cut into five fegments, and
fitting on the top of the germ; a corolla
of five petals; anda berry containing two
feeds. The firft of the trees is readily
known by the ovate fhape of the leaves,
with very prominent tran{verfe veins, and
unequal ferratures about the edges; but
particularly by the hoarinefs of their under

furfaces: the fecond, by its leaves cut into

many acute angles like ‘thofe of the Maple ;
the divifions are five or feven; and the
loweft lobes ftand wider than the others.
Cock/pur Hawthorn * has the leaves ovate,
and to deeply ferrate, as to be almoft lobate.
Virginian Azarole * has oval leaves, wedge-
fhaped at the bafe, fhining and deeply fer-
rate. Comman Hawthorn, or WVhite-thorn*,
whofe flower has obtained the name of

* Cratægus Aria Lin. FI. dan. 302. Mill. illuitr.
Ger. 1327. 2. Hunt. Evel. filva. p. 173.

~ Cratægus torminalis Lin. Ger. 1471. 2. Fl. dan.
793. Hunt. Evel. filva. p. 146.

* Crategus coccinea Lin, Mill. fig. 179. Ang). hort.
AN Re Ae

Y Crat. Cruf-galli Zi. Mill. fig. 178. 2.

* Cr. Oxyacantha Jacqu. auftr. 292. 1. Blackw.
Fag. Be: Germ heer. 5.

Max,

ICOSANDRIA.

May, from the month in which it appears,
has obtufe leaves, cut into three principal
parts, and thofe ferrate. True Azarole*
has leaves like the foregoing, but larger,
paler, and with broad lobes: the flowers
and fruit are alfo much larger. All thefe
you will find in your plantations : as you
will alfo two trees that are in the third or-

291

der, under the genus Sorbus; viz. the Sorbus.

Mountain Afh° and the Service‘; both
which have pinnate or winged leaves, like
the Afh; fmooth on both fides in the firft,
but villous on the under furface in the fe-
cond; thefe alfo have the lobes broader,
and not fo much ferrated. Their common
characters are a quinquefid calyx, a penta-
petalous corolla, and an inferior berry with
three feeds.

The fourth Order (Pentagynia), befides

the Apple, Pear, and Quince, comprehended

under one genus, Pyrus, has the Medlar
with many other fpecies of trees or fhrubs
in a fecond?; and all the fhrubs called
Spiræa, in a third. Thefe genera agree in
a quinquefid calyx, and a pentapetalous co-
rolla; the germ 1s inclofed within the flower
in the laft; but is beneath it in the reft:

* Cr. Azarolus Lin.

» Sorbus aucuparia Lin. Mill. illuftr. Ger. 1473.
Hunt. Evel. filva. p. 211. ,

© Sorbus domeftica Lin. Edw. av. t. 211. Ger.
VERRE

* Mefpilus Lin.—germanica. Medlar. Ger. 1453. 1°
Blackw. 154. -

U 2 the

292

Mefem-
bryan-
themum.

LETT E.R ete

the fruit is the principal diftin@ion; in
Pyrus it isa Pomum—in Me/pilus a Berry—
in Spirea a fet of Cap/ules.

This order boafts a large and fplendid
genus of herbaceous fucculent plants, called
Ficoides or Fig Marigolds*. Fifty fpecies
all confent in a quinquefid calyx on the
top of the germ; a multifid corolla of nar-
row linear petals: and a flefhy capfule di-
vided into cells correfponding with the
number of ftyles, and containing many
feeds. Though moft of the fpecies have five
ftyles, yet fome have only four, and others
have ten. This large genus is fubdivided
into three feétions, from the colour of the
flowers, which being ftriking and perma-
nent, may here very well furnifh fuch a
diftinétion, though it is in moft cafes a cir-
cumftance not to be depended on. The
corollas then, which are fpecious, very
large, and double, are in the firit fection
white, in the fecond red, and in the third
yellow. ‘The different forms of the fuccu-
lent leaves afford, almoft of themfelves,
{ufficient fpecific diftinétions.

The moft known fpecies is that which is
called Diamond Ficoides, or more commonly
Ice Plant‘. This has ovate, alternate,
waving leaves, with white corollas; but it
is chiefly regarded for the fingularity of be-

© Mefembryanthemum Li».
f Mefembryanthemum cryitallinum Zin. Dill. elth.
+. 180. f, 221. Bradl. fucc. 5. t)'#5. f, 48.

ing

reas AND ER À À;

ing covered with pellucid pimples, in the
fun appearing like cryftalline bubbles. Eg yp-
tian Kali®, efteemed for making the beit
pot-afh, is alfo of this genus; has alternate,
roundifh, obtufe leaves, ciliate at the bafe,
and white corollas. «

Of the laft order of this clafs the Rofe
is a genus univerfally known; and, were it
lefs {o, would hold the firft rank in the ad-
miration of mankind. The diftin¢ctive cha-
racters are, a quinquefid calyx ; a pentape-
talous corolla; and a kind of pitcher-fhaped,
flefhy berry, formed out of the calyx, ter-
minated by the divifions of it, and containing
{everal oblong, rough feeds, growing to the
calyx on every fide. The fpecies are diftin-
guifhed by the globofe or ovate form of the
fruit, by the fituation of the {pines on the
different parts of the fhrub, the infloret-
cence, &c. The Sweet-Briar® has globote
fruits befet with crooked fpines, and the
leaves rubiginous or rufty underneath. The

Dog-rofe or Wild-Briar* has ovate fruit, -

but fmooth, as are alfo the peduncles; the
{talk however and the petioles are {pinous,
the petals are blufh-coloured and bilobate,

& Mefem. nodiflorum Lin. Mor. hift. f. 5. t. 33. f. 7.
Several fpecies of this beautiful genus are figured in Mr.
Curtis’s Magazine :—as M. dolabriforme in t. 32.—
bicolorum 59.—pinnatifidum 67.—barbatum 70.—and
many more in Dillenius’s Hortus Elthamentfis.

* Rofa rubiginofa Lin. Fl. dan. 870. Ger. 1269.

! Rofa canina Lin. Curt. Lond. 5. 34. Fl. dan. 555.

Blackw. 8.
U 3 and

295

Rofa,

294

Fragaria.

LEDER LY XXL

and there are two ciliate bractes, oppofite
each other, to every flower.

Strawberry, with all its various fruits,
conftituting only one fpecies*, is of this
order. Here, though the corolla has only
five petals, the calyx is cut into ten feg-
ments, alternately larger and fmaller, and
the feeds are difperfed over the furface of
a roundifh, pulpy receptacle, vulgarly called
a berry. ‘Thefe are the generic characters.
All the eatable Strawberries increafe by
runners; and by this circumftance they are
fufficiently diftinguifhed from the barren
fort ', which not only has a dry juiceleis
receptacle, but never throws out any of
thefe runners.

THE CLASS POLYANDRIA.

The thirteenth clafs, Polyandria, has
many ftamens to the flowers™ as well as
the foregoing, but fpringing from the re-
ceptacle along with the piftil. Thefe two
claffes united would have formed too large
a clafs for commodious examination ; a dif-
ficulty to be avoided certainly in all cates
where we can; befides, the plants con-
tained in the one, are in general fo dif-
ferent, both in their form and qualities,
from thofe of the other, that it would have
been a pity to intermix beings fo difcord-

k Fragaria vefca, Zin. Mor. hift. f. 2. t. 19. f. 1.

Ger. 997. Blackw: 77.1.

! Fragaria fterilis Zin. Curtis, Lond. III. 30. Ger. 998.
m From 20 to 1000,

ant,

POLYANDRIA.

to
‘NO
&

ant, or to unite in the fame clafs fruits
which are fo pleafant to the palate, and
wholefome to the conftitution, with herbs
deftruétive to the human frame from their
poifonous qualities; as many of thofe in the
clafs Polyandria are known to be.

In- the firft order (Monogynia) you will Papaver.
find the Poppy, which is fufficiently il
tinguifhed by a calyx of two leaves"; a
corolla of four petals; and a one-celled cap-
fule, crowned with the ftigma, under which
it opens with many holes, to give exit to
the numerous little feeds. Of this genus,
four fpecies have rough, and five have
fmooth capfules. The common Corn Pop-
py°; the fpecies ufed in medicine, and
which yields the Opium’; the Welch
Poppy; and the Oriental fort, now intro-
duced as an ornament to the flower gar-
den, are all of the latter divifion. ‘The
firft has the capfules almoft globofe; the
ftalk covered with hairs, and fuftaining
feveral flowers of a fine high fcarlet; and
the leaves pinnatifid and cut. The fecond
has the calyx fmooth, as well as the cap-
fule, the leaves cut and embracing the
ftalk: that which is cultivated in the fields
has white corollas, and oblate fpheroidal

" This falls off fpontaneoufly when the flower ex-
pands.

‘ ee Rhæas Lin. Curtis, Lond, III. 32. Ger.
GI 30 Fut £2.

P ates fomniferum Lin. Blackw. t. 483. Ger. 370,

4 Papaver orientale Lin, Curt. Magaz. 57.

U4 heads

Ciftus.

LETTER XXI.

heads as big as an orange, with white feeds:
the garden fort has purplifh corollas, very
dark at the bafe, with fmaller oblong heads
and black feeds: this varies much in co-
Jour, and has fometimes very large and
very double flowers, then refembling an
immenfe Carnation. Some perfons are of
opinion that the field and garden Poppy are
different ipecies; Linnæus makes them but
one: I have given you the ditlerences, but
do not take upon me to decide. The cap-
fules of the Welch Poppy are oblong; the
ftalk fmooth ; the leaves winged air cut :
the corollas large and yellow. The Oriental
Poppy has rough leafy ftalks, fupporting
one large, fingle, red flower; the leaves
are winged, and ferrate about the edge.
All the fpecies of Poppy have a ftrong ditt
agreeable fmell.

The Caper‘ is of this firft order ; fo is
the Tea-tree, and the Lime‘; the Water-
Lilies, both ‘yellow “and white’, {preading
their broad leaves on the iurface of flow-
moving ftreams and ftagnant pools, and
railing their ample many-petalled corollas
above it. Here alfo is the numerous and
beautiful genus Ci/fus, known by a calyx
of five eee : two of which are lefs than

r Papaver cambricum Lia. Dill. elth. t. 223. f. 290.

* Capparis fpinofa Lin. Blackw. 417.

t Tila Europea Lin. Fl. dan. 553. Ger. 1483.
Hunt. Ev. filva. p. 194.

" Nymphæa lutea Lin. Fl. dan. 603, Ger. 819. 2

* Nymphæa alba Zin, F1. dan, 602. Ger. 810. A
the

‘

POLYANDRIA,

the other three; a corolla of five petals 3
and a capfule for a feed-vefiel. Of thefe
there are forty-nine fpecies, moft of them
fhrubs, but fome herbaceous ; the corollas
purple, white or yellow in the different
jorts.

297

Peony is of the fecond order, which is aPœonia,

fmall one: the characters of the genus are
a calyx of five leaves, a corolla of five pe-
tals, and two or three germs, crowned
immediately with ftigmas, without the in-
terpolition of any ftyles.

This, and fome plants of the following
orders, are ftrictly united by one natural
bond, under the name of Multi/iique or
Many-podded; having a fruit compofed of
jeveral pericarps joined together. They
agree likewife in having either no calyx, or
at leaft one very apt to fall off ; a polype-
talous corolla, and ftamens exceeding the
petals in number. Of thefe you are ac-
quainted with the Lar&/pur and Aconite,
belonging to the third order; the Co/um-
Lines to the fifth, and He//ebore to the laft.

None of them have any calyx; and they

have all a corolla of five petals: the necta-
ries form the principal diftinétion of the ge-
nera“. This in Lark/pur is bifid, fefiile,
and continued backwards into a horn or
fpur. Aconite has two recurved, peduncu-
late nectaries. Columbine has five of thefe

w See Pl. 34. f. 1, 2, 8.
horn-

298

Delphi-

nium.

Aconi-
tum,

Aquile-
gia.

LETTER XXI.

horn-fhaped neétaries, between the petals.
Hellebore has many fhort, tubulous neétaries,
placed in a ring round the outfide of the
ftamens, each divided into two lips at top.
Larkfpur has allo either one capfule or
three, and the garden fpecies * is diftin-

- guifhed by its fimple unbranched ftem from

the wild one’, which has it fubdivided :
thefe both have the neétary of one leaf; in
Bee Lark/pur = and the reft it is of two.
ÆAconite has the upper petal arched; and
three or five capfules. You have one {pe-
cies common in your flower-borders and
plantations, with long {pikes of large blue
flowers, called Monzk’s-hood*; this is one
of the fpecies that have three capfules to a
flower; and the leaves are multifid, with
linear divifions, broadeft at top, and marked
with a line running along them. Vholefome
WVolfsbane”, as it is called, has five captules,
five ftyles, and the flowers are {ulphur-co-
loured. Columbine has five diftinét capfules :
the common {fort © has bent neétaries : in its
wild ftate the flowers are blue, the petals
fhort, and the nectaries very prominent; in

* Delphinium Ajacis Lin. Ger. 1087.
. ¥ Delphinium Confolida Zin. FI. dan. 683. Ger.
1083.. 5. :

* Delphinium elatum Lin. Mill. fig. 250. f. 2.

: ar ten Napellus Lin, Mill. illuftr. Jacq. auftr.
. I.
sep Anthora Lin. Mill. fig. pl. 12. Jacq.
auftr. 4. 382.

€ Aquilegia vulgaris Lin. F1. dan. 695. Mill. illuftr.
Ger. 1093, 1094:

5 the

POLYANDRIA. 299

the garden you obferve not only a variety
of colours, but that the petals are excluded,
and the neétaries much multiplied. He//e- Hellebo-
bore has fometimes more than five petals to"
the corolla: and always feveral capfules
fucceeding to each flower; thefe contain
many round feeds, fixed to the future of
the capfule. The winter-flowering {pecies,
commonly called winter Aconite*, is the
only one that drops its petals; it bears one
yellow flower fitting on the leaf. True Black
Hellebore or Chrifimas Rofe* has one or two
large white flowers upon a naked ftalk, and
flefhy pedate leaves. Stinking Black Helle-
bore or Bear’s-foot ? fuftains many greenifh
flowers on one ftalk, and pedate leaves on
the ftem, but none towards the root. This
is not uncommonly wild, and you will
find it flowering during winter under the
trees in your plantations, Caution your
poor neighbours againft being too free in
giving their children this plant againft
worms; for in too large a dofe it is cer-
tainly dangerous. Indeed all the herbs juit
now defcribed are more or lefs poifonous:
Aconite is known to be highly fo.

The laft order of this clafs, Polyandria, Lirioden-
contains alfo the Tu/ip-tree, which has a tri- dron.

* Helleborus hyemalis Liz. Curtis, bot. mag. 3.

© Helleborus niger Zin. Curtis, bot. mag. 8.

f Helleborus fœtidus Zin. Blackw. t. 57. Ger.
970. 4.

phyllous

300° LET TSHR: XXI:

phyllous calyx, fix petals to the corolla, and
many lance-fhaped feeds lying one over
another, and forming a fort of /robile. This
tree is remarkable for the fhape of its
leaves, having the middle lobe of the three
truncate, or cut tranfverfely at the end.
The flowers are large and bell-fhaped; the
petals marked with « green, yellow, and red

Magno- {pots®. Here alfo are the Magnolias, which

Ba. have a calyx of three leaves like the lait,
but a corolla of nine petals; the fruit is a
frrobile or fcaly cone of bivalvular capfules,
covering a club-fhaped receptacle, each cap-
fule containing a roundith feed, like a berry,
hanging out by a thread. It is to be la-
mented that thefe fine trees, fo beautiful
both in leaf and flower, will not bear all
the rigour of our climate.

Anemou. L'his order boafts two numerous genera,
much efteemed among the florifts—the
Anemone and Ranunculus. The firft has no
calyx; a corolla of two or three rows, with
three petals in each row: and many naked
feeds, retaining each their ftyle. You are
now too far advanced in the fcience, to
need a caution againft taking the fine flowers
of your beds, upon which the gardener fo
much values himielf, in order to examine
the corolla of the Aemone; they are the
children of art; not thofe of nature, fuch

t Liriodendron Tulipifera Zin. Trew, Ehr. t. 10.
Catefb. car. 1. t. 48.

as

POLYANDRIA.

as we are ftudying. The early Heparica
is of this genus; and is known by its three-
lobed entire leaves. It is the only fpecies
which has any thing like a calyx; for it has
a perianth of three leaves, which being re-
mote from the flower, is rather an z#volucre
than a calyx. The Pa/que-flower’, fo
called from its flowering about Eafter, is
alfo of this genus: it adorns fome of our
dry chalky hills with its beautiful bell-
fhaped, purple flowers; and though it has
no calyx properly fo called, yet the flower-
ftalk has a leafy multifid mvolucre; and
the leaves are doubly winged, or d:pinnate.
‘Each plant bears but one nodding flower ;
and after that is paft, the top of the plant
is hoary with the tails, which adhere to
the feeds. Another wild fort is the Wood
nemone *, bearing only one white or pur-
plith flower on a plant ; the leaves are com-
pound, with cut lobes; and the feeds are
pointed, but without tails. The garden
Anemones, which are fo ornamental to the
flower-garden in the fpring, are only of
two fpecies, notwithftanding the great va-
riety of their colours; red, white, purple,
blue, with all the intermediate fhades, and

* Anemone Hepatica Lin, Curtis, bot. mag. 10. Fl.
dan. t. 610.

? Anemone Pulfatilla Ziz. Relh. Fl. cantab. p. 208.
F1. dan. 153. Ger. 385. 1.

* Anemone nemorofa Lin. Curtis, Lond. If. 38.
F}, dan. 549. Ger. 383. 2.

innumerable

393

302 LETTER XXI

mnumerable variegations of them. Art, to
increafe their beauty, has rendered them
very large and double; but we can fill
diftinguith the fpecies by their leaves, which
in one are decompounded, dividing by
threes; in the other ™ digitate: the ftalk is
leafy ; and the feeds are tailed, in both {pe-
Ranuncu- cies. ‘The rival genus of the Anemone is
lus. the Ranunculus, which differs from it in
having a calyx of five leaves, and a corolla
of five petals: but the diftinguifhing mark
of this genus is a honied gland juft above
the bafe of each petal, on the infide*. Of
forty-four fpecies many are wild; and fome
extremely common in moît parts of Europe,
under the name of Butter-flowers, Butter-
cups, and Kimg-cups. ‘Three forts particu-
larly, which at one feafon caft a yeilow
veil over our meadows, are generally con-
founded and looked upon as one. How-
ever the du/bous°® has the calyx bent back
to the flower-ftalk, whereas in the ereep-
ing P and acrid? it is open or fpreading : in
the firft and fecond the peduncle is fur-
rowed ; in the third it is round, without

1 Anemone coronaria Lin. Mill. fig. pl. gr.
™ Anemone hortenfis Lin. Curtis Magaz. 12
See Pl. 34. 4.

° Ranunculus bulbofus Lim, Curtis, Lond. I. 38.

>
.

à

Ger. 953. 6. ~
P Ranunculus repens Lim. Curtis, Lond. IV. 38.
Ger. 951. 1.
4 Ranunculus acris Lin. Curtis, Lond, I. 39. Ger.

951. 2.

any

POLYANDRIA.

any channelling: befides this, the leaves
are very different upon in{pection ; and the
firft has a bulbous root, the fecond throws
out abundance of runners which {trike root
like thofe of the ftrawberry, and the third
is a taller, gentecler, later-flowering plant.
But not the meadows only are filled with
Ranunculi; the woods*, the corn-fields :,
the waters‘, have alfo their fhare of them.
One fpecies, which flowers in moift mea-
dows very early in the fpring, is fo dif-
tin from its fellows, that fome bota-
nifts have not fcrupled to remove it from
this genus, to form one by itfelf: for it
has a calyx of three leaves only ; but, to
make amends, a corolla of more petals
than five: it has heart-fhaped, angular,
petiolate leaves, one flower on a ftalk,
and tuberous or knobby roots*. But the
Perfian Ranunculus’ is the great rival of
the Anemone, in the flower-garden, for
the beauty and variety of the large,
double corollas; which are fo changed
by art, that you muft have recourfe, for

* Ranunculus auricomus Lin. Curtis, Lond. IT. 41.
Rel. G54..7.

* Ranunculus arvenfis Lin. Fl. dan. 219. Ger. —

951. 3-

‘ Ranunculus fceleratus, hederaceus, aquatilis, &c.
Lin.—{celeratus Curtis, Lond. II. 42. Ger. 962.
4.—hederaceus, IV. 39. FI. dan. 321,—aquatilis. Ger.
829. F1. dan. 276.

# Ranunculus Ficaria Lin, Leffler Celandine. Curtis,
Lond. II. 39. Ger. 816.

* Ranunculus afiaticus Lin, Mill. fig, 216.

3

BRETT ER XXI.

the fpeciñic diftinétion, to the leaves;
thefe are ternate, and biternate, the ïobes
trifid and cut. ‘The ftalk is ereét, round,
hairy, and branching at bottom: the ra-
dical leaves are fimple. With all this
employment as a botanift, and amufement
as a florift, I leave you, dear coufin, for
the prefent,

* LET FER

& 300)

LETTER XXII

THE CLASS DIDYNAMIA.

July the 1ft, 1775.
AVING now finifhed more than
half our courfe, we are arrived ata
fet of natural claffes, with which you are
fo well acquainted, as to find no difficulty
in affigning the proper place to any plant
belonging to them.

The ftru@ture of the Romero in the four-
teenth clafs was explained at length in the
fourth letter: but the proper and effential
character of it is, the having four ftamens,
all in one row, and in pairs; the outer pair
longer than the other, whence the name
Didynamia; and one ftyle: all included
within an irregular monopetalous or ringent
corolla.

This clafs has only two orders; which
are not founded upon the form of the
flower, as you might be led to fuppofe from
what was faid in a former letter; nor upon
the number of the ftyles, as in the fore-
going clafles, becaufe none of the flowers
have more than one; but upon the circum-
{tance of having four naked feeds, bofomed
in the calyx; or elfe many fixed to a recep-
tacle in the middle of a pericarp: the firft
« of

G'echo-
mi.

LEWTER XII.

of thefe is called Gymnofpermia, the fecond
Angiofpermia.

This clafs contains one hundred and two
genera, and fix hundred and forty-three
{pecies ; and each order forms a natural
one—the firft including the Verticillate
plants, fo called from the manner in which
the flowers grow, in verfici/li or whorls:
they alfo agree in producing the leaves by

pairs, and in having the ftalks fquare. The

fecond comprifing ‘the Per/onate flowers ;
or fach as have moftly a perfonate corolla,
but always a pericarp, or veflel inclofing
the feeds.

THE ORDER GYMNOSPERMIA.

The effential generic character of Ground
Ivy" is at the {ame time beautiful and ex-
tremely diftinétive, each pair of anthers
forming an elegant little crofs, one above
the other. ‘The leaves are kidney-fhaped,
and notched about the edges. In this ge-
nus, in Hyflop, Mint, Lavender, Bugle,
Betony, Dead-Nettle, Cat-Mint, Savory,
Horehound, &c. the calyxes are pretty
regularly quinquefid. In Thyme, Bafil,
Self-heal, Marjoram, Baum, &c. they are
bilabiate. In Mint the corollas are hardly
ringent; the filaments are ftraight and dif-
tant. Lavender has the corollas, as it were,

w Glechoma hederacea Lin. Curtis, Lond. II. 44.

Ger. 856. 1. PI. 20. f. 1. of this work.
turned

5

DIDYNAMIA GYM N. 307

turned fop/yturvy ; that which is the upper

part in moft others being the lower in this,

and vice verfa; the calyxes alfo are fup-
ported by a éracée; and the ftamens lie
within the tube. Yeweri:um has no proper
upper lip, but the corolla is flit quite
through for the ftamens to pafs. Bugle has Ajuga.
the upper lip of the corolla remarkably
fhort, much fhorter than the filaments;

our common wild fpecies * is known by its
fmoothnefs, and increafing by runners. Be- petonica.
tony has the upper lip of the corolla flattifh

and rifing, with a cylindric tube; the feg-
ments of the calyx are prolonged into narrow
thin points like awns; and the filaments
extend not beyond the neck or opening of
the tube. Wood Betony Y is diftinguifhed by

an interrupted fpike, and by the middle feg-
ment of the lip being emarginate, or having
one notch. Cat-mint has the middle divi- Nepeta,
fion of the lower lip crenate, or flightly
notched ; the edge of the chaps reflex; and
the ftamens clofe. The flowers of the
wild fpecies * are in a fpike, confifting of a

fet of whorls on fhort peduncles ; the leaves

are heart-fhaped, bluntly ferrate and petio-
late. If you have any doubt concerning this

* Ajuga reptans Zin. Curtis, Lond. II. 43. Ger.
631. he “

¥ Betonica officinalis Lin. Curtis, Lond. IIT. 32.
Ger. 714.

* Nepeta Cataria Lin. F1. dan, 580. Mor. hift. £11.
t. 6.f, 1. Ger, 682. 1.

+ plant

308 LET ee Reins
plant prefent it to pufs, and fhe will inform
you by the carefles which fhe beftows upon
it, 19 common with Marum and Valerian;
the firft of which not growing wild, and the
fecond being fo very different a plant, fhe

Ballota. Cannot lead you into an error. Black Hore-
hound and White Horehound both have a ca-
lyx marked with ten ftreaks ; but the upper
lip of the corolla, in the former, is arched
and crenate: in the latter ftraight, linear,
and bifid. Common Black Horehound? is
known by its whole, heart-fhaped, ferrate
leaves, and fharp-pointed calyxes : the co-

Marru- rollas are red. Common White Horebound?

bium. has the divifions of the calyx ending in fe-
taceous hooked points: the corollas are
white, and the whole plant has a white
appearance from the nap that covers the
{talks and leaves.

Thymus. Of the fecond divifion with bilabiate ca-
lyxes, Thyme has the opening of the tube
clofed with hairs. Wild Thyme‘ that fmells
{o gratefully, and adorns dry theep-paftures
with its red flowers, is known by thefe
flowers growing in a head; by the divifions
of the calyx being ciliate; the leaves ovate,
flat, blunt at the end, dotted with little

* Ballota nigra Lin. Blackw. 136. Mor. hift. f. 11.
t. or hrs Gers Sor, Te

> Marrubium album Lin. Blackw. 479. Moris, t. 9.
fx Gert 6034/8.

©‘ Thymus Serpyllum Zin. Curtis, Lond. Il. 47.”
Mor. hift. t. 17. f. 1.

elands,

DIDYNAMIA GYMN.

glands, and ciliate at the bafe; and by its
creeping ftalks. Garden Thyme“ is an erect
plant, with its ovate leaves revolute, and
the flowers in a fet of whoris, all together
making a fpike. Of this there are feveral
varieties, as there are alfo of the other.
Bafil has an involucre of many narrow leaves
immediately under the whorl of flowers.

359

Marjoram is diftinguifhed by an mvolucre Giva.
compofed of ovate, coloured, imbricate num.

Braëles, forming all together a fquare kind
of fpike or ffrobile. Wild Marjoram has
the {pikes rounded at the corners, conglo-
merate, and all together forming a panicle;
the bractes longer than the calyxes. You
will find this wild under hedges, and among

bufhes. That which is in the kitchen gar- —

den, under the name of Pot Marjoram',
differs not greatly from the next: the {pikes
are oblong, aggregate, and hairy; the leaves
heart-fhaped, and nappy ; the item woody,
and the flowers white. Sweet Marjoram ®
has ovate leaves, blunt at the end, and
roundifh compact pubefcent {pikes. Winter
Sweet Marjoram” has long, aggregate, pe-
dunculate {pikes, and the brates the length
of the calyxes. The corollas of this are

4 Thymus vulgaris Zir. Blackw. t. 211.

© Origanum vulgare Zin. Curt. Lond. 5. 39. Fi.
dan. 638. Mor. hift. f. 11. t. 3. f. 12. Ger. 666. 4.

* O. Onites. Bocc. mus. 2. t. 38. Ger. 664. 2.

8 Origanum Majorana Lin. Blackw. t. 319.

* Origanum heracleoticum Liz. Lob. ic. 492.

te white ;

Meliffa.

Dracoce-
phalum.

LET TER / XXH,

white; of the other red. Dittany of Crete‘
has the imall purple flowers colleéted in
loofe, nodding heads, with imbricate braétes;
the ftalks are pubefcent, purplifh, and fend
out {mall branches from their fides by pairs ;
the leaves are round, thick, and fo woolly
as to be quite white: the whole plant has
a piercing aromatic fcent, and biting tafte.
This is the celebrated plant with “which
Venus cured the wound of A®neas *. Baum
has a dry, chaffy, angular calyx, flattifh at
top ; the upper lip rifing: the cafque of the
corolla 1s a little arched, and deeply notched
or bifid; the lower lip is trifid, with the
middle lobe heart-fhaped.

Common Garden Baum' has the flowers
growing in {mall loofe bunches from the
wings of the ftalk, in whorls, and the pedi-
cles are fimple or unbranched. ‘There are
two plants of this genus growing wild, that
have the name of Ca/amint™. Dracoce phalum
is diftinguifhed principally by the great in-
flation, or wide opening of the chaps of
the corolla, the upper lip alfo is arched,
folded, and obtufe. Of this genus is the
very fine-fmelling plant vulgarly called

Baum of Gilead*, which has compound

1 Origanum Diétamnus Lin. Blackw. t. 462.
an ircil Æneid. XII.
! Meliffa officinalis Lin. Blackw. t. 27.
m Meliffa Calamintha & Nepeta Liz. Blackw. t. 166,
& 167.
" Dracocephalum canarienfe Lin. Mor. hift. f, 11. t.
11. fig. laft.

leaves,

DIDYNAMIA GYMN. f 311

leaves, confifting of three or five oblong,
pointed, ferrate leaflets; and flowers com-
ing out in thick, fhort fpikes : the corollas
are pale blue. Se/f- heal is known immedi- Prunella.
ately by its forked filaments, with the an-
thers inferted below the top: the ftigma
alfo is emarginate or bifid. Wild Se/f-heal®,

fo common in paftures, has all the leaves
of an oblong ovate form, ferrate about the
edge, and petiolate. Scutellaria is abund- Scutella-
antly diftinct from all the other genera of ™*
this order by its fruétification ; for the calyx

is entire at the mouth, and after the flower

is paft, clofes with a kind of lid; fo that
the whole bears a refemblance to a helmet,
whence the names of Cafida, Skull-cap,
and Hooded Willow-berb: and the feeds be-
ing hereby inclofed in a kind of capfule,
this genus forms the conneéting link be-
tween this order and the next. The {pe-
cies common on the banks of rivers, by
ditch fides, and other watery places’, has
Jance-fhaped leaves, hollowed at the bafe,
‘notched about the edge, and wrinkled on
the furface; the flowers are blue, and pro-
ceed from the axils, or angles formed by
the leaves or fubdivifions of the main
{tem.

* Prunella vulgaris ZLin., Curtis, Lond. IV. 42. Ger.
É32-3T: ,
P Scutellaria galericulata Lin. Curtis, Lond, II. 36.
Ger. 477. 10.
D. Sari THE

312

Oroban-
che.

Rhinan-
thus.

LETTER XXII.

THE ORDER ANGIOSPERMIA,

The corollas in all the genera of the firft
order, with very few exceptions, are open-
mouthed, Labrate, or Ringent, properly fo
called. In the fecond order, which you
are now going to furvey, many of them are
Perfonate, or Labiate, with the lips clofed ;
{ome however have open bell- -fhaped,
wheel-fhaped, or irregular corollas. To
have feeds inclofed in a Pericarp i is common
to all, and hence the name of the order
Angiofpermia. In moft of the genera the
calyxes are quinquefid; in fome however
they are bifid, in one trifd, in many qua-
drifid, and in two multid. 4

Of thofe with bifid calyxes, you have
the Orobanche or Broom rape; which has an
open corolla, divided at top into four feg-
ments, and nearly regular; there is a gland
at the bafe of the germ; and the capfule is
unilocular and bivalvular. The common
fpecies has a pubefcent ftalk, abfolutely
undivided; the fingular fewillemort hue of
this plant is alone fufficient to betray it to
you at firft fight.

Among fuch as have quadrifid calyxes,
are Rbinanthus, Yellow Rattle, or Cock’s-
comb, and Eyebright: thete have Per/fonate

4 Orobanche major Lin. Curtis, Lond. [V. 44. Ger.
relates
| corollas :

DIDYNAMIA ANG. 313

corollas: the firft has the calyx fwelling ;
and an obtufe, comprefled bilocular capfule.
The wild fort', common in moift meadows,
is known by the fhortnefs and comprefied
form of the upper lip of the corolla; the
colour is yellow: the calyx is very large,
being an early flowering plant; this part
grows dry before the time of mowing, and
makes a crafhing or ratling found under the
icythe. Euphra/y, or Eyebright, once cele- Euphrafia,
brated as fit ** to purge the vifual ray,”
has the calyx cylindric ; the anthers fpinous
at the bafe of one of their lobes: and the
capfules of an oblong ovate form, and bilo-
cular. The officinal {pecies* has ovato-li-
near leaves, fharply indented about the edges.
It isan humble, neat plant, growing in dry
paftures and heaths; and the corolla, on a
near view, is very elegant.
In the largeft fection, with quinquefid Antirrhi-
calyxes, you will find the Autirrhinum genus "™
comprifing forty-feven fpecies. The corolla
is perfonate, prolonged at the bafe into a
bag or fpur; and the feed veffel is a bilocu-
lar capfule. Of two fpecies formerly men-
tioned to you, Toadflax* has linear leaves in-
clining to lanceolate, growing many toge-

* Rhinanthus Crifta galli Liz. Curtis, Lond. V. 43,
Mort hift/f, 11: € 22. f 1. Ger: tozr.._ 1.

* Euphrafia officinalis Zin. Curtis, Lond. V. 42.
Mort. hift. t. 24. f. 1. Ger. 663.

* Antirrhinum Linaria Zin. Curtis, Lond, I. 47.
Ger. 550. 1.

7 ther

314

LETTER XXII.

ther upon an erect ftalk ; the flowers grow
clofe in feffile fpikes, terminating the ftem ;
the under lip of the corolla is hairy within,
the chaps are orange-coloured, but the reft
is of a pale yellow, and it ends in along fpur.
It is now in flower, or will foon be fo.
Accident has produced a ftrange variation in
this plant, by changing the corolla from
perfonate with four didynamous ftamens,
to regularly pentapetalous with five, the
reit of the plant remaining the fame*. Va-
rieties partaking of the nature of two {pe-
cies are not uncommon’, but as they are
generally found among annual plants, and
never produce feed, they are loft almoft as
foon as they come to perfection. Whereas
this being perennial, and creeping much at
the roots, has been preferved as an example
of monfters in vegetable nature. Snapdra-
gon™ has the leaves of the calyx rounded at
top, the flowers growing in a fpike, andthe
corollas fpurlefs ; the colours of thefe are
red with white or yellow mouths, or en-
tirely white, or elfe white with yellow
mouths: the leaves are lance-fhaped and
petiolate. Several fpecies of Antirrhinum
are wild on walls and in corn fields ; and fe-
veral others are not uncommon in gardens:

" This is defcribed at Jength under the name of Pe-
doria in the firft volume of Aman. Acad.
¥ Thefe are called Hybridous plants, or AdZules.
* Antirrhinum majus Zin. Mill. fig. t. 42. Ger.
SAONE 2,1%
as

DIDYNAMIA ANG, 316

as Three-leaved Toadflax*, an annual plant,
having ovate, {mooth, gray leaves, gene-
rally ternate, as the name implies, but
fometimes only in pairs: the flowers grow
in fhort {pikes at the top of the ftalks, and
are fhaped like thofe of common Toad-flax,
only the tubes are not fo long; they are
yellow, with faffron-coloured chaps. Two
or three perennial fpecies, with handfome
{pikes of blue flowers, and fome of them
{melling {weet’, are ufually in large bor-
‘ ders, among flowermg-fhrubs, and other
perennials.

Scrophularia or Figwort is another of Scrophu-
thefe; the corolla 1s of the top{yturvy kind, laria-
almoft globular in its form; the two upper
divifions are the largeft and erect; the two
fide-ones {pread open, and the fifth below is
reflex. In many {pecies, under the topmott
divifion, in the chaps of the corolla there is
a little flap refembling a lip: the flower is
fucceeded by a bilocular capfule. Two
fpecies are fufficiently common ; one in
woods and hedge-rows*, with the angles
of the ftem blunted, and heart-fhaped leaves,
much prolonged at the tip, and marked
with three rifing nerves: the other by river

* Antirrhinum triphyllum Zin. Bocce. fic. t. 22.

Y Antirrhinum purpureum, repens & monfpeffula-
num, &c. Lin. 1. Riv. mon. 82.—2 Dill. elth. 198.
t. 163. f. 197.—3. Dill. elth. 199.

* Scrophularia nodofa Lin. Blackw. t. 87. Mor. hift.
LSet. 6. F2. Gere ti6. x;

fides,

316

Digitalis.

Bignonia.

LÉ TTER : XX MH:

fides, and in other watery places*, with a
membrane running along the ftalk at the
angles, and heart-fhaped leaves blunted at
the end. Thefe plants have a dufky fhade
fpread over their green, and their flowers
are of a dull red. '

Foxglove, one of the moft fhowy of our
wild plants, has an open corolla, divided into
four fegments at top, and {welling out be-
low, fhaped like the fingers of a glove; the
capfule ovate and two celled. Wild or purple
Foxglove? is diftinguifhed by having the
leaves of the calyx ovate and acute, with
the fegments of the corolla obtufe, and
the upper lip entire: the infide of the corolla
is beautifully {prinkled with {pots refembling

eyes; and the leaves are large and wrinkled :

red is the colour of the id ee in its wild
ftate; when cultivated in gardens it varies
to white and yellow.

Bignonia has a cyathiform calyx, narrow
at bottom, and fpreading wide at top; a
bell- fhaped corolla, {welling out below, and
divided into five fegments at top : ; and a two-
celled Z lique for a feed-veflel, containing
winged feeds lying clofe over each other.
Phe. Trumpet flower of Virginia and Ca-

nada, with its trailing branches, putting

@ Scrophularia aquatica Zin. Curt. Lond. V. 44. FI.
dan. ‘507. Blackw. t. 86. Ger. 715.

P Digitalis purpurea Lin, Curtis, Lond, I. 48. Fl.
dan. t. 74: ‘Ger. 790. 1.

¢ Bignonia radicans Lin. Mill. fig. pl. 65. PH 20.

£2

se ae

out

DIDYNAMIA ANG. 319

out roots from the joints, to acquire fup-
port and nourifhment from trees, has pin-
nate leaves, the leaflets of which are cut:
the large trumpet- taped flowers are orange
coloured. The Catalpa® is alarge tree with
leaves remarkably fimple, and heart- -fhaped :
the flowers are produced in great branching _
panicles; they are of a dirty white, with a
few purple {pots, and faint ftripes of yellow ;
but, what is moft remarkable, they De
only two perfect ftamens, with {mall rudi-
ments of three others ; the calyx alfo is not
barely quinquefid, but divided quite to
the bottom.

Acanthus, the leaves of which are faid to Acanthus.
have given the firft hint of the elegant Co-
mathien capital, is alfo of this order, but of
that fection. which has bifid calyxes: it has
anirregular corolla, without any upper lip ;
the lower one has three lobes; the anthers
are villous, and the capfule is two-celled.

I cannot help remarking to you, fince it
has ftruck me, that the greater part of the
genera in the principal fection of this order,
is dedicated to the memory of eminent bota-
nifts. Here ftands the great Linnzus him-
felf; the celebrated Arabian Avicenna; thofe
fathers of the {cience Gefner and Columna :
in Italy, Crefcentio, Tozzi, Vandelli, Du-
rante, Cirillo; the illuftrious Frenchmen,

4 Bignonia Catalpa Zin. Duham. arb. 1. t. 41.
Catefb. car. 1. t. 49.

Bignon,

LETTER XXII.

Bignon, Barrelier, Ruellius, Cornutus, Do-
dart; Celfius, Toren, Brovall, Swedes;
Brunfelfius, Buchner, Bontius, Volka-
mer, Loefel, Befler, Hebenftreit, Lindern,
Gmelin, and other Germans; Oviedo the
Spaniard; and of England old venerable
Gerard, Millington, and in more modern
times, Lord Petre and two contemporary
profefiors of Oxford and Cambridge. The
illuftrious, the indefatigable Baron Haller,
occupies a fection alone, as he well merits,
being himfelf an hoft. This plan, of con-
fecrating newly difcovered plants to perpe-
tuate the memory of perfons who have been
eminent in the fcience, appears to me well
imagined. Ladies have had this honour‘, as
well as the men ; and] have no doubt, dear
coufin, but that you will one day merit a
nich in this temple.

© See Strelitzia Regine in Hort. Kew. 1. 285. Curt.
magaz. 119, 120. John Miller’s plates, t. 5, 6. Port-
landia grandiflora in Dr. Smith’s Icones piétæ. Mon-
fonia fpeciofa, Curt. magaz. 73.

LEAMTER

G 3197)
LE DIE Re EXTIL

THE CLASS TETRADYNAMIA.

_ Auguft the 4th, 1775.
EFORE any idea of fyftem or arrange-

ment had gone abroad, every fcientific
eye perceiving a fimilitude between the
Cabbage and Turnip, the Stock and Radifh
in the fructification, there was an univerfal
agreement among authors to place thefe
plants, and others like them, in the fame
fetion or divifion of their books, and to
treat of them all together. You have al-
ready feen’ the hature Of this fimilitude,
and are not at any lofs in claffingthe Crz-
ciform tribe: you have only to learn that the
fifteenth clafs (Tetradynamia) in the fyftem
-of Linnzeus, contains the fame plantsas you
have been accuftomed to call Cruciform;
and to recollect that it has the long Greek
name from four of the ftamcns b: ing more
powerful or longer than the rema'ning two;
the aréubifihnee on which Linnæus foutids
the character of the clafs ; and which diftin-
cuifhes it from the fixth, wherein the fix
finaene are of equal length, or at leaft not of
that regular, proportional inequality that we
difcover in the clafs now before you.

* In Letter II.
It

Lunaria.

LETTER XXIII.

It will fuffice to examine a few of the
genera and {pecies, which are not extremely
numerous §, and therefore my prefent letter
will not extend to that frightful length that
fome of the former have done.

THE ORDER SILICULOSA.

The St/iculofe or fhort-podded order leads
the way, and is fubdivided into two fections ;
the firft containing thofe which have the fi-
licle entire, and the fecond fuch as have the
filicle notched at top. From the firft fubdi-
vition I fhall feleét Honefiy for your obfer-
vation, becaufe it is common in gardens, and
has larger parts than moft of thefe flowers.
The Gilicle is oval, entire, quite flat, and
ftands on a pedicle ; the valves are equal to
the partition, parallel and flat: the leaflets
of the calyx are bagged. The brilliant
whitenefs of thefe filicles has occafioned this
plant to be called White Sattin: and from
the fhape of them it is named Lunaria and
Moonwort... Linnazus mentions but two
{pecies ; the annual” differing from the dzen-
nial‘ in having larger flowers of a lighter
purple, and the pods longer and narrower:
they have both heart- -thaped leaves, indented
on their edges, area little hairy, and end i in

& The genera are 32, and the fpecies 287.
* Lunariaannua Lin. Mill. illuftr. Befl. eyit.7. f.-1.
* Lunaria rediviva Lin, Bell. eyft. 7. f. 2.

; acute

TETRADYN, SILIC. 321

acute points : the lower ones are on long
petioles, but the upper ones fit clofe to the
ftalk. 4

Of the fecond fubdivifion is the Candy- Iberis.
tuft or Iberis, known by an irregular corolla
with the two outer petals larger than the
two others. Red Candy-tufi* is an annual
herbaceous plant with red flowers growing
in a kind of umbel; your gardener fows it
in patches about the borders of your flower
garden ; it has lance-fhaped leaves drawn to
a point: the lower ferrate, the upper ones
quite entire: the flowers of this are fome-
times white, and then it is confounded with
the bitter fpecies', which however has the
leaves not {o fharp-pointed, and with only
few indentations: the flowers alfo grow in
a raceme, and the plant is more branched.

In this fubdivifion alfo ranges Scurvy- Cochlea-
grafs and Horfe-radi/b, agreeing in a heart-"*
ihaped, turgid, rugged filicle, the valves of
which are gibbous and obtufe. Oficial or
Garden Scurvy-Grafs™ has a branching ftalk ;

. the lower leaves roundifhand hollowed next
the petiole; the ftem-leaves oblong and fub-
finuous : the white flowers are produced in

clufters at the ends of the branches. Ezz//h

* Iberis umbellata Zin. Riv. tetr. 225. Curt. mag.
106. .
1 Jberis amara Lin. Riv. tetr. 112. Ger. 263. 5.
= Cochlearia officinalis Lin. F1. dan, 135. Ger.

40 4 LA à =
% Sea

322 LETTER XXIII.

Sea Scurvy-Gra/s" has longer leaves, and all
of them finuate. Hor/e-radi/h°, which few
befides botanifts obferve in flower, has the
radical leaves lance-fhaped, and notched
about the edges, the ftem-leaves gafhed.

THE ORDER SILIQUOSA.

The fecond order, containing the Cruc/-
form flowers, fucceeded by a f/rque or long
pod, is alfo fubdivided into two fections; in
the firft of which the leaflets converge at top,
in the fecond they gape. Rad/h, Ery/imum,
Stock, Wall-fiower, Rocket, Arabis, Cabbage,
Turnep, &c. range in the firft fection : oad,
Sea-Colewort, Cardamine, Muffard, Char-

Raphanus. Jock, Water-Crefs, &c. in the fecond. Ra-
difh has a cylindric, jointed, torofe or fwel-
ling filique; and one pair of glands between
the fhorter ftamens and the piftil, with a fe-
cond pair between the longer ftamens and

Eryfimum.the calyx. Ery/imumhasa columnar filique
with four equal fides. Of this there are fe-
veral wild fpecies: as firft, the common?,
growing by road fides, well diftinguifhed by
its runcinate leaves, and filiques preffed clofe

® Cochlearia anglica Zin. Fl. dan. 329. Ger. 401, 2.

° Cochlearia Armoracia Lin. Mor. hift. f. 3. t. 7.
frac Ger Daly is

P Eryfimum officinale Zin. Curtis, Lond. V. 50:
F1. dan. 560. Ger. 254. 1.

to

TETRADYN. SILIQUOSA. 323

to the ftalk : fecondly, Winter Cre/s4 with
lyrate leaves, theoutmoft lobe roundifh ; and
fpikes of yellow flowers, growing by ditch-
fides : and thirdly, the garlick-/melling, call-
ed thence Sauce-alone, and from the ufual
place of its growth, Fack-by-the-hedge', has
heart-fhaped leaves: the flowers-are white;
but the fmell betrays it at once. __
Stock and Vall-flower have two leaflets of Cheiran-
the calyx gibbous at the bafe; the germ thus:
has a glandular toothlet on each fide; and
the feeds are flat. The two fpecies are
thus diftinguifhed. Wa/ll-flower* has acute,
fmooth leaves, with angular branches. Stock*
has obtufe hoary leaves, with flatted filiques _
truncate at top: both*have fhrubby ftems,
and lance-fhaped entire leaves. - The x-
nual or Ten-week Stock* differs in having
an herbaceous ftalk, the leaves fomewhat
_ toothed, the petals notched, and the filiques
cylindric and acute at the end. Rock-
et’ has the petals obliquely bent ; a gland
on each fide within the fhorter ftamens ; the
ftigma forked, with the parts converging at

top; and the filique {uff and upright.

4 Eryfimum Barbarea Lin. Mor, hift. t. 5. f. 11, 12.
Ger. 243.
t Eryfimum Alliaria Lin. Curtis, Lond. II. 48. Ger.

94- :
* Cheiranthus Cheiri Lin. Mor. f. 3. t. 8. f, 15.
Ger. 456. ‘
© Cheiranthus incanus Lin. Mill. illuftr. Ger. 458.
* Cheiranthus annuus Zin.

* Hefperis Lin.
Y 2 Sikes

324 LE AUDE RY Eerie

Arabis Arabis has four glands, within the leaf-
lets of the calyx, like reflex fcales. Some
of the fpecies are wild”, and the A/pine -
fort* is now common in many gardens:
the leaves of this embrace the ftalk, and are
toothed about the edges; it bears white

Braffica. flowers in loofe corymbs. Cabbage’, Turnep’,
Colefeed*, &c. All agree in having the glands
difpofed as in the radifh ; the leaflets of the
calyx are erect: the claws of the corollas
hardly fo long as the calyx; the filique is
roundifh, a little flatted on each fide, with
the valves fhorter than the partition ; and
filled with feveral globofe feeds.

Jatis. Of the fecond fection, /Yoad has a lance-
fhaped, bivalve, one-celled filique, con-
taining one feed only, and deciduous; the
valves are boat-fhaped. The fpecies culti-
vated for dying’, has the radical leaves
notched and petiolate ; the ftem-leaves fa-
gittate or fhaped like the head of an arrow,
and embracing the ftalk ; and oblong filicles.
It isa large plant, with corymbs of {mall

Crambe. yellow flowers. Sea-Colewort has a globofe
filique, or rather dry berry, which is deci-
duous, and contains one feed ; but its moft

" Arabis thaliana, Curtis, Lond. IT. 49. ftriéta, Tur-
rita Lin. Jacq. auftr. t. 11. but the laft has glands as in
_ Braffica.
“®" x Arabis alpina Lim. FI. dan. 62.
ÿ Braffica oleracea Lin.
2 Braffica Rapa Lin.
2 Br. Napus Lin.
b Jfatis tinctoria Lin. Blackw. 246. Mor. hift. f. 3.
t. 15.) f. 10, 11. Ge. 491.

4 remarkable

TETRADYN. SILIQ.

remarkable character is, that the four long
jlaments are forked at the end, and the
anthers are borne on the outer foes. Our
{pecies has the ftalk and leaves {mooth.
Cardamine, Cuckow-flower or Lady’ s Smock,
(forgive the vulgar name) has the calyx
gaping a little: hee glands, one on each
fide, between the thantes ftamens and the
calyx; and an elaftic filique, the valves
rolling back with force when the feeds are
mature, and thus throwing them off to
fome diftance. There are many fpecies
wild, but that which is common in moift
meadows, and on the banks of brooks 4,
has pinnate leaves, the folioles on the radi-
cal leaves roundifh, on the ftem-leaves
lance-fhaped. The allufions to the white-
nefs of the corollas will not always hold,
fince in fome countries they are purple.
Mufiard has the claws of the corollas
ftraight, and the glands as in the Cabbage
genus, to which it is very nearly allied ;
differing from it only in the circumftance
firft mentioned, and in having the leaflets
of the calyx fpreading : the filigue indeed is
different ; being torofe and rough, with the
partition ufually very long; but this is re-
ferved for the fpecific diftin@ion. The
wild fpecies, a weed fo common among corn,

© Crambe maritima Lin. Fl, dan. 316. Ger. 315.
15.
¢ Cardamine pratenfis Zim. Curtis, Lond. HII. 4a.

Ger. 259. 1, 2.
4673 and

FES

Carda-
mine.

Sinapis.

326

Sifymbri-
um.

LETTER XXII.

and generally called Charlock*, has many
angled, torofe, fmooth filiques, longer than
the two-edged beak. Black or common
Mufiard® has fmooth filiques prefled to the
raceme, or common bunch of the fruétifica-
tion. White Muflards has the filiques hif-
pid, terminated by a very long, oblique,
{word-fhaped beak. If you fuffer fome of
the plants which your gardener fows for
{mall fallad to grow up and flower, you will
find it to be the laft named fpecies. Com-
mon Muftard is a much larger plant, grow-
ing four or five feet high; the lower leaves
large and rough, like thofe of the Turnep.
Charlock does not grow more than two
feet in height ; the leaves, which are alfo
rough, are fometimes jagged, and fometimes
entire.

Water-Crefj is of a numerous genus,
there being twenty-nine fpecies of Si/ym-
brium. The corolla is fpreading as well as
the calyx in this genus; and the filique
gapes with ftraightifh valves. The fpecific
characters of Water Cre/s® are, fhort, de-
clining filiques, and pinnate leaves, with the
lobes a little heart-fhaped. The flowers are

€ Sinapis arvenfis Lin. Curtis, Lond. V. 47. Fl.
dan. 753. Mor. hift. f. 3. t. 3. f. 7. Ger. 233. 2.

f Sinapis nigra Lin. Blackw. t. 446.

£ Sinapis alba Lin. Curtis, Lond. V. 46. Blackw.
20. Ger. DAA. 4.

b Sifymbrium Nafturtium Zin. Curtis, Lond. II. 61.
Fl. dan. 690. Ger. 257. 1. and pl. 21.

white,

TETRADYN SIL IQ.

white, and grow in a corymb'. There is
another fpecies, called Fxweed*, not un-
common on dunghills, where rubbifh is
thrown out, by way-fides, and in unculti-

vated places: this has decompound pinnate .

leaves, and very {mall corollas, the petals
being lefs than the calyx: the filique is very
long and flender, filled with fmall, roundifh
feeds: the leaves are as finely cut as Roman
Wormwood; and the {mall yellow flowers
are produced on loofe corymbs, at the top
of the ftalks.

The feafon, dear coufin, is now in its
wane, and a journey 1 muft make on affairs
of bufinefs, obliges me to leave the comple-
tion of my plan to another fummer. If
leifure and health are then granted me, I
fhall with pleafure refume the employment
which you honour with your attention.
In the mean time you and your fair daugh-
ter have enough to amufe you for the au-
tumn, and even till winter confines you
to the arrangement of your fummer’s la-
bours within.

;

i See more in Letter XVII.
k Sifymbrium Sophia Lin. F1. dan. 528. Ger. 1068.

Ya LETTER

Oo

“I

CR

LETTE RC XXI,

THE CLASS MONADELPHIA.

June the 1ft, 1776,

OME neceffary occupations, dear cou-
fin, have prevented me from refuming
my pleafing tafk fo foon as I had withed.
But the fpring has not been unprofitably
employed by you, in the examination of
{uch plants as were paft flowering, before
you received my former letters. You have
done well by marking in your pocket-book
the names of all thofe which have either
wholly efcaped your fearch, or have pre-
fented themfelves to you in a ftate unfit for
complete examination. You are not fo un-
reafonable as to expe& that all Nature fhould
be open to your view at once. On the con-
trary, I am charmed with your patience
and affiduity in awaiting the proper fea-
fons of flowering and fruiting; marking
the times w hich authors haye fet down ; :
and repeating your examinations in order to
view plants in their different ftates, when
they fometimes put on appearances fo dif-
ferent, that to a lefs informed eye they
might feem to be diftiné& fpecies.

We are now arrived at a clafs, of which
you have had no previous information in
the introductory letters, defigned to give

you

MONADELPHI A.

you a general knowledge of the moft natu-
ral. The clafs Monadelphia however is a
natural, as well as a moft beautiful one.
The union of the filaments at bottom into
one body, or brotherhood as it were, is the
leading character, and the occafion of the
name. You will recollect that hitherto
the ftamens have been ever free and diftiné
from each other, how many foever you
may have found in a fingle flower; you
will alfo recolleét having been informed,
that in the fixteenth and fucceeding clafles,
they are united, either at top or bottom,
into one body or more. In this, as I ob-
ferved before, the filaments all join below,
next the receptacle, fome higher than
others; all of them, together with the an-
thers, being ftill entirely feparate at top.
If then you have met with a plant which
has five, ten, or efpecially many ftamens,
and you have not been able to aflign it a
place in the fifth, tenth, or thirteenth
clafies, examine it a little more attentively,
and confider whether it has not a peculiar
port or ftruéture, announcing it to be a na-
tural tribe. It may perhaps have a perma-
nent calyx; but if it 1s alfo double you may
be almoft certain that it ranges here. The
corolla of your flower may perhaps have
five heart-fhaped petals, the fide of one
embracing or at leait touching that which
is next to it, in a direction contrary to the
fun’s apparent motion. The filaments per-

haps,

329

330

LETTER XXIV.

haps, connected at bottom only, whether
flightly, or for a confiderable portion of their
lengths, are gradually fhorter as they recede
from the middle; and the anthers are in-
cumbent, or lie along over the top of them.
You find the receptacle of the fructification
prominent in the centre of the flower; the
top of this receptacle furrounded by ere
germs forming a jointed ring: all the ftyles
united below into one body with the recep-
tacle; but diftinguifhed at top into as many
filaments as there are germs: thefe germs
becoming a capfule confifting of as many
cells as there are piftils in the flower: and
frequently confifting of as many connected
Arils. In each of thefe cells lurks a kid-
ney-fhaped feed.

If you have not already divined this rid-
dle, take the flower of a wild Mallow, an
Althza, Lavatera, or other plant refem-
bling thefe; examine it by the characters
jutt ‘laid down, and you will have a perfeét
idea of the clafs Monadelphia. From the
circumftance of the receptacle ftanding up
in the middle of the flower, like a column,
thefe have alfo the name of co/umniferous
plants.

The orders are five, taken from the num-
ber of the ftamens, which you remember
determined the clafs in the firft thirteen
clafies; but being now no longer ufed for
that purpofe, may ferve very well for the
other,

The

MONADELPHIA. 331

The fruit was formerly taken for difcri-
painating the genera. This being found
infufficient, fucceeding nomenclators had
recourfe to the leaves; but Linnæus has,
for this purpofe, wifely adopted the calyx,
which is always prefent, and is remarkable
for its ftructure in this clafs The illuf-
trious Swede has ever fhown great fagacity
in feizing that part of the plant which is
moft conftant, and furnifhes the greateft
choice of permanent variations, whereon to
found the effential characters af his genera
and {pecies '.

THE QRDERS PENTANDRIA AND
DECANDRIA.

Not having taken the piftil for the dif-
tinétion of the orders, that part remains to
affift us in chara@terifins the genera. Ac-
cordingly in the firft order of this clafs,
in which fhe flowers have five ftamens,
two genera have one, and two have five
ftyles ; the number of cells in the capfules
ferves to complete the generic character.
Thus Hermannia has five “ftyles, and a five- Herman-
celled capfule; to which we may add that ris.
the five petals of the corolla are rolled {pi-
rally in a direction contrary to the fun’s ap-
parent motion; and that their claws have

1 Genera 35, and fpecies 256, in this clafs.
a little

Os»
Us
ty

Gera-
nium,

LETTER -—XRLVS

alittle membrane on each fide uniting to

ia D
form a cowled tube... Though there are.

many fpecies of this genus, yet perhaps
none of them may offer themfelves to your
view. We will proceed therefore to a fa-.
vourite genus, that ranges in the fecond
order, or that which has ten ftamens: I
mean Geranium, which, out of its eighty-
two fpecies; will favnath you ample matter
for examination, efpecially as I know you
cultivate fo many of them. Before you ‘de-
termine the circumftances in which they
differ, let us fee in what they all agree;
this is in having one ftyle terminated by five
ftromeas; and a fruit compofed of five grains,
“ade beaked; whence its names of Gr um
and Crane/i bill. We may add that the calyx
is fingle and five-leaved, as well as the co-
rolla; that the filaments are alternately
Jonger and fhorter, but all fhorter than the
corolla ; and very flightly connected in thole
which have a regular corolla; that the ftyle
is longer than the ftamens, and per manent ;
and that each of the five feeds is terminated
by a tail or awn, affifting to form the beak,
ind which when os ae 1s ripe becomes
fpiral, and thus detaches the feed from the
plant.

The African race of which we have
fo many from the Cape of Good Hope,
have the five parts of the calyx united at
bottom ; the petals unequal; at nd feven only
of the Pt nents furnifhed with anthers ;

the

MONADELPH. DECAND.

the flowers grow many together in a kind
of umbel; the feeds are Ha with a fea-
thered awn, and the leaves grow alternate
upon the ftalk, which is fhrubby.

In this firft feétion you find, among
many others, the Fulgid”, with a flefhy
ftem, putting out but few branches; the
leaves three-parted and gafhed, the middle
fegment much larger than the others; fre-
quently falling off, fo as to give the ftalks
an appearance of being dead during the fum-
mer; the flowers are produced on fhort
footftalks, in a fort of double umbel, each
fuftaining but two or three flowers, re-
markable for their deep fhining fcarlet
colour.

The well known Scarlet”, which would
be at leaft as much efteemed as the Fuleid,
Were it not more common. ‘The leaves
are almoft orbicular, except that they are
hollowed next the petiole; they are notched
about the edge, but not gafhed or lobed;
their furface is downy; and they ftain the
fingers if handled roughly, whence the tri-
tal name of mguimans or ftaining. ‘This is
a much loftier plant than the latt, growing
as high as eight or ten feet; and tends out
abundance of erect branches: the flowers
in the umbels are numerous, and are pro-
duced on very long peduncles.

™ Geranium fulgidum Lin. Dill. elth. t. ree 137.
" Geranium inquinans Zin. Mill. iliuftr. Dill. elth.

t. 125. f. 151, 151. Mart. cent. 3.
The

C25

334

LETTER XXIV.

The Papilionaceous°’, fo called, becaufe
the corollas have fomething the appearance
of butterfly or pea-blofiom flowers, the
two upper petals, which are large, turning
up like the banner or ftandard in thofe flow-
ers; thefe are finely variegated, but the
three under petals being reflex and {mall are
fcarcely obferved, but on a near infpections;
the flowers are many in each umbel: the
leaves are large, angular, rough, and ftand
on long petioles.

The Ho/low-leaved? has roundifh leaves
contracted on the fides fo as to ftand hol-
low ; the edges are fharply indented; the

flowers are large, and produced in large

loofe umbels; the corollas are purple: it is
a plant of large ftature, and very hairy.
There is another fort, or variety, very
like this; but it has leaves of a thicker fub-
ftance, and divided into feveral acute an-
gles: the branches are not fo irregular, and
the bunches of flowers are not fo large.
The Horfe-fhoe is perhaps the fpecies
moft commonly known of all the Africans ;
the dark or purplifh mark, in fhape of a
horfe-fhoe upon the leaves, fhows this Ge-
ranium to the eye at firft fight; but it is

e Geranium papilionaceum Liz. Dill. elth. t. 128. f.
155. Mart. cent. 15.

P Geranium cucullatum Ziz.—cowled. Dill. elth. t.
129. f..156. Mart. cent. 28.

4 Geranium zonale Lin. Comm. præl. 51. t. 1.—
See the flower in pl. 22. f, 3.

not

MONADELPH. DECAND.

not abfolutely permanent; for we have va-
rieties without it; we muft have recourfe
therefore to the form of the leaves, as a
more certain diftinétion : they are orbicular,
hollowed next the petiole, divided on the
circumference into feveral obtufe fesments,
each of which is flightly indented. This
fort is very branching: the flowers are pro-
duced in large, clofe umbels, on long pe-
duncles, and vary from a light purple toa
high {carlet.

The Vine-leaved* has ovate, afcendine
pubefcent leaves, having the fmell of Baum,
when rubbed; the flowers grow in a clofe
head, on long peduncles, rifing much higher
than the branches; they are imall, and pale
blue.

The Rofe-/cented* has alfo lobed leaves,
waved and villous ; like the laft, the flowers
grow in clofe heads; they are of a purplifh
blue: the branches are very irregular and
weak: and the whole is weaker and grows
taller than the former: the leaves when
rubbed {mell like dried rofes.

The plants of the fecond feétion have
many things in common with thofe of the
firft; but differ in being herbaceous, and
having the leaves oppofite. Of thefe the
Odorous* is remarkable for its powerful fcent,

* Geranium vitifolium Zin. Dill. elth. t. 126. f. 153.
* Geranium capitatum Lin. Riv. pent. 326.
* Geranium odoratifimum Liz. Dill. elth. t. 131. f.
138.
fomething

335

SEAT ER EXKRIVE

fometbing like Anifeed : this has a very
fhort flefhy ftem, with long branches, and
heart-fhaped leaves extremely fhort : the
flowers are produced from the fide of long
proftrate ftalks, upon flender peduncles,
three, four, or five together; they are
white, and very imall.

The Night-/cented* has feffile calyxes,
and bifid one-leafed icapes: the leaves are
hairy, and almoit as finely divided as the
carrot; the ftalks are about a foot high, and
have two or three fmaller leaves that are
feffile; hence arife two or three naked pe-
duncles, terminated by an umbel of yel-
lowifh flowers, marked with dark purple
{pots, fmelling very {weet after fun-fet.
Linnzus has taken his trivial name from
the dulnefs of the colour in the flower.

The third fection contains fuch Gera-
niums as have only five of the ftamens an-
ther-bearing; five-leaved calyxes, and fruits
hanging down. ‘The corollas of thefe are
lefs irregular; ‘and the feeds are naked,
terminated by a hairy awn.

Of this fection we have fome European
fpecies, as Hemlock Cranefbill*, common in
{andy foils: this has a branching ftalk, pin-
nate leaves, with the fegments gafhed and
ebtufe, and many flowers on a peduncle.

« Geranium trifte Lin. Com. can. t. 110. Breyn.

cent. t. 58.
* Geranium cicutarium Lin, Curtis, Lond. I. 51.

Ger. 945. 3. y
ery

MONADELPH. DECANDR.
Very like this is Mu/2 Cranefbill", but it is

a larger plant, much lefs common, and
eafily known by its mufky odour: the di-
vifions of the leaves are pinnatifid. Some
fpecies * of this fection are remarkable for the
largenefs of their beaks, and furnifh a good
idea of the name of the genus.

In the three remaining fections, all the
ten filaments are topped with anthers; the
calyxes are five-leaved; the corollas regu-
lar; the feeds covered with an arz/, and
terminated by a fmooth awn. In the fourth
fection, the flowers are conjugate; that is,
there are two always on every peduncle:
the plants are perennial.

Some of the largeft and handfomeft of the
European forts range in this fection; as
Spotted Cranefoill, with the peduncles and
leaves alternate, the calyxes a little awned,
the petals waved, and the ftem erect. The
leaves are divided into five or fix lobes, la-
ciniate on their edges; thofe near the root
fit on long petioles, but on the upper part
of the ftalk they are feilile. The flowers
are of a dark purple. There is a variety
of this with light purple corollas.

Meadow Crane/bill* has the leaves divided

# Geranium mofchatum Zin. Riv. pent. 110. Ger.
ne
* Geranium arduinum, gruinum, ciconium Lin.

¥ Geranium phæum Lia. Ger. 942. 3. Park. 704. 3.
* Geranium pratenfe. Curtis, Lond, IV. 49. Ger.
942. 1.

L inte

337

338 LETTER XXIV.

into fix or feven lobes, cut into feveral
acute fegments; they are wrinkled, and
rather peltate; the petals are entire, and of
a fine blue.

The Geraniums of the fifth fe&tion differ
from thofe of the fourth only in being an-
nual. Moft of the common European forts
are of this divifion : as Herb Robert?, known
by its hairy, pointed, ten-angled calyxes.
The leaves are doubly pinnate, with the
end-lobes confluent; they are generally
hairy, the ftalks red, and the whole plant —
has a ftrong hircine fmell. Shining Crane/-
bill® has the calyxes pyramidal, angled, ele-
yated and wrinkled; the leaves rounded
and five-lobed; the whole plant is {mooth
and fhining ; the ftalks are red.

The common Dove’s-foot or foft Cranef-
b1/7° has the peduncles and floral leaves al-
ternate; the petals bifid or rather obcor-
date; the calyxes awnlefs, but ending in
a fhort point; and the ftem rather erect.
The ftipules are alfo bifid: the leaves are
very foft, kidney-fhaped, divided half-way
into five or feven parts, and each of thete
lobes trifid and blunt. ‘This is very com-
mon, efpecially in fandy foils. Another”,

* Geranium Robertianum Zin. Curtis, Lond. I. 52.
Ger. 939. & 945. 5.

Ÿ Geranium lucidum Liz. F1. dan, 218. Mor. t. 15.
f, 6.> Park. 707. 0.

© Geranium molle Zin. Curtis, Lond. If. 50. FI.
dan. 679.

¢ Geranium rotundifolium Liz. Blackw, 58. Vaill.
parct. 15. f. 1. Ger. 938, Park. 706. 2.

very

MONADELPH. DECANDR.

very like it in many refpects, but more par-
tially diftributed, has entire petals, fcarcely
longer than the calyx; and the ftem more
proftrate. Long-flalked Cranefhill° has pe-
duncles longer than the leaves, which are
divided into five multifid lobes acute at the
end; the calyxes are awned, and the arils
are {mooth. ‘The peduncle is very long,
and the lobes of the leaves are doubly trifid.
Tagged Crane/bill‘ has the leaves divided into
five parts, and each of thofe into three
acute fegments ; the petals are of the length
of the calyx, and notched, and the arils
are villous: this has the leaves more and
finer cut than any of the others.

Of the laft feétion, with one-flowered
peduncles, we have a handfome fort wild,
but not common, with orbicular leaves,
divided into five or feven parts, and each
of thofe into three: the flowers itand on
long hairy peduncles, the corollas are large,
and of a deep purple. Many more fpecies
are known to the curious"; but I have only
feleéted fuch as the fields, the garden, and
your little confervatory, are moft likely to

afford.

¢ Geranium Columbinum Zin, Vaill. par. t. 15. f.
4. Petiv. 64. 8.

f Geranium difletum Zin. Vaill. par. t. 15. f. 2.
Petiv. 64. 6.

€ Geranium fanguineum Lin. Bloody Cranefbill,
Ger. 945. 2. Petiv. 64. 9.

* See fome figured in Curtis’s Magazine, n. 18, 20,
55> 50) 95) 103, 136. 4
ZL 2 Lei Phe

3

2

9

Brownea,

LETTER XXIV.

I have mentioned that Linnæus has fub-
divided this unwieldy genus from the num-
ber of effective Resins. A celebrated mo-
dern author has, from this circumftance,
made three diftinét genera out of this one.
1. Erodium, containing the Myrrhina of
Linnæus, or the Geraniums with five per-
fect ftamens only. 2. Pelargonium, com-
prehending the Africana of Linneus, or
iuch as have feven perfect ftamens. 3. Ge-
ranium, taking in the remaining fpecies,
which anfwer exaétly to the charatter of
the order in having all the ten ftamens with
anthers, and which Linneus had called
Batrachia. Rivinus long fince feparated
this natural genus into two, from the re-
gularity or irregularity of the corolla. I
fhall not difpute whether all this be right
or not. It is my defign to explain the fy{-
tem of the illuftrious Swede as he left it.

In this clafs we find a fingular plant,
which has naturally eleven ftamens ; a num-
ber which you did not find among the claffes,
Having the Monadelphic che it here
forms ehh order Endecandria, and ftands
alone. Being a plant little known, I init
no longer on th

The laft order Polyandria is much the
moft confiderable in number of genera and
fpecies. You have here Silk-Cotion K, the

*Brownea coccinea Lin. k Bombax mee
rue

MONADELPH. POLY ANDR,

True Cotton', fo much ufed in our manu-
factures, the numerous genus of Szdz or
Indian Mallow, Althea or Mar/b- Mallow,
Alcea or Hollyhock, Mallow, Lavatera,
Hibifeus, &c. The two firft, with Sida
and Hibifcus, have one piftil only; the reft
have many. Sida and Bombax have a fingle
calyx, but all the others have it double.
The exterior calyx in Cotton and Lavatera
is trifid; in Mallow confifts of three leaflets ;
in Alcea is fexfid; in Hibifcus octofid; in
Althea novemfid. Lavatera, Mallow, Al-
cea and Althzea, agree in having many feeds
in a ring round a column, eae covered
with its proper aril. The feed-vefiel of
Hibifcus is a capfule compofed of united
cells including many feeds.

341

The officinal fpecies of Marfh-Mallow Althza.

is known by its fimple downy leaves, hoary
to the fight, and very foft to the touch;
they are angular, but not divided to the
bottom, and therefore fimple. ‘The flow-
ers are like thofe of the Mallow, but {maller
and paler.

Of Mallow there are many fpecies : that Malva,

which is fo very common", has an ereét
herbaceous ftem; five or feven-lobed acute
leaves with both petioles and peduncles

! Goflypium Lin,

™ Althza officinalis Lin. FI], dan. 530. Mor. hift.
f. 5. t. 19. f. 12. Ger. 933. 1. Park. 304. 1.—PI.
Aou CAE

" Malva fylveftris Lin. Curtis, Lond. II. 51. Ger.
080..1. PL 22. f. 2.

F3 hairy.

Alcea.

LETTER XXIV.

hairy. Dwarf Mallow® has a proftrate
ftem; orbiculate leaves hollowed next the
petiole, obfcurely five-lobed; the fruit-
bearing peduncles declining. This is every
way a fmaller plant. Vervain Mallow ® has
an erect item, rough with fpreading hairs
in bunches, many-parted roughifh leaves,
the lobes of which are obtufe and indented;
the flowers large, and light purple. Ano-
ther wild fpecies called Mu/k Mallow 4, is
very like this, but has the radical leaves
kidney-form and gafhed; the: ftem-leaves
five-parted, and the divifions finely cut into
narrow fegments: the flowers havea mufky
fmell, and the ftem has fingle ere& hairs
fitting on a prominent point. Cape Mal-
Jow* has an arborefcent {tem ten or twelve
feet high, and the leaves five-lobed and hol-
lowed at the bafe. The whole plant is
hairy, and thefe hairs exude a vifcid aro-
matic juice. The flowers are deep red,
and fmaller than thofe of the common Mal-
low. ‘The trivial name informs us of its
country, and confequently that it ftands in
need of protection from you.

The gigantic, the gaudy Hol/yhock is of

the genus Alcea: there are many varieties

° Malva rotundifolia Lin. Curtis, Lond. II. 43, Fl.
dan. 721. Ger. 930. 2. Park. 299. 1.

P Malva Alcea Lin. Blackw. 309.

4 Malva mofchata Lin. Curtis, Lond. IV. 50. Mor.
hift, {..5.t. 186.24,

* Malva capenfis Zen. Dill. elth. t, 169. f. 206.

with

MONADELPH, POLYANDR. 343

with double flowers, and different colours,
as white, red of all hues from pale carna-
tion to almoft black, and yellows of dif-
ferent fhades; but there are only two fpe-
cies*, the firft having roundifh leaves, cut at
the extremity only into angles; the fecond
palmate, cut deeply into fix or feven feg-
ments, like the fig-leaf. Of the firft there
1s a dwarf variety witli variegated flowers,
much efteemed, and called Chinefe Aollyhock.

The fhrub vulgarly named A/thea Fru- Hibiteus,
tex is an Hibifcus; a very numerous genus,
comprehending no lefs than thirty-fix fpe-
cies, moft of them inhabitants of either In-
dia, and not generally known here. The
Althea Frutex* however is a native of Sy-
ria, and bears the rigour of our climate,
though it is very late ere it produces its
flowers. ‘The fpecific characters are, an
arboreous or woody ftem, and wedge-fhaped
leaves, divided at top into three lobes, and
ftanding on fhort petioles. The flowers
are bell-fhaped, and of various colours—
pale or bright purple with dark bottoms,
white with purple bottoms, variegated with
dark bottoms, and yellow with the fame:
thefe flowers being large, gay, and nume-
rous, make a handfome appearance, and
give the completeft idea of the claffical
ee acter.

China Rofe alfo, notwithftanding its name,

* Alcea rofea Mill. illuftr.—& ficifolia Lin.

* Hibifcus fyriacus Lin. Curt. Magaz, 83.

Z 4 is

44

LETTER: XxIV.

is no Rofe, but an Hwi/cus*, with a woody
ftem, and ovate, fharp-pointed leaves, fer-
rate about the edges; the colour, fize, and
appearance of the flowers, when they are
double, gave occafion to the name of Rofe:
they frequently appear on Chinefe paintings
and paper, and are certainly very ornamen-
tal. The Mufk plant of the Weft Indies
is another fpecies of Hibifcus; its kidney-
fhaped feeds have a very ftrong {mell of
mufk. The bark of fome fpecies is formed
of fibres ftrong enough for cordage. One
of them is cultivated in the Weft Indies
for its pods, which they put into their
foups*. But all this we have nothing to
do with as botanifts.

" Hibifcus Rofa Sinenfis Liz, Rheed. mal. 2. t. 17.
* Hibifcus Abelmofchus Lin. Mer. Surin. t. 42.

# Hibifcus vitifolius & Sabdariffa Lin.

* Hibifcus efculentus Lin. Sloan. jam, 1. t. 133. f 3.

LETTER

QE TES,

LETTER XV.

THE CLASSES DIADELPHIA AND
POLYADELPHIA.

June the 4th, 1776.

FTER a fhort excurfion, we are re-
turned, dear coufin, among your old
acquaintance ; and you have only to apply
to the term Dradelphia, which is the name
of the feventeenth clafs in Linnæus’s fyf-
tem, all the knowledge you firft acquired
from the letter on Papilionaceous flowers ’,
and which you have fince increafed fo much
by your obfervation and experience. You
have admired the fingularly admirable and
beautiful ftru€ture of thefe flowers, in
which all the plants of this clafs agree: you
will now not be difpleafed to accompany
me in an enquiry into their generic and fpe-
cific differences. The number of genera in
this clafs is 57, of fpecies 695. The or-
ders are four, taken from the number of
ftamens, which in the firft order is five, in
the fecond fix, in the third eight, and in
the fourth ten. In the order Pentandria
however there is only one genus; in the
order Hexandria two; and in the order Oc-

Y Letter III, :
tandria

346

Fumaria.

Polygala.

RETT ERs RIVE

tandria three; fo that you perceive the laft
(Decandria) abforbs the far greater part of
the clafs; and what you. have, learnt of
Papilionaceous flowers belongs indeed prin-
cipally to this order. Of the three firit or-
ders there are only two genera, which you
will have an opportunity of obferving ; and
we will begin if you pleafe with them.
Fumitory has two filaments, each of them
terminated by three anthers; it has
claflical character therefore, and muft be of
the order Hexandria. This genus has, be-
fides this, a two-leaved calyx, a ringent
rather than a papilionaceous corolla, the
upper lip- however anfwering to the banner,
the lower lip to the keel, and the bifid
chaps to the wings: the bafe of each lip is
prominent, but the upper one the moft;
and one filament is inclofed in each. Com-
mon Funutory* which you will readily meet
with as a weed in your kitchen garden, is
known by a weak, diffufe, branching ftem,
multifid leaves dividing into three, and the
lobes trifid: the flowers growing in a ra-
ceme, and each being fucceeded by a round
or rather obcordate one-feeded pericarp.
Milkwort has eight filaments, each ter-
minated with an anther, and all united at
bottom: it appertains therefore to the or-
der Oéfandria of this clafs. The characters
of the genus are, a five-leaved calyx, with
3 Fumaria officinalis Zin. Curtis, Lond. II. 52-

Ger. 1088. 1. Park. 287. r.
| 5 two

DIADELPH. OCTANDR.

two of the leaflets like the wings of the pa-
pilionaceous flower, and coloured : the ban-
ner of the corolla is cylindric; the legume
is obcordate, or inverfe-hearted, and two-
celled. Many of the fpecies have a beard,
creft, or pencil-formed appendage to the
keel; thofe which have none are called
beardlefs : and hence a commodious fubdi-
vifion of this large genus; the laft are fub-
divided into fhrubby aed herbaceous; the
herbaceous again into fimple and branched.
Of thirty-eight {pecies we have only one
wild, and that is common on dry pattures
and heaths?: it is of the crefted divifion,
and bears the flowers in a raceme; the
ftem is herbaceous, fimple, and procum-
bent, and the leaves are linear. This is a
lowly plant, with pretty flowers, blue, red
or white. There is a beautiful fpecies ? in
the green-houfe, from the Cape, with a
fhrubby {tem ; oblong, {mooth leaves, blunt
at the end; id bandeau flowers, large,
white on the outfide, but bright purple
within; the keel crefted, and fhaped like a
half moon. Serega° root, fo famous among
the American Indians as an antidote to the

bite of the rattle-fnake, is from a acta of

this genus.
The plants of the order we are now to

+ Polygala vulgaris Lin. F1. dan. 516. Ger. 564. 5.
Park. 122212.

b As myrtifolia Zin. Mill. illuftr.
© Polygala Senega Lin, Mill. Dia.

examine

348

LET TE RY EXYV!)

examine are obvious, not only by their pa-
pilionaceous flowers, but by their compound
leaves, which in the greater part are pin-
nate, winged, or feathered, but in others
trifoliate*. In fome genera the pinnate
leaves have the leaflets in pairs only‘, but
it is more common to have them terminate
in an odd one’. Many of this pulfe tribe
have ftems too weak to fuftain themfelves,
they fly therefore to fome ftronger plant
or other prop for fupport, and they are
furnifhed with the neceflary means of help-
ing themfelves, either by twining their
{talks about and embracing their friend §,
or elfe by throwing out flender threads,
like the vine, called c/a/pers or tendrils, by
which they lay faft hold *.

Mott of thefe plants having fruits that are
efculent either to us, to quadrupeds or to
birds, produce flowers in great abundance,
and clofe bunches; in fome of the genera
they grow in a kind of umbel’, much like

As in Trifolium or Trefoil, which has its name
from this circumftance, Lotus, Medicago, Erythrina,
Genifta or Broom, Cytifus, Ononis, Trigonella, Phafeo-
lus or Kidney Bean, Dolichos and Clitoria.

* Orobus, Pifum or Pea, Lathyrus or Everlafting
Pea, Vicia or Vetch, Ervum and Arachis.

f Biferrula, Aftragalus, Phaca, Hedyfarum, Glycyr-
riza or Liquorice, Indigofera or Indigo, Galega, Co-
lutea, Amorpha and Pifcidia.

8 Phafeolus, Dolichos, Clitoria, Glycine.

* Pifum, Lathyrus, Vicia, Ervum.

‘ Lotus, Coronilla, Ornithopus, Hippocrepis, Scor-

piurus.
thofe

DIADELPH. DECANDR.
thofe of the fecond order of the fifth clafs.

I mention thefe circumftances, not as claf-
fical characters, but as leading features that
may give you a fhrewd fufpicion, rather
than a certain affurance. When you find
a plant endued with fome of thefe fubordi-
nate characters, you, I am certain, will
not determine it at once upon them: no,
they will only lead you to a more ftrict ex-
amination. Neither pinnate or trifoliate
leaves, weak twining or climbing ftems,
nor even papilionaceous flowers, will fatisfy
your difcerning eye, till you have feen the
union of the filaments at bottom. If you
can procure any fpecies of Sophora*, you
will be convinced of this; for without fuch
caution you would infallibly have been
mifled; this genus agreeing with the pulfe
tribe in every refpect, except in having the
ten filaments diftinét.

The proper character of this clafs, you
know, is to have the filaments in two dif-
tinct bodies; and the character of the order
Decandria is to have nine filaments united
at bottom into a membrane furrounding the
germ, and the tenth fingle, filling up the
opening which is left for the germ to dit-
engage itfelf, when it has arrived at a {tate
proper to pafs into a pod or legume. I mutt
advertife you however that this is not ftrictly

* A genus of the clafs Decandria and the order Momo.
gynia. Anagyris, Cercis, &c. have alfo the fame ap-
pearance.

true

349

Spartium.

Ef UT ER SV.

true of all the genera; there are no fewer
than eighteen out of fifty, which have all
the ten filaments connected, fo that the
germ cannot grow into a legume without

tearing Het the Mi bn ch formed of the

flaments: You muft not therefore be de-
terred from fetting down a plant as of the
Pulfe tribe, and of the clafs Diadelphia,
when you find the ten filaments united into
one, inclofed within a papilionaceous flower,
and furnifhed with the other marks of the
clafs. Of thofe which anfwer regularly to
the claffical character, fome have a pubef-
cent figma’, and the reft are diftinguifhed
by their legumes, as we fhall now fee ; ; for
we are going to examine their difiih Give
marks more narrowly.

You will obferve in this clafs fome trees,
and many fhrubs, with papilionaceous flow-
ers, as Common ™ and Spani/hb” Broom; both
of a genus in which the ten filaments are
all united, and form a membrane adhering
clofe to the germ: the ftigma grows along
the upper fide of the top of the ftyle, and
is villous; the calyx is continued down-
wards, and is marked beneath with five little
notches at the tip. Spani/h Broom, with
fome other fpecies, has fimple leaves, in
the reft they are ternate, trefoil, or three-

! Colutea, Phafeolus, Dolichos, Orobus, Pifum,
Lathyrus, Vicia.
m Spartium fcoparium Zin, Curt. Lond. V. 52. FI.
dan. 313. Blackw. 244. Ger. 1311.1. Park. 229. 1.
8 Spartium junceum Lin, Curt. Magaz. 85.
leaved.

DIADELPH. DECANDR.

leaved.. In Common Broom however there
is a mixture of both. In the firft alfo the
Jeaves are lance-fhaped, and the rufh-like
branches are oppofite, round, and produce
the flowers from the top, in a loofe fpike.
In the fecond the branches are angular, and
the flowers come out fingly for a confider-
able length towards the top. ‘They are
large, and of a bright yellow in both fpe-
cies. There is alfo a Spanifh Broom with
a white flower®; which has leaves like the
other, but the branches ftriated, and the
- flowers in fhort fpikes or clufters on the
fides of them; they are fucceeded by large
oval pods containing one feed, whence the
trivial name. Portugal Brooms with trifo-
liate leaves and yellow flowers, differing
little from ours: and a fort with prickly
branches, thence called Prickly Cytifus?.

287

We have fome wild fhrubs of an hum- Genitta.

bler growth, fomewhat refembling thete,
but of another genus called Gemjia; the
characters of which are a two-lipped calyx,
the upper lip two-toothed, the lower three-
toothed ; the banner of the corolla oblong
and turning downwards from the piftils and
ftamens; the piftil deprefing the keel, and
the ftigma involute. Dyer’s weed, called

al{o Vood-waxen and Ba/e Broom*, which

° Spartium monofpermum Zin,

P Spartium fpinofum Lin.

a Genifta tinétoria Lin. Fl. dan. 526. Ger. 1316. 1,
Park. 229. 7.

32

Ulex,

Ononis.

L'ÉTTER Sey:

grows in paftures and headlands, has
fmooth lance-fhaped leaves, and erect,
round, ftreaked branches. Needle Furze or
Petty Whin*, which you will find wild on
heaths, has {mall lance-fhaped leaves, flen-
der branches armed with long, fimple
{pines; the flower branches are fhort, have
no fpines, and have five or fix flowers in a
clufter at the end of them: the colour of
the corolla in both fpecies is yellow; and
you would at firft fuppofe that the former
was a Spartium, and the latter a Furze, or
of the genus Ulex ; which however differs
from both in having a two-leaved calyx,
with the legume fo fhort as fcarcely to
emerge from it. We have only one fpecies,
than which nothing, as you know, is more
common on all our heaths: it has the three
different names of Fur/e, Gorfe and Wins‘,
in different parts of the kingdom.
Reftharrows are a lowly kind of fhrubs,
or rather underfhrubs, with purple flowers,
growing on commons, barren paftures, and
headlands of corn-fields; they have the
name from the ftrength and matting of the
roots, which circumftance has induced the
Dutch to fow them on their fea-banks.
The cylinder of filaments is quite entire at
bottom, without any fiflure, in this genus ;

* Genifta anglica Lin. F1. dan. 619. Ger. 1320. 4.
Park. 1004. 4.

* Ulex europæus Lin. FI. dan. 608. Ger. 1319. 1
Park. 1004. 1.

the

DIADELPH. DECANDR. 35

the calyx is parted into five linear drvifions ;
the banner of the corolla is ftriated; and
the legume, a fection of which is a rhomb,
is turgid and feflile. We have two forts,
one‘ with prickly fmooth branches, and the
flowers in a raceme, but coming out fingly:
the other" with villous leaves and branches,
but without {pines ; the flowers in a raceme,
but generally two together; both have ter-
nate leaves, except that towards the top
they are fimple.

In Anthylhs the calyx is turgid, and in- Anthyllis.
cludes the lesume, which is {mall and
roundifh, containing one, or at moft two
feeds. ‘The only fpecies we have wild is
herbaceous, is called Lades-Finger or Kid-
ney-Vetch*, and is not uncommon in chalky
paftures ; it has unequally pinnate leaves,
and a double head of yellow flowers, but
this latter character is not conftant. The
leaves are pubefcent, and confift of three
or four pair of leaflets; except two under
the umbel, which are digitate. There are
feveral flowering-fhrubs of this genus; as
that which is generally called Fupiter’s beard
or Silver bufh™, from the fplendid whitenefs
of the leaves, which is owing to a fine nap

2
3

.* Ononis fpinofa Hudfni. Common, fmooth, or
prickly Reftharrow. Blackw. t. 301. Ger. 1322. I.
_ "Qhnonis inermis Hudfoni. Hairy Reftharrow. Ger.
1392.62:

Y Anthyllis Vulneraria Zin. Rivin. t. 18. Ger.
1240. I.

* Anthyllis Barba Jovis Lin. Mill. fic. t. 41. £, 2.

fo a or

Lupinus.

LETTER: XV:
or down that covers them; they are equally
pinnate: the flowers are produced at the
extremity of the branches, in {mall heads,
and are yellow.

Lupins, which are fo well known in the
flower-garden, agree in a two-lipped ca-
lyx, in having five of the anthers round,
and five oblong, and in the fhell of the le-
gume being coriaceous or leathery. ‘The
common wife * fort, which is cultivated
as a pulfe in moft of the fouthern parts of
Europe, has the flowers growing alternate,
without appendages; the upper lip of the
white corolla is entire, the lower three-
toothed : the feeds are orbiculate and flatted.
There are three forts with blue flowers:
the Perennial’, which is the only one that
is not annual, with alternate, unappendaged
flowers; the upper lip of the corolla notch-
ed, the lower one entire. This is an Ame-
rican plant: the digitate leaves are com-
pofed of ten or eleven leaflets, whereas
thofe of the former have no more than feven
or eight: the flowers grow in long loofe
ipikes, and are pale blue. The great blue”,
with alternate appendaged flowers; the
upper-lip two-parted, the lower three-
toothed. This has a ftrong ftem, covered
with a foft brownifh down; the leaves have
nine, ten, or eleven hairy, fpatulate leaf-

* Lupinus albus Zin. Riv. tetr. Blackw. 282.
Y Lupinus perennis Zz. Mill. fig. 170. 1.
2 Lupinus hirfutus Liz.

lets :

DIADELPH. DECANDR.

lets: the flowers are in whorls, forming
a fort of fpike; they are large, and of
a beautiful blue: the pods are very large,
and have three roundifh compreffed feeds,
very rough and of a purplifh brown. Nar-
row-leavéd or tall blue Lupin *, has the flow-
ers alternate and appendaged or peduncu-
late; the upper lip of the corolla two-
parted, the lower three-toothed : the lobes
of the leaves are linear. - The Varied * is
not very different in appearance from this :
the flowers grow in half whorls, and are
appendaged ; the upper lip is bifid, and the
lower flightly three-toothed: the corollas
are licht blue or purple. It is fhorter than
the laft; the leayes have fewer leaflets, and
ftand on fhorter petioles. The Harry‘ has
the flowers in whorls and appendaged, with
the upper lip two-parted, like the Great
Blue Lupin; which it much refembles in
ftature and appearance; but the corollas
are flefh-coloured with the middle of the
banner red, the lower lip is entire; the
plant is hairy all over, and the leaves are
lance-fhaped, and a little obtufe at the end.
The Yellow * is efteemed for the fweetnefs
of its flowers: they grow in whorls and on
peduncles; the upper lip of the corolla is
two-parted, the lower three-toothed. Thus

3 Lupinus anguftifolius Lin. Riv. tetr.
® Lupinus varius Lin.
© Lupinus pilofus Lin.
* Lupinus luteus Li». Riv. tetr.
Aaz have

aes

Phafeo-
lus,

Lathyrus.

L'EIT TE Roo XKV.

have you a hiftory of the whole genus of
Lupin; for thefe are all the fpecies hitherto
known: and as you may eafily have them
growing together, you may compare them
at leifure, and afcertain all their agreements
and differences: could we do this in every
genus, how clearly might we diftinguifh
the fpecies! but remember that culture
may. produce ficutious characters, which
miflead unwary botanifts.

In all the genera hitherto examined, the
filaments have made one body at bottom ;
in the reft, which I fhall now offer to your
confideration, nine only are united, and the
tenth is free, according to the proper cha-
racter of the clafs We will begin with
fome genera, diftinguifhed (as I mentioned

before) by a pubeicent ftigma. Pha/eolus

or Kidney Bean, in having the keel with
the ftamens and ftyle fpirally twifted, pof-
fefles one obvious character, that difcrimi-
nates it fufficiently from all its congeners.
Some of the fpecies have an outer calyx,
confifting of two roundifh leaflets, which
may more properly be called braces. La-
thyrus ot Everlaffing Pea has a flat ftyle,
villous above, growing broader upwards:
in this it ditters from the Pea, which has
a triangular ftyle keeled above : both genera
have the two upper divifions of the calyx
fhorter than the other three, and, in other
re{pects, are very nearly allied. Some fpe-
cies of Lathyrus have one flower only on a

peduncle :

DIADELPH. DECANDR.

peduncle: of thefe we have two wild ones;
one with yellow flowers, fupporting itfelf
among the corn by leaflefs tendrils, and
having broad ftipules fhaped like the head
of an arrow: the other with crimfon flow-
ers, long narrow leaves difficult to be dif-
tinouifhed from the grafs among which it
crows, and fmall, fabulate- or awied’ G2
pules. The firft is called Yellow Vetchling ‘;
the fecond, Crimfon Grafs Vetch*. Sweet
Scented Pea®, with fome few others, has
two flowers on every peduncle; each tendril
has a pair of oblong ovate leaves, and the
legumes are rough. The banner of the
corolla is dark purple, the keel and wings
light blue ; but there are varieties; one all
white, and another with a pink banner,
wings of a pale blufh, and a white keel ;
this 1s called Paimted Lady Pea. Tangier
Pea", another of the d:forous fection, has
the two leaves alternate, lance-fhaped and
fmooth ; the ftipules fhaped like a crefcent.
The flowers grow on fhort peduncles ;
have a purple banner, with wings and keel
of a bright red, and are fucceeded by long

*Lathyrus Aphaca Lin. Mill. fig. pl. 43. Curtis,
Lond. V.'51. Ger. 1250. Park. 1067.

fLathyrus Niffolia Lin. Ger. 1249. 2. Park.
1079+ 4.

® Lathyrus odoratus Liz. Curtis magaz. 60.

à Lathyrus tingitanus Liz, Jacq. hort. t. 46. Curt.
magaz. 100.

A a3 jointed

“I

358

Vicia.

LETTER XXV.

jointed pods. Everlafting Pea‘ is of the
la{t divifion, having many flowers produced
on one peduncle: “this has alfo conjugate
leaves, that is, growing in pairs, furnifhed
with a tendril or clafper ; the form of the
leaves is elliptic or oval; and the ftems,
which climb very high, have membranace-
ous wings on each fle between the joints ; ;
the flowers are red. ‘There is a variety of
this in the gardens, with broader leaves,
larger and deeper coloured flowers. There
is another fort not very different from this *,
having fword-fhaped leaves; and a third’,
growing in woods, bogs, and wet mea-
daws, which has many-leaved tendrils, and
lance-fhaped ftipules: the leaflets are fix;
and there are from three to fix flowers on
each peduncle; the corolla is blue, with
the greateft part of the wings and keel
white. One {pecies of this Con , with-
yellow flowers, two-leaved tendrils, which
are extremely fimple, and lance- fhaped
leaves, is very common in paftures, hedges,
and woods.

Vetch or tare is fufficiently diftinguifhed
by having a ftigma tranfverfely bearded on

1 Lathyrus latifolius Zin, Mill. fig. pl. 160. Mill.
illuftr. F1. dan. 785, PI. 23.

* Lathyrus fylvetiris Lin. FI. dan. 325. Mor. hift.
f2.t. 2, f 10 Geray239.-5, |

' Lathyrus paluftris Liz. FI. dan. 399

m Lathyrus pratenfis Lin. Curtis, see Hh. 44.
Ger, 1231. 6. Park, tobi. 3.

the

DIADELPH. DECANDR.

the under fide. The fpecies, which are
eighteen in number, may be ranged under
two divifions, the firft comprehending fuch

as have flowers in bunches on peduncles ; |

the fecond, thofe which are axillary, or
have the flowers fitting almoft clofe to the
ftem, and coming out from the angle which
the leaves form with it. Of the firft di-
vifion we have the Ted" and Wood
Vetch ° wild: both having flowers in bunches
many together, but in the firft imbricate ;
in this alfo the leaflets or component leaves
are lance-fhaped and pubefcent, and the
ftipules entire: in the fecond, the leaflets
are oval, and the ftipules flightly toothed.
The cultivated, and feveral wild forts, are
of the fecond divifion. The firftr has
erect, feflile legumes, moftly two toge-
ther; the leaves are retufe, and the ftipules
fpotted. Of the others, Spring Vetch 4,
which is very nearly related to the former,
has however the legumes generally fingle ;
the lower leaflets retufe, the upper ones
narrow, and almoft linear: the leaflets
are from four to ten; and the ftipules are

fpotted, as in the former. Bu/h Vetch?

® Vicia Cracca Lin. Curtis, Lond. V. 54. FI. dan.
804. Mor. hift. f. 2. t. 4. f. 1.

° Vicia fylvatica Lin. FI. dan. 277.

P Vicia fativa Lin. FI. dan. 522. Mor. t. "1 TE
(Ger. 1227, L 14.

4 Vicia lathyroides Huaf. FI. dan. 58.

* Vicia dumetorum Lin. Riv. tetr. 50.

Ava 2 has

59

360

Colutea.

LETTER XXV.

has about four erect legumes growing to-
gether on fhort pedicles : the. leaflets are
ovate, and quite entire; they decreafe in
fize towards the end of the leaf: it ramps
in hedges. The Bean’ is placed by Lin-
næus in the Vetch genus; and very juftly,
fince it agrees ie them in the charac-
ters of the fructification, and differs only
in having a ftouter ftalk that fupports it-
felf, and therefore is not furnifhed with
tendrils. Its native place of growth is fup-
pofed to be not far from the Cafpian Sea,
on the borders of Perfia. All the different
forts of Bean are in reality but varieties
from the fame original ftock: you un-
derftand me to {peak of Beans properly
{o called, in exclufion of Kidney Beans and
others, which are not merely {pecifically
different, but alfo of another genus.

Of the fame fegtion, with pubefcent
ftigmas, is a genus of well known fhrubs

called Colis diftinguifhed by their quin-

quefid calyx ; and inflated legume, open-
ing from the bafe by the upper future;
the Englith name of Bladder-Sena is taken
from bie latter character. Common Bladder-
Sena‘ has an arboreous ftem, and inverfely-
hearted Jeaves. It grows twelve or fourteen
feet high ; its winged leaves have four or

five pair of grayith leaflets; the flowers

* Vicia Faba Lia.
* Colutea arborefcens Lin. Curt. Magaz. 81.
come

DIADELPH. DECANDR.

come out from the axils, two or three ta-
gether, on flender peduncles; they are yel-
low with a dark-coloured mark on the
banner. ‘This grows wild in the fouthern
countries of Europe. There is another,
which comes from the Eaft, and has flow-
ers like this, only of a brighter yellow ;
differing in being a much lower fhrub, and
in having nine pair of fmall, oval, entire
leaflets to each leaf. A third, about the
fame height with the fecond, but with
branches {till more flender, comes from
the fame country : the leaves of this have
five or fix pair of {mall heart-fhaped leaflets ;
the flowers are {maller, and of a dark red,
marked with yellow. It is a doubt whe-
ther thefe be fpecifically different from the
firft" : there is however one from Æthia-
pia, with fcarlet flowers, which is very
diftinét ¥: for it is a low, weak fhrub, with
leaves compofed of ten or twelve pair of
oblong-ovate, hoary leaflets: the flowers
are long, owing to the length of the keel,
for the banner is fhorter than that, and
the wings are minute. You will eafily
fuppofe, from its country, that it cannot
ftand the cold of a fevere winter with us;
it does not fhrink however from a mild one,
in a dry foil and warm fituation. There
is alfo an herbaceous fpecies “, with fmooth

"Figured in Comm. rar. t. 11. and Mill. fig. 100.
* Colutea frutefcens Lin. Mill. fig. pl. 99.
7 Colutea herbacea Lin, Comm. hort. 2. t. 44.

linear

362

Cytifus,

LETTER XXV.

linear leaflets; but this is an annual plant
of little beauty, and therefore rarely cul-
tivated.

There are feveral other fhrubs of the
Pea-bloom tribe: as the different fpecies of
Cytifus, of which Laburnum* is one. This
is known by yellow flowers hanging in
large fimple racemes, and three oblong-
ovate leaflets to each leaf. There is a va-
riety with narrower leaves, and longer
bunches of flowers, more common in fhrub-
beries than the firft, which is a larger tree,
and comes to excellent timber; but this
making a better appearance when in flower,
is preferred in ornamental plantations. Se/-
Jile-leaved Cytifus*, vulgarly called Cyti/us
Jecundus Clufiz, has the flowers in fhort,
erect racemes, at the ends of the branches;
each flower has a little triple braéte at the:
bafe of the calyx; the leaves on the flow-
ering branches are feffile, but the others
are petiolate. ‘The flowers are of a bright
yellow, and the pods are fhort, broad, and
black. Evergreen Cytifus* has the flowers
coming out fingly from the fide of the ftalk,
with very hairy, trifid, obtufe, oblong,
{welling calyxes: the ftalks extremely
hairy ; the leaves alfo hairy, efpecially un-
derneath. The flowers are pale yellow;
and the pods long, narrow, and rough.

* Cytifus Laburnum Zin. Jacq. auftr. 4. t. 306.
¥ Cytifus feffilifolius Lin. Duham. arb. 1, ~
* Cytifus hirfutus Lin. Jacq. obf. 4. 96.
| All

DIADELPH. DECANDR, 363

All thefe, and the reft of the fpecies, agree
in a two-lipped calyx, the upper lp bi-
fid, the lower three-toothed; and a le-
gume attenuated at the bafe; and pedicled,
with feveral feeds in it. The leaves are
ternate.

Robmia has a quadrifid calyx; an eX- Robinia,
panding, reflex, roundifh banner; and a
gibbous, elongate legume, containing feve-
ral feeds. ‘The tree which you admire for
its long racemes of fwect-fmelling white
flowers, hanging down like thofe of La-
burnum, is of this genus: I mean the Ba/-
fard Acacia’, called in North America, its
native country, Locuff-tree. ‘The leaves
are pinnate, confifting of eight or ten pair
of oval leaflets terminated by an odd one ;
all entire, and fitting clofe to the mid-rib :
the Atipules are armed with {trong, crooked
thorns; and the flowers come out finely,
or only one on a pedicle in the racemes.
The Caragana’, a Siberian fhrub, has
leaves abruptly pinnate, that is, winged,
. not terminated by an odd leaflet ; they have
four or five pairs of oval leaflets: this has
no fpines, and the yellow flowers come out
fingly from the axils. There are feveral
other trees and fhrubs of this genus ; but
thefe are the moft known.

Robinia Pfeudacacia Lin. Seba mus. 1. t. 15. f. 1.
Duham. arb. 2. t. 42.
. Robinia Caragana Lin. Duham. arb. 3.

Coronilla

364 PETS RICE

Ceronilla, Coromilla is another genus of fhrubs,
eomprehending however fome herbaceous
plants. They all agree in a two-lipped
calyx; the upper lip having two, the
lower three little teeth ; the fuperior teeth
conjoined ; in a banner fcarcely longer than
the wings; and in a very long, ftraight
legume, contracted between the feeds,
and, inftead of opening by the futures,
falling off in joints.—Scorpion Sena‘ is a
fpecies of this genus very common among
fhrubs: it is immediately known, by hav-
ing the claws of its yellow corollas three
times as long as the calyx; two or three
flowers come out together upon long pe-
duncles from the fides of the branches,
which are flender, and angular: the leaves
are pinnate, and compofed of three pair of
leaflets terminated by an odd one: the le-
gumes are long, flender, taper, and pendu-
lous ; the feeds cylindric. There are feveral
beautiful fhrubs of this genus, but too ten-
der to bear the open air in our climate.

Fndigo- The plants from which indigo is made *

fera. re of this clafs ; and many of the kindred
genera refemble them in quality as well as
outward form and charaéter. Scorpion Sena
in particular, it is faid, will yield a dye
nearly equal to indigo, if the leaves are fer-
mented in a vat in the fame manner as is

€ Coronilla Emerus Lin. Mill. fig. 132.
* Indigofera Lin. Mill. fig. 34.
| practifed

DIADELPH. DECANDR: 365

practifed with thofe plants; and you re-
member complaining perhaps, that the yel-
low flowers of the Lotus would turn blue
in drying, unlefs you took care to keep
them feparate from other plants, and to
change them often.

Liquorice is alfo of the fame clafs: it oo"
has a two-lipped calyx, with the upper Jip ~”
divided into three parts, and the lower ab-
folutely fimple and undivided ; the legume
is ovate and comprefled, with very few
kidney-fhaped feeds. ‘The fpecies which is
cultivated for the fake of its roots‘ has
fmooth legumes, no ftipules, and pinnate
leaves confifting of four or five pairs of
leaflets, terminated by an odd one, which
is petiolate. It is a lofty plant for an her-
baceous one, the ftalks being from four
to five feet high; the flowers come out
in erect {pikes from the axils, and are
pale blue.

Hedyfarum is a moft numerous génus, Hedyfa-
containing no fewer than fixty-feven fpe-""”
cies, all however confpiring in having the
keel tranfverfely obtufe, and the legume
jointed, with one feed in each joint. The
genus is fubdivided into four feétions, from
the leaves; which in the firft are fimple ;
in the fecond, conjugate; in the third, ter-
nate; and in the fourth, pinnate. I {hall
prefent you only two fpecies, and they of

* Glycyrrhiza glabra Lia.
the

366

Trifo-
hum.

LETTER XXV:

the laft feétion. One tranfplanted from
Italy into the gardens; and the other from
a wild ftate to a cultivated one. The firft
is the French Honeyfuckle *, which is diftin-
guifhed from the reft by a diffufed tielk,
and by its jointed, prickly, naked, ftraight
legumes; its pinnate leaves point it out to
be of the fourth fection: they have five or
fix pair of leaflets, terminated by an odd
one; and from their bafe comes out a long
peduncle, fuftaining {pikes of beautiful red
flowers. The other is the Samtfoim®; the
characters of which are an elongated ftem ;
the wings of the corolla equalling the ca-
lyx, and one-feeded prickly legumes: this
has alfo, of courfe, pinnate leaves. It
adorns the chalky hills with its beautiful
{pikes of red flowers; and contributes largely
among many others of this clafs to feeding
of cattle. For this the Trefoi/s are moft
juftly celebrated; there are forty-fix fpecies
of them, all having the flowers growing
in a head; and the legume very fhort,
{carcely emerging from the calyx, not open-
ing, but falling off entire, and containing
but one, or at moft two feeds. Though
this be a genus eafily diftinguifhed by its
habit, yet the characters are by no means
conftant, and perhaps there is not one com-

* Hedyfarum coronarium Lin. é
& Hedyfarum Onobrychis Lin. Rivin. tetr. t. 2.
Ger. 1243. 1. Park. 1082. 1.

mor.

"3
4
od

DIADELPH. DECANDR. 367

- on to all the fpecies. White Trefoil, com-
monly called Dutch Clover *, has a creep-
ing, perennial ftem; the heads umbelled ;
and the legumes covered and four-feeded.
Purple Trefoil, Honey[uckle Trefoil, or Red
Clover‘, has the flowers growing in glo-
bular fubvillous {pikes, girt with oppofite
membranous ftipules ; and the corollas all
of one petal. ‘There are many wild fpe-
cies of this genus; but the Yellow Tre-
foil, cultivated under this name, or that of
Nonefuch, is of another genus, as we fhall
fee prefently.

Lotus has a tubular cdlyx; the wings of Lotus.
the corolla clapping clofe together upwards
longitudinally ; and an upright cylindric
lecume. The wild fpecies is called common
Bird’ s-foot*, and is diftinguifhed by its de-
cumbent ftems, many flowers growing to:
gether in deprefled heads; and exactly cy-
lindric, fpreading legumes. The corcllas
are of a bright yellow.

Lucerne’ is of the genus Medicago, the Medica-
charaéter of which is that the keel of the 8°
corolla bends down from the banner, and
that the legume is flatted, and fpiral or
wreathed like the fhell of a fnail. The

® Trifolium repens Zin. Curtis, Lond, III. 46.
Ger. 1185. 1.

1 Trifolium pratenfe Lin. Blackw. t. 20.

k Lotus corniculatus Lin, Curtis, Lond. II. 56.
Ger. 1190. 5.

T Medicago fativa Zin. Mor. hift. f. 2. t. 16. f. 2.
Ger. 1189. 2. Park, 1114, I,

{pecific

368

LETTER XXV.
fpecific character is this—the ftem is ere&
and fmooth, the flowers grow in a raceme,
and the legumes are contorted: the colour
of the corollas is blue. The fpecies culti-
vated under the name of 7refoi/ or Nonfuch™
has the {tems procumbent; the flowers in
oval fpikes ; and the legumes kidney-form,
with one feed only in each; the corollas
are {mall and yellow. Ina cultivated ftate
the ftems draw each other up, and lofe, in
a great meafure, their natural procumbency,
as does alfo Bird’s-foot Trefoil, when it has
other plants about it, as in grafs-fields, &c.
There is a fpecies of Medicago called poly-
morphous or many-form”, from the variety
of appearances it puts on, or from the
change of figure in the pod. We have one
variety very common wild °, called Heart-
Clover from the form of the leaves, which
are alfo generally fpotted: each head con-
fifts of four or five little yellow flowers;
the legumes are globofe, fpiral, and co-
vered with very diverging fpines: and in
the garden you have the vegetable Sails’,
with large, {piral, globofe legumes, naked,
or not covered with {pines; and the Hedge-

™ Medicago lupulina Lin. Curtis, Lond. II. 57. Ger.
1186. 5. Park. 1105. 6.

x Medicago polymorpha Lin.

° Medicago polymorpha arabica Lin. Curtis, Lond.
ES. By.) "rer. Wrqos 4.Park‘rirs. 6.
j P Med, polyin, fcutellata Liz. Mor, hift. f. 2. t. 15.
a7 5

hogs,

POLYADELPHIA.

Bogs%, whofe legumes are clofely armed
with long {pines pointing every way. Thefe
all have the ftem diifufe; the ftipules
toothed, and the legumes fpiral. This clafs
has alfo its vegetable Caterpilars, but they
are of another genus’.

I fear you will think I have already made
this letter too long. However, as it may be
fome time before you hear from me again ;
as the next clafs is a very fmall one, and
completes the fet of plants with united fila-
ments, I will trefpafs on your patience
whilft I go through it.

THE CLASS POLYADELPHIA.

The Clafs Polyadelphia, then, compre-
hends all fuch flowers as have the filaments
united at bottom into more than two par-
cels. The filaments are in bunches, or pen-
cilled, as one might call it, fince they are
collected into bodies refembling a camel’s
hair pencil. If you were not to attend to
this character, you might eafily fuppofe
thefe plants to belong to the clats Po/yan-
dria, for they have no ftriking appearance,
like the pulfe tribe. and fome others, an-
nouncing them immediately to range under
this ciafs.

There are four orders, taken from the

1 Med. polym. intertexta. Mor. f. 7, 8, 9.
* Scorpiurus, Riy. tetr. 210.

B b ftamens ;

G)
Nr
[e)

Citrus.

LETTER XXV.

ftamens; Chocolate * is in the firft, Pentan-

dria, a genus called Mon/fonia in the ie-
cond: Citron, comprehending Oranges and
Lemons, in the third; and eight genera in
the fourth... ‘The whole number of {pecies
is only fixty-five.

The beautiful, odoriferous, well known,
and defervedly efteemed genus of Citrus has
thefe charaëters—a {mall calyx five-toothed
at top; a corolla of five oblong petals; about
twenty ftamens, placed cylindrically round
the germ, with the filaments connected
rather flightly, fometimes into more, fome-
times into fewer parcels; one piftil, and,
for a fruit, a berry generally nine-celled,
with a bladdery pulp, in which the feeds
are lodged.

You will have pleafure in examining at
leifure the three elegant fpecies of this ¢ ge-
nus, and in regaling your fenfes, whilft
your mind imbibes inftruétion. When they
are in fruit, you diftinguifh them imme-
diately ; but when they are not, you will
find that the Citroen * has the petioles linear
or all of a fize, like moft other petioles ;
whereas the Orange, Lemon, and Shaddock,
have the petioles winged in fhape of a
heart; fo that the main leaf feems to grow
out of a fmaller one. Linnæus makes the

* Theobroma Cacao Linx. Sloan. jam. 2. t. 160.

Merian. furin. t. 26. and 63. Catefb. car. 3. t. 6.
' Citrus Medica Lin. Virg. georg. edit. Mart. p. 135..
5. Orange

POLYADELPHIA.

Orange and Lemon™ to be of one fpecies,
and to be diftinguifhed by pointed leaves
from the Shaddock*, which has them ob-
tufe, and emarginate or notched at the
end: not to mention the great fize of the
fruit, the flowers of this grow more in
racemes, which are alfo a little nappy or
woolly. I dare prefume that you are by
this time fo great an adept in Botany as
readily to admit, in fpite of the informa-
tion of your tafte to the contrary, that the
Seville and China Oranges may be varieties
of the fame fpecies, owing all their dif-
ference to climate. Neither perhaps do
you find much difficulty in perfuading
yourfelf, that the large and generous Le-
mon may not be fpecifically different from
the little, round, four Lime; notwithftand-
ing fome little difference in the leaves, and
the {pines on the branches of the latter.
But [ much doubt whether you will be
able to perfuade your fair daughter to ad-
mit that the auftere, long, pale Lemon, is
not a fpecies totally diftinét from the round,
deep-coloured Orange, the flavour of whofe
juice the enjoys with fo much delight. I
will confent that fhe fhould enjoy her in-
credulity, at leaft if fhe can diftinguifh
thefe trees when they are deftitute of fruit.
The pofition of the ftamens informs you
that this genus is of the order Icofandria.

* Citrus Aurantium Zin. Mill. illuftr.
* Citrus decumana Lin. Rumph. amb. 2. t. 24. f. 2.

Bob 2 The

37*

ie)

Si
Hyperi-
cum,

BET re me à Xv:

The genus Hypericum, in the laft order
(Polyandria) of this clafs, has many more
{pecies than all the other genera put toge-
ther. Several of them are wild, and feve-
ral others are commonly cultivated among
fhrubs: they are not however all fhrubs,
for many fpecies are herbaceous. Al! plants
do not exhibit the claffical mark, in this or
any other clafs, with equal evidence; in
this genus the numerous ftamens will ea-
fily feparate from the receptacle in pencils
or parcels, and thus evidently fhow what
is their proper place in the fyftem. Being
thus certified that your plant does not be-
long to the clafs Polyandria, but to this,
you will eafily diftinguifh it from its con-
geners, by its five-parted calyx including
the germ; by its corolla of five petals; by
the abundance of ftamens, ufually forming
five {quadrons ; and by the feed-vefñel being
a capfule, divided into as many cells as
there are ftyles to the flower; thefe are ei-
ther one, two, three, or five in number;
and hence a fubordinate divifion ofthe ge-
nus into four fections: there is however
only one. fpecies with one ftvle, and there
are only two fpecies with two; the far
greater number have three: and among
thefe are all the European ones.

Common St. Fohn’s wort” has two cha.
racters {o remarkable that it cannot well be
~ Hypericum perforatum Lin. Curtis, Lond. 1. 57.

Mill. illuftr. Ger. 539.1. Park. 573. 1-
— miftaken,

POLYADELPHIA, 373

miftaken, as foon as they are underftood :
for it has an ancipital or two-edged item,
that is, roundifh, or a little flatted, and run-
ning out longitudinally into two little edges
or membranes oppofite to each other: and
its obtufe leaves are punctured all over their
furface, fo as to appear, when held up
againft the light, as if they had been
pricked with apin. Another wild fort not
near {o common, growing in moift hedges
and woods, and calied Samt Peter's wort*
has fquare ftalks; it is about the fame fize
with the other, but does not branch {fo
much : the leaves are fhorter and broader,
and have none of the pellucid dots which
are fo remarkable in the former. Trazling
Saint Fobn’s Wort’ isa pretty little plant,
found on dry paftures and heaths: it has
_two-edged, proftrate, filiform ftems; fmooth
leaves ; and axillary, folitary flowers. Up-
right Saint fobn’s wort* is an elegant fpe-
cies, growing in woods and heaths; with
columnar ftems: ftem-clafping, {mooth,
heart-fhaped leaves; and ferrated calyxes
with the teeth glandular.
The two moft common forts, cultivated

among other fhrubs, are the inking /hrubby*

* Hypericum quadrangulum Lin. Curtis Lond. IV.
52. Fl. dan. 640. Ger. 542. Park. 575.
_# Hypericum humifufum Zin. Curtis, Lond. III. 50.
FI. dan. 141. Ger. 541. 4.

* Hypericum pulchrum Zin. Curtis, Lond. I. 56.
FI. dan. 75. Petiv. 60. 6.

Hypericum hircinum Lin.

bib and

(#2)

LETTER XXV.

and Canary? St. fobn’s worts. They have
both a rank fmell, refembling that of a
goat, which however, in fome circum-
ftances, and at certain diftances, feems to
be fweet, at leaft to fome perfons; both
alfo have three piftils: but the firft is a
much lower plant, and has the ftamens
longer than the corolla; whereas in the fe-
cond they are fhorter. Garden Tut/an“ is
evidently of this genus: it is one of thofe
which have five piftils; the ftems are low,
fimple, herbaceous, and quadrangular; the
Jeaves fmooth, and quite entire: the roots
creep extremely, and the flowers are very
large. Wild Tutfan, or Tutfan Saint Fobn’s
wort', called ao Park-leaves, has a fhrubby
two-edged ftem; three piftils, and a ber-
ried fruit, or foft, coloured pericarp: the
flowers of this are fmall, and the ftamens
extend beyond the corollas. It grows wild
in woods, and fometimes in moift hedges.
Of the more rare and tender forts, the
Majorca Saint fobn's wort® is very diftin-
guifhable by the warts all over the flender
red branches; the leaves alfo are repand or
waved on their edges, Jhave {mall protu-
berances on their under furface, and at the

> Hypericum canarienfe Liz. Comm. hort. 2. t. 68.

‘Hypericum Afcyron Lin, Gmel. fibir. 4. t. 69.
PI. 24.

¢ Hypericum Androfemum. Lin. Curtis, Lond. III.
48. Ger. 543, I.

¢ Hypericum balearicum Liz, Mill. fig. pl. 54. Curt.
Mag. 137. at

bafe

POLYADELPHI À.

bafe embrace the ftalk: the flowers are
large, with the ftamens a little fhorter than
the corolla, and five piftils. Laftly, CA;-
nefe Hypericum‘, which ftands alone, as
having one piftil only, has a fhrubby flan,
coloured calyxes, ftamens longer than the
corolla, and is one of the moft beautiful of
this genus, fo gay with its yellow corollas,
and abundant crop of ftamens.

With this large harveft, I leave you,
dear coufin, till T thall hive found leifure
to prepare the extenfive and moft difficult
tribe of compound flowers for your in-
{pection.

3 Hypericum monogynum Zin, Mill, fig. pl. 1 SI:
. 2

Bb 4 LETTER

(x.g964.)

LETTER. XXVI.
THE CLASS SYNGENESIA,

Auguft the 24th, 1776.
HOU GH this letter, dear coufin,

will arrive late in the feafon, yet it
will be in time for you to examine the far
greater part of the clafs Syugenefia, or tribe
of compound flowers, which blow chiefly
inthe autumn. You are well aware that
the effential character of this clafs is the
union of the anthers. You are perfect
miftrefs of the ftruéture of a compound
flower, and of the different florets that com-
pofe its And laftly, the feveral orders
into which the clafs is divided are familiar
to you, and the foundation of them well
underftood*. Very little therefore remains
to premife, before we proceed to the ex-
amination of the genera and fpecies.

This is by much the moft numerous of
the natural claffes'; and therefore it fhould,
in all probability, be more difficult to find
fufficient generic and fpecific diftinétions
here than in any other: fuch however

© See letter VI.
See letter X.
? The number of genera being 116, and of fpecies

1247.
has

SYNGENESIA.

has been the fagacity and induftry of Lin-
neeus, that I hope you will not find any
great difficulty, even in the two firft orders,
which contain above two thirds of all the
genera. :

THE ORDER POLYGAMIA ÆQUALIS.

To facilitate the inveftigation, 1 in the firft
order, Polygamua Æquals, it is fubdivided
into three battalions, eafily diftinguifhed b
the moft obvious characters. The firft con-
tains the flowers compofed wholly of ligu-
late florets, which are the Semiflofculous
flowers of Tournefort : the fecond contains
the capitate or headed flowers: and the third
the difcoid flowers. So that there are no ra-
diate flowers in this order: the flowers of the
firft {eétion are wholly made up of fuch flo-
rets as compofe the ray of thefe: inthe two
other feétions there are none of thefe ligu-
late corollas or femiflorets, but the com-
pound flower is wholly made up of tubulous
corollas, or florets properly fo called: in

the fecond {ection thefe are long, and the :

calyx bulges out at bottom, as in the thif-
tles; in the third, the flowers refemble a
Daity or other radiate flower, with the ray

pulled off. -
The calyx, the receptacle, and the crown
of the feed will in general be found fufficient
to

377

Tragopo-

gon.

LET TER XXVI.

to furnifh the generic diftinétions in this
order *.

Thus Tragopogon or Goat’s-beardis known
by its fimple calyx, naked receptacle, and
feathered ftipitate down: and thefe three
circumftances are fufficient to diftinsuifh
this genus from all others; provided you
have firft affured yourfelf, by the rules al-
ready laid down, that your flower is of the
compound tribe, that each flofcule has the
anthers united into a cylinder, which the
piftil, terminated by two revolute ftigmas,
perforates; and that the corollas are all li-
gulate: for thus it is that you come at the
clafs, order, and fection. I cannot fuppofe
that you haveany difficulty in diftinguifhing
a natural compound flower from a double
one, the creature of art and culture, though
the fimilarity may miflead thofe who are not

k The calyx is fingle, or fimple in Seriola, Geropo- —
gon, Andryala, Tragopogon : calyeled, or furnifhed with
a fecond fet of leaflets at the bafe, in Cichoreum, Picris,
Crepis, Chondrilla, Prenanthes, Lapfana, Hyoferis ; in the
reft imbricate. The receptacle is villous in Scolymus,
Cithoreum, Catananche, Seriola, Hypocheris, Geropogon ;
in the reft it is naked, that is, has neither hairs nor
chaffs between the flofcules. Scolymus and Lap/ana
have no pappus or down: in Seriola, Andryala, Crepis,
Prenanthes, Laétuca, Hieracium, Sonchus, the down is
fimple; in Hypocheris, Geropogon, Tragopogon, Picris,
Leontodon, Scorzonera, Chondrilla, it is feathered; in
Cichoreum the crown of the feed is five-toothed, in Ca-
tananche five-awned, in Hyoferis crowned with a caly-
cle. In fome genera this down fits clofe to the feed, in
others it is fiped or ffibitate : that is, has a ftem inter-
pofed between it and the feed.

accuftogned

SYNGENESIA. | 379
accuftomed to obfervation; becaufe I am
Certain that if you have the leaft doubt, you
will pull out a flofcule, in order to fee whe-
ther it has a feed, ftamens, and piftil, or is
only a mere flat petal. But to return to
our plant.—Y¢e//ow or Common Goat’s-beard’,
which grows wild among the grafs in mea-
dows, is diftinguifhed by entire upright
leaves, and by the fegments of the calyx at
leaft equalling in length the outer flofcules.
Towards noon you will not eafily find this
plant, becaufe the flowers are then always
clofed: after the flower is paft, Goat’s-beard
is very apparent, on account of the large
globe formed by the down of the feeds, till
the wind has at length torn them from the
receptacle, and wafted them feparately to
diftant places.

Salfafy™, which your gardener will fur-

-nifh you with from the kitchen garden, has
the fegments of the calyx much longer than
the flofcules, and the peduncles {well out re-
markably under the flower; which is large,
and of a fine blue.

Another plant of this tribe which you may scorzone-
alfo have from the kitchen garden, is thers.
Scorzonera, of a genus nearly allied to the
laft; agreeing with it in having a naked
receptacle and a feathered ftipitate down,

* Tragopogon pratenfe Lin. Mor. hift, f. 7. t. 9.
fu: Ger. 7352 2.
™ Tragopogon porrifolium Lin. Mor. t. g. f. 5.
Her, 735. Fl. dan. 797. PL 25. f. 1.

but

Sonchus,

&
Eadtuca.

LETTER XXVI.

but differing from it by an imbricate calyx,
with the fcales membranaceous about the
edge. The cultivated {pecies” has a branch-
ing ftem, and entire, {tem-clafping leaves,
flightly fawed on their edges; the flowers

are of a bright yellow.

Sowthifile and Lettuce agree in a naked
receptacle, an imbricate calyx, and a fimple
down to the feed. But in the firft the
calyx is gibbous, or {welling at the bafe ; in
the fecond it is cylindric, with membranous
edges: the firft has a feflile down; in the
fecond it is ftipitate, and the feeds are po-
lifhed. You will always find it ufeful,
where you can, thus to bring together and
compare plants of nearly allied genera, in
order to confider well their fimilitudes and
differences, and to give you a readinefs in
making thofe minute but important dif-
tinctions, fo neceflary to difcrimination in
natural tribes, wherein all feems alike to the.
untutored eye, as the fheep of the flock to
the ordinary paflenger; whereas the fhep-
herd knows each by its proper marks, and
calls them all by their names.

Of the Sowrhiflle®, that vulgar weed of
the kitchen garden, there are many varie-
ties; the rough and the fmooth; with la-
cerate leaves and fimple ones, &c. which I

* Scorzonera hifpanica Liz. Blackw. 406.
* Sonchus oleraceus Lin. Curtis, Lond. II. 58. Ger.
292.

mention

SYNGENESIA,

mention only that you may not be led to
fearch for them as diftin& {pecies ; ; in rea-
lity thefe differences are owing merely to
accident and fituation.

Hieracium or Hawkweed is a numerous
genus of this order and fection; the calyx is
ovate and imbricate, the receptacle naked,
and the down fimple and feflile. ‘Thereare
many fpecies wild in this country; one?,
which is a large plant, on walls and banks
and in woods, with a branching ftem, the
radical leaves oval and toothed, and a {maller
leaf on the ftalk: and another very common
indeed in dry paftures, ‘called Mou/e-ear
Hawk-weed4, from the long hairs upon the
leaves, i id are ovate, an abfolutely en-
tire; this fort throws out runners, and the
flowers come out fingly on naked ftalks.
There are other fpecies, vulgarly called
Hawkweeds, which range under other ge-
nera, as the Crepis, which differs from
Hieracium, in having the calyx only caly-
cled, with deciduous {cales.

I fhall conclude the firft fection with Suc-
cory or Endive; which has the calyx calycled,
a few chaffs between the flofcules on the re-
ceptacle, and the crown of the feed moftly
five-toothed and obfeurely hairy. Wild Suc-

® Hieracium murorum Lin. Mor. hift. f. 7. t. 5.
f.54. Ger. 304.

1 Hieracium Pilofella Lin. Curtis, Lond. IV. 54:
Ger. 638. 2. Park. 690. 1, 2, |

cory

381

Hieraci-
um.

Cichore-
um.

382

Carduus.

LETTER XXVI.

cory* has runcinate leaves, and generally
two feffile flowers coming out together:
Endwe* has folitary, peduncled flowers,
and entire leaves, only notched about the
edge. Both have flowers of a fine blue;
but the firft is perennial, and the fecond
only biennial. Curled Endive, though dif-
fering fo remarkably from its parent in the
leaves, is but a variety of the laft.

The greater part of the fecond fedtion,
in this firft order of the nineteenth clafs, is
occupied by the Thiftles, a moft untract-
able genus, not at all adapted to the deli-
cate fingers of our lovely Flora. The ca-
lyx is all imbricate with thorny fcales';
and how will fhe tear this afunder, to dif-
cover that the receptacle has hairs between
the feeds; yet thefe two circumftances
form the character of the genus; and fhe
muft obferve that there are fome plants
commonly called Titles, which are not of
the genus Carduus. For inftance, the Com-
mon Way-Thiftle* not having fpines to the
{cales of the calyx, which alfo is cylindric
in fhape, whereas in the Carduz it bulges
out at bottom, and the receptacle being

* Cichoreum Intybus Zin, Curtis, Lond. IV. 56.
Ger? 284. "7.7 Park. 796.72.

* Cichoreum Endivia Lin.

t See Pl. 25..f. 2.

“ Serratula arvenfis Zim. Curt. Lond. n. 63. under
the name of Carduus. Fl. dan, 644. Mor, hift. f. 7.

t. 32. f..14. Ger. 1173.44. :
. naked,

SYNGENESIA. 333

naked, is not a Carduus in Linnzus’s idea,
but a Serratula. So likewife Cotton-Thifile*
having a honey-combed receptacle, is fepa-
rated on account of that circumitance. In-
deed the genus would have been too vaft
and unmanageable, without an attention to
thefe marks, which might fometimes ap-
pear otherwife too minute. You have per-
haps even heard it faid that the Artichoke " Cynara.
is nothing but a Thiftle. It differs indeed
very little; having a hairy receptacle, only
the hairs being ftiffer, it may be called
briftly ; and the ftru€ture of the down be-
ing the fame, they differ principally in the
calyx, for the fcales in the Artichoke are
feariofe or ragged, flefhy, and terminated
by a channelled appendicle, emarginate and
pointed—a character which you may exa-
mine at your leifure at table. If you would
fpeculate on the blue flowers; which being
fo large, will give a good idea of florets;
at the fame time that it is alfo an excellent
inftance of the order Polygania-qualis,
and the Capitate or Headed te€tion of it ;
you muft prevail on your gardener to let
fome heads ftand long after the time that
they fhould be cut for the table.
The Burdock, whofe heads fometimes faf- Arctium.
ten themfelves to your clothes as you pafs,
is in the fame divifion with the Thiftles :

_* Onopordon Acanthium Zin. Curt. Lond. V. 57.

Mor. t. 30. f. 1. Ger. 1149. 1.
“ Cynara Scolymus Lin. Blackw. 458.
the

354

Eupato-

rium.

Bidens.

LE TS:ER* xA2Vie

the globofe form of the calyx, together
wath the hooked tops of the fcales wince
compofe it, are the eflential charaéters of
the genus. The common wild fpecies * has
very large woolly heart-fhaped leaves, pe-
tiolate, ana unarmed.

Of the third feétion, with D//cord, or, as
fome call them, naked difcous flowers, few
are at hand. ‘The banks of rivers and
ditches will furnifh a fpecies of Eupatorium*,
a large plant with digitate leaves: ufually
there are three leaflets to each leaf, which
are hairy, and fharply ferrate, the middle
one the ‘largett ; fometimes the fide leaflets
are wholly + wanting, and the leaf becomes
fimple: the ftalks are lofty, rough, and
quadrangular; and bear large bunches of
{mall purple flawers on their tops, with
about five florets in each calyx. The cha-
racters of the genus are an oblong, imbri-
cate calyx, a naked receptacle; a feathered
down, and a very long ftyle, divided half
way the length.

The fame fituations will produce you the
Bidens ; which has alfo an imbricate calyx:
but the receptacle is chaffy; the corolla is
fometimes furnifhed with one floret alter-
nately radiant; and the feeds are crowned

* Arctium Lappa Lin. Curtis, Lond. IV. 55. Ger.
809.

Y Eupatorium cannabinum Lin. FI]. dan. 745. Mor.
hift. f. 7. t. 13. f. 1. Ger. 711.2. Common Hemp-
Agrimony. See Pl. 25. f. 3. .
| wth

SYNGENESIA.

Uo
(oe) rs
re

«with two ereét, rugged awns, which being
hooked make the feeds adhere to any thing
that comes near them. We have two wild
{pecies, the srifid*, fo called from its trifid
leaves; with erect feeds, and leafy calyxes:
and the nodding *, with lance-fhaped, ftem-
clafping leaves, nodding flowers, and erect
feeds.. The corollas of both are yellow ;
but thofe of the laft, which is the leaft

common, are moft fpecious.

THE ORDER POLYGAMIA SUPERFLUA.

The fecond order of the clafs Syngenefia,

entitled Polygamia fuperflua, being {carcely
lefs numerous than the firft, is fubdivided .
-into two fections, the firft containing the
difcoid, and the fecond, the radiate flowers:
there is only one genus in this order with
femiflofculous flowers.

Of the firft fection, with difcoid flowers, Tanace-
you have the Zan/y; which you find to"
have an imbricate, hemifpheric calyx; the
corollas of the ray, or on the outfide, tri-
fid ; the others quinquefid; the feeds naked,
being only flightly edged; and the recep-
tacle naked. Sometimes in this genus there
are. no imperfect flowers. Our common

* Bidens tripartita Lin. Water Hemp-Agrimory.
Curtis, Lond. IV. 57. Ger. 7118. 1.
* Bidens cernua Lin. Nodding Water Hemp-Agri-
mony. Curtis, Lond. ILE. 55. FL dan. 841.
ve Tanjy,

Artemifia,

LETTER XXVI.

Tanfy*, which not only the kitchen-gar-
den, but dry, upland paftures will furnifh
you with, has bipinnate, or twice-feathered
leaves, which are gafhed, and ferrate about
the edges.

Southernwood, the Wormwoods and Mug-
wort, all range under the genus Artemifia;
which has a calyx imbricate, with rounded,
converging fcales; naked feeds; and a re-
ceptacle either naked or with few hairs:
the flowers have no ray whatever, but are
{tridly difcoid. Southernwood< is fhrubby,
erect, and has fetaceous leaves, very much
branched: there is a field or weld Southern-
wood, with procumbent, twiggy ftems,
and multifid, linear leaves. Common and
Roman Wormwoods and Mugwort have erect
herbaceous ftems, and compound leaves.
The Common‘ {pecies has the leaves multi-
fid, the flowers fubglobular and pendulous,
and the receptacle hairy. Roman Worm-
wood‘ has the leaves many-parted, and
downy underneath, the heads of flowers
roundifh and nodding, as in the other; but
the receptacle naked. Mugwort® has pin-

5 Tanacetum vulgare Lin. FI. dan. 871. Moor. hift.
i. 6. t. 7. f. re Ger. DS L

© Artemifia Abrotanum Lin. Blackw. 555.

4 Artemifia campeftris Lin. Ger. 1106. 5. Park.

on: eee Abfinthium Zin. Blackw. t. 17. Ger.

1006. 1. aay
f Artemifia pontica Lin. Jacq. auftr. 1. t. 99.
= Artemifia vulgaris Lin. Blackw. t. 431. Ger.

103%: re À
natifid

SYNGENESIAs 387

natifid, flat, gafhed leaves, downy under-
neath: the flowers are borne in fimple, re-
curved racemes, and have a ray of five
flowers. Common Sea Wormwood" has pro-
cumbent ftems ; many-parted downy leaves,
nodding racemes, and three flowers in
the ray. |
Gnaphalium, comprehending many wild Gnapha-

Cudweeds and the Immortal flowers, or yel- irm:
low and white Everlaftings, has an imbri-
cate calyx, with the fcales rounded, fca-
riofe, and coloured; a naked receptacle,
and feathered down. There are feveral fpe-
cies both of yellow and white Everlaftings ;
the moft known of the firft, is common in
Portugal, where they adorn their churches
with the flowers, which are alfo fent an-
nually to England: it is fuppofed to have
been brought originally from India‘: the
leaves are linear-lanced, and feffile: the
flowers are borne in a compound corymb,
on elongated peduncles; and the ftem is
fubherbaceous. One of the latter * is very
common in the gardens, and is originally
of North America; this has leaves like the
former, fharp-pointed, and alternate; the
{tems herbaceous, and branched above, the
flowers in corymbs, with level tops. This

k Artemifia maritima. Ger. 1099. 1. Petiv. 2c. 2.

i Gnaphalium orjentale Liz. Comm. hort. 2. t. 55.
Mer. hift. f. 7. t. 10. f. laft.

* Gnaphalium margaritaceum Lin,

Sc 2 has :

388 LETTER XXVI.

has a very creeping root; and the ftalks
and leaves are woolly: the filvery calyxes,
as well as the golden ones, of the former,
if gathered before they are too open, will
continue in beauty many years.

Xeranthes Xeranthemum, or Eternal flower, has an

mum- imbricate calyx, with the inner fcales mem-
branaceous, fhining, and forming a fet of
coloured rays to crown the flower; the re-
ceptacle is moftly naked; and the down is
“either briftly or feathered. Annual Xeran-
themum' is an exception to the general
character, in having a chaffy receptacle ;
it is alfo the only one which has a down of
five briftles: it is herbaceous, has lance-
fhaped {preading leaves; the outfide florets
have a fimple ftigma, with a naked feed ;
thofe in the middle have a fub-bifid ftigma.
The colour of the corolla is either purple or
white. There is a fort from the Cape with
yellow flowers ™.

Tufflago, The fecond divifion of this order, with
Radiate flowers, is much the largeft. Tu/-
filago or Colt’s-foot has a cylindric calyx,
with ‘equal fcales, from fifteen to twenty
in number, as long as the difk of the flower,
and a little membranous; a naked recepta-
cle, and a fimple or hairy down. Common
wild Colt’s-foot” has angular leaves, rather

1 Xeranthemum annuum Zin, Mill. illuftr. Jacq.
auftr. 4. 388.
m Xeranthemum fpeciofifimum. Seba 2. t. 43. f. 6.
à Tuffilago Farfara Lin, Curtis, Lond. II. 60. Ger.
Bit. FRE 1220.
heart-

SYNGENESTA,

heart-fhaped, with flight indentations about
the edges, underieath. white; and one yel-
low flower on a {cape, which is imbricate
or covered with fcales. Butter-bur° has
vaft leaves fhaped much like thofe of the
Colfs-foot; many (from ten to twenty)
purplith flowers, collected into an ovate
thyrfe, on the top of a purplifh fcape fet
with fcales of the fame colour; there are
fometimes from two to fix imperfect, white,
ligulate florets, with fcarcely any corolla,
among the others. You will not be able to
examine all the fpecific characters of thefe
two plants at once; for the naked ftem
which bears the flowers pufhes up alone
very early in the {pring ; and the leaves do
not fucceed till the flowers are pañt.

339

Senecio, or Groundfel, is a very numerous Senecio.

genus’, having a cylindric calycled calyx,
with the fcales /pacelate or feeming moiti-
fied at top ; a naked receptacle, and a fim-
ple down. Moft of the fpecies have radiate
flowers, eight of them however have not,
and among thefe is the Common Groundfel*,
{o vulgar a weed in kitchen-gardens. Stimk-
ing Groundfel*, a plant not very unlike this,
has however radiate corollas, with the fe-

° Tuffilago Petafites Zin. Curtis, Lond. I. 59.
Ger. 814. .
* Fifty-nine fpecies.

* Senecio vulgaris Zin. Curtis, Lond. I. 61. Ger.

278. VA
* Senecio vifcofus Lin. Dill. elth. t. 258. f. 336.
Les miflorets

LETTER XXVI.

miflorets of the ray revolute; the fcales of
the calyx are loofe ; and the leaves are pin-
natifid and vifcid. This grows in hedge-
rows and on heaths, and is a much taller
plant than the laft.

Common Ragwort* has alfo radiate corol-
las, with the ray however not revolute but
expanding: the ftem of this is erect ; the
leaves pinnatifid, approaching to lyrate, with
the divifions a little jagged. ‘This is very
common by road-fides and in paftures. The
gardens have a purple African Groundfel*
from the Cape ; an annual plant with a yel-
low difk, and purple rays: it agrees with
Ragwort in having radiate corollas with the
ray expanding; the leaves are pinnatifid,
equal, and very fpreading, with a thickened
recurved margin; and the fcales of the ca-
lyx are thinly ciliated. A fingular plant of
this genus came up one year in my garden,
which I took at firft to be a new {pecies ;
but, on more accurate examination, it
proved to be a hybridous plant or mule,
produced from this and the common
Groundfel ; it had the radiate flowers of
the one, {mall indeed and flightly tinged
with purple, and the herb of the other:
being annual, and producing no feed, this
variety pafled away with the feafon.

* Senecio Jacobæa Lin, Mor. hift. f. 7. t. 18. f. 1.
Ger. 280.1. Park. 668. r.

* Senecio elegans Lin, Comm. hort. 2. t. 30. Seba
mus, I. t. 22. f. I.

The

SYNGENESIA.

398

The two genera of Afer and Golden-rod ater.

furnifh abundance of flowers that enliven the
autumnal feafon, and continue till the feve-
rity of froft puts an end tothem. They both
agree in an imbricate calyx, a fimple down,
and a naked receptacle: but the inferior
{cales in the calyx of the 4fer are fpread-
ing, and have a ragged appearance ; where-
as in the Go/den- sacl they are clofe: all the
{pecies alfo of the 4/fer have more than ten
femi-florets in the ray, but the Golden-rods
have only about five or fix remote ones.
Some of the Affers are fhrubby, but moft of
them are tall herbaceous plants, d ying down
to the ground at the approach of winter, and
rifing again from the fame root the enfuing
fpring: many are confounded under the
vulgar title of Michaelmas Daifies. The
Amellus, or purple Italian Starwort*, is one
of the loweft fpecies, but has large purple
flowers, growing in a corymb on naked
peduncles, with the {cales of the calyx ob-
tufe; the leaves are lance-fhaped, obtute,
rugged, entire about the edges, and marked
Saath: with three nerves. The greater
part of the perennial American rie have
{caly peduncles; fome have entire, and
others have ferrate leaves; hence a conve-
nient fubdivifion of the genus: there are
however fome few fpecies with ferrate leaves

* After Amellus Lin. Jacq. auftr. 435. Virg, georg.
edit. Mart. p. 368.

eng and

Go
D
1

Solidago.

LETTER XXVI.°

and naked fmooth peduncles. Large fower-
ing or Catefby's Starwort*, is one of the
handfomeft ; the flowers being large and of
a deep purple; the calyx is ragged; the
peduncles are fcaly, and fuftain only one
flower ; the leaves are quite entire, tongue-
fhaped, and clafp the ftem. Chinefe Aller *
is an annual plant, with ovate, angular
leaves, toothed about the edge, and petio-
late; the flowers terminate the branches,
and have fpreading leafy calyxes. The va-
riety of colour, and fize of the corolla, have
made this {pecies very generally cultivated :
their being frequently double, will not in-
duce you to miftake a double radiate for a
natural ligulate flower; which, to an un-
obferving eye, it perfectly refembles. The
falt-marfhes on the fea-coaft of Europe fur-
nifh one fpecies, called Sea-Starwort*: this
has lance-fhaped, entire, flefhy, fmooth
leaves; the branches are unequal; and the
flowers in a corymb.

Of the Golden-rods we have only one
European {pecies ¥, unlefs we diftinguifh the
Welfh Golden-rod*, which feems but an

“ After grandiflorus Zin. Mart. cent. 19. Mill.
fig. 292.

# After chinenfis Lin. Dill. elth. t. 34. f. 38.

* After Tripolium Zin. Fl. dan.615. Mor. hift. f. 7.
12207 f> 96! SGer. gig 12> Fark) 6740

Y Solidago Virgaurea Liz. FI. dan. 663. Mor. t. 23.
(4.1 Grer 42902;

* Solidago cambrica Huaf. Dill. elth, t, 306. f. 303.
Petly. herb. Brit. t. 16. f. 11.

humble

SYNGENESIA.

humble variety. The ftem is a little flexu-
ofe or winding; and the flowers grow in
ere&t, crowded, panicled racemes. The
Welth variety has the leaves a little hoary
underneath, and roundifh cluftered {pikes
at the top of the ftalk, with larger flowers
appearing earlier than the common fort:
in lofty fituations and dry foils, a ftem will
fometimes produce one flower only. North
America has furnifhed abundance of fpecies,
whote golden racemes of flowers mix hap-
pily with the purple corymbs of the Afters ;
and thus they jointly enliven plantations of
fhrubs in the latter feafon. .

393

Inula, of which Elecampane * is the lead- Inula,

ing fpecies, has the following characters—
a naked receptacle; a fimple down; and
the anthers ending at the bafe in two brif-
tles: this ftructure of the anthers is uzique—
. the cylinder is compofed of five fmaller li-
near anthers, each ending in two briftles,
of the length of the filaments. ‘The true
Elecampane* is diftinguifhed by its large,
ftem-cla{ping, ovate, wrinkled leaves, downy
underneath; and by the ovate form of the
fcales of the calyx. The ftalks are three
feet high, and divide towards the top into
feveral {maller branches, each of which is
terminated by one large yellow flower. The

*Inula Helenium Lin. FI. dan. 728. Mor. hif.
fige to 24. BE, Gers 793.
, Flea-

394

Doronf-
cum,

LETTER XXVI.

Flea-banes middle * and Lef5° are of this ge-
nus; the firft is common in moift mea-
dows, and has ftem-clafping, oblong leaves,
hollowed next the petiole; a villous ftem
terminated by yellow flowers in panicles;
and the fcales of the calyx briftly. The
fecond ‘ has alfo ftem-clafping leaves, but
waved; proftrate ftems; and fubglobular
flowers, eafily known by the fhortnefs of
the ray. The place of this is by road-fides,
and where water ftands in winter.

Doronicum, or Leopard’ s-bane, awild plant
of the Alps, and now common among the
perennials of the garden, has the fcales of
the calyx in two rows, equal, and longer
than the difk, the feeds of the ray naked
or deftitute of down; thofe of the difk
crowned with a fimple down; the recepta-
cle naked. The common fpecies, above
alluded to, has heart-fhaped leaves, flightly
indented aboint the edge, and obtufe at the
end; thofe at the root ‘petiolate, thofe above
Shes! clafping. The ftalks are channelled
and hairy, near three feet high: thefe put
out a few fide branches, each of which is
terminated by a large yellow flower. A
fecond fpecies * has ovate, acute leaves,

> Inula dyfenterica Lin. Curtis, Lond. III. 56.
Ger. 482. 3.

© Inula pulicaria Lin. Curtis, Lond. III. 57. Ger.
482. 4.

4 Doronicum pardalianches Zin. Mill fig. 128.

Jacq. auftr. 4. t. 350. and PI. 26. of this work.
* Doronicum plantagineum Lin.
flightly

SYNGENESIA. 395

flightly indented, and alternate branches.
A third‘ has a naked, fimple ftem ending
in one flower: and thefe make up the whole
genus.

Tagetes has a one leafed, five-toothed, Tagetes.
tubular calyx; five permanent florets to the
ray ; the feeds are crowned with five erect
awns; and the receptacle is naked. French®
and African” Marigolds, two of the gaudy
annuals of the flower-garden, are of this ge-
nus. The firft is diftinguifhed by a fubdi-
vided fpreading ftem; the fecond, by an
erect, fimple ftem, with naked, one-flow-
ered peduncles. Of both thefe, as you
well know, there are many varieties in
colour, from pale brimftone to deep orange ;
and the more double they become, fo much
the more does your gardener value himfelf
on his fkill or good fortune.

Chryfanthemum, fo named from its golden- Chryfaa-
coloured flowers, is known by its hemif- ‘hemum.
pheric, imbricate calyx, formed of clofe
icales, the inner ones gradually larger, and
the inmoft membranous or chaffy; there is
no down to the feeds, but they are only
edged or margined; the receptacle is naked.

Some of the fpecies are improperly termed
Chryfanthema, having white rays to the
flowers: of thefe we have an inftance in

* Doronicum Bellidiaftrum Lin, Jacq. auftr. 4. t.
400.
_ § Tagetes patula Lin,

* Tagetes erecta Lin.

the

396 LET TER XXVE.

the Ox-eye Dai/y', a plant common among
{tanding grafs in meadows, and having ob-
long, ftem-clafping leaves, fawed above,
and toothed below. Corn Marigold‘, which
is a weed among the corn in fandy lands,
has yellow rays, and ftem-clafping leaves,
jagged above, and toothed below; they are
{mooth, and of a glaucous hue. Left you
fhould think the colour of more importance
than it really is, I will put youin mind, that
the {pecies focommonly cultivated in flower-
gardens under the name of Chry/anthemum
creticum', has both yellow and white rays:
thefe flowers are efteemed in proportion as
they deviate from nature ; but the plant may
always be known, by the pinnate, gafhed
leaves, growing broader towards the end.
Matrica- [he three genera of Matricaria, Cotula,
ae and Anthemis, are nearly allied. ‘The firit
has a hemitpheric, imbricate calyx, with
the marginal {cales folid, and rather acute ;
the feeds have no down ; and the receptacle
is naked. The fecond has a convex calyx ;
the florets of the difk quadrifid; thofe of the
ray have only a germ with its ftyle and ftig-
mas, without any corolla: there is no down,
but the feed is margined: and the receptacle

i Chryfanthemum Leucanthemum Zin. Curt. Lond.
V.62. Blackw.t. 42. Mor. hift. f. 6. t. 8. f. 1. Ger.
634.) Parks $205 1:

k Chryfanthemum fegetum Zin. Curt. Lond. n. 63.
Mor. t. 4. f. 1. Ger. 24347 Park. 1370. 1.

' Chryfanthemum coronarium Lin. Mor. t. 4. f. 2,
3e

B

SYNGENESIA, 397
is naked, of nearly fo. The third has a

hemifpheric calyx, with the fcales nearly
equal; more than five femiflorets in the
ray; no down; and a chatty receptacle.
There are plants vulgarly known by the
name of Mayweed or Canali in each ge-
nus. Common Fever-few™ alto is a fpecies
of Matricaria : the leaves are compound
and flat, the divifñons areovate, and gafhed,
and the peduncles are branched : it grows
upon banks, has a ftrong, unpleafant fcent,
the leaves are of a yéllowifh green, and the
rays of the flower are white: Fadrsithad into
gardens, it has generally double flowers.
Common or true Camomile” is an Anthems ; Anthe-
and has compound pinnate leaves, the divi- ™*
fions linear, acute, and a little villous. It
fometimes covers a confiderable extent of
ground on dry fandy commons, trailing
along, and putting out roots from the ftalks ;
its agreeable odour betrays it as we tread
upon it: that which is found in gardens, has
utually loft all character by cultivation.

Achillea or Milfoil has an oblong-ovate Achillea.
imbricate calyx; from five to ten femiflorets
an the ray ; no down; and a chaffy recep-
tacle. Common wild Milfoil or Yarrow? has

™ Matricaria Parthenium Z7n, Fl. dan. 674, Ger.

652 1.
" Anthemis nobilis Lin. Blackw. 298. 1. Ger. 755.

4.

° Achillea Millefolium Zin. Curt. Lond. n. 63.
FI. dan. 737. Mor. hift. f..6. t. 11. f. 6, 14. Ger.
1072. 2. A. Ptarmica, Curt. Lond. V. 60.

bipinnate

Helian-
thus.

LETTER XXVI.

bipinnate naked leaves, the divifions of which
are linear and indented; the ftems are fur-
rowed above. It isa vulgar plant in paftures,
and particularly by way fides; for it feems
to delight in being trod upon, and in fuch
places ipreads itfelf abundantly. The ufual
colour of the flower is white, but it fome-
times varies toa fine purple. Other foreign
fpecies are yellow.

The four remaining orders of this clafs
being much lefs numerous than the two
which we have already examined, there is
not the fame occafion for fubdivifions ; and
accordingly Linnæus has not made any.

THE ORDER POLYGAMIA FRUSTRANEA,

The third order of Fru/traneous Polygamy
comprehends no more than feven genera,
from which I fhall fele&t two—Helanthus
and Centaurea. ‘The firft has an imbricate
calyx, rather fquarrofe, or having a ragged
appearance from the fpreading of the tips of
the fcaless a two-leaved or two-awned
crown to the feeds; anda flat chaffy recep-

tacle. Every fpecies of this genus 1s a native

of America alone, and on the difcovery of
the new world, fome of them were vaunted
as miracles of nature, though they are now
become fo common as almoft to be difre-

garded.

SYNGENESIA.

carded. The annual Sun-flower? however
it mutt be acknowledged is a flower of won-
derful magnificence, ‘and owes the diminu-
tion of regard to the facility of its propaga-
tion: the fpecific characters are heart-fhaped
leaves, marked with three principal nerves ;
peduncles thickening immediately under the
calyx; and the flowers nodding. No flower
is more proper than this, from its great fize,
to give you an idea of a compound flower,
and its component flofcules, or florets and
femiflorets; only you will remember not to
expect feeds from thofe of the ray, that
being the character of the order. This plant
had its name from the form of the flower,
not from any power it pofiefies of turning
towards the fun: there is ufually but one
flower oti a ftalk, but I had four in my garden
on a fingle ftem, looking to the four cardinal
points. © Perennial Sun- flower’ is yet more
common than the laft, becaufe it fpreads
much at the root, and requires no care in
the cultivation : theinferior leaves of this are
heart-fhaped and three-nerved, but the upper
ones ovate. The flowers, though much
{maller than thofe of the laft, are yet the
largeft and moft fightly of the perennial forts,

and the fame plant produces abundance of

them. You will be on your guard againft
double flowers. The perennial forts dan

? Helianthus annuus Lin. Mill. illuftr.
4 Helianthus multiflorus Zin, Pluk. phyt. 159. f. 2.

produce

399

400

Centau-
rea.

LE T°F-E R: "XAVE

produce feeds in our climate: whereas the
annual, which can be propagated no other-
wife, has them in plenty. “Ferufalem Arti-
choke’ is alfo a fpecies of Helianthus; the
leaves are ouato-cordate, or egg-fhaped, only
hollowed at the bafe; they are alfo marked
with three principal nerves: this frequently
does not even flower, but it is cultivated not
for the fake of thefe, but the tuberous or
knobbed roots, refembling in form the pota-
toe, but in tafte an artichoke bottom. There
is a fpecies which has the common or trivial
name of giganteus or giant: Ferufalem Arti-
choke juttly merits the fame title, for Ihave
meafured {tems of it twelve feet high.
Centaurea is a moft numerous genus of
the fame third order, containing no lefs
than fixty-fix fpecies. The corollas of the
ray are funnel-form, or tubular, longer than
thofe of the difk, and irregular; the down
is imple; and the receptacle has briftles be-
tween the florets. This otherwile unwieldy
genus is commodioufly fubdivided into fix
iections, by the variations of the calyx,
which you obierve make no part of the ge-
neric character. I. Plants commonly call-
ed Yaceas, with fmooth, unarmed calyxes.
I. Cyanufes, with the fcales of the calyx fer-
rate and ciliate. IE. RAaponticums, with
dry, {cariofe fcales, like chaff, or as if parch-
ed. IV. Stoebes, with the {pines of the calyx

* Helianthus tuberofus Lin. Jacq. hort. 2. t. 161.
palmate.

SYNGENESIA.

palmate. V. Calcitrapas, with the fpines
of the calyx compound or fubdivided. VI.
With the {pines fimple or wholly undivided.
To the firft fetion belongs the Sweet Sul-
tan*, which has a roundifh calyx with ovate
f{cales; and lyrate leaves, indented about
the edge. It isan annual plant, with pur-
ple flowers, ofa fweetnefs {o powerful as to

be offenfive to many perfons; they come:

out fingly on long naked peduncles, and
frequently vary to flefh colour and white.
There is a yellow Sweet Sultan, which dif-
fers not only in the colour of the flowers,
and in having a milder odour, but alfo in
having the edges of the leaves ferrate: it
is doubtful however whether it be a diftinét
fpecies from the former. The Great or
Officinal Centaury* is alfo of this fection:
the {cales of the calyx are ovate; the leaves
are pinnate; the divifions ferrate and decur-
rent. The plant is large and tall, and the
flowers are purple.

Of the fecond fubdivifion we have three
plants commonly wild, and one little lefs
common in gardens. Common or Black
Knap-weed", perhaps more properly Kzob-
Weed, which the country people in fome
places call Hard-heads, is found in almoft all
paftures, and is one inftance, among many

* Centaurea mofchata Lin. Mor. hift. f. 7. t. 25.
f 5.
* Centaurea Centaureum Lin. Blackw. 93.

" Centaurea nigra Lin. Ger. 727.1. Park. 468, 1.
others,

401

40

\
LE T TB Ry XX VI:

others, of the vile weeds which are futiered
to occupy grafs fields with impunity; the
{cales are ovate, with ere, capillary cilias:

the leaves are lyrate and angulate : ; and the
flowers are flofculous. Great Knapweed* has
pinnatifid leaves, with the lobes lanceolate.
‘This grows in corn fields and on balks.
The flowers of both are red; but thofe of
the latter are much the largeft and moft
ipecious. B/ue-Bottle™, the third wild plant
of this feétion, which every body knows for
an univerfal weed among corn, and whofe’
beautiful blue colour would have attracted
regard, had it been rare, has linear leaves,
which on the ftem are quite entire ; towards
the ground they are broader, indented about
the edges, and fometimes pinnate. Moun-
tain Blue-bottle*, which has migrated from
the Swifs mountains into our gardens, is
very nearly allied to this, but its flowers are
much larger: the leaves alfo are lance-fhaped
and decurrent, and the ftem is quite fimple,

‘whereas the wild fort is branched. Car-

duus Benedi£lus, or Bleffed Thifile, is an in-
itance of the fourth fection: it has doubly
{pined, woolly calyxes, furnifhed with an
involucre; the leaves are femi- decurrent, in-

¥ Centaurea Scabiofa Lin.
w Centaurea Cyanus Zin. Mor. t. 25. f. 4. Ger.
232, 2. Park. 482, 2:
* Centaurea montana Lin. Mill. fig. 114. Curt.
mage 7 7; le am.
Y Centaurea benedicta Lin.
dented,

SYNGENESIA. 403

dented, and prickly: this is a fmall annual
plant with yellow flowers. We have a wild
{pecies of this fection—the Star-thifile*,
growing by road-fides, and in dry paitures,
but not every where: it has feffile flowers,
with the calyxes rather doubly {pined: the
leaves pinnatifid, linear, and toothed; the
{tem hairy, and much branched: the {pines
of the calyx are white, and the flowers red.
Of the other fections none are likely to
meet your eye ; indeed the roughnefs and
vulgarity of their habit, in which they
much refemble Thiftles, have occafioned
the numerous fpecies to be little culti-
vated.

THE ORDER POLYGAMIA NECESSARIA.

The Marigold of the kitchen garden will Calen-
furnifh a familiar inftance of the fourth %*
order—Polygamia Neceffaria. ‘The genus
is known by a calyx of many equal leaves ;
by the feeds having no down, and thofe of
the difk being membranous; and by the
receptacle being naked. ‘The common or
officinal * fpecies is diftinguifhed in having
all the feeds boat-fhaped, “bent inwards and
muricate.

z Centaurea Calcitrapa Lin. Ger. 1166. 1.
: * Calendula officinalis Lin. Mill. illuftr. Pl. 27.
o 2. ;

D d 2 THE

404

Echinops.

Viola

LETTER XXVI.

_ THE ORDER POLYGAMIA SEGREGATA.

In the Segregate order, befides the calyx
or perianth common to the whole flower,
there is a fecondary one, including feveral
flofcules, or fometimes one only ; this forms
one character of the genera. Ecb/rops has
only one flower to each partial calyx?
befides this, the flofcules are tubular,
and complete; the feeds have an obfcure
down; and the receptacle is briftly. Commoz
Globe-thiftle® is fo called from the flowers
growing in globular heads: the leaves are
finuous and pubefcent, the jags ending in

fpines; the flowers are blue, and fome-

times. white.

THE ORDER MONOGAMIA.

We have now done with the natural
tribe of compound flowers, but there re-
mains yet one order of the clafs Syngene/ia,
in which the flowers are totally ditterent,
except in the common charaéter of the
union of the five anthers; they are fimple,
like the flowers of other clafles, or have only
one corolla inclofed within the calyx, with-
out any common perianth. The /zo/et will
furnifh you with a number of notorious
examples of this order. All the fpecies,

* Echinops fphærocephalus Zin, Mill. illuftr. & PI. 28.
5 which

‘

SYNGENESIA.

which are twenty-eight, agree in a five-
leaved calyx; a five-petalled irregular co-
rolla, produced into a horn or fpur behind;
and in a three-valved, one-celled capfule,
above the receptacle, or inclofed within the
calyx, the Sweet Violet*, that fcents the
banks, hedges, and borders of woods, in
the {pring, with its fragrant purple flowers,
is one of thofe which have no ftalks, ex-
cept the fcape which fupports the flower,
and the runners by which they are propa-
gated; the leaves are heart-fhaped. The
corollas are fometimes white, and the gar-
dens boaft a large double variety. This is
one of the few wild plants, whofe allowed
merit has fecured it a place in every culti-
vated {pot. The later fpecies without fcent,
commonly called Dog Violet *, is one of the
caulefcent or ftalky kind, the more adult
ftems afcending; the leaves are heart-
fhaped, but drawn to a point at the end:
the corolla is paler than that of the Sweet
Violet, and having leaves proceeding from
a ftalk, cannot be miftaken for that in
which ‘they grow immediately from the
root, even if the odour were not attended
to. Heart’s-ea/e or TT es°, the univerfal

favourite

© Viola odorata Liz. Curtis, Lond. I. 63. Ger. 850.
Oe 9 ay 8
4 Viola canina Zin. Curtis, Lond. II. 61. Ger.
851. 6.
à Viola tricolor Lir, Curtis, Lond. I. 65. Fl. dans
Dd3 623;

405

406

Tmpa-
tiens.

LETTER XXVI.

favourite of the more fimple, unrefined
ages, is one of thofe which have pinnati-
fid ftipules, and an urceolate or pitcher-
fhaped ftigma; it has alfo a three-cornered,
diffufe {tem ; and oblong gafhed leaves. Such
are the characters of a plant, which every
child becomes acquainted with as foon as
he can walk into a garden: but it is not
therefore wholly ufelefs to mention it, be-
caufe it may at leaft ferve to explain feve-
ral terms to you, and to affift you in the
examination of plants with which you are
not fo well acquainted.

When we compare the diminutive and
almoft colourlefs Panfy, which we find wild
among the corn, with the ample rich-
coloured corolla, that boafts the tiffue of
velvet, fuch as we fee in fome curious gar-
dens; we cannot but allow that human
art has made a confiderable improvement ;
and we furvey it with the more pleafure
becaufe it is not at the expenfe of the na-
tural characters of the flower; and you
may enjoy it both as a botanift and a florift.

That beautiful flower called Bal/am is
of this order. Linnæus names the genus
Impatiens, becaufe the capfule when ripe is

623. Ger. 854.1. This has numberlefs provincial
names, bearing fome allufion to love,
« Yet markt I where the bolt of Cupid fell.
«¢ Tt fell upon a little weftern flower,
“ Before milk white, now purple with Love’s wound,
« And maidens call it Love in Idlenefs.”
Midfum. Night’s Dream, IL 2.

impatient

SYNGENESIA,

impatient of the touch, eafily burfting, and
thus throwing out its feeds. It has an ir-
regular corolla of five petals like the violet,
when it has not been improved into beauti-
ful duplicity by culture; but the calyx is
two-leaved ; the nectary or horn 1s cucul-
late or cowl-fhaped; and the capfule is
five-valved. True Balfam, or, more pro-
perly, Balfamine’, has the leaves lance-
ihaped, thofe on the upper part of the plant
alternate; the flowers come out three or
four together, from the joints of the ftalk,
only one on each flender peduncle; and
the neétary is fhorter than the flower: the
varieties of colour—white, red, purple and
variegated, are well known. ‘That which
comes from the Eaft-Indies has larger, finer
flowers than what comes from the Weft,
moft beautifully variegated with fcarlet and
white, or purple and white. We have a
wild fpecies called Ye/low Balfam, and alfo
by the familiar names of Quick in hand, or
Touch me not®: one long flender peduncle
comes out from the axils, which fubdi-
vides into feveral others, each fuftaining a
yellow flower; the leaves are ovate; and
the {tem {wells at the knots. This is a
local plant, being obferved only or chiefly
in Weftmoreland and Yorkfhire, in moilt

* Impatiens: Balfamina Lin. Mill. fiz. pl. 59.
8 Impatiens noli tangere Lin. KI. dan. 582. Ger.

446. Park. 296. 5.
Dis fhady

407

408

LETTER XXVI.
fhady places, or by the fides of lakes and

rivers. .

You have now abundant amufement for
your autumnal walks; and as the feafon
for examination will be over before I fhall
have leifure to prepare you frefh matter for
future amufement, I take leave of you till
the enfuing fpring; when, if health and
leifure permit, we fhall travel through the
few remaining clafles.

LE TL ER

( 409 )

LETTER XXVIL

THE CLASS GYNANDRIA.

May the 1ft, 1777.
RENEW our purfuit as early as pof-

fible, my dear coufin, in order that I
may be able to accomplifh my purpofe of
completing our original fcheme during
the courfe of the prefent feafon.

The twentieth clafs, which falls now
under our confideration, 1s entitled Gynan-
dria, from a circumftance peculiar to it,
which is that of having the ftamens fituated
upon the ftyle itfelf. You have remarked,
that in every clafs hitherto examined, thefe
two parts are entirely independent, fo that
we can at any time remove the one from a
flower, and leave the other; but in the
clafs Gynandria this is not permitted us;
the ftamens ufually growing out of the pif-
til itfelf; but in fome cafes upon a recep-
tacle, produced or lengthened in form of a
ftyle, which bears both piftil and ftamens.
This clafs has nine orders, founded on the
number of ftamens in the flowers of each ;
the genera are 33, and the fpecies 275.

The firft order, called Drandria, from
there being two ftamens only to the flowers
in it, is perfectly natural; that is, contains

a tribe

410

Orchis.

LE TT ERY Pex:

a tribe of plants agreed upon by all the
world to be in {trié alliance; or fuch, as
when an eye properly informed has feen
one of them, it immediately refers any of
the others to the fame tribe, clan, or family,
as foon as they occur. Indeed the alliance
between the greater part of thefe plants is
fo ftrict, that fome nomenclators have been
induced to refer them to one genus, or
one family properly fo called: for the ge-
nera differ hardly in any thing elfe from each
other but in the fhape of the nectary. Some
former nomenclators had eftablifhed the ge-
nera upon the roots, which are certainly
the part leaft proper for this purpofe, be-
caufe you cannot examine the character,
without deftroying the plant. But they
were induced to it, from the fingular form
of the roots in this tribe: which in fome fpe=
cies are a pair of folid bulbs; in others a fet
of oblong flefhy bodies tapering to the ex-
tremities, and {preading out like the fingers,
whence they have the name of pa/mate or
handed.

Having faid fo much of this tribe, it is
almoft time, you think, to be acquainted
with the fingular perfonages that compote
it. The far greater number of them then
have the common appellation of Orchis, a
name I am perfuaded you are not wholly
unacquainted with.

Take one of thefe flowers, of any fort
you can meet with; or, if no ‘fpecies i is yet

in

GYNANDRIA.

in blow, you will not have long to wait for
fome of them. You will find an oblong,
writhed germ, below the flower, which
has no proper calyx, but only fpathes or
fheaths: the corolla is made up of five pe-
tals, the two innermoft of which ufually
join to form an arch or helmet over the
top of the flower; the lower lip of the co-
robla forms the nectary, taking the place of
the piftil and a fixth petal: the " ftyle adheres
to the inner edge of the nectary, fo that,
together with its ftigma, it is {carcely dif-
tinguifhable : the filaments are very fhort,
and each of them is terminated by an an-
ther, that has no covering, but has the
texture of the pulp of oranges or lemons ;
each is lodged in a cell opening downwards,
and adhering to the inner margin of the
nectary; {0 “that without this jiformation
you might have been at a lofs where to find
the ftamens, unlefs they happened to have
burft from their cells: the germ in time
becomes a cap{ule, of three valves, opening
at the angles under the carinated ribs ;
within is only one cell, anda great number
of fmall, irregular feeds, fhaped like faw-
duft, are affixed to a linear receptacle on
each valve. I have been more particular
on the character of this tribe, becaufe the
flowers have rather a ftrange and unufual
appearance, owing to the fingular pofition
of the parts of fragtification. There is a
connexion between this and the liliaceous

tribe ;

ALI

412

LETTER XXVIIS

tribe; both having but one lobe to the feed,
fucculent roots, entire leaves, and a naked
corolla : they differ however in the number
of ftamens, the form of the corolla and
nectary, the fituation of the germ, the
number of cells in the capfule, the fhape
and arrangement of the feeds: this tribe
alfo bears its flowers on a fpadix, and has
bractes interpofed between them.

The principal genera of this tribe are
thus diftinguifhed :

Nectary horn-fhaped. Orchis.
bag-fhaped. Satyrium.

flightly keeled. Ophrys.

ovate, gibbous underneath. Se-
rapids.

pedicelled. Limodorum.

inflated. Cypripedium.

turbinate or top-fhaped. Æprden-
drum.

connate with the ringent corolla.

Arethufa.

The Orchis is the largeft genus, there
being no lefs than fifty fpecies, of which
eleven are found wild in England. The
greater number have double bulbs ; in the
reft the roots are either palmate or fafci-
culate. |

Of thofe with double bulbs, woods and
bufhy paftures produce the Butterfly Or-

chis,

GYNANDRIA.

chis*, which has the lip of the neétary
lance-fhaped' and quite entire: the horn
very long; arid the petals fpreading out
wide. ‘The flowers of this fmell {weet,
particularly in an evening, and very early
in the morning. ‘There are only two, or
at moft three large leaves: the ftem is a
foot, or eighteen inches high: the {pike is
long, but the flowers are thinly {pread in
it; tbe braétes are large, and of the length
of the germ: the Gowers are of a greenifh
white ; LE {pur is twice as long as the
germ, very flender, and tranfparent enough
for you to difcern the nectar through oe
There is a fmaller variety, but differing no
otherwife than in fize.

Pyramidal Orchis *, found in paftures
where the {oil is chalky, is another of thofe
which have double bulbs: the lip of the
nectary is two-horned, trifid, the fegments
nearly equal, the middle one being rather
the narroweft ; all of them are quite en-
tire; the horn, or fpur, is cylindric, flen-
der, and longer than the germ; and the
petals are nearly lance-fhaped. This is an
elegant fpecies, having fix or more radical

» Orchis bifolia Lin. Fl.dan.235. Vaill. par. t. 30.
ge owlors mutts {, 12, t, Bde À Toes Crete) FET. 2,
Park. 1351.7.

* Haller fays linear.

k Orchis pyramidalis Lin, Raii fyn. t. 18. Jacq,
auftr. t. 266. Vaill. t. 31. f. 38. Hall. helv. t. 35. 1.
Ger. 210.4. Park. 1349. 4.

leaves ;

413

414

LE TL'E'R ÆICVET.

leaves; the ftem a foot, or eighteen inches
high; the fpike of flowers fhort, of a broad
conical form, and very thick fet at firtt;
the bractes at leaft equal in length to the
germs, lance-fhaped, and ending in a point;
the corolla bright purple.

Two of the moft common forts with
double bulbs, are called Male and Female
Orchis foolifhly, becaufe there is no diftinc-
tion of fexes; and therefore thefe names are
only calculated to miflead. The! firft differs
from the fecond in having the outer petals
more acute and longer ; and the middle lobe
of the lip bifid and longer than the fide
ones: it is alfo a much larger plant, with
broader leaves, ufually fpotted. The fe-
cond” has the lip of the nectary crenulate,
or flightly notched on the fides, trifid, with
the middle lobe emarginate, and the petals
obtufe and linear. The height of this fel-

.dom exceeds feven or eight inches; the

leaves are half an inch broad; and the {pike
is cylindric, and has few flowers; the bractes
are coloured, and a little longer than the
germs; the petals forming the helmet con-
verge, and are marked with green parallel
lines ; the middle of the lip is fpotted, and
the fides are rolled back; the horn is equal
to the germ, with the end emarginate ;

! Orchis Mafcula Liz. Curtis, Lond. If. 62. Vaill.
t; Sif. TL bey Gers:208. 1. , Parks 266. a)
™ Orchis morio Lin. Curtis, Lond, ILL. 59. Vaill.

t. 31, f. 13, 14. Ger, 208. 2." Park. 1347. 4.

the

GYNANDRIA..

the moft common colour of the corolla is
deep purple, but it varies to rofe-coloured,
and even white. The firft is a foot, and
even eighteen inches high; the leaves an
inch and half broad; the {pike handfome,
long, and thin fet vik flowers; the bra¢tes
about the. fame length with the germs,
purple and lance- fhaped ; the petals that
form the helmet loofe, not converging,
they are purple, with lines of the fame co-
Jour ; the edges of the lip are bent down-
wards, the colour pale purple, with deeper
{pots at the chaps; the {pur is ftraight,
thick, as long as the germ, or longer, a
lated ‘and compreffed at the end. ‘The co-
lour of the corolla varies, even to white.
This grows in meadows; and the roots
make excellent Sa/ep. The fecond affects
open dry paftures. Thus you have abund-
ant means of diftinguifhing thefe two {pe-
cies of Orchis from each other; and the
roots are a fufficient mark of diftinG@ion
from two others, no lefs common, which
we fhall examine prefently. In the mean
time, there is a {mall but pretty {pecies
A double bulbs, which we muft not pats
by. It grows chiefly on dry expofed chalk
hills, and is called Dwarf Orchis": the lip
of the neétary is quadrifid, and white dot-
ted with purple; the horn is obtufe, and

® Orchis uftulata Lin. FI. dan. 103. Hall. t. 28. 2.
Vaill. t. 31. f. 35536. Mor. t. 12. f. 20. Ger. 207.
Park. 1345.

the

415

Ler tes Xavi.
the petals are diftiné. The height is from

four to feven inches: there are feveral leaves
next the ground, but few on the ftem: the
fpike is fhort and clofe fet; the braétes are
fhorter than the germ; the helmet is
pointed, and of a deep purple on the out-
fide: within, the petals are marked with
lines and dots of purple; the horn is a little
bent, and not half the length of the germ.
Two very common fpecies with palmate,
or handed bulbs, are the broad-leaved°® and
fpotted Orchis’, generally found in moift
meadows. The firft has the roots rather
palmate and ftraight; the horn of the nec-
tary conic, the lip three-lobed, and turning
back on the fides; the braëtes large, and
longer than the flowers, fo as to give the
{pike a leafy appearance. The horn is
fhorter than the germ, bent and obtufe.
The colour of the corolla is purple, varying
to rofe and white. The fecond has nar-
rower leaves, and a folid ftem, whereas
that of the firft is hollow; it is alfo higher,
and flowers later; the leaves of both are
{potted with black, but this more gene-
rally ; the braétes are fmaller and narrower;
the corolla of a paler purple; the lip of the
nectary is deeper cut, the fide lobes are

° Orchis latifolia Zin. Curt. Lond. V. 65. Mill.
iluftr, FI. dan. 266. Hall, 32. 2. Vaill. t. 31. fi
r.—5. Ger. 220. f. 1, & 222. f. 3.

P Orchis maculata Lin. Hall. t. 32. 1. Vaill. t. 31.
fa. 19. ‘Ger. 220. 2. Park. #3575 ae

notched,

GYNANDRIA. 417

notched, the middle ohe very narrow, quite
entire, and drawing more to a point.

I fhall mention only one fpecies more of
Orchis, and that alfo has palmate roots: it
is found in paftures, but by no means fo:
common as the two laft: you may call it
long-fpurred, or fweet Orchis4, and you
will know it by the great length and flim-
nefs of the fpurs: the lip is trifid, equal,
flightly notched, and obtufe; and the fide
petals fpread out very wide. The ftem is
leafy, and grows to the height of eighteen
inches; the bractes are fharp pointed, and
of the length of the germ; the corolla is
purple, and all of one uniform colour; the
{mell is ftrong, but, in fome circumflances,
{weet. .

The fecond genus of this natural tribe is Satyrium.
the Satyrium, which, inftead of the horn, or
fpur, has a fhort, bag-form, or double-
inflated nectary, at the back of the flower.
This is a much lefs numerous genus than
the laft, having only eight known {pecies.
Of thefe I fhall feleét two; Lizard Saty-
rion*, and Frog Satyrion, commonly called
Frog Orchis*. The firft'is found in chalky
paftures, but rarely; and has been rendered

4 Orchis conopfea Lin. Fl. dan. 224. Hall. t. 29.
2.) Vaill. €. 30. f. 8.. Ger.:220. 2.

© Satyrium hircinum Zin. Hall. t.25. Mor. t. r2.
f. 9 Ger. 210. 1. Park. 1348. 1.

* Satyrium viride Lin. Fl. dan. 77. Hall. t. 26. 2.
Ger. 224.9. Park. 1358. 9.

Ee more

418

LETTER XXVII

more rare by the diligence with which it
has been fought after, to tranfplant it into
gardens, where it feldom continues long,
this tribe being generally abhorrent of ae
abe eRe à has. double undivided bulbs ;
lance-fhaped leaves; the lip of the nectary
trifid, the middle lobe linear, oblique, ex-
tremely long, flaunting like a ribband, and
feeming, as it were, bitten off at the end.
It is a very large lofty plant, from eighteen
inches to three feet in height ; the | leaves
alfo are half a foot long and more, and three
inches broad; the fpike has many flowers,
and, by age, grows very long and becomes
Vent: the “braétes are flender, acute, green-
ifh, and twice as long as the germs 3 the
colour of the corolla is greenifh without,
and rufty within, with purple lines and
fpots : the flower has a {trong goatifh fmell.

Frog Orchis is much more common in
meadows. The bulbs of this are palmate,
the leaves oblong and obtufe; the lip of the
nectary trifid, ‘with the middle lobe obfo-
lete, or fo {mall as to be obfcure. This is
a much lower and fmaller plant than the
former, not being above feven or eight
inches high: the radical leaves are broad
and ovate; thofe on the ftem, which are
few, lance-fhaped: the {pike is rather thin
fet with flowers: the bractes are lance-
fhaped, and longer than the germ: the hel-
met is almoit clofed, pale green, with a
purple line dividing the petals ; the lip is

yellow,

GYNANDRIA, 419
ÿellow, hangs down ftraight, and grows
broader towards the end; the whole corolla
becomes dufky red with age.

The third genus of the Orchis tribe is Ophrys
entitled Ophrys: it has no horn or bag at
the back of the corolla, but one petal longer
than the reft, hanging down, and marked
underneath with a longitudinal rifing, call-
ed the keel. This it is which in fome fpe-
cies takes the form of an infect fo exactly,
as to appear real at a certain diftance.

One fpecies, called Common Twayblade*,
or Twyblade, from its having always two
leaves, and no more, is frequent in woods
and bufhy paftures. It has fibrous roots,
two ovate leaves, and the lip of the netary
bifid. The ftem is eighteen inches high,
rather rough or hairy, and naked, except
the two large leaves in the middle, between
the root and the fpike, which is fometimes
fix inches long, and has forty flowers, thin
fet on fhort peduncles ; the brates are very
fmall, broad, and fharp-pointed ; the germ
is round, and thicker than in any other
of the fpecies ; the corolla is of a greenifh
yellow.

The latter end of fummer and beginning
of autumn flowers the Spsral Ophrys, com-
monly called Triple Ladies Traces*; you

* Ophrys ovata Zin, Curtis, Lond. III. 60. Ger.
403. I.
“Ophrys fpiralis Lin. Curtis, Lond. IV, 59. FI.
dan. 387. Park. 1354. 3.

Bet 2 will

420

LETTER XXVII
will find at on heaths and dry paftures.

The root confifts of oblong aggregate bulbs;
the ftem is a little leafy, the flowers are
{piral, and all on one fide of the ftem; and
the lip of the nectary is undivided and

flightly notched. This is a {mall plant,

‘eldam above five or fix inches high, though
in à lefs dry foil it will rife to a eke it FES
four or five leaves next the ground; the
{pike is long and flender, having twenty
flowers, white within and yellowith with-
out; the bractes are not flat, but hollow,
and longer than the germ; the three outer
petals of the corollas are glued together;
the lip is roundifh and ciliate. It has a
pleatant odour.

But the moft interefting and ‘admired
{pectes of this genus are the Fly and Bee
Orchifes, which agree in having two round-
ifh bulbs, and a leafy {cape or ftem. Jan-
næus thinks the Fly and the two Bees * not
to be fpecifcally different, but in this I
cannot agree with him. F/y Ophrys or
Orchis " bis the lip of the itary quadri-
fid; in the common Bee Orchis* it confitts
of te lobes, which are deflex or bent

‘downwards; and in the green-winged Bee

* Ophrys infe&tifera Lin.

w Orchis mufciflora Halleri. 1265. t. 24. 2. Ophrys
infectifera myodes Zin. Oph. mufcifera Hud/. Vaill.
USTs foul Jo Mout eaete 220 0. Par 4252.10

x Orchis fuciflora Hall: Ophrys apifera Hudf. Cur-
tis, Lond. {. 66. Ger. 212. 4. Park. 1351. 5.

Orchis,

“GYNANDRIA.
Orchis, now called Spider Ophrys”, it is

roundifh, entire, emarginate, and convex.
But befides this character from the lip of

the nectary, the F/y is a füffer, ftraighter
plant than the Bee, not fo leafy, and hav-
ing the flowers thinner fet; in other re-
{pects they are much alike, except in the

corollas, which are widely different : that.

of the fly has the three outer petals ovate,
entire, {mooth, herbaceous, and fpread-
ing; the two inner linear and dark purple;
the lip of the neëtary oblong, dark purple
above, and herbaceous underneath, with a
blue {pot or band below the upper lobes,
Bee Orchis has the three outer petals {pread-
ing, oblong, and purple, marked with three
green Nerves ; the two inner lateral ones
linear, villous, and green; the lip of the
nectary large, roundifh, purple, and like
velvet, the lobes deflex, with a double
variegated yellow, fmooth, fhining {pot
at the bafe. Spider Orchis 1s a lower plant ;
the lip of the neétary is of a lefs cheerful
colour, without any of the yellow that de-
corates the Bee, and both helmet and wings
are green: the three outer petals are ob-
long and {preading, the inner linear and
fhorter; the lip of the neétary is large,
roundifh, entire, emarginate, convex, and
‘appearing like velvet, dufky purple above,

¥ Ophrys infeétifera arachnites Lin. Oph. aranifera
Andy. Vaill. t. 31. f. 15,16. Ger. 2124 3.

É € 3 with

421

Cypripe-
dium.

LETTER XXVII.

with a green edge, and a double {pot at
the bafe; beneath it is herbaceous. Thefe
three beautiful plants are found among
gras in a chalky foil, and form a fuccef-
fon from April to Augutt: the Spider comes
firft in April and May, the Fly next in
June, and laft of all the Bee in July and
Augutft,

I have been the more particular on this
fingular tribe of plants, becaufe, fpurning
culture, they are not liable to effential
changes, or indeed to any that I know of,
except in colour: you mutt alfo fearch for
them abroad, and confequently unite exer-
cife with ftudy, which is one of the prin-
cipal advantages of Botany; for I cannot
allow you to gather plants by proxy, fince
you would thus lofe half the pleafure of the
purfuit, as well as the benefit: and why
fhould you not have as much enjoyment in
fearching for a beautiful plant, or finding
an elegant flower, as the men have in look-
ing for a hare, or {hooting a partridge. I
will only add, that fhould you be fo happy
as to meet with the Lady’s Shpper*, you
would be highly delighted with its fingular,
Jarge, hollow, inflated neétary, the form
of which has given occafion to the name,
Haller however obferves, that it has more
refemblance to a wooden fhoe in form,

* Cypripedium Calceolus Zin. Mill. fig. 242. Ger.
443. Sowerby’s Englith Botany, t. 1.

3 and

GYNANDRIA. 423

and therefore is unworthy the title of Ve-
nus’s Slipper, which Linnæus has beftowed
upon it, Without entering into this im-
portant difpute, I will obferve to you,
that the root is fibrous; the ftem about a
foot high, and leafy; the two firft leaves
fmall, and keeping almoft clofe to the
ftalk; the reft (from four to feven) ovate-
lanced: one, or at moft two flowers come
out on the fame ftem, of which there are
fometimes feveral from the fame root; the
braëte is very large, as is alfo the germ:
there are but four petals to the flower,
fpreading out almoft at right angles to each
other, and often convolute; their colour is
purple ; of the two outer petals, one ftands
up above the neétary, the other hangs down
behind it; the two inner petals ftand out
fideways, and are narrower: the flipper or
lip of the nectary is yellow, {potted with-
in, and marked longitudinally with ridges
and furrows.

THE ORDER PENTANDRIA.

In the order Pentandria you will find Paflifiora.
the numerous and beautiful genus of Pa/-
fion-flower. The flowers have three piftils,

a five-leaved calyx, five petals to the co-
rolla, a radiate crown for a nectary; and
the fruit is a berry on a pedicle. None of
the fpecies are European, but moftly na-
tives either of New Spain, the Brafils, or

E-£ 4 the

424

LETTER XXVII.

the Weft Indian Ifles; fo that they require
the protection of the confervatory at leaft,
if not of the flove, except one or two,
which will ftand abroad in a fheltered fitua-
tion, with a little attention, in fevere wea-
ther. I fhall felect the fpecies which you
are moft likely to meet with, rather than
the rareft. Blue Paflion-flower *, though a
native of the Brafils, is feldom injured with
us, except in very fevere winters. Againft
a houfe it may be trained up to the height
of forty feet, and throws out annually flen-
der fhoots, fifteen or fixteen feet long: the
leaves are palmate or handed, compoied of
five {mooth, entire, obtufe lobes, the mid-
dle one longeft, the outer fhorteft, and often
divided: they are petiolate; the petioles
have two glands, and at their bafe is a fti-
pule in form af a crefcent, and a long claf-
per, by which the flender fhoots fupport
themfelves: the flower comes out at the
{ame joint with the leaf, on a peduncle
near three inches long; round the centre of
it are two radiating crowns, the inner in-
clining towards the central column, the
quter, which is longer, fpreading flat upon
the petals, and compofed of innumerable
threads, purple at bottom, but blue on the
putüde. On the top of the central column
fits an oval germ, from whofe bafe five awl,

* Paffiflora cerulea Lin. Mill. illuftr. Curt. magaz.
28. and Plate 30. of this work.
fhaped

-GYNANDRIA,.

fhaped ftamens fpread out horizontally, and
thefe are terminated bysoblong, broad,
pendant anthers, which are eafily move-
abie; from the fide of the germ arife three
flender, purplith fiyles, diverging, and end-
ing in obtufe ftigmas: the flower continues
but one day, but there is a conftant fuccef-
fion from July till autumnal frofts ftop
them. The germ {wells to a large, oval
fruit, of the fize, fhape, and colour of the
Mogul Plum, inclofing a fweetifh, but dif-
agreeable pulp, in which the oblong feeds
are lodged.

Wiecarnctaron Hills Paffon aid bia
native of North America, and though the
firft fpecies known among us, is not fo com-
mon as the B/ue. It differs from the for-
mer in having only three lobes to the leaves,
which are ferrate or toothed like a faw;
the fide lobes are fometimes divided into
two narrow fegments: the petals of the
corolla are white, with a double, purple
fringe, ftar, or glory: the fruit is as large
as a “middling apple, and when ripe is of a
pale orange colour.

There : is a fort, called Granadilla in the

Weft Indies, Wierd the fruit is eaten. It:

has undivided, oblong leaves, hollowed next
the petiole, which has two glands; the in-
volucres are quite entire, as are alfo the

® Paffiflora incarnata Lin. Mor. hift. f. 1.t. 1. f. a.
* Pafiflora maliformis Li. Plum. amer. t. 82.
leaves

425

Arum,

LETTER XXVII.

leaves about the edge. The corolla is large,
with white petals, and a blue glory. The
fruit is roundifh, the fize of a large apple,
and yellow when ripe.

Another fort, called /Yater Lemon“ in
the Weft-Indies, has an agreeable acid fla-
vour in the pulp of the fruit, which
quenches thirft, and is given there in
fevers. It has undivided ovate leaves, quite
entire about the edge; two-glanded pe-
tioles ; and toothed involucres: the corolla
is white with brownifh red fpots, and the
glory or crown 1s violet: the fruit is of the
fize and fhape of a pullet’s egg, and when
ripe is yellow. But fince the rarer fpecies
may not readily fall under your cognizance,
I reftrain my defire of enlarging on fo re-
markable and beautiful a genus; and pafs
on to a vulgar plant, which you will find
in the laft order, Polyandria, and with that
1 will clofe our examination of this clafs,
and my prate for the prefent.

THE ORDER POLYANDRIA.
This is the common Arum, Wake-Robin,

* Paffiflora laurifolia Lin. Jacq. hort. 2. t. 162. amer.
pict. t. 219.—P. alata is figured in Curtis’s Magaz. 66.
and P. lunata, is moft elegantly figured by Mr. Sower-
by, in a fuperb and fplendid work, begun by J. E.

Smith, M. D. ynder the title of Zcoyes pie Plantarum
rariorum.

OF

GYNANDRIA.

or Cuckow-pint*, called alfov ulgarly Lords
and Ladies. Early in the fpring it pufhes
up a one-leafed cowl-fhaped fpathe, under
hedges and among bufhes; if you open this
fpathe, you difcover a fpadix, naked on the
upper part, covered with germs at the bot-
tom. and with anthers in the middle. This
is dittinguithed from the other fpecies,
which are many, by having no ftem but
that which bears the fructification, haftate
leaves that are quite entire, and the fpadix
club-fhaped. Though it has the trivial
name from the black fpots upon the leaves,
yet that is not a conftant charaéter, for of-
tentimes they are quite plain. As the plant
advances, the fpathe opens, and difcovers
the club, varying from yellowifh green to
fine purple or red; thefe gradually decay,
and leave a head of round red berries,
which, as well as the reft of the plant, are
very hot and biting. To this, with fome
others nearly allied to it, you would per-
haps find it difficult to aflign the proper
clafs, unlefs, from the ftrange and unufual
appearance of the fructification, you were
led to fearch for it in that now under con-
fideration. ‘Thefe have not properly the
flamens growing upon the ftyle, but both
are borne upon a receptacle lengthened out
in manner of a ftyle, and performing the

© Arum maculatum Zin, Curtis, Lond, IT. 63. Mill.
iluftr. Mill. ic. t. 52. f, 1. Blackw. 228. F1. dan,
505. Ger, 834. I. .

fame

429

LETTER XXVII.

fame office as the piftil in the other genera.
Linnæus obferves that he might, and per-
haps ought to have ranged eh ‘plants un-
der other claffes; but ‘he was deterred by
the difficulty of afligning the number of
ftamens to each piftil. Since he found a dif-
ficulty in removing them, you and I, dear
coufin, will leave them quietly in the place
which he has aligned them,

LETTER

€ 42909

LE TT-E'R XVII

-

THE.CLASS .MONOECIA.

May the 15th, 1777.

E have hitherto, dear coufin, beer
converfant with fuch plants as
bear perfect or complete flowers only, ex-
cept in the clafs Syngenefia, wherein we
found imperfect, and even neuter, flofcules
among the perfect-ones. But in the twenty-
firft and twenty-fecond clafles, which we
are now to examine, you will never find
any complete or perfect flowers; on the
contrary, if they have ftamens, there are
no piftils, and if they have piftils, they are
deficient in ftamens. This is the common
character of thefe two clafles, and the only
difference between them is, that in the
clafs Monæcia, the ftaminiferous and piftil-
liferous flowers are found on the fame indi-
vidual, plant ; whereas in the clafs Diecia
they are always on diftin& plants of the
fame fpecies.. It is fcarcely neceffary to add,
that. in both, the flowers which produce
‘ftamens fall off without being followed by
fruit or feed: and that the others, which
have the germ, are fruitful.
The clafs Monæcia, which is the twenty-
firft in the fyftem, has eleven orders, tak-
ing

430

Typha.

LET T#R ÆXVIII.

ing their titles and characters from the fore«
going clafles ; eighty geneta, and three hun-
pee au feventy fpecies.

The third order, Trzandria, contains f{e-
veral genera nearly allied to the Grafies in
habit, “leaves, and placentation, or having
only a fingle lobe to the feed: they differ
however in the culm or ftraw not being
hollow, but filled with a fpungy fubftance ;
and in having no corolla.

Since Haller thinks there is a natural
connexion between the 4rvm, with which
I finifhed my laft letter, and the Typha or
Cat’s-tail, let us begin our examination with
this. Having three ftamens, it belongs of
courfe to the order Triandria, and having
the air of the Grafles, it ranges in the na-
tural tribe of the Ca/amaria, juft mentioned.
The flowers ou both fides are borne on à
cylindrie Ament; the ftamineous flowers
farroundine the ena of the ftem ; and thofe
which have the piftils growing in the fame
manner below them, and very clofe fet:
there is no corolla to either: the firft have
an obfcure, three-leaved calyx ; in the fe-
cond it confifts of pappous or villous hairs,
and thefe have one feed, fitting on a capil-
lary down or briftle : fuch are the generic
characters. The greater, or bread lene
Cat’s-tail, otherwile called Reed-mace', is

ea latifolia Lin. Curtis, Lond, III. 61. Mor.
hilt. f. 8. t. 13. f. L Ger. 46. Park. 1204. 1

known

MONOEC I À, - 431
known by its fword-fhaped leaves, and by

having the two aments approximating. It is
a large plant, being about fix feet in height,
with leaves three feet long and more, but not
an inch wide; it is common in the water, on
the banks of rivers, but efpecially in moats,
ponds, and marfhes. There is a fmaller
{pecies §, not fo common, which has femis
cylindric leaves, and the two aments re-
mote from each other; the ftem of this is
not above three feet high, and the leaves
are much narrower, ftiffer, and embrace
the ftem more.

Sparganium, ot Bur-reed, approaches very Spargas
near to Typha: but the flowers of each fort num.
are collected into a head, or roundifh ament,
thofe which have ftamens above, and thofe
which have piftils below, on the fame {tem :
neither have any corolla; both haye a three-
leaved calyx ; the piftilliferous flowers have
a bifid fligma, and are followed by a fingle
juicelefs drupe, containing one feed. Ere
or greater Bur-reed” is common in the fame
fituations with Typha, and few plants ex-
hibit more plainly the charaéter of the clafs
Monæcia. The ftem is erect, arid about
three feet high; the leaves are ere& and

£ Typha anguftifolia Zin. Curtis, Lond. HI. 62.
Mor. hift. {. 8. t. 13. f. 2. Park. 1204. 2.
_ -*® Sparganium ere@tum Zin.—ramofum ‘“Hudf. Mor.
t. 13.f. 1. Ger. 45. f. 1. Curtis, Lorid. V. 66.—
in V. 67. he figures Sp. fimplex, as diftinét from the
ramofum. Ger. 45.2. Mor. f. 2
three-

432

Zea.

LETTER?) XVIII.
three-fided, but the upper one flat: the
{talk is generally branching.

Mays, otherwife called Indian or Turkey
Corn’, 1s of the fame tribe. The ftami-
neous flowers are borne in loofe {pikes :
their calyx is a two-flowered awnlefs glume;
neither has the corolla any awn. The
other flowers, which have one piftil only,
are in very clofe fpikes, below the former,
and are inclofed with leaves. The glume
both of calyx and corolla is bivalved: the
fiyle is filiform, very long, and pendulous:
one feed follows each flower: the recepta-
cle is oblong and hollowed, fo that the

‘feeds are immerfed half way into it, form-

ing a very denfe fpike. The Weft Indian
Mays has a ftalk ten or twelve feet high;
long, broad leaves; and {pikes from nine
inches to a foot in length, formed of gold-
coloured grains. That which is cultivated
in Italy, Spain, and Portugal, has more
flender ftalks, not more than fix or feven
feet high; the leaves narrower ; the {pikes
fhorter and more flender, with white grains.
The North American Mays, which is the
fame with what is cultivated in Germany,
does not rife more than four feet in height;
the leaves are ftill fhorter and narrower;
the fpikes not more than four or five inches
Jong, with yellow and white grains mixed:
the colour of thefe however varies; and

i Zea Mays Lin. Blackw. 547.
indeed

MONOECIA. 433
indeed the three diftinétions are but varie-
ties arifing from foil and climate.

Carex, or Sedge, is a moft numerous genus Carex.
of the fame order, and the fame natural
tribe. The flowers of both forts are borne
on an ament or catkin, and each flower
has a one-leafed calyx, and no corolla: the
piftilliferous flowers, which are generally
in diftiné: aments below the others, have
an inflated, three-toothed neétary, three
ftigmas, and a three-fided feed inclofed
within the nectary. Some few fpecies have
only one fpike; many have feveral fpikes,
with both forts of flowers in each; but
more have the ftaminiferous and piftillifer-
ous flowers in diftinét fpikes. Thefe plants
grow chiefly in marfhes, bogs, ditches,
wet woods, and the banks of brooks and
rivers; they arethe grafs and fodder of fenny
- countries, and low {wampy grounds *. _

In this clafs, Monecia, as well as in the
next, you will find many trees. In the
order Tetrandria—Birch, Alder, Box, Mul-
berry; in that of Polyandria—Oak, Cork,
Evergreen Oak, Walnut, Hickery, Chef-
nut, Beech, Hornbeam, Hazel, Plane;—

and laftly in that of Monadelphia—all the

* Carex pendula Curtis III. 63, riparia IV: 60, acuta
61, gracilis 62.—dioica FI. dan. 369, capitata 372,
arenaria 425, muricata 284, remota 370, canefcens
285, limofa 646, capilaris 168, panicea 443, vefi-
caria 647, hirta 379.—pauciflora Lightf. 6. 2, in-
curva 24, 1.—Many of the fpecies are figured in Leers’s
excellent Flora Herbornenfs,

RAE {pecies

434

Betula,

LETTER “XXVIII; +

fpecies of Fir and Pine, Cedar, Larch,
Arbor Vite, Cyprefs.

Alder. is one of the fame genus with
Birch: their common charaéter 1s, that the
flowers of both forts grow in aments or cat-
kins, each feparate from the other; that
the calyx is one-leafed and trifid; that each
calyx in the ftaminiferous ament includes
three flowers, that have four-parted corol-
las: in the piftilliferous aments there are
only two flowers in each calyx, without
any corolla; but thefe are followed by feeds
winged with a membrane on both fides,
whereas the others drop from the tree,
without leaving any mark behind them.
In examining thefe, and the flowers in ge-
neral of this and the following clafs, I muft
once for all inform you, that fince many of
them are clofe fet together in the fame
ament, you muft carefully feparate one
flower from the reft, to avoid confufion.
You muft alfo look for them very early in
the fpring, fince moft of the foreft and
timber trees flower before the leaf-buds
expand.

Common Birch has ovate leaves, drawn
to a very narrow point at the end, and fer-
rated, or fharply toothed round the edge.
Linnæus diftinguifhes the //der™ by its

' Betula alba Lin. Blackw. t. 240. Duham. t. 39.
Ger. 1478. Evelyn’s filva by Hunter, p. 218.
* Betula Alnus Liz, Duham. t. 15. Ger. 1477. 2.
Evelyn’s filva by Hunter, p. 233. ‘
branching

MONOECIA.

branching peduncles: the feeds alfo are
borne on a roundifh frebile, rather than an
ament ; and the leaves are roundifh, cre-
nate or obtufely notched round the edge ;
they are of a dark green, with very promi-
nent nerves underneath, and little fpung
fubftances where they divide: the bark of
the Alder is black, whereas that of Birch
is white.

436

In Box both forts of flowers come forth Buxus,

together in bunches, from the axils of the
leaves or branches, and fit clofe to the
fem: the ftaminiferous flowers have a
three-leaved calyx, with two petals to the
corolla, and the rudiment of a germ; the
piftilliferous flowers have a four-leaved ca-
lyx; three petals to the corolla, three ftyles,
and a three-celled capfule, terminated by
three beaks, and having two feeds in each
cell. Properly fpeaking, there is only one
{pecies of box”, varying a little in the
fhape of the leaves, and much in the fize.

Mulberry bears the f{taminiferous flowers Morus,

in an ament; the others in a feparate round-
ifh head, which afterwards becomes a com-
pound berry, with one feed in each protu-
berance; the firft have a four-parted calyx;
in the piftilliferous ones it is four-leaved,
and thefe have two ftyles; neither have
any corolla. White Mulberry°, which is

* Buxus fempervirens Linx. Blackw. 196. Ger.
T410. ° Morus alba Lin.

Ff 2 the

436

Quercus.

LETTER. XXVIIT

the fort commonly cultivated in France
and Italy for feeding filk-worms, has fmooth
leaves, obliquely heart-fhaped, and white
fruit. Black Mulberry” has rugged, heart-
fhaped leaves: though cultivated for the
fruit, yet the leaves are preferred to thofe
of the other for feeding filk-worms, and
are ufed for that purpofe in Perfia, from
whence this tree originally came into the
fouth of Europe. White Mulberry is a
native of China. Of another fpecies 4, pa-
per is made in Japan, from the bark; this
has palmate leaves, and hifpid fruit. © Fu/-
tick wood" is alfo from a fpecies of Mul-
berry: this has axillary thorns, and the
leaves are oblong and more extended on one
fide than the other. This grows in the
iflands of the Weft Indies, but in greateft
plenty at Campeachy : the wood is imported
into Europe from both places for the ufe of
the dyers, but the tree is too tender to fup-
port our climate.

In the order Polyandria the Oak leads
the way. The ftaminiferous flowers hang
on a loofe ament or catkin, whilit the pi-
ftilliferous ones are feffile in a bud: the
calyx of the former is moftly quinquefid,
and the ftamens are from five to ten in
number: in the latter the calyx is one-

P Morus nigra Lin.

9 Morus papyrifera Lin. Seba muf. 1. t. 28. f. 3:
Kempf. amen. t. 472.

* Morus tinctoria Zim. Sloan. jam. 2. t. 158. f. 1.

leafed

MONOECTA.

leafed and quite entire, and there is one
ftyle, fplit into five parts; but fometimes
only into two, three or four. The fruit,
or acorn, 1s well known: it is an oval nut,
covered with a tough fhell, and immerfed
at bottom into the calyx or cup.

We have two principal forts, or perhaps
rather varieties * in England: one with the
leaves on longer petioles, and the acorns
feflile, or on very fhort peduncles; the
other, having the leaves not fo deeply, but
more regularly finuate, the finufes being
oppofite; they have fcarcely any petioles :
on the contrary the acorns grow on very
long peduncles, are larger, and come out
fewer together. There are fome other va-
riations in this noble tree, which being lefs
confiderable, do not attract our notice as
botanifts. Several fpecies different from
ours are found in North America; and
fome in the fouthern countries of Europe.

Ilex or Evergreen Oak * has oblong-ovate
leaves, of a lucid green above, but hoary
underneath, ftanding on long petioles, and
continuing all the year; they vary much,
fome being quite entire, long and narrow ;
others broad, with the edges toothed and

* Linnzeus makes them one, under the title of Duercus
Robur, and defcribes the fpecies as having aecisuous
leaves, of an oblong form, but broader towards thie up-
per part; the finufes acute, and the angles obcufe.
Duham. t. 46.—48. Evelyn’s filva by Hunter, p. 67.
Ger. 1339.

* Quercus Ilex Lin.

hae ee fet

435

Juglans,

LETTER XXVIII.

fet with prickles, almoft like thofe of the
Holly: the acorns are of the fame fhape
with thofe of the Oak, but fmaller. The
grain-bearing Ilex“, which yields the kermes
or fcarlet grain, has ovate leaves toothed
on the edge, and the indentures armed with
prickles as in the Holly ; they are {mooth
on both fides: this is of fo {mall a growth,
that it may be looked upon rather as a fhrub
than a tree. The Cork-tree’ is a fort of
Ilex, with a fungous bark full of clefts or
chinks, which 1s the principal as well as
moft obvious difference: in the air, and
form of the leaves, it much refembles the
Evergreen Oak: the leaves however fall
off in May, before the young ones come
out, fo that the Cork trees are bare for
a fhort time; which is not the cafe with
the common Ilex. Moft of the trees in
this genus are much reforted to by infects,
many y of which form different forts of galls:
but here we are ftepping out of our” pro-
vince:—we will return to it again, by tak-
ing the Wa/nut under confideration.

"This genus has the ftaminiferous flowers
thick fet in oblong, cylindric catkins, under
the lower leaves of the branches; they con-
fift of {cales with one flower to each; the
corolla is fix-parted and the ftamens are
ufually eighteen, but vary in number from
twelve to “twenty-four. The piftiliferous

“ Quercus coccifera Lin.

Y Quercus Suber Lin. Blackw. 192.

| | flowers

MONOECIA.

flowers come out clofe to the branches,
above the others, at the bafe of a petiole,
generally in pairs: thefe have a quadrifid
calyx, crowning the germ; a four-parted
corolla; and two ftyles: the fruit is a drupe
contaiming a nut, with a furrowed fhell,
within which is a four-lobed, irregularly
furrowed nucleus. Common Walnut™ 1s
diftinguifhed by having the component
leaves oval, {mooth, fometimes a little tooth-
ed, and almoft equal: there are many va-
rieties in the fruit, and feveral diftinét fpe-
cies in North America, one of which is the
Hickery*. All the fpecies have pinnate
leaves, with a different number of leaflets ;
ours has from five to nine, and the odd leaf-
let is rather the largeft. Hickery has feven
Jance-fhaped leaflets, toothed on the edge,
and the odd one feflile.

439

Linnæus joins the Che/nut and Beech in Fagus.

one genus, with this character: that the
ftaminiferous flowers, which are in cat-
kins, have a quinquefd, bell-fhaped calyx,
and about twelve ftamens: that the piftil-
liferous flowers, which are produced from
buds on the fame tree, have a four-toothed
calyx, three ftyles, and a muricate, four-
valved capfule, which before was the calyx,
and contains two nuts. He obferves that
the ftaminiferous flowers in the chefnut are

# Juglans regia Lin, Mill, illuftr. Hunt. Evel.
filva, p. 164.
* Juglans alba Lin. Catefb. car. 1. 38.
Ff 4 difpofed

440

LETTER XXVIII.

difpofed on a cylindric ament, whereas
thofe of the Beech are in a ball. The cat-
kins indeed of the former are very long,
and the knots of flowers have near ten ia
each, and are diftant from each other: the
fn are from five to eighteen, and have
fhort filaments: the piftilliferous flowers
are at the bafe of thefe, and are fucceeded
by two or three fruits clofe together; their
calyx has more frequently fix fegments than
four; the fruit varies in the "number of
kernels and piftils, but the moft common
number is fix; and the kernels are convex
on one fide and flat on the other. The
catkins of the Beech are roundifh and loofe,
with few flowers; the ftamens are eight
in number, on long filaments: and there
are only two piftilliferous flowers together,
and each of thefe is fucceeded by a roundifh
nut, containing three or four hard three-
fided kernels, which are commonly called
Beech maft. The fpecific difference which
Linnæus affigns to the Che/nut¥ and the
Beech*, is taken from the leaves; which
in the firft are lance-fhaped, fawed with the
teeth ending in points, and naked or fmooth
on the ‘under furface ; in the fecond, ovate
and obfeurely toothed, or rather waving
on the edge.

¥ Fagus Caftanea Lin, Mill. fig. pl. 84. Evel.
filva by Hunter, p.153. Ger. 1442.
7 Fagus fylvatica Lin. Evel. filva by Hunter, p. 131.

In

MONOECIA, 441

In the Hornbeam both forts of flowers Carpinus,
are difpofed in catkins: both have a calyx
confifting of one ciliate or fringed fcale, and
no corolla: the one has from eight to four-
teen or fixteen ftamens ; the other has two
germs, with two ftyles to each, and at the
bafe of each feale of the ament or ftrobile
lies a feed, which is an ovate nut. In the
common Hornbeam? the {cales of the frrobeles
are flat; and in the Hop-Hornbeam” they
are Er fuch is the fpecific difference
of thefe, which are the only known {pe-
cies. The leaves are wrinkled, marked
with ftrong nerves, of an ovate form, and
fharply toothed about the edge.

Hazel has the ftaminiferous flowers on 3 Corylus.
long cylindric catkin, with one flower to
each {cale, which is trifid; it has from fix
to ten ftamens; generally eight: the piftil-
liferous flowers are remote from the others,
feffile and inclofed in a bud; the calyx is
two-leaved and torn: each flower has two
very long, red ftyles; but you muft ob-
ferve that there are feveral flowers in the
fame bud, which you mutt therefore fepa-
rate for examination: the fruit, as you
know, is an ovate nut. As ufual, neither
of the flowers have any corolla. The com-
mon Hazel nut and Filbert‘ are fuppofed

* Carpinus Betulus Zin. Evel. by Hunter, p. 158.
Dub. t. 49. Ger. 1470.

' > Carpinus Oftrya Lin. Mich. gen. t. 104. f. 1, 2.

* Corylus Avellana Lin. Blackw. 293. Evel. Elva
by Hunter, p. 213. Duham.t. 77. Ger. 1438.

not

442

Platanus.

LET PER? KAMMI,

not to be fpecifically different, and the fpe-

cies is characterized by the ftipules, which
are ovate, and end obtufely; whereas thofe
of the Byzantine or Spanifh nut*, which
Linneus gives as a diftinét fpecies, are li-
near, and end acutely. Thefe do not ar-
rive at the dignity of trees, but are only
fhrubs.

The laft tree I fhall point out to you of
this order is the Plane; which has the
flowers of both forts in globular aments :
the ftaminiferous flowers have a few very
{mall {cales for the calyxes, a corolla fcarcely
apparent, and anthers furreunding the fila-
ment: the piitilliferous flowers have many
very {mall fcales to the calyx; many petals
to the corolla; fubulate ftyles with re-
curved ftigmas; and roundifh feeds, termi-
nated by a pointed ftyle, and having a fim-
ple down adhering to their bafe, ‘The two
{pecies of this tree, for there are no more,
are well diftinguifhed by their leaves, which
in the Eaffern or Afiatic Plane* are palmate ;
and in the Occidental or Virginian’, lobate.
The firft was introduced early to Rome,
and was the favourite tree of the Romans
at their villas. All thefe trees are included
in a natural tribe, called Amentacea by Lin-
næus, and Ÿw/feræ by Haller and others;

* Corylus Colurna Lin. Seba muf, 1. t. 27. f. 2.
* Platanus orientalis Lin. Ger. 1489. Park. 1427.
f Platanus occidentalis Linx. Catefby car. 1. t. 56.
Duham. arb. t. 25. Park. theat. 1421.
their

MONOECIA. 443

their character is fufficiently obvious from
their name, and what has been, already faid
in delivering the characters of the genera.

There remains fill a fet of kindred trees, Pinus.
of the order Monade/phia, and of a natural
tribe, entitled Cor pera or Cone- bearing. Of
thefe the Pine genus is chief: its generic
characters are, that the fannnitefous flow-
ers are difpofed in racemes, having each of
them a four-leaved calyx; no dalla! but
abundance of ftamens terminated by naked
anthers: the piftilliferous flowers are on a
cone; each fcale or calyx has two flowers,
without any corolla; one piftil; and a nut
furnifhed with a membranous wing.

The whole genus may be divided into
the Pimes, having two or more leaves from
the fame fheathing bafe, and the Firs, hav-
ing the leaves quite diftinét at the bafe. Of
the firft divifion, the moft known among
us is the Scotch Pine, or, as it is vulgarly
called, Scotch Fir: this has two leaves in a
fheath; and the primordial ones folitary
and fmooth. It is by no means peculiar to
Scotland, but is found all through Den-
mark, Norway, and Sweden, in ‘Switzer-
land, and moft other parts of Europe, and
even in the Weft Indies. The Pimeafer
or wild Pine of Italy, the fouth of France
and Switzerland, refembles this, but the
branches are wider diftant, and more hori-

® Pinus fylveftris Lin. Mill. illuftr, Evel. fylva by
Hunter, p.274. Ger. 1356. 1.

zontal :

444

LETTER XXVIII.

zontal; the leaves are larger, thicker, and
longer, grow ftraight, are of a darker green,
and end obtufely; the cones are feven or
eight inches long: the leaves of the Scotch
Pine are broader, grayifh and twifted; the
cones fmall, and of a light colour: the
timber alfo is far preferable, yielding the
beft red or yellow deal. Linnæus, how-
ever, does not feem to have diftinguifhed
them, The Stone Pine" has alfo double
leaves, and the primordial ones folitary, but
fringed; they are of a glaucous hue. the
cones are thick, roundifh, and end ob-
tufely; the fcales are flat, and the nuts fo
large, that in the fouth of France and Italy
they think it worth while to break them,
and ferve the kernels up in deferts. Frank.
incenfe Pine‘ has three leaves coming out of
the fame fheath, and cones as large as thofe
of the Stone Pine, but more pointed, and
with loofer fcales, that open horizontally,
and drop the feeds. The Cembra Pine * has
five leaves in a fheath; they are fmooth, of
a light green, long, and narrow; the cones
are about three inches long, with clofe
{cales, and large feeds eafily broken. /Vey-
mouth Pine’ has alfo five leaves in every

* Pinus Pinea Lin. Blackw. 189. Duham. arb.
Phe yb

i Pinus Tada Lin.

«Pinus Cembra Lin. Gmel. fib. 3. t. 39. Du-
ham. 2. t. 32.

Pinus Strobus Liz, Hunt. Evel. filva, p. 276.

fheath,

MONOECIA:

fheath, long and flender, but rugged on
the edge; this tree grows remarkably
ftraight and tall, and the bark is very
fmooth, In North America it is called
White Pine, and is excellent for mafts. The
leaves of all thefe are linear and permanent ;
Linnzus calls this fort of leaf acero/e.

Linnæus includes the Cedar of Lebanon™
and Larch” in this genus; others feparate
them, becaufe the leaves are fafciculate, or
come out in clufters, fpreading at top like
a painter’s brufh: this circumftance Lin-
næus gives for the fpecific diftinétion, add-
ing, that in the former they are acute, and
in the latter obtufe at the end; this is the
only difference he mentions; the leaves of
the Larch however are deciduous, thofe of
the Cedar permanent or evergreen: the
character alio of thefe two trees is totally
different—the latter {preading its vaft arms
horizontally till the ends hang down with
their own weight, and having a faftigiate
or flat top—the former having the branches
decreafing from the bottom upwards, and
being therefore nearly pyramidal.

Of the Firs properly fo called, the Pitch-
tree, or Norway Fir’, and the Spruce’, are

™Pinus Cedrus Zin. Trew. Ehr.t.1, Edw. av.
t. 188.
» Pinus Larix Lin. Hort. angl. rr. Hunt. Evel.
filva, p. 280.
° Pinus Picea Zin. Ger. 1363. Hunt. Evel. filva,
p. 278.
» Pinus Abies Zin, Ger. 1354. Hunt. Ev. filva,
p. 278.
the

445

446 LE DT BRO KEV.

the moft common. The firft has the leaves
emarginate, or notched at the end: this is
the tree from whence pitch is commonly
extracted, and the wood of it is what we
call white deal. The fpruce has awl-fhaped,
pointed, fmooth leaves, turned two diffe-
rent ways; the timber of this refembles the
other, and, when cut into boards, is called
by the fame name. Sz/ver Fir is fo named
from the whitenefs of the leaves under-
neath; they are emarginate, and in fhape
much refemble thofe of the Yew: a great
deal of turpentine is made from this. Balm
of Gilead Fir* has the leaves fubemargi-
nate, or but little notched at the end; they
are dotted in a double line underneath.
‘There are many varieties, efpecially of the
Spruce; but it would lead us too far to
notice them.

Cup JL thall finifh this knot of trees with the

fus. upright, the funereal Cypre/s, which has its
{taminiferous flowers collected into an ovate
ament, with one-flowered fcales, and four
feflile anthers without filaments to each
flower: the piftilliferous flowers are in a
roundifh cone, eight or ten in number, one
to each fcale; thefe have many truncated
points, hollow at the top, which are per-
‘haps the ftyles ; under the fcales of the cone
lies an angled nut. Common upright Cy-
pre/s* has imbricate leaves, with the leafing

5 Pinus Balfamea Zin. Pluk. alm. 2. t. 121. f. 1.
* Cupreffus fempervirens Liz, Blackw. 127.
I branches

MONOECIA; "447

branches quadrangular: this takes naturally
a clofe pyramidal form, and when large has
the fineit effet imaginable near buildings.
Spreading Cyprefs is only a variety of this,
but grows to a very large fize, and fur-
nifhes the wood fo famous for its durabi-
lity, and refiftance to infects. Deciduous
Cypre/s* has the leaves in two ranks, and
{preading : it is a native of America, and
grows to a vaft fize. But it is time to de-
icend from trees to herbs, and thus put an
end to this long letter. .

The ftimging Nettles* are to be found in Urtica.
the order Yetrandria of this clafs; but fuch
vulgar ill-humoured plants may forgive
your pafling them by, where you have fo
many interefting and even great perfonages
to attract your notice.

The immortal Amaranth however, hav= Amaran-
ing fuperior elegance and beauty to boaft, ‘hu:
will not thus be pafled unnoticed. It is of
the order Pentandria, and having no corolla,
is ranged by fome in the natural tribe of
apetalous flowers. The fame raceme or
bunch bears incomplete flowers of both
kinds, each of them having a three or five-
leaved calyx; the one bearing three or five

o
ftamens, the other three ftyles, and a one-

© Cupreffus difticha Zin. Cat. car. 1. ts 11.

* Urtica Lin.—pilulifera Mill. illuft. Ger. 707. 1.
Park. 440. 1.—urens FI. dan. 739. Ger. 707. Park.
440. 2.—dioica Fl. dan. 746. Bis: 706: 2. Park.

441. 3.
celled

448

LETTER © XxVIII.
celled capfule opening horizontally, with
one feed only lodged in it. ‘The fpecies
are numerous: one of the moft known is
the Amaranthys tricolor, cultivated for the
beauty of its leaves, which are variegated
with green, yellow, and red: this is one
of thofe that have three ftamens to the
flowers, which grow in roundifh heads,
are axillary, and furround the ftem; the
leaves are broad lance-fhaped. Amaranthus
bicolor * has only two colours in the leaves,
an obfcure purple and bright crimfon : this
refembles the other, but has lance-fhaped
pointed leaves. Prince’s Feather * has five
ftamens to the flowers, which are produced
in decompounded, cylindric, long, pendu-
lous racemes, of a bright purple, and two
feet or more in length. Tree Amaranth re-
fembles this, but is feven or eight feet
high : the racemes are thicker, but not fo
long. Bloody Amaranth™ has alto five fta-
mens: the racemes are compound and erect,
the fide ones very {preading ; the leaves are
ovate-oblong: this has purple ftalks and
leaves; the racemes are fhort, and at the
end of the ftem there is a large clufter of
them placed croffwife, with one upright in
the middle: the flowers are bright purple
at firft, but grow darker. ‘Thus I have

® Amaranthus melancholicus Lin.
* Amaranthus caudatus Lin.
" Amaranthus fanguineus Zin. Mill. fig: 22.—
cruentus Mart. cent. t. 6. .
felected

MONOECIA. 449
fele&ed the moft fpecious of this fine genus
for your examination: your gardener will
furnifh you with them from the hot-beds,
when he raifes his annual flowers. .

From the. order Po/yandria I fhall pre- Sagitta-
fent you with two wild herbs—/rrow-™
head and Burnet. The firft has many fta-
miniferous flowers, and a few with piftils
immediately below them: both have a three-
leaved calyx, and a corolla of three petals:
the one has about twenty-four ftamens; the
other many germs in a head, ending in
very fhort ftyles, terminated by acute per-
manent ftigmas. Our common Arrow-head*
is eafily diftinguifhed by its leaves fhaped
like the head of an arrow, and pointed: it
grows in the water, has rounded white pe-
tals with purple claws, and bears an evi-
dent affinity to Water-plantain. |

Burnet has incomplete flowets of both Poterium.
forts in the fame fpike ; thofe with ftamens
below the others: they have a four-leaved
calyx, and a four-parted corolla: the lower
ones have from thirty to forty ftamens;
the upper, two piftils, and a kind.of berry
formed from the tube of the corolla har-
dened. Common or fmaller Burnet? is dif-
tinguifhed from the other fpecies by being
unarmed or having no thorns; and the ftems

* Sagittaria fagittifolia Lin. F]. dan. 172. Ger. 416.
a PAR RAAT 2.

* Poterium fanguiforba Lin. Curtis, Lond, Il. 64.
Ger. 1045.1. Park. 582.1

Gg being

+50

Ricinus.

LETTER XXVIII.

being rather angular. This and the Great
Burnet*, though feparated fo widely in the
artificial fyftem, are evidently of the fame
natural genus: the calyx of the latter is
two-leaved, and the number of ftamens
only four, and one piftil; both in the fame
flower: it is alfo a much larger plant, with
not fo many pairs of leaflets: this grows in
moift meadows: the other in dry, efpecially
chalky paftures.

Ricinus, or Palma Chrifit, ranges in the
order Monadelphia. ‘The flowers have no
corolla: fome are furnifhed with many fta-
mens, and thefe have a five-parted calyx ;
others have three bifid ftyles, with a three-
celled capfule, containing one feed in each
cell; in thefe the calyx is three-parted.
Common Palma Chrifti* has peltate, palmate
leaves, toothed about the edge, of a glaucous
hue underneath, and glands on the petioles.
In the Weft Indies there are feveral others,
varying from this, and from each other;
which are not, however, generally fup-
pofed to be diftinét fpecies. They call
them Agnus caflus, or Orl-tree, and extract
from them an oil for their lamps ; this ts

the Cafor Of, ufed in medicine. The

common fort grows in Sicily, and the other
warm parts of Europe.

The order Syngenefia of this clafs contains

z Sanguiforba officinalis Lin. F1, dan. 97. Mor. hifts
f. 8.t. 18. f. 7. Ger. 1045.

* Ricinus communis Lin. Mit. fig. 219.
i a fet

MON OEC i À:

a fét of plants that belong evidently to the
fame natural tribe, entitled Cucurbitacee,
or Gourd plants. They all agree in a one-
leafed calyx, divided into five fegments ; 4
fuperior, monopetalois corolla, divided alfo
ufually into five ; three filaments; one ftyle,
generally trifid: and a pomum for a fruit.

451

Momordica is diftinguifhed principally LA Momor-
the elaftic burfting of the fruit, which in“

the common fort is hifpid ; the ftalks of
this have no tendrils. From the property
of throwing out the feeds with the juice,
this plant has acquired the name of Spsri-
ing Cucumber ?.

Gourd has the feéds of the fruit with a Cucur-

tumid margin. Long Gourd° has the leaves
flightly angular, downy, two-glanded un-
derneath at the bafe; the flowers white, on
long peduncles, and reflex at the brim; the
fruit crooked, yellow when ripe, and the
rind hard and woody, fo that it will con-
tain liquids; whence it is called Bott/e
Gourd.

Pompion, corruptly called Pumpkin ® , is
of this genus, and has lobate leaves, with
{mooth “fruit, which will grow to the fize
of a peck.

The Sgua/b*, which is another fpecies,

> Momordica Elaterium Zin. Pl. 31. of this work.
© Cucurbita lagenaria Lin. Mor. hilt. f. 1. t. 5. f. 2.
4 Cucurbita Pepo Lin.

* Cucurbita Melopepo Lin.

G g 2 has

bita.

452

Eucumis,

LET T ER’ XSVITi.

has alfo lobate leaves, ereét ftems, and the
fruit flatted and knotty.

Warted Gourd * has likewife lobate leaves,
and knobby fruit, covered with warts.
Thefe differ much in their form and fize.

But the moft known and cultivated of
thefe fruits are the Melon and Cucumber,
which belong to another genus, called Cz-
cums, having the feeds of the fruit fharp.
Melon § has the angles of the leaves rounded,
and the fruit covered with little {wellings :
it varies much, as you know, in the form
of the fruit. Cucumber * has the angles of
the leaves fharp, and the fruit oblong and
rugged*, All thefe having large flowers,
with the parts very diftin&, are proper to
give you a juft idea of this clafs; with thefe
then I will finifh, and releafe you for the
prefent.

f Cucurbita verrucofa Lin.
= Cucumis Melo Zin. Blackw. 329.

* Cucumis fativus Lin. Blackw. 4.
1 This ruggednefs is frequently loft by culture.

LETTER

IAB i anil eat Aiea ©. a Be

THE CLASS DIOECIA.

June the rft, 1777.

HE twenty-fecond clafs differs no

otherwife from the preceding than
in the difpofition of the incomplete flowers,
namely on different individuals of the fame
fpecies ; this is its eflential character, and
this gave occafion to its name—Dracia.
There being no difficulty then in under-
ftanding this, which indeed has been re-
peated feveral times before, let us go on
without farther preface to the examination
of fuch plants as are moft likely to fall in
our way *.

Such is the Wi//ow, which is of the fe-
cond order—Dvandria. Both ftaminiferous
and piftilliferous flowers are produced in
aments or catkins, on different trees; fo
that you will have double trouble in exa-
mining the flowers of this clafs; for when
you have found one fort, you will have to
look about, and perhaps have fome diffi-
culty in finding the other. In fo delightful
a ftudy however, you will not grudge a

* The genera in this clafs are fifty-five, and the fpe-
cles two hundred and nineteen.

(re) little

Salix.

LE
re

LETTER XXIX.

little pains, after having already taken fo
much. ‘The flowers of Willow have no
corolla, and their calyx is nothing but the
{cales of the ament ; there is a little honied
gland in the centre of each ftaminiferous
flower: you will eafily know the other
aments, by the ovate germ in each little
flower, gradually leffening to a pair of ftyles,
fcarcely + diftinguifhable from it, but by the
two erect, bifid ftigmas, with which they
are ER this germ becomes a one-
celled, SN captule, containing many
fmall “feeds, crowned with a rough “fimple
down. ‘There are anomalies in this genus ;
for one fpecies has one, another has | three,

a third has five ftamens, and a fourth has
tue flowers. From more than thirty
ipecies I fhall fele&t the Waite Willow’,
which is a tree fo common in watery fitua-
tions: you will know it by the lance-
fhaped, acuminate leaves, toothed about the
edges, pubefcent, or villous, on both fur-
faces, and having the lower ferratures glan-
dulous: the leaves are very white under-
neath; and the catkins are fhort and thick ;
it will grow to be a large tree, when it is
not headed. Several fpecies are commonly
cultivated in Ofier-holts™, but being al-

1 Salix alba Ziv. Blackw. t. 327. ‘Ger. 1389. 1.
™ Salix vitellina, amygdalina, purpurea, viminalis,
&c. Lin.—Of thefe, S. purpurea is figured in Curtis
Lond. n. 61. under the name of $. Monandra. For
§. Triandra, fee n. 62.
ways

DIOECIA. 455

ways kept down, in order to have a con-
ftant fucceffion of long, flender twigs, you
will have little opportunity of examining
their fructification. But one {pecies being
cultivated for its beauty, which fortunately
depends upon the natural growth, you may
ftudy it at your leifure: this is the Weeping
Willow”, known at firft fight. by its long,
flender, pendulous branches; the leaves are
{mooth, narrow, and linear, tending to
lance-fhaped. Common Sallow ° has ovate
leaves, wrinkled on the furface, which is
villous above, and tomentofe or nappy un-
derneath, and flightly toothed or waved on
the edges, There are feveral varieties of
this vulgar fpecies,

Miffeltoe is of the order Tetrandria, its Vifeum.
parafitic quality you are well acquainted
with, and that alone makes it generally
obvious to every body: it is however no
part of its character. The genus is deter-
mined by a four-parted calyx, and an an-
ther growing to each part, without a fila-
ment, in the ftaminiferous flowers; a four-
leaved calyx fitting on the germ; no ftyle;
and a berry inclofing one heart-fhaped feed
in the others; neither have any corolla.
Common or White Miffeltoe* is diftinguifhed
from the reft of the ipecies by lance-fhaped

® Salix babylonica Lin. .
° Salix caprea Lin. Fl. dan. 245. Ger. r390. 3.
® Vifcum album Lin. Mill. illuftr, Duham, t. 104.
oer. 3950.50 Park. 1393-1.
0

g 4 leaves

456

Spinacia,

Cannabis.

Humulus.

LETTER XXIX.

leaves ending obtufely, a dichotomous ftalk,
and axillary {pikes of flowers.

In the next order Pentandria, we have
Spinach, Hemp, and Hop. The firft has a
five-parted calyx in the ftaminiferous flow-
ers, anda quadrifid or four-cleft one in the
others; thefe have four-cleft ftyles, and one
feed within the indurated calyx. Linnæus
feparates the garden* {ort from the Sibe-
rian*, by the feeds being feffile, which in
the latter are peduncled : SE the former are
feveral varieties: two remarkable ones,
which perhaps may be diftin&, the one
having fagittate leaves, and prickly feeds ;
the other rather ovate leaves, with {mooth
feeds.

Hemp* has a five-parted calyx in the
flowers which bear ftamens, but in the pif.
tilliferous ones it is one-leafed, entire, and
gaping on the fide: thefe have two ftyles,
and the feed is a bivalvular nut within the
clofed calyx. There is only one known
fpecies, and therefore until others are dif-
covered, there is no occafion for any fpeci-
fic djtinaioni:

Hop* has a five-leaved calyx in the
{taminiferous flowers; in the others it 1s
one-leafed, obliquely expanding, and en-

4 Spinacia oleracea Lin.

r Spinacia fera Lin. Gmel. fib. 3. t. 16.

$ Cannabis fativa Lin. Mill. fig. sh ry ER CE

* Humulus Lupulus Lzn, Mill. illuftr. Ger. 885.
Park. 177.

tire:

DIOECIA. 457:

tire; thefe have two ftyles, and one feed
within a leafy calyx: many of them are
collected together to form what we call the
Hop. In the three laft genera the flowers
have no corolla. :

The order Hexandria has the Tamus or 'Tamus.
black Bryony, the flowers of which have a
fix-parted calyx and no corolla; the piftil-
liferous flowers have a trifid Avle; and a
three-celled berry below the flower, con-
taining two feeds: our common fpecies"
has heart-fhaped undivided leaves. |

The Poplars are in the order Ofandria. Populus.
The flowers of both forts are here borne on
fimilar aments, confifting of fcales torn on
the edge, and each having one flower, with-
out any petals, but a top-fhaped nectary
ending obliquely above in an ovate border;
the piftilliferous flowers have a quadrifid
{tigma, and are fucceeded by a two-celled
capfule, containing many downy feeds.
White Poplar* has roundifh leaves indented
on the edges into angles, and downy under-
neath. Great White Poplar, or Abele-tree,
‘is a variety of this, with larger leaves, more
divided, and of a dat green. Trembling
Poplar, or A/p™, has leaves like the former

“ Tamus communis Liz. Mill. illuftr. Mor, hift.
frets tet. 6.) Gen den Pat. 178.76
¥ Populus alba Lin. Evel. filva by Hunter, p. 201.
Duham. t. 36. Ger. 1486. 1. Park. 1410. 1.
.. ™ Populus tremula ziz. Blackw. 248. 2. Ger.
1487. 3. Park. 1411. 4.
11]

458 LETT HR XXIX.

in fhape, but fmooth on both fides; thefe
being fet on long petioles that are flatted at
the tip, tremble with the flighteft breeze.
Black Poplar * has rhomboid leaves, pointed
and toothed ; they are {mooth on both fides,
of a light green; and the catkins are fhorter
than thofe of the two former. Carolina
Poplar ¥ has very large heart-fhaped leaves,
obtufely notched about the edges; and the
fhoots angled. Tacamahaca* is a fpecies of
Poplar, with oblong ovate leaves, toothed
about the edges, white underneath, with
a fcarcely vifible down, and the veins form-
ing a fine net-work: the ftipules are re-
markably refinous.

Mereu- Of the order Enneandria there is an herb,

rialis. frequent under hedges and in woods, called
Dog’s Mercury *: the flowers have a three-
parted calyx, and no corolla; in fome there
are nine or twelve ftamens, with globular,
twin anthers; in others, on a diftinct plant,
two ftyles, and a two-grained, two-celled
capfule, containing one feed in each cell.
The fpecies here meant is diftinguifhed

* Populus nigra Lin. Mill. illuftr, Blackw. 548. &
248. 1. Ger. 1486. 2.

¥ Populus balfamifera AZi//er. angulata. Duham. arb.
2. t. 39. f. 0.

* Populus balfamifera Lin, Cat. car, 1. 34. Duh.
arb. 2.t. 38.f. 6. Mill. fig. t. 261.

* Mercurialis perennis Lin. Curtis, Lond. II. 65.
Ger. 333. 1. M, annua, Curt. Lond, V. 68. Ger.
538) 1,2.

from

DIOECIA, 459

from the reft by its very fimple unbranched
ftem, and its rough leaves.

In the order Monadelphia you will find a Juni-
genus of trees under the title of Fumzper, pervs
including not only the Juniper properly fo
called, which is rather a fhrub than a tree,
but alfo the Savin, and American or Sweet
Cedars, &c. The ftaminiferous flowers in
this genus are borne on an ament, the fcales
of which form the calyx of each flower,
having no corolla, but only three ftamens :
the piftilliferous flowers have a fmall, per-
manent, three-parted calyx, growing to
the germ, which is below the flower; they
have a corolla of three petals, three ftyles,
and a three-feeded berry, with three tuber-
cles of the unequal calyx on the lower part,
and three little teeth at top from the re-
mains of the petals. Common “funiper® has
three fpreading, pointed leaves, coming
out together, that are longer than the berry,
Savin‘ has oppofite, erect, decurrent leaves,
with the oppofitions boxed into each other
along the branches; they are fhort and
acute: this fhrub fpreads out much hori-
zontally, rifing little in height. There are
feveral {pecies of Cedar natives of America,
Bermudas Cedar À is that which is imported
for cafing black lead in pencils, was for-

» Juniperus communis Lin. Mill. illuftr. Duham.
Lan ser 1992; \1.. Park:NIDA0;: 1.
€ Juniperus Sabina Zin, Blackw. 214.
¢ Juniperus bermudiana Lin. Herm. lugdb. t. 347.
merly
I

L

460

Taxus.

LETTER XXIX.

merly ufed for wainfcoting rooms, and now
for fhips in the Weft Indies, the worms
not attacking this kind of wood. The fpe-
cific diftinétion is from the leaves; the
lower ones being threefold, the upper two-
fold*, decurrent, fubulate, fpreading, and
acute. Our plantations of fhrubs have alfo
the Red Virginia", Carolina, and Barbadoes®
Cedars; and there are others which are na-
tives of the fouthern parts of Europe .
The baleful Yew! is of the fame order :
the flowers have no corolla, nor, properly
fpeaking, any calyx, unlefs we allow the
three or four-leaved bud to be fuch: on
fome trees they will be found to have many
ftamens, terminated by peltate, eight-cleft
anthers; on others, to have an ovate,
pointed germ, ending in an obtufe ftigma
without any ftyle, the germ becoming a
kind of berry, or rather fucculent recepta-
cle, with one feed in it, having the top
naked: thefe flowers all come out from the
axils of the leaves, which are linear, end
in a fharp point, and are ranged in a double

Sight aries
row clofe together along the mid-rib; the

¢ Miller fays fourfold and imbricate.

f Juniperus virginiana Lin. Sloan. jam. 2. t, 157.
ie
& Juniperus barbadenfis Zin. Pluk. alm. 1097. 4.
Hort! angl. t5 f 9

* Juniperus thurifera, phoenicia, lycina, Oxyce-
drus Lin.

Taxus baccata Lin. Evel. filva by Hunter, p. 257.
Duham, t. 86. Ger. 1370. Park. 1412.

berry

DIOECHIA; : 461

berry is red, and mawkifhly fweet—not
-poifonous, though the leaves certainly
‘are fo.

I will now finifh our examination of this Rufcus.
clafs, and clofe this letter, with the fingu-
lar genus of Rufcus, the flowers of which
have a fix-leaved calyx, no corolla, but an
ovate inflated neftary, perforated at top, in
the centre of the flower: the ftaminiferous
flowers have no filaments, but only three
anthers, fitting on the top of the neétary,
and united at the bafe, whence this genus
is of the order Syngenefia: the piltilliferous
flowers have one ftyle, and a germ hid
within the nectary, which becomes a globofe,
three-celled berry, containing two globofe
feeds. ‘The common fpecies, which we
call Butcher’s Broom, or Knee Holly *, bears
its flowers in the middle of the leaves, on
their upper furface; thefe are of the fhape
and fize of myrtle leaves, but ftiffer, and
end in prickly points ; the berries are red,
and almoft as large as cherries: in another
{pecies’ the flowers are produced on the
under furface of the leaves: in a third™
they are produced alfo underneath, but are
protected by a leaflet, whereas in the other
{pecies they are naked: a fourth” flowers

© Rufcus aculeatus Liv. Mill. illuftr. Blackw. 155.
Duham.t. 59. Ger. 907. Park. 253.

: * Rufcus Hypophyllum Zin. Col. ecphr. 1. t. 165.
Le
™ Rufcus Hypogloffum Zin. Col. t. 165. f. 2.

? Rufcus androgynus Lin. Dill. elth. t. 250. f. 332.
from

as

462

LETTER XXIX:.

from the margin of the leaves: and the
Alexandrian Laurel’, which is a fpecies
of Rufcus, from long racemes at the ends
of the branches; the flowers of this are
complete, and therefore the plant ought
not to be found in this clafs, but fince it is
evidently of this genus naturally, Linnæus
has left it with its own family, choofing
rather to violate the laws of his own arbi-
trary fyftem than thofe of nature. The
ftalks of this are flender and pliable; the
leaves are rounded at the’bafe, but end in
acute points; they are fmooth, and of a
very lucid green: the flowers are of an
herbaceous yellow colour, and are fucceeded
by berries like thofe of our Butcher’s
broom, but fmaller. With this beautiful
evergreen I leave you, dear coufin, till the
next letter.

° Rufcus racemofus Lin. Mor. hift. f. 13. t. 5. f, 14.

LETTER

( 463 )

DETTE RE KK,
THE CLASS POLYGAMIA.

June the r4th, 1777.

“HERE are fome perfons, dear cou-
fin, who think the twenty-third
clafs—Palygamia, might have been {pared,
and the plants comprifed in it? ranged in
the other claffes, according to the number,
fituation, proportion, &c. of the ftamens.
But let us take things as we find them,
without enquiring too deeply into the me-
rits, of what, after all, is of no great im-
portance. The eflence of this clafs confifts
in having complete flowers, accompanied
by one or both forts of incomplète ones,
either on the fame or different individuals.
The latter circumftance furnifhes the cha-
racter of the three orders.

The firft order of this clafs having the
complete and incomplete flowers always on
the fame plant, is hence entitled Monecia.
You may perhaps remember, that fome of
the grafles were taid to be of this order 3;
here alfo are the Plantain-tree and Ba-
nana*: Valantia or Croffwort, which you Valantia.

P Genera 34, fpecies 224.

3 See letter XIII.

* Mufa paradifiaca & fepiéntum Lin, Trew. Ehr.
t, 18—23.

may

464

Parieta-
ria.

LECT Baa LES

may find in hedges and bufhy places, and
will evidently perceive to be of a natural
tribe * you have met with before: there is
ufually one complete flower in this genus,
accompanied on each fide with an incom-
plete ftaminiferous one; the former has the
corolla four-parted, four ftamens, a bifid
ftyle, and one feed; the latter have the co-
rolla trifid in fome fpecies, quadrifid in
others; three ftamens in fome, four in
others, and an obfcure piftil; none of the
flowers have any calyx: frequently thefe
plants produce incomplete flowers only, and
therefore no feed; owing, I prefume, to their
running fo much at the root. Our wild
fpecies* is one of thofe which have the
incomplete flowers quadrifid, and it has two
leaves to each peduncle, which fupports
about eight flowers, with yellow corollas ;
there are four leaves to each whorl, and
they, with the whole plant, are covered
with foft hairs.

Pellitory of the Wall has two complete
flowers, with one piftilliferous flower be-
tween them, within a fix-leaved invotucre ;
they have a four-cleft calyx, no corolla, one
tyle, and one feed: the complete flowers
are diftinguifhed by having four ftamens ;
the other has none. Our common fpe-

$ Stellate: fee letter XV.
* Valantia Cruciata Lin. Blackw. t. 76. Mor. hift.
Lot are 1.. 5 Gere 1123. y

cles

POLYGAMIA, 465

cies * has broad lance-fhaped leaves, dicho-
tomous or forked peduncles, and two-leaved
calyxes: the piftilliferous flowers are qua-
drangular and pyramidal.

Atriplex, or Orach, has fuch affinity with Atriplex.
Chenopodium or Goofefoot, that, as Linnæus
obferves, if Orache had only complete flow-
ers it would be a Goofefoot ; and if this
had piftilliferous flowers, it would be an
Orache. Moft of thefe are common weeds
on dunghills, or on the fea-coaft.

Acer, or Maple, is a tree in which you may Acer.
examine the character of the clafs and order
at your eafe. The flowers are produced
in bunches; the lower ones complete, and
thofe which are towards the end ftamini-
ferous: they have a quinquefid calyx, a
corolla of five petals; the complete flowers
have befides all this one piftil, and two or
three capfules, joined at the bafe, flat, each
terminating in alarge, membranaceous wing,
and containing one feed. The Great Maple,
commonly called Sycomore*, has five-lobed
leaves unequally ferrate, and the flowers in
large racemes. Common Maple “ has lobed
leaves, obtufe, and emarginate; generally
they are divided half way into three lobes,

“ Parietaria officinalis Zin. Curtis, Lond, IV. 63.
Pian. 521. Grer. 221: Park, 497.
* Acer Pfeudoplatanus Liz. Evel. filva by Hunter,
p. ‘89g. Duham. 't.'9. ‘Ger. 1484.1. ‘Park. 1425. 1.
w Acer campeftre Lin, Ger. 1484. 2. Hunt. Evel.
filva, p. 183. and Pl. 33. of this work.
Hh

the

466

Mimofa.

I hd BIR Tee.

the fide ones obtufely femi-bifid, the mid-
dle one femi-trifid; the upper leaves rather
cut into five lobes: the bunches of flowers
are fmaller. This tree grows much in
hedges.

The famous Minofa or Senfitive belongs
to this firft order of the clafs Polygamia.
The flowers have a five-toothed calyx, a
five-cleft corolla, and five or more ftamens:
the complete flowers have alfo one piftil, and
a legume for a feed-veflel. This genus is
very numerous, but all the fpecies are not
endued with the fenfitive quality. That
which is moft common in the iflands of
the Weft Indies, and in our ftoves*, has the
{tems armed with fhort recurved fpines;
pinnate leaves compofed of four or five pairs
of leaflets, whofe bafe joins at a point where
they are inferted into the petiole, {preading
upwards like the fingers of the hand; the
flowers come out from the axils on fhort pe-
duncles, in {mall globular heads, the corol-

_ las are yellow; they are fucceeded by fhort,

flat, jointed pods, with two or three orbi-
cular, bordered, comprefied feeds in each.
Some fpecies move much more:readily than
others; fome drop the leaflets only, and
others drop the petioles of the whole leaf
alfo. The true Egyptian Acacia’, and
many other Acacias, having the fame cha-
racters, are included in this genus: they
* Mimofa pudica Lin. Comm. hort. 1. t. 29.

ÿ Mimofa nilotica Lin,
are

POLYGAMIA.. 467

are too tender to flower much in our
climate.

Three-thorned Acacia” is of another ge- Gleditfia
nus, and indeed of another order — Dviecia:
for it has the ftaminiferous flowers in a
long, compact, cylindric ament, with fome
complete ones generally at the end of it;
and, on a diftinét plant, piftilliferous flow-
ers on loofe aments. ‘The complete flow-
ers have a quadrifid calyx, a four-petalled
corolla, fix ftamens, one piftil, and a le-
gume: the ftaminiferous flowers have a
three-leaved calyx, a corolla of three pe-
tals, and fix ftamens: and the piftilliferous
flowers have a five-leaved calyx, a five-
petalled corolla, one piftil, and a legume.
The common fpecies is diftinguifhed from
the other * by its large na which have
generally two fmaller ones, coming out
from the fide: they are axillary, and are
often produced in clufters at the knots of the
ftem : the leaves are pinnate, and have ten
pairs of {mall leaflets. In America, its
native country, this tree is called Honey
Locuft.

The A/h-tree is alfo of this fecond order : Fraxinus.
having on fome trees complete flowers, on
other ~ piltilliferous ones, each frequently
accompanied by the others; they have ei-
ther a four-parted calyx or none, a corolla

Gleditfia triacanthos Zin. Duham. 1. t. 105.

Hort. angl. t. 21.
@ Gleditfia inermis Lin. Mill, fig. pl. 5.

Penta of

468

Ficus,

LET TER XXX

of four petals or none, and one piftil: the
complete flowers have alfo two ftamens,
and one lance-fhaped feed. Common Afh»
has pinnate leaves, with five pairs of leaflets,
flightly ferrate on the edge; the flowers
have neither calyx nor corolla, and are pro-
duced in loofe bunches from the fides of the
branches. Flowering Afh* has the leaflets
ferrate; the flowers are furnifhed both with
calyx and corolla; and are in large loofe
bunches at the ends of the branches. The
American or Carolina Afb 4, has the leaflets
quite entire, and the petioles round.

Of the third order—Triecia, we have
the Fig, which though it bears flowers
that are viñble, yet conceals them within
the fruit, and therefore may lead us well
enough to the clafs Cryptogamia. What
we call the fruit of the Fig Linnæus names
the receptacle, or common calyx of the
flowers; he defcribes it as being top-fhaped,
flefhy, converging, clofed at the broad end
with feveral fcales, and having the infide
covered with little flowers, complete and
incomplete ; fometimes in the fame fruit,
and fometimes on different trees: the fta-
miniferous flowers have a three-parted ca-
lyx, and three ftamens; the piftilhferous
flowers have a five-parted calyx, one piftil,

> Fraxinus excelfior Lin. Evelyn’s filva by Hunter,
p. 145. Blackw. 328. Duham.t. 101. Ger. 1472.
© Fraxinus Ornus Zin. Mill. illuftr. Hort. angl. t. 9.

# Fraxinus americana Lim Catefb. car, 1. 80.
anG:

POLYGAMIA. 409

and one roundifh, flatted feed; neither of
them have any corolla. Our common or eat-
able Fig* is diftinguifhed by its palmate
leaves: the different fruits are but varieties
arifing from the fame feed. ‘The hiftory
and œconomy of this fingular tree, as re-
lated by naturalifts and travellers, will be
an agreeable relaxation to you amidft our
dry botanical difquifitions.

e Ficus Carica Zin. Mill. illuftr.

ER Er 3 LETTER

L'ETÉ RTXAXTE

OF THE NECTARIUM OR NECTARY.

June the a1ft, 1777.

AVING now gone through all the
clafles of confpicuous flowers, we
fhould regularly proceed to the laft clafs of
the fyftem, in which they are inconfpi-
cuous; but having kept on a ftraight courfe
for a long time, we will now turn out of
it, and take a view of the different appear-
ances which the neétary puts on, in the
feveral genera of plants wherein it is found.
Several of thefe have been curforily men-
tioned as characters of the genus; and we
have even hinted at the general ufe of the
nectary ‘: but we fhall now go farther, and
fay, that though this part of the flower has
not hitherto been obferved in two hundred
genera &, yet that in all probability it exifts
in all, if not as a diftinét vifible part, as a
gland or pore however, or a fet of glands
or pores, exuding that vifcid, {weet juice,
fo ufeful fecondarily for the nourifhment of
a great variety of infects, and, at the fame
time doubtlefs primarily neceflary to the
fructification of the plant itfelf. For you

f See letters IV. and XVII. 5 Befides the Graffes.
3 will

NECTARY.

will obferve in monopetalous tubular co-
rollas, that though they have no vifible
nectary, yet there is a neétareous juice fe-
creted into their tube", which is therefore
probably provided with glands for this pur-
pofe, too minute to be feen with the naked
eye, but which an accurate infpection with
glaffes might perhaps detect. Polypetalous
flowers with open calyxes, having no tube,
or bafin for the reception of the neétareous
juice, have in general a body deftined to
prepare and contain it, in order that it may
be difiributed to the furrounding parts of
fructification, as itis wanted. In the com-
pound and umbellate tribes of plants indeed
no nectaries have been remarked, but then
you remember, that the whole flower in
both of them is fo {mall, that it is no won-
der if a part fo minute as the neétary fre-
quently is in larger flowers fhould efcape
our obfervation in thefe: we may prefume
however that they abound in neétareous
juice, fince we obferve that infects are par-
ticularly fond of thefe tribes. No genus of
the clafs Icofandria has any diftinét neétary ;
but then the calyx is one-leafed, and forms
a commodious bafin for the reception of the
nectareous juice, which is frequently very
difcernible in it. The verticillate tribe‘ alto
is not mentioned by Linnæus as being fur-

?
k As particularly in the Honeyfuckle and Aloe.
i Didynamia Gymnofpermia Lin.

Tihs nifhed

47%,

472

LETTER XXXIe

nifhed with vifible neétaries ; nor are they
perhaps immediately neceflary here, becaufe
the corolla is monopetalous, and the mono-
phyllous calyx forms a permanent tube:
many genera however of this order have a
gland in the bottom of the calyx, furround-
ing the bafe of the germ; this is large in
the Bugle, and fufficiently vifible in the
Dead Nettle.

No appearance of the neétary is more
common than this of glands. You have al-
ready feen* that they are confiderable in
feveral genera of the cruciform tribe; that
they have furnifhed us with generic charac-
ters: and that they are even the caufe of
the claffical character itfelf”. It has been
juit mentioned that they are found in the
verticillate or labiate tribe: and many ge-
nera, difperfed in various parts of the fyf-
tem, have this glandular nectary. Thus
Plukenetia (1080) ™ has four glands at the
bafe of the filaments, as in the clafs Terra-
dynanua. Cercis (510) has a ftyle-form
gland under the germ. Lathræa (743)
and Orobanche (779) have a gland at the
bafe of the germ. Caffyta (505) has three
glands; Echites (299), and Tabernæmontana

301), have five; Hernandia (1049) has

k Letter XXIII,

1 See letter II. IV. and V. compared with letter
XXIII.

™ The figures refer to the number of the genus in
Linnzeus’s genera and fyftema.
fix

NECTARY.

fix or four, furrounding the germ; and :
Grielum (1235) has a fet of oblong glands,
round the germ, uniting into a little crown,
Malprehia (572) has two glands at the bot-
tom and on the outfide of each leaf of the
calyx: in Banifferia (573) the cafe is the
fame, except that one foliole of the calyx
has no glands, and therefore the whole
number is eight; whereas in the other it is
ten. Refeda (698) has a gland arifing from
the receptacle between the ftamens and
the upper petal : and (Croton 1083) has five
of them, fixed to the receptacle. Aftronium
(1111) has five glands in the difk of the
flower. Cucurbita (1091), or the gourd
genus, has a. fingle, triangular, concave
eland i in the centre of the flower: and in
the Salix (1098), or Willow, the fituation is
the fame, but the form of it is cylindric.
Another very ufual form of the nectary
is fCales, which are in truth but flatted
glands. Monnieria (850), and Vicia (873),
or the Vetch genus, have one fcale only, at
the bafe of the germ. Cufcuta (170), or
Dodder, has ne {cales, at the bafe of the
ftamens. But many have five fcales: as.
Parnaffia® (384); at the bafe of the fila-
ments in Schrebera (319), Quaffia (529),
and Melaftoma (544); between the ftamens
in Trefine (1113); at the bafe of the germ,
in Craffula (392), Cotyledon (578), and Se-

" See Plate 34. f, 3.
“um

473

474

LE Lt ER, SIN
dum (579); furrounding the receptacle, in

Samyda (543); or at the bafe of the petals,
in Erythoxylon (575), Ranunculus° (699),
Grewia (1026), and Kiggelaria (1128).
Amaryllis(406), and Leontice (423), have fix
{cales; without the bafe of the laments in
the firft, and inferted into the bafe of the
petals in the fecond.

Not unfrequently does the nectary appear
in the fhape of valves, which are generally
five in number; in P/umbago (213) placed
at the bottom of the corolla, and inclofing
the germ; furrounding the germ in Achy-
ranthes (288); and covering the receptacle
in Campanula (218) and Roella (219). Af-
phodel (421) has fix of thefe valves, inferted
into the bafe of the corolla, and forming a
complete arch over the germ; a filament
fpringing from each of them’.

In Erythronium (414) there are two cal-
lous tubercles at the bafe of each inner pe-
tal; in the Laurus (503) genus’, three
tubercles round the germ; and two round

glands, on a fhort ftalk, near the bafe of

each filament of the inner rank. In fome
fpecies of Jris there are three dots’ at the
bafe and on the outfide of the corolla; in
Tamus (1119) an oblong dot grows to the
infide of each divifion of the calyx; and in
another genus, Swertia (321), are ten of

+ Plate 34. f. 4. P Plate 34. f. 7.
* See letter XIX. tT Puncta.

thefe

NEC TARE Y.

thefe dots; two at the bafe of each divifion
of the corolla, furrounded with briftles. In
the Hyacinth* (427) there are three pores
at the top of the germ: and in both the
genera of Fritillaria (411), and Uvularia
(412), there is an excavation at the bafe
of each petal: in the Crown Imperial this
is confiderable, and generally exhibits a
large drop of neétareous juice’. Mercurialis
(1125) ° has two fubulate acumens or fharp
points, one on each fide of the germ; and
Vallifueria (1097) has a cufpis on each
petal.

You remember the beautiful appearance
that the nectary made in fome {pecies of
ris" as a longitudinal villous line upon the
petals: in the Li/y (410) it is a pipe or
tubulous line along the middle of each pe-
tal: and in Frankenia (445) it is a channel
running along the claw.

In fome genera the ne¢tary takes the exact
form of petals, and was always confounded
with them until Linnzus pointed out the
difference: this is the cafe with feveral
plants of the firft clafs”, and with Lecythis
(664) in the thirteenth; in all thefe it is
of one petal only : in Galanthus (401), or
Snowdrop, it confifts of three parallel, notch-

* Our wild Hyacinth (H. non fcriptus) has not thefe
pores, or at leaft they are not vilible to the naked eye.

tee Plate 24. (0. « Letter XXIX.
“Letter XIV. “See PI 340 fe 5.
# Letter XI.

ed,

475

476

LETTERCXXXT,

ed, obtufe, petal-like leaflets, forming a
evlinder about half the length of the corolla.
Tihcium (611) has feveral awl- fhaped folioles
of the fame length with the petals them-
felves. Cardiofpermum (498) has a four-
petalled neétary inclofing the germ; and in
Hartogia (273), Sauvagefia (286), and He-
héleres (1025), it is made up of five petals,
Andrachne (1095) has five femi-bifid her-
baceous folioles, lefs than the petals, and
placed between them. All the Grafes,
Rice (448), and Mays (1042), agree in hav-
ing a nectary of two minute, oblong leaf-
lets. Swietenia (521), Melia (525), and
Melianthus (795), have a one-leafed neétary,
with a many-toothed mouth in the two
firft, and in the laft within the loweft di-
vifion of the calyx, to which it grows. In
Mufa (1141) alfo, the neétary 1s one boat-
fhaped leaf, comprefied, pointed, and in-
ferted within the bofom of the petal. Ten
converging leaflets, inclofing the germ,
form the “neétary of Zyeophyllum (530);
each leaflet being fixed to the bafe of each
filament. Dalechampia (1081) has a broad
nectary, compofed of many ovate, flat
plates, in feveral rows.

I*have mentioned before, that in tubu-
lous corollas the neétareous juice is fe-
creted into the tube: in many genera there
is a horn or {pur at the back of “the flower,
which anfwers this purpofe of a recipient.
Several plants have occurred in the courfe

of

NECTARY.

of our examinations with a nectary of this
form; as Tropæolum (466), Lark/pur *

(681), AconiteY (682), Columbine (684),

Antirrhinum (750), Fumitory (849), Vi ae
(1007), lmpatiens(1008), and Orchis( 1009):

to thefe we may add Prrguiculz (30), or
Butterwort, Utricularia (31), and Valerian
(44). In fome {pecies of Antirrhinum the
horn is blunted, and becomes rather a bag;
which is alfo its fhape in the Satyrium ge-
nus (1010). The genera of this tribe are
remarkable for their nectaries; in Ophrys
(1011) it hangs down from the corolla,

longer than the petals, and is keeled at the

back part ; in Serapias (1012) it is of the
fame length with the petals, ovate, gib-
bous below, and with an ovate lip; in Lz-
modorum (1013) it is of the fame length
with the petals, of one leaf, concave, ftand-
ing on a pedicle, and within the loweft pe-
tal; in Arethufa (1014) it is of one leaf,
tubulous at the bottom of the ringent co-
rolla, and connate with it; in Cypripedium
(1015), or Ladies-Slipper, as you have feen
before *, it is very large and inflated; and
in Epidendrum (1016) it is tubulous at the
bafe, turbinate or top-fhaped, with an ob-
fique bifid mouth. Thus you obferve that
all the genera of this tribe have fingular
nectaries; whereas in the three clafies with

* Plate 24.8 2. Y Plate 34. f. 1.
z Letter XX VII.
conjoined

477

478

LETTER XXXI.

conjoined filaments fcarcely any are to be
found*. The numerous genus of Carex
(1046), or Sedge, has an inflated, permanent
ne€tary, contracting above, and toothed
at top, where it gapes, but continues to
inveft the feeds in Ru/cus (1139) alfo it is
inflated and open at top, it is ovate, erect,
and of the fame fize with the calyx.

In many genera the neétary takes the
form of fome well-known utenfil or other
thing. Thus in Staphylea (374), Tinus
(504), Winterana (598), and Urtica(1054),
or N on it is Uj cage or Pitcher-/haped.
In Narciffus® (403), and Pancratium (404),
it is Fein be: In Epimedium (148) it
is Cyathiform or Goblet-/haped. In Bytine-
ria (268), Theobroma (900), or Chocolate,
Ayenia 1020), and Kkinhovia (1024), it is
Bell-fhaped. In Ciffampelos (1138) it is
Wheel-Jhaped: and in Epidendrum (1016),
Poplar (1123), and Gleditfia (1159), it is
turbinate, or fhaped like a boy’s top, nar-
row at bottom, and fpreading out above.
The moft beautiful of thefe neétaries is the
Crown-fhaped: in Diofma this is placed on
the germ; in O/ax (45), Hamamelis (169),
Nerium “ 97) or Oleander, Periploca (303),
Silene (567), and Cherleria (570), it termi-
nates the tube of the corolla: but in the
Pajfion-flower (1021) it is a triple crown or

* In ALonadelphia and Polyac elphia only one in each;
and in Diadelphia three. » See Plate 14. f. 2.

8 glory,

NECTARY.

glory, the outer one longeft, furrounding
the ftyle °.

In Garidella (571), Nigella (685), and
Hellebore* (702), the nectaries are bilabiate ;
the firft has five, the fecond has eight,
and the third has an uncertain. number:
Trollius (700) has nine linear, flat, bent
bodies, perforated at the bafe, on the in-
fide; and Jfopyrum (701) has five equal,
tubulous, fhort neétaries, with a trilobate
mouth, inferted into the receptacle, within
the petals.

In Arum (1028) the nectaries refemble
the filaments of ftamens, only that they
thicken at bottom; they come out in two
rows from the middle of the fpadix. In
Peganum (601) the filaments themfelves
are dilated into neétaries at the bafe. In
Fevillea (1118) they confift of five com-
prefied bent thr eads, placed alternately with
the ftamens. In Trichilia (528) the nec-
tary is cylindric, and tubulous, formed out
of the ten filaments, fhorter ‘han the pe-
tals, and with a five-toothed mouth.

You have obferved that many neëtaries
already mentioned have an intimate con-
nexion with the germ; it is a fituation fo
common with this part of the flower, that
fome perfons have fufpeéted the fole or prin-
cipal ufe of it to be to fupply and fofter the
germ. Accordingly there are feveral other

© See Plate 30. PRE 24: £8:
genera,

£

D:

LEA PERS Exe.

genera, in which it is thus placed. Itt
Mirabilis (242), or Marvel of Peru, it is
globofe, permanent, and inclofes the germ;
in Ciflus (147), Celofia (289), Limeum
(463), and Phyllanthus (1050), it is a ring
furrounding the germ: in Cynanchunt ( 304)
it is cylindric, with a five-toothed mouth;

in Apocynum (305), AfClepias (306), and

Stapelia (307), it is made up of five bodies,
which in the fecond and third entirely con-
ceal the ftamens and piftils, and in the
third forms a double ftar: all of them about
the germ. In Gualtheria (551) it is made
up of ten fhort, awl-fhaped, ere& bo-
dies, furrounding the germ, between the
ftamens.

It muft not be diflembled however, that
whatever ufe thefe bodies may be of to the
germ, when they adhere to it, or are near
it; they are frequently found on other parts
of the fruétification. Many inftances of this
have already occurred, and to thefe we may
add, that they are found on the petals in
Bromelia (39 5)» growing to each of the
three, above the bafe; in Berberis (442),
or the Barberry, in two roundifh orange-
coloured bodies at the bafe of each; in Her-
mannia(828),each petal having alittle mem-
brane, forming all together a ‘cowled tube;
in Hydrophy lium (204), and Reaumuria
(686), in /amime or plates growing to
them ; in Myofurus (394); being five awl-
fhaped bodies. ae nectary is * found a

7 the.

NE CTAR Ye

the calyx in Tropæolum mentioned before,
in Monotropa (536), in fome fpecies of Bi/-
cutella (808), and in Malpighia, mentioned
alfo before among thofe which have glan-
dular ne¢taries. This part is a globofe gland
on the exterior tip of the anthers in the
Adenanthera (526), at the bafe of them in
Ambrofinia (1238): and on the filaments in
form of glands in Diéfamnus (522), in form
of fcales in Zygophyllum (530), placed ho-
rizontally on the real filaments in Commelina
(62); and in Plumbago, Campanula, and
Roella, mentioned before. And, laftly, the
nectaries are not unfrequently placed on the
receptacle; as in Lathrea (743), Clutia
(1140), Mehanthus (795), and iome others:
but thefe are fo clofe to the germ, which
takes its rife from the fame bate, that they
may very well be fuppofed to be placed

there for its ufe. | |
But what fhall we fay when we find thé
nectary, in the incomplete ftaminiferous
flowers, which have no germ; as in W/-
Jow (1098), Afironium (1111), Irefine
(111g), Fevillea (1118), Poplar (1123),
Rhodiola (1124), Kiggelaria (1128), Ci/-
Jampelos (1138), Rufeus (1139), Clutia
(1140), and Ophioxylon (1142). In all
thefe cafes it certainly cannot be of any im-
mediate ufe to the germ, which is not only
on a diftin& flower but on a different plant:
this however being the moft important part
of the vegetable, fince it is deftined by na-
Ti ture

48:

482

LÉTTER Ext.

ture t6 produce a new one of the farfie kind;

and all the other parts of the flower bide

in fome meafure fubfervient to this, what-

foever is immediately ufeful to thefe may.
fairly be faid to be mediately fer'viceable to

the germ.

But let us return to our hiftory of faéts,
and finifh this dry difcuffion, which I fhould
not have troubled you with, if F could have
directed you to any author where you

might find the different forms and fituations
of the nectary regiftered in one view ©.

Hitherto you “have obferved that this
beautiful part of the flower is generally
fingle, though in many cafes formed of
fever portions : in fome genera however

s double. Thus in Kiainerte (161),
die are two neétaries, one above another;
in Stapelia, as you have already feen, a
double ftar, both flat and quinquefid, the
lower with hnear divifions torn at the end,
furrounding the ftamens and germs, the
upper with acute, entire divitignis covering
them: fomething of the fame kind is ob.
fervable alfo in Ajelepias, the very fingular
itructure of whofe flowers is particularly
deferving of your attention. Paullinia (497)
alfo, and Sapmdus (499) have two neéta-
ries, very different from each other; the

* When I writ this letter, I entirely forgot that there
was a diflertation on the fame fubje& printed in the 6th
volume of the Amenitates Academice. The learned
reader may compare that treatife with this.

one

NECTARY.

oie. confifting of four petals inferted into
the claws of the real petals, the other of
four glands at their bates. 1 may here ob-
ferve, that though the general ufe of the
nectary, as the name implies, be to pour
out the nectareous juice; yet it does not
feem that all the bodies to which Linnæus
has given the name ferve that purpofe:
fuch may probably be the cafe in one of
thete néétaries of the genera before us, and
perhaps of others, where this part is dou-
ble. Laitly, C/atia (1140) has two fets of
ncétaries, one within the other; the outer
of five three-parted, oblong bodies, placed
in a ring within the petals, and of the fame
length with their claws; the inner of five
little glands, which are certainly mellifer-
ous at top: it is obfervable that in the pif-
tilliferous flowers of this genus there are no
glands or inner neétaries, and the outer ones
are of the fame fize, and in the fame fitua-
tion, but differ in form, being roundifh and
didymous, or twinned. |

Concerning the form and variations in the

other parts of the fru@ification, which fur-
nifh the generic character of vegetables,
enough is to be found in the elementary
books *: of the leaves alfo, together with
thofe other parts and circumftances, furnifh-
ing characters for the differences of about
ten thoufand one hundred fpecies, which

f Lec’s Introduction; Rofe’s Elements of Botany,

&c. &
i Oe is

483

LETTER. XXXI.

ts the whole number of plants at prefent
atranged #, there is no want of inftruétion
in the fame authors, tranflated from Lin-
næus’s original work. I fhall only remark to
you therefore, that a more minute attention
and accurate obfervation of vegetables, dif-
covered to Linnæus parts that former bo-
tanifts had pafied by unnoticed; and that his
fuperior fagacity and genius enabled him to
make a much more extenfive ufe of fuch as
were already known. ‘The parts I now
allude to, are what he calls Fu/cra, props
or fupports of the plant. Among thefe
the arms or weapons, that is, thorns and
prickles; clafpers or tendrils; fome forts of
pubefcence; and perhaps glands, in fome
few fpecies had been noticed; but in a
manner very loofe and imperfeët : but the
fiipule, which is a {cale at the bafe of the
petioles; and the draéfe, which is a fcale or
{mall leaf next the flower, had not been fo
much as named; nor had any one thought
of ufing thefe feven important though mi-
nute parts for diftinguifhing the fpecies, a
bufinefs to which they are fo well adapt-
ed, both by their conftancy and abundant
variety.

He has alfo taken in other circumftances
very happily, befides the mere form, to fur-
nifh {pecific differences, and for other pur-

€ In the 14th edition of Syftema Vegetabilium.—

lo thefe however a confiderable number has been fince
added, from the South-fea iflands, and other places.

pofes ;

NECTAR Y.

pofes ; fuch as the mode and degree of ra-
mification in leaves and branches, the z#40r-
fom, or manner of turning or bending in
the ftems; the gemmation, or various con-
ftruétion of the buds; the fo/ation, or dif-
ferent folding of the leaves before they are
expanded; the :flore/cence, or manner in
whith flowers are connected to the plant
by their peduncles: all thefe, together with
fome others, which I have pafled over, will
occafionally furnifh you with marks to dif-
tinguifh plants from each other, even more
certain in fome cafes than the form itfelf,
and therefore highly worthy of your atten-
tion; but I have already trefpafied on that
too long, and will leave you to your leifure
and more important concerns,

435

( 486 )

LETTER XXXII,
THE CLASS CRY PTOGAMIA.

Oétober the 4th, 1797.
71

HAVE at length found time, dear cous
fin, to fend you my laft letter où the
tubject of Botany. I have not haftened it,
becaufe you have found full employment
during the fummer, either in examining
fuch plants as had efcaped you before, or
in fearching for their nectaries and other
more minute parts. You have alio by this
time difcovered, that the ftudy or amutfe-
ment which you have taken up, is not the |
affair of a fingle feafon.

As to the laft and loweft clafs of vege-
tables—Cryptogama, I {hall at prefent touch
it very flightly, becaufe, though full of
beauties, when examined with that atten-
tion which fuch {mall bodies require, it is
much too difficult for our young coufin,
and will probably be uninterefting even to
you, unlefs you have already imbibed a
greater paflion for Botany than I wifh you
to have. The objeéts alfo of this clafs muft
be fearched for in places, and at a feafon,
by no means agreeable to your delicacy ;
and I will not have you rifk your health,
the moft precious gift of heaven, even in

purfuit

CRYPTOG. FIL,

purfuit of the moft delightful knowledge.
Gentle exercife, fuch as a proper attention
to the ftudy of nature will induce you to
take, accompanied with that cheerfulnefs,
regularity, and temperance, for which you
are fo confpicuous, is your beft fecurity for
a continuance of this blefling; and that
you may enjoy it uninterrupted to a period
yet diftant, my good wifhes fhall not be
wanting.

Mea are already acquainted with the
meaning of the name Cryplogamia, and the
character of the clafs*: you are alfo mif-
trefs of the four orders into which it is di-
vided, together with their characters, fuch
as they are’. I have only therefore to pre-
fent you with a few of the moft obvious
fpecies in each order, wherein the ge-
neric and fpecific characters are the leaft
inconfpicuous.

The number of genera in this clafs are
fifty-one, of fpecies eight hundred and fifty-
eight,

FERN S.

The plants of the firft order—the Ferns,
are as large, and oftentimes as fpecious, as
thofe of the foregoing clafies: it is apparent
alfo to the naked eye, that there is a fruc-
tification, though the parts of it are not

À See page 105. ' See page 114, &c.
iat diftin.

484

488

Equile.
tum.

Ophio-

gloffum.

LETTER “SXxXIi.

diftinguifhable. The general face of this,
as it appears to the microfcope, has been
already defcribed *. |

In general the fructification in this order
of Ferns is on the back of the leaves; that
however is not univerfal. For inftance, in
the genus Eguifetum, or Horfetail, it is ina
fpike, each feparate fru@tification being pel-
tate, and gaping at its many-valved bafe ;
Hedwig has determined the flowers of the
Horfetails and Adder’s-tongue to be herma-
phrodite. Corn Horfetail! has thefe {pikes
on a naked ftem, and other leafy barren
{tems come up later in the feafon. Wood
Flor fetaii™ has the leaves compound, or di-
vided, and the {pikes at the end of the
fame flems. A {pecies common in ditches*
has fcarcely any leaves, and is perfectly
fmooth ; in which circumftance alone it
differs from the Shave-gra/s° ufed in polifh-
ing, which is rough.

. Ophrogloffum allo, or Adder’ s-tongue, has
the fructifications on a fpike, in a jointed
row along each fide of it; when they are
ripe, thefe joints gape tran{verfely. Our

* Letter X.

l Equifetum arvenfe Lin. Curtis, Lond, IV. 64.
Ger. 1114.

™ Equifetum fylvaticum Zi. Ger. 1114. Hedw.
theor. f. 1. 7.

* Equiietum limofum Lin. Ray. fyn. t. 5+ f. 2.

* Equifetum hyemale Lin. Ger. 1113.

common

CRYPTOG. ALGÆ. 489

common fpecies?, which is found in moift
meadows, may be known by the frond or
leaf being ovate.

Of nunda likewife has a fpike diftinét from Ofmunda,
the frond; it is branching, and each com-
ponent fructification is “globular. Moon-
wort’, which grows on ‘dry paftures, has
one waked item, and one pinnate frond,
forming the whole of this little Fern. Fite
ering fora or Ofinund Royal’, a large {pe-
cies found on bogs, has bipinnate fronds,
bearing the fructifications in a raceme at
top. Rough Spleenwort* has lanceolate,
pinnatifid tronds, with the divifions con-
fluent, quite entire and parallel: thefe are
of two forts; the narrower being covered
with fructifications on their backs, and the
broader being barren. ‘This therefore re-
cedes from the character of the genus, in
having a fertile frond inftead of a fpike,
diftinét from the barren one.

The remaining genera have the fructifica- Acrottiy
tions invariably on the back of the fronds, ur
In Acroftichum they cover the whole difk.

In Preris they are to be found only round Preris.

? Ophioglofflum vulgatum Zin. FI, dan, 147. Mor.
hift. £ ra,.t. 5. f. 1. , Ger; 404. Hedwy theor: >
20—23. |

4 Ofmunda Lunaria Zin. FI. dan. t. 18. Mor.
Mit. L 14,4 Get. 1. | Ger: 405.

* Ofmunda regalis Lin. FI, dan. t. 217. Ger, 3K.

$ Ofmunda Spicant Lin, Curtis, Lond. II. 67.
Ger. 1140. Hedwig theor. f. 24—29. & PI. 35. of
this work.

the

49°

Afple-
nlum.

Polypo-
dium.

LETTER XXXII.

the edge: the common Fern or Brake',
which is fo abundant in uncultivated grounds
and woods, has fupradecompounded, or
triply-pinnate fronds, the leaflets pinnate,
the lobes lance-fhaped; the loweft pinnae
tifid, and the upper ones lefs.

Afplenium has the fructifications in lines,
that are frequently parallel. Hart’s-tongue*
has fimple fronds, heart-tongued, that is
drawn out into length, and hollowed next
the petiole; quite entire, and the petioles
fhaggy ; this grows on rocks and in fhady
places. ‘There are feveral fmaller fpecies
with pinnate or decompounded leaves, not
uncommon on walls and rocks,

In Polypody the fruétifications are in dif-
tinct roundifh dots, placed in rows, and in-
creafing fo much in fize, as they advance
to maturity, that they occupy the whole
of the difk in fome fpecies, and great part
of itin others, Common Polypody * has pin-
natifid fronds, the p/n#as or lobes oblong,
a little toothed and obtufe; the root is
{caly: this is common on trees, walls, and
rocks. Many fpecies that are generally
called Ferns, from the difpofition of the
fructifications, are of this genus: of thefe,
that which js moft common has vulgarly

* Pteris aquilina Lin. Blackw. t. 325. Ger. 1128.

* Afp'enium Scolopendrium Lin. Curtis, Lond. I.
67 er. 1138.

* Polypodium vulgare Zin. Curtis, Lond, 1. 68.
Ger, 1132.

3 the

CRYPTOG. MUSCI, 493

the name of Male Fern’, and is found in
woods, heaths, and on rocks, not covering
the ground like the Brake, but in detached
parcels : the fronds of this are doubly pin-
nate, the pianas or lobes obtufe, and cre-
nulate, or flightly notched, and the ftem
cha Ty.

Lai tly , Adianthum has the fruétifications Adian.
in term in il pots, under the margin of the thume
frond, which is folded back. nu Maiden-
bair*, which is uted, or fuppofed to be fo,
in the ivrup of capillaire, is of this genus,
and has decompounded fronds, the compo-
nent leaves alternate, and the lobes wedge-
fhaped, lobate, and pedicelled. It grows,
but rarely, on rocks and walls,

MOSSES,

The plants of the fecond order—the
Moffes, have leaves like the more perfect
vegetables, diftinét from the ftalk; and in
this they differ from the Ferns, in which
the ftaik and leaf always, and the frudctifi-
cation often, are blended, to form the frond.
They are perennial, and when ever fo much
dried up, will revive again with moifture ;
as Haller experienced in {ome fpecimens of

Cafpar Bauhin’s Hortus Siccus, which muft

# Polypodium Filix mas Liz. Blackw. t. 323. Vaill,
t.9.f.2. Mor. hift. f. 14. t..3. f.6. Ger. 1128.
* Adianthum Capillus Veneris Zin. Jacq. mifc. 2.

t.7. Ger. 1143.
have

Lycopo-
dium.
Sphag-
Rum.

LE-T'T-ER: XXXL

have lain in a dry {tate above a century,
You know them by their air, or habit, as
botanifts ufually call it. A general idea of
their fruétification has been already given’,
as far as it is vilible to the naked eye; and
we can only hope for a perfect account of it
from a laborious examination with glafles
of confiderable magnifying powers *.

The generic characters of the Mofies are
taken from the heads, which are either fef-
file, or ele the plant pufhes them up on a
flender naked ftem; this Linnzus calls the
Anther, but I thall beg leave rather to name
it the Cap/u/e*: in four genera ? it is naked,
or not covered with a ¢alyptre or veil; in
the other feven it is.

Lycopodium, or Wolf’s-claw Mo/fs, has a

two-valved, feffile capfule, without any

calyptre. Sphagnum, or Bog-mo/s, has the
capfule covered with a lid, and a {mooth
mouth. The gray< fpecies is common on
bogs, covering vait tracts of them; and is

7 See letter X.

* This has now been done by Hedwig in his Funda-
mentum Fiftorie Naturalis Mufcorum Frondoforum. Lip-
fiz 1782, quarto; and, Theoria generationis et fruétifi-
cationis Plantarum Cryptogamicarum, Petrop. 1784,
quarto; both with coloured plates of the parts of fruc-
tincation much magnified.

* As Linnæus thinks it really is: (See Genera,
p. 556,) and Hedwig has fhown it to be.

* Lycopodium, Porella, Sphagnum & Phafcum.

© Sphagnum palufire Lin. FI, dan, 474. Dillen, ¢.
22.5. I. :

known

CRYPTOG. ALGÆ, 493

known not only by its hoary appearance;
but by its deflected branches.

Polytrichum has a capfule covered with a Polytft-
lid, fitting on a {mall protuberant eminence, ae
which is a kind of receptacle, and is ediled
by Linnzus Apophy/fis, by Haller the Dik;
the capfule is covered by a villous calyptre.
There is a ftar or rofe on a diftin@ indivi-
dual, which has been generally taken for the
piftilliferous flower; Haller rather thinks
it is only a kind of bud, from which new
branches fpring. The common fpecies,
called Greater Golden Maidenhair *, is known
by its fimple ftem, and the parallelopiped
form of the capfule. This is a large fort
of Mofs, and abundant in woods, heaths,
and bogs.

The three remaining genera of Mofizs,
which are alfo the pr incipal and moft nu-
merous, are thus diftinguifhed. Mnium
agrees with Polytrichum in having two
forts of fructification; the one a lidded cap-
fule, covered with a fmooth calyptre: the
other a ftar or rofe, in the difk of which
are fome globofe little dufty bodies. Bryum
and Hypnum have none of thefe ftars or
rofes: thefe have both a lidded capfule,
covered with a fmooth calyptre, and are
diftinguifhed from each other by the ftalk
which fupports the capfule being naked,

and arifing from a terminal tuber Ae in hee

=

“4 Polytrichum commune Lin. Dillen. t. 54. f. 1.
Ger. 1559.
firft ;

494

Mnium.

Fryum.

LETTER XXXII.
firft; whereas in the fecond it fprings from
the ‘Gdeor the branch, and is furrounded
at bottom by a perichetrum, {ealy fheath,
of receptacle.

One fpecies of Mnium, whofe filaments
or capfular ftalks are fo fenfible of moif-
ture, that it has obtained the name of Ay-
grometric®, has no ftems; it has nodding
turbinate or pear-fhaped capfules, reflex
four-cornered calyptres, and ovate leaves
forming a head; they are of a yellowifh
green, and the filaments are an inch and
half high, and red or orange-coloured.

One” if the moft common fpecies of
Brium is the Aairy*, which covers the old
thatch of cottages; this has the capfules
rather erect, and the leaves ending in a
hair, and recurved. Apple-form Bryum®
has large fpherical heads; and in the Pear-
form ipecies® they are obovate, covered
with an awl-fhaped calyptre; the fhoots
are ftemlefs, and the leaves are ovate and
awnlefs. Brown Bryum' has ere& roundith
capfules, with a pointed lid. This is a

* Mnium hygrometricum Zin, FI. dan. 648. f. 2.
Dillen. t, 52. f. 75. Mor. hift. f. 15. t. 7. f. 17.

f Bryum rurale Lin. Dill. t. 45. F 12. Mo, EL 6
ME

& Bryum pomiforme Lin. Dill. t. 44. f. 1. Mor.
t. 6. f. 6.

h Bryum pyriforme Zin, Dill. t. 44. f. 6. Mor.

t. 7. f. 16. & plate 36. of this work.

4 Bryum truncatulum Liz, Curtis, Lond. II. 70.
f. 2.

very

CRYPTOG. ALGÆ, 495

very fmall Mofs, growing clofe to the

ground in thick tufts; the filaments are

three or four lines high, and when the cap-

fules have loft their lid, they have a trun-

cated appearance, whence their name.
Siky Hypnum*, one of the moft beauti- Hypnum,

ful, and not the leaft common of the ge-

nus, is known by its creeping fhoots, its

crowded erect branches, its awl-fhaped

leaves, and erect capfules. This grows

both in dry places, fuch as on walls, or

trees; and in wet ones, as meadows: in

the firft, the leaves are narrow, and prefled

clofe to the ftalk ; in the fecond, they are

“broader, fpreading, and fhining, like filk’:

the capfules are long, round, enlarging a

little at bottom, with a flender ciliated

mouth, a fcarlet beaked lid, anda pale ca-

lyptre; they are fupported by a purple

ftalk, or filament, from half an inch to an

inch in height, furrounded at the bate by

a fhort thick fcaly perichetium. ‘This may

ferve as a fpecimen of the numerous fpecies

Of Hypnum; and we will now pais on to

the third order of the Cryptogamia clas,

‘containing the

ALG Es

Alge or Flags, which are chiefly the
Lichens or Liverworts, Sea-weeds, and
* Hypnum fericeum Lin. Curtis, Lond, Il. 69.

Dillen, t. 42. f. 59. Mor. t. 5. f. 25.
fome

-496

. LETTER XXXIF

fome few commonly called Mofles, but
having in reality the character of this or-

ee '. Of thefe laft, Common Marchantia™
de

Lichen.

Hedw. theor. f. 123—133.

-may ferve as an inftance: it grows by

ftreams and fountains, in wet fhady places,
and on walls fubje& to a drip. There are
two diftinct fruétifications in this genus,
one ftanding out from the plant on a pedun-
cle, and confifting of a peltated calyx or
receptacle, covered with {mall one-petalled
corollas underneath, each of which has one
multifid anther or capfule ; the other feffile,
fhaped like a cup or bell, and containing
many little roundifh bodies, which fome
take for feeds. The fpecies here pointed
out is diftinguifhed by the common calyx
being ten-cleft : it varies much in its ap-
pearance, and hence has its trivial name of
many-form. This genus is evidently the
connecting link between the Mofles, and
the Lichens, which we fhall now examine.

The genus of Lichen has a roundifh,
flattifh,. fhining receptacle, or common ca-
lyx, feldom elevated; and a meal fprinkled
over the leaves. ‘The receptacle affording
a variety of forms, has fuggefted a fubdi-

vifion of this otherwife unweildy genus,

the leaf and manner of growth taking their
parts init. Lichens abundantly clothe the
earth, rocks, and vegetables, efpecially treess

1 See letter X.
™ Marchantia polymorpha Lin. Dillen. t. 76. f. 6.

in

C'RMPFO GNU ALG.

in the form of meal, cruft, leaf, or thread :
age, foil, and fituation, make fo great a
difference in their appearance, that num-
berlefs varieties have been advanced into
{pecies. The fections of the genus are,
1. The Tyberculate, confifting of a cruft
adhering clofely to the bark of trees, or
ftones, above which roundifh tubercles
rife a little; thefe are rather irregular, a
littled flatted at top, and without any rim
round them. Sometimes they run into
regular figures, and refemble writing”, or
a map® 2. Scutellate, or fuch as have
little fhields, or roundifh receptacles with
a rim, and the difk fomewhat deprefled,
arifing from a granulous cruft more ap-
proaching to a leafy ftructure than in the
former fection, and not adhering fo ftrongly.
3. Imbricate, compofed of many {mall leaves,
generally in an orbicular form, lying over
each other, the leaft in the middle, and
the largeft on the outfide; from fome of
thefe arife little fhields, and others have
little mealy tubercles at the ends of the
leaves. Nothing is more common than a
yellow fpecies? of this fection, on trees,
walls, and rocks; the leaflets of it are
curled, deep yellow above, and afh-co-
loured underneath; the fhields are of a

" Lichen fcriptus Liz. Dillen. t. 18. f. 1.

° Lichen geographicus Lin. Dillen. t. 18. f. 5.
P Lichen parietinus Liz. Dillen. t.24..f. 76. Wall

Liverwort.
K k lighter

498

’

LETTER XXXII.

lighter yellow, grow brown with age, and
are thick fet towards the middle of the
plant ; other fpecimens, inftead of fhields,
have a yellow meal fpread over them: the
leaves by age become greenifh, and then
of a brownifh afh-colour, warted and le-
prous. 4. Leafy, properly fo called, con-
fitting of one continued leafy fubftance,
varioufly laciniate, cut or torn; thefe have
generally large, wide fhields, often on pe-
duncles, either in the divifions of the
leaves, or on their edges. Lungwort or
Tree Lichen 1, which hangs from old oaks,
and beeches in woods, he very large jagged
leaves, {mooth, and ending obtufely ; the
upper furface is wrinkled ey pitted, the
lower downy: the fhields are of the fize of
a lentil, and placed on the edges of the
leaves. 5. Coriaceous or Leathery: thefe
are alfo leafy, but differ from thofe of
the fourth fection in confifting of feveral
leaves, of a tougher texture, broader, lefs
fharply laciniate, not branching, and ge-
nerally adhering clofer to the bodies on
which they grow: the receptacles are very
large, and from their refemblance to the
sound fhields of the ancients, called pe/te ;
they are generally on the edges of the
leaves, and little or not at all notched on
the edges. d/h-coloured Ground Liver-

1 Lichen pulmonarius Lin, Dillen. t. 29. f. 113.
Ger. 1566.

avort

CRYPTOG ALGÆ.

vert" Ÿs of this fection: it is creeping, lo-
bate, obtufe, and flat; veined underneath,
and villous, with a rifing pe/fa or target on
the edge: this fpecies is very common on
the ground in woods, and on heaths, par-
ticularly on old ant-hills: the leaves are
afh-coloured, and white underneath. 6. Um-
bilicate or hollowed like the navel, and
footy, or appearing black, or as if burnt.
7. Cup- -bearing, confifting of a granulous
cruft, in procefs of a unfolding into
little leve irregularly laciniate : from thefe
arife a ftipe or tem fupporting hollow co-
nical receptacles refembling little tea-cups
or drinking glafles, whofe ‘edge i is often fet
with browin (ar slearlae eahercles. DR
different appearances of Cup-mo/s are pro-
bably but varieties arifing from the different
age of the plant. 8. Shrudby, or refem-
bling fhrubs or coral: thefe confift of a
leafy cruft like the laft, but they have no
cups, only tubercles, and they are branched.
The famous Rhen-deer Mofs is of this
fection : it is perforate‘, very much branch-
ed, and the {mall branches are nodding:

r Lichen caninus Lin. Fl. dan. 767. f. 2. Dillen.
tog. 102.) Mor. f. 16€. i. 1. 6 2 bis.is thedpe-
cies formerly recommended againft the bite of mad dogs,
mixed with white pepper: “but it is a remedy now
exploded.

* Lichen rangiferinus Lin. Fl. dan. 180. Dillen.
t. 10. 1.20.

' That is, there are little holes in the axils of the
branches, as if made with a pin.

uke 2 it

499

Fucus.

;

LETT ER XXXILE

it grows on heaths and mountainots paf-
tures with us. 9. Thready, or confifting
of mere round, Éd {tiff {talks or threads,
frequently covered or incrufted with a
meal, which is very inflammable, and
terminating in dry globules, a little hol-
lowed, and HO any rum. Thefe
moft of them hang from the boughs of
trees, and hence have the name of Tree-
riof/s. But this very numerous and widely
diffufed genus has already detained us too
long.

The Sea-weeds are comprehended in
three genera—U/va or Laver, Fucus and
Conferva. In the firit, U/va, the fru€tifica-
tions are in a diaphanous membrane, and the
fubftance of the plant is membranaceous,
at firft bladdery, but afterwards leafy. F#-
cus, Wrack, or Sea-weed properly fo called,

has two kinds of bladders, the one {mooth,

hollow, and interwoven with hairs, the
other fraooth, filled with a jelly, in which
are ner te {mall perforated grains, in
each of which is ee to be a feed:

the texture of thete plants is coriaceous or

Confervas leathery. Confer væ are combofed of une-

qual tubercles, in very long capillary fibres,
which are either continued or jointed. The
two laft genera will furnifh you with
abundant amufement whenever you are
led to {pend a little time on the fea-coaft ;

but the fpecies are fo numerous, that the
examination of the fpecific differences would
carry

+

CRYPTOG. FUNGI. soi

carry me into too wide a field: we will
pafs on therefore to the laft order of this
laft clafs of vegetable nature—the Fungi or
Mu/fhrooms, which are univerfally known
by their fingular ftruéture and appearance ;
without branches, leaves, flowers, or any
thing we can certainly call frudtification,
and fcarcely any root. The Agaric, one Agaricus.
of the principal genera in Fi order, is
known by its Héron manner of grow-
ing, and by having /amelle or gills rie
neath". The Champignon*, or common
eatable Mufhroom, is one of thefe, and
has the following charaéters—the head 1s
convex, fcaly, white; and fupported on
a ftipe or ftalk; the gills are red; that
which has white gills is only a variety of
this, and though far inferior in Lege
is not poifonous. The Chanterelle”, or
little yellow 1 Mufhroom, fo common in ee
fairy rings on dry pa(tures, is alfo ftipi-
tate, with the gills branched and decurrent.
What is commonly called Agaric in medi-
cine, and is ufed in {topping of blood, 1s
of another genus.

Boletus, Ste grows horizontally like Boletus.
the laft, but on of gills, has pores on
the under furface.

“ See plate 38. of this work.

Y Agaricus campeftris Lin. Mill, illuftr. Fl. dan,
t. 714.

en Chantarellus Zix, Fl. dan, 264. Ger.
1580.

ie iets More!

502
Phallus.

Lycoper-

don.

LETTER XXXII.

More/* is a fungus that is reticulate of
netted all over the outfide or upper furfaces
and {mooth beneath. The efculent fpecies
has the head egg-fhaped and cellular, the
ftipe or ftem naked and wrinkled.

— Truffle or efculent Puff-ball’, is a round-

ifh fungus, filled with a mealy fubftance,
taken for feed: this fpecies is globular,
folid, muricated, or rough on the outfide,
without any root, and growing wholly
under ground: the other forts are full of
duft, which they throw out when ripe,
and are wholly above ground except their
roots. Common Puff-ball* is roundifh, and
difcharges its duft by a torn aperture in
the top; this varies much in form, and
alfo in fize, from a little ball to that of a
man’s head.

After all, the objects of this order are
not univerfally allowed to be plants, but are
fufpected, though feemingly without much
reafon, to be formed by animals, for their
habitation, after the manner of Zoophytes
or Corals. But this is a fubjeét too dif-
ficult and nice for our difcuffion :. and per-
haps, after all, the fwagi may prove to be
one of thofe links in the chain of nature,
which unite the vegetable to the animal

* Phallus efculentus Liz. Fl. dan. 53. Ger. 1583.
¥ Lycoperdon Tuber Lin. Michel. t. 102. Ger.
1583.
7 Lycoperdon Bovifta Lin. Scheef. t, 190. Ger.
1582.
kingdom ;

CRYPT OG: FUN GE,

kingdom ; and though they fhould turn
out to be the habitation of minute infe&s,
and to be formed for and by them, yet
they may at the fame time have the growth
and texture of plants. Nature is full of
thefe wonders, dear coufin; we are ad-
mitted to the view of a very {mall portion
of it only; there is little hope then that we
fhould be able to underftand its relations
fully, or to unravel all its myfteries.

5

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POND ae x

OF THE

- ENGLISH NAMES OF PLANTS.

À. ge Page
AB E LE Andromeda 268
Acacia, Baftard 39, 303 Anemone 300
Acacia Egyptian 466 Angelica 234
Three-thorned 467 Apple 74 75» 29%
Acajou 262 Apricot 74
Acanthus 317 Arabis 324
Aconite 297, 8, 477 Arbutus 269
— Winter 299 Arrow-head 449
Adder’s-tongue 488 Artichoke 65, 68, 383
African Marigold 395 ——-—— Jerufalem 400
Agaric 501 Arum 426
Agrimony 279 . Afarabacca 278
Alaternus 207, AIR 467
Alder 434 ——- Mountain 291
——- Berry-bearing 206 Afp 457
Alexandrian Laurel 462 Afphodel 24, 474
Alkanet 178 Affa-foetida 237
Baftard x 191 After, Chinefe 392
Allgood 221 Auricula 174
Almond 75 Azarole 290
Aloe 250, 251 B.
Althea Frutex 343 Balfam 406
Amaranth 447 Balfamine 407
——— Crefted 211 Balfam of Tolu-tree 266
a Globe 223 Banana 463
Amomum Pligii 200 Barberry 251, 480
Ananas 243 Barberry-pepper 203

Barley

INDEX OF: THE

Barley
Barley-grafs
Bafil

Baftard Jafmine
Baum

Baum of Gilead
Bay

Bead-tree
Beam-tree

. Bean

-—— Kidney
Bear’s-foot
Beech
Bce-Larkfpur
Bee-Orchis
Beet
Bell-flower
Bell-pepper
Betony
Bindweed

—— Black

Birch
Bird-pepper
Bird’ s-foot
Biftort
Bitter-fweet
Black Hellebore
Bladder Sena
Blefied Thittle
Blue-bells
Blue-bottle
Bog-bean
Bog-rufh
Borage

Box

Brake
Brafiletto
Briar, Sweet

Wild

Briza
Brome-grafs

8

‘Page
144
ib.
399
209

221

Brooklime
Broom, Bafe
——— Butchers’
——— Common
-—— Portugal
Spanifh
Broom-rape
Bryony, Black
Buckbean
Buckthorn
Buckwheat
Bugle

Buglofs

Bulrufh
Burdock

Burnet

Bur-reed
Butchers’-broom
Butter-bur
Butter-cups
Butter-flower
Butter-wort
Byzantine-nut

C abbage
Calamint

Calamus aromaticus

Camomile
Campion, White
Canary-grafs
Candy-tuft
Canterbury-bells
Cape Jafmine
Caper

Capficum
Caragana
Cardamom
Carnation
Carraway
Carrot

Cafhew

153; 431

124, 477

41, 324

ENGLISH NAMES.

Page

Caffia 262
Catalpa 317
Cataputia 284
Catchfly 275
Caterpillars 369
Catmint 307
Cat’s-tail 153, 430
Cat’s-tail grafs 133
Cayan Pepper 203
Cedar Bermudas 459
—— Barbadoes 460
—— Carolina ib.
of Lebanon 445

—— Virginia 460
Celandine, Leffer 303
Celeri 236
Centaury, Great 401
aE Leffler 226
— Yellow 226, 260
Cereus 287
Cerinthe 182
Champignon 501
Chantarelle ib.
Charlock 41, 326
Cherry 74
Chervil 56, 228
-——~ Rough 231
Wild ib.
Chefnut 439
China Pink 272
China Rofe 343
Chinefe After 392
Chocolate 370, 478
Chriftmas Rofe 299
Chrift’s thorn 207
Ciftus 296
Citron 379
Clary 125, 126
Cleavers 165
Clover 39, 66
— Dutch 367

Page

Clover, Heart 368
— Red 367
Club-rufh 153
Cochineal Fig 289
Cockle 275
Cock’s-comb 211, 312
Cock-fpur Hawthorn 290
Codlins and Cream 257
Coffee 208
Colefeed 324
Colewort, Sea ib.
Colt’s-foot 388

Columbine 297, 298, 477

Colutea 360
Comfrey 181
Convolvulus 183
Coriander 235
Cork-tree 4.38
Corn 143, 147, 148
Corn Marigold 396
Coftus Arabian 118
Cotton 341
Cotton-grafs 153
Cotton Thiftle 383
Couch 147
Cow-Parfley 231
Cow-Parfnep 237
Cowflip 172
Cow-weed 231
Crane’s-bill 332
Crefs, Indian 256
— Water 229, 326
— Winter 323
Crefted Amaranth 211
Croflwort 463
Crown Imperial 475
Cuckow-flower 276, 325
Cuckow-pint 427
Cucumber 452

— Spirting 45€
Cudweed Ua 387

Cyclamen

INID'EX (OFT CHE

Page

Cyciamen 175
Cyprefs 446
Cytifus 362
—— Prickly 351
Daffodil 245
Daify 61
Ox-eye 396
Dandelion 67, 71
Darnel 148
Deadly Nightfhade 197
Dead-Nettle, White 43
Devil’s-bit 161
Dill 2.36
Diofma 209
Dittany of Crete 310
Dittany, White 266
Dock 2,52
Dodder 168, 473
Dog-Rofe 293
Dog’s-grafs 147
Dog’s-Mercury 458
Dog’s-tail grafs 149
Dyer’s-weed 280, 351

E.
Earth-nut 237
Egg-plant 202
Elder 54
»—— Marfh 239
Elecampane 393
Elm 224
Endive 382
Englifh Mercury 221
Eryngo 55
Eryfimum 322
Eternal flower 388
Everlafting 387
Everlafting Pea 2 8
“anit 281
uphraf} 21

Pyebreht 33

By Page
Fennel 111295
—— giant 237
Sweet 236
Fern, Common 490
— Flowering 491
Male 488
Ferula 299
Fefcue 138
Feverfew 397
Ficoides 292
Fig 468
Fig-Marigold 292
Fig-wort 46, 315
Filbert 441
Finochia 236
Fir 445
Flag 155
Flax 240
Fleabane ~ 394
Fleur-de-lys 154
Flixweed 327
Flower-fence 266
Flowering Rufh 265
Fool’s Parfley 57
Four-o’clock flower 211
Foxglove 316
Fox-tail grafs 133
Fraxinella 266
French Honeyfuckle 366
Marigold 395
Willow 257
Fumitory 346, 477
Furze 352
Fuftick 436
G.
Galangale 118
Gelder Rofe 239
Gentian 225
- Yellow Perfo-
liate 226, 260

Gentianella

ENGLISH NAMES.

Page
Gentianella 2.26
Geranium 332
Germander 123
Ginger 118
Glailwort 2.22
Jointed 233
Globe Amaranth 223
Globe-thiitle 404
Goat’s-beard 378
Golden-rod 392
Goofeberry-fool 257
Goofefoot 221, 465
Goole-grafs 165
Gorfe 352
Gourd 451
Grain of Paradife 118
Granadilla 425
Graffes, Let. xiii.
Greek Valerian 189
Gromwell 180
Ground Ivy 43» 306
Groundfel 389
Guaiacum 267
Guinea Pepper 202
Hard-heads 401
Hart’s-tongue 490
Hawkweed 384
Hawthorn Cock’s-fpur 290
—— — Common ib:
Hazel 441
Heart’s eafe 405
Heath, Common 258

Crofs-leaved ib.
Fine-leaved ib.

Hedge-hogs 368

Hellebore 297, 299, 479

Hemlock 230

——~ Chervil | 227

Hemp 456

Hemp Agrimony 385
7

Henbane :
Hen-pepper
Hepatica

Herb Robert
Hickery

Hollyhock

Honefty
Honeyfuckle
French
Hooded Willow-herb
Hop

Horehound, Black
White

Hornbeam
Horfe-Chefnut
Horfe-radifh
Horfe-tail

— Female
Hound’s-tongue
Houfeleek

Page

Hyacinth 249, 475
I

Jack-by-the-hedge
Jacobæa Lily
Jacob’s-ladder
Jalap

Jafmine

Arabian
Baftard

Red

Ice plant

Jerufalem Artichoke
Jefuit’ssbark
Immortal-flower
Indian Corn

Crefs

—— Fig

—— Nafturtium
Shot

Indigo

Cape £225

215
292
400
216
397
432
256
287
256
117
304

Jonquil

INDEX OF; THE

Page
Jonquil 245
Iris 154
Judas-tree 266
Juniper 459
Jupiter’s-beard 353
ivy, Ground 306
K.
Kali, Egyptian 293
Kalmia 268
Kidney Bean 39, 356
Vetch 353
King-cups 302
Knap-weed or Knob-
weed 401
Knee Holly 461
Knot-grafs 261
Laburnum 362
Ladies Bedftraw 165
Cufhion 271
Finger 353
Hair 135
Mantle 167
—— Slipper 422, 477
—— Smock 325
Traces 419
Larch F 445
Larkfpur 297, 298, 477
Lavender 306
Laver 500
Laurel 75
Laurel, Alexandrian 462
Lauruftinus 239
Lemon 370
— Water 426
Leopard’s-bane 394
Lettuce 380
Lichen 496
Lilac 122
Lily 22, 475
— Guernfey 247

Lily Jacobæa
— Mexican
— of the Valley
——. Water
Lime
Liquorice
Liverwort
Locuft, Honey
——— tree
Logwood
London Pride
Loofeftrife
Lords and Ladies
Love-apple
Love in idlenefs
Lucerne
Lungwort
Lupin
Lychnidea
Lychnis

M.
Mad-apple
Madder
Magnolia
Maidenhair
— Golden
Mallow

Cape
Common
Dwarf
——- Indian
Marfh
Mufk
— — Vervain
Mandrake
Manna

Maple, Common
— Great

Maple-leaved Service

Mare’s-tail
Marigold, African

296,

266,

197
139
405

ib.
290
116
395

Marigold,

ENGLISH NAMES.

Page

Marigold, Common 403
Corn 390

French 395
Marjoram 309
Marth Elder 239
Mallow 341
Trefoil 176
Marvel of Peru 210, 480
May 291
Mays 432, 476
Mayweed 397
Meadia 175
Meadow grafs 136
: Pinks 276
Saffron 254

Medlar 29%
Medufa’s-head 282
Melia 267
Melon 452
Thiftle 287
Melongena 202
Mercury, Dog’s 458°
Englifh 221

Mezereon 259
Michaelmas Daify 391
Mignionette 280
Milfoil ' 397
Milkwort 340
Mint 306
Miffeltoe - 455
Monk’s-hood 298
- Moonwort 320, 489
Morel ) 502
Mofs, Bog 493
up 499

—— Rhendeer ib
—— Tree 498
Wolf’s claw 493
Mountain Afh 291

Moufe-ear Hawkweed 381

Page

Moufe-ear Scorpion-
grafs . 180
Mugwort 386
Mulberry 435
Mullein 195
Mufhrooms 50
Mufk 5 340
Muftard à
Myrtle 289
Narciflus 245

— Polyanthus ib.
Nafturtium, Indian 257

Neétarine 75
Needle Furze 352
Nettle, Dead 43
Stinging
Meas Tee ah lee
Nightly Primrofe 257
Nightthade 199
— Deadly 197
None-fo-pretty 270
Nonefuch 368
O.
Oak 436
Evergreen 437
— Kermes 438
Oat 141
—— grafs ib,
Oil-tree 450
Oleander 214, 478
Olive 122
Opuntia 287
Ophrys, fpiral 419
Orache 4606
Orange 370
Orchis, Bee 429
— Broad-leaved 416
Butterfly 412
D warf ALS

Orchis,

INDEX OFLAEINRYE

Page

Orchis, Female 414
Fly 420

Frog 417
Long-fpurred ib.

Sep ale 414
———+. Pyramidal 413
rain 26pIder 421
= Spotted 416
Sweet 417
Ofmund Royal 489
Ox-eye Daïly 396
Oxilip 172
Palma Chrifti 450
Panties 405
Park leaves 374
Parnaffia 239
Parfley, Fool’s 57
True 56, 236

Parfnep 235
Parfnep, Cow 237
Water 229
Pafque-flower 301
Paflion-flower 423, 478
Pea 34
— Everlafting 358
— Painted Lady 357
— Sweet- fcented ib.
— Tangier ib.
Peach 75
Pear 13 eee
Pellitory of the wall 464
Peony 297
Periwinkle 213
Petty Whin 352
Phillyrea 207
Pig-nut 237
Pine-apple 243
Pineafter 443
Pine, Cembra 444
—— Frankincenfe ib.

Page

Pine, Scotch 443
Stone 444

—— Weymouth ib.
—— White 445
Wild 445

Pink 274
China ib.
Pitch-tree 443
Plane 442
Plantain .__ 165
tree 463

Water 254

Plum 7475
Plumeria 215
Polyanthus 173
— Narcifflus 246
Polypody 490
Pompion 451
Pondweed 169
Poplar 457, 481
Poppy 295
Potatoe 201
Prickly Pear 288
Primrofe 171
— Nightly 257
Tree 256

Prince’s Feather 448
Privet 122
Puff-ball 502
Purflain : 278
RE: 136
Quick or Quich 147
Quick in hand 407
Quince 75» 291
Radifh 41, 322
Ragged Robin 276
Ragwort 390
Rampion 187
Ranunculus 302

Rattan

ENGLISH NAMES.

Rattan
Rattle, Yellow
Ray-grafs
Reed
Reed-mace
Refeda, Sweet
Reftharrow
Rhapontick
Rhododendron
Rhubarb

Rice

Rie

— orafs
Rocket

Rofe

-——~ China
Rofemary
Rue

Rufh

Flowering
———— Sweet

5.
Saffron, Meadow 24,

Sage

Saint-foin

John’s wort
Peter’s wort
Sallow

Salfafy

Saltwort

Sampire

Golden
Marfh
Sattin, White
Satyrion, Frog
Lizard
Sauce-alone
Savin
Saxifrage

a Pyramidal
——- White

Page
252
312
145
142
430
280
352
264.
268
263
476
143
145
323
293
343
124
267
252
265
252

254
124
266
372
373
455
379
233
233

ib.
233
320
417

ib.

323
459
269

ib.
270

Page
Scabious 159
Scammony 185
Scorpion Sena 364
Scorzonera 379
ip pate 321
te Colewort 324
ea-weed 500
Sedge 153; 433 478
Sedum 274
Self-heal 4% 311
Sena, Bladder 360
Scorpion 364
Senega 34
Senfitive 46
Service, Domeftic 291
- Maple-leaved 290
Shaddock 370
Shepherd’s needle 238
Purfe 32
Sherardia 164
Silver-bufh 353
Skull-cap Zin
Smallage 236
Snails 368
Snapdragon 45, 314
Snowdrop 244, 475
Softgrafs 152
Solomon’s feal 249
Sorrel 253
Southernwood 380
Sowthiftle 380
Spanifh-nut 442
Spatling Poppy 274
Speedwell 123
— Water 124
Spelt +140,
Spider - wort, Virgi-
nian 244
Spinach 456
Spiræa 291
Spleenwort 439
L 1 Spruce

INIDÆFYX PORR LTE?

aoe

Spruce Fir
- Spurge, Broad-leaved ar:
Petty 283
—— Sun ib.
Wood ib.
Spurge-Laurel 259
Squath 451
Stapelia 217
Star-Thiftle 403
Starwort 391
Stock-gillilower 27,. 323
Stonecrop 274
Strawberry 294
— Tree 269
Succory 381
Sugar 153
Sumach 238
Sunflower 71; 399
Sun Spurge 283
Swallow-wort 216
Sweet Briar 293
— Refeda 289
— Ruth 252
— Sultan 401
William 271
Sycomore 465
Syringa 289
Tacamahaca 4538
‘Tame-poifon 216
‘Tanfy 385
Tare 358
F'eafel 159
‘Tea-tree 296
Thiftle 382
Bleffed 402
Globe 404
àFhorn-apple 192
Thrift 240
‘Throatwort 188
et byme, Garden 309

++ “+

Page

Thyme Wild 308
Toad-flax 45» 313
Three-leaved 315
Tobacco 195
Tomatos 202
Torch-thiftle 287
Touch me not 407
Tradefcantia 244
Tree Primrofe 256
Trefoil, Bird’s-foot 367

Honeyfuckle ib.

Marfh 176

Purple 367

White ib.

Yellow ib.
Truffle 502
Trumpet-flower 316
Tulip 248
—- Tree 299
Turbith 185
Turkey Corn 432
Turmerick 118
Turnep 324
Turnfole ' 179
Tutfan 374
T'wayblade 419
T'wyblade ib.

V.

Valerian 477
Venus’s Comb 238
Venus’s Looking-glafs 189

Slipper 423
Vernal-grafs 150
Veronica 122
Vervain 124
Vetch 358

—— Crimfon Grafs 357
Vetchling, Yellow ib.
Violet 404, 477
og 405

Sweet ib

Violet,

EPCL IS HON AM E'S.

i Page Page
Violet, Water 177 White Beam-tree 299
Viper’s buglofs 183 —— Sattin 320
Virginian Spider-wort 244 ——— thorn 290
Wild Briar 293
| Ww. Williams 270
Wake-Robin 426 Willow 453, 431
Wail-flower 323 French 257
Wall-Pepper 274 herb ib.
Walnut. 438 —— Hooded 311
Water-Crefs 229, 326 Winter Aconite 299
Dropwort 231 Cherry 199, 200
Hemlock ib. Crefs 322
—— Lemon 426 Woad 324
—— Lily 296 Wolf’s-bane 208
Parfnep 229 Woodbind 204
Plantain 254 Woodroof 164
Violet 177 Woodwaxen 351
Wayfaring tree 239 Wormwood 386
Way Thiftle 382 Wrack 500
Weld 280 ie
Wheat 145 Yarrow 397
Whin 352 Yellow Rattle 312
— Petty ib, Yew 409
Lis INDEX

Le)

BAe
A. Page
AC ER campeftre 465
Acer Pfeudoplatanus ib.
Achillea Millefolium 397
Achyranthes 474
Aconitum Anthora 298

— Napellus ib.
Acorus Calamus 252
Acroftichum 489
Adenanthera 481
Adianthum Capillus Ve-
neris 491
Æfculus Hippocaftanum 255

fEthufa Cynapium 58
Agaricus Chantarellus 501
campeftris ib.

Agave Americana 250
Agrimonia Eupatoria 279
Agroftemma Githago 275
Aira 135
Ajuga reptans 307
Alcea ficifolia 343
rofea ib.
Alchemilla alpina 167
—— pentaphyllea 168

~ — vulgaris 167
Alifma Plantago 254
Alopecurus pratenfis 133
Althza officinalis 341

NAMES.

Page
Amaranthus caudatus 448
cruentus ib.

melancho-
licus ib.
fanguineus ib.
- tricolor ib,
Amaryllis 474
— Regine 247
— formofiffima ib.
— farnienfis ib.
Ambrofinia 481

Anacardium occiden-

tale 262
Andrachne 476
Anemone coronaria 302
a Hepatica 30K

hortenfis 302

— nemorofa 3cr
— Pulfatilla ib.
Anethum Fœniculum 235
— graveolens 236

Angelica Archangelica 234
fylveftris ib.

Anthemis nobilis 397
Anthoxanthum odora-

tum 150
Anthyllis Barba Jovis 353

—————- Vulneraria ib.
Antirrhinum

L A'TIN

Page

Antirrhinum 477

Antirrhinum Linaria 45,313

—— majus 45, 314
monfpef-

ste

purpureum ib.

—— repens ib.

triphyllum ib.

fulanum

os

Apium graveolens 236
— Petrofelinum ib.
Apocynum 480
Aquilegia vulgaris 298
Arabis alpina 324
ftriéta ib.
thaliana ib.
Turrita 41, ib.
Arbutus Unedo 269
Arétium Lappa 384
Arenaria 273
Arethufa 477
Artemifia Abrotanum 386
———— Abfinthium ib.
———— campeftris 1b.
a maritima 387
ii. pontica 386
——- vulgaris ib.
Arum 479
maculatum 427
Arundo phragmitis 142
Afarum europæum 278
Afclepias 480, 482
Vincetoxicum 216
Afperula odorata 164
Afplenium Scolopen-
drium 490
After Amellus 391
chinenfis 392
— grandiflorus ib.
—— Tripolium ib.
Aftronium 473, 481

NAME S.

Page

Atriplex 405
Atropa Belladonna 190
Mandragora - 198

Avena fatua 142
flavefcens ib.

— fativa ib.
Ayenia 478
Ballota nigra 308
Banifteria 473
Berberis vulgaris 251, 480
Béta maritima 221
vulgaris 222
Betonica officinalis 307
Betula alba 434
Alnus ib.
Bidens cernua 385
tripartita ib.
Bignonia Catalpa 317
radicans 316

Bifcutella 481
Boletus 501
Bombax 340
Borago officinalis 182
Braflica Napus 324
oleracea ib.

Rapa ib.

Briza 135, 136
Bromelia 480
Ananas 243
Bromus giganteus 141
mollis 140

———— nemoralis 141
polymorphus 140
fecalinus ib.

—— fterilis I4I
Brownea coccinea 340
Bryum pomiforme 494
pyriforme ib.

———— rurale ib.
LI 3 Bryum

I N DE Xs OF

Page
Bryum truncatulum 494
Bunium. Bulbocafta-
num 237
Butomus umbellatus 265
Buxus fempervirens 435
Byttneria 478
Cactus cechinillifer 289
flagelliformis 288
grandiforus 287
——— Opuntia 289
Calamus Rotang 252
Calendula officinalis. 403
Campanula 186, 474, 481
Canna 117
Cannabis fativa 456
Capparis fpinofa 296
Capficum annuum 203
Cardamine pratenfis 325
Cardiofpermum 476
Carex 153 433, 478
Carpinus Betulus 441
——— Oftrya ib.
Carum Carui 236
Cafida 310
Cafiyta 472
Celofia 480
criftata 212
Centaurea benedifta 402
——— Calcitrapa 403
— Centaureum 401
— —— Cyanus 402
—~—— montana ib.
—-—— mofchata 401
—-~-—- nigra ib.
—— Scabiofa 402
Cercis 349; 472
Cerinthe major 182
minor ib.
Ceftrum diurnum 209
nocturnum ib.

Page
Chærophyllum fylveftre 231
- temulum ib.
Cheiranthus annuus = 32 3
Cheiri ib.
—— incanus 27, 323
Chenopodium Bonus
Henricus 221
Cherleria 478
Chironia Centaurium 226
Chlora perfoliata 226, 260
Chryfanthemum coro-
narium 396
Leucan-
themum ib.
—————- fegetum ib.
Cichoreum Endivia 382
— Intybus 381

ee

Cicuta virofa 231
Cinchona officinalis 216
Cinna 151
Ciffampelos 478, 481
Ciflus 480
Ciftus 296
Citrus Aurantium 95

decumana ib.

Medica 370
Clutia 481
Cochlearia anglica 322

Armoracia ib.
officinalis 321
Coffea arabica 208
Colchicum autumnale 254
Colutea arborefcens 360

frutefcens 301
herbacea ib.
Commelina 48t
Conferva 500
Conium maculatum 230
Convallaria majalis 249
Convolvulus arvenfis 184
purpureus ib.

Convolvulus

LATIN NAMES.

Page
Convolvulus Scammo-
nia 185
— fepium 184
—— tricolor 185
Coriandrum fativum 235
Coronilla Emerus 364
Corylus Avellana 441
Colurna 442
Cotula 396
Cotyledon 473
Crambe maritima 325
Crafiula 473
Cratægus Aria 290
— Azarolus 2091
—— coccinea 290
—— — Crus-galli ib.
— —— Oxyacantha ib,

— torminalis ib.
Crithmum maritimum 233
Croton

473

Cucubalus Behen 294
Cucumis Melo 452
fativus ib.
Cucurbita 473
——- lagenaria 451

—-—— Melopepo ib.

— verrucofa. 452
DR cr

Cupreflus difticha 447
fempervirens 446

Cufcuta 168, 473
Cyclamen europæum 176

— perficum ib.
Cynanchum 480
Cynara Scolymus 333

Cynogloflum officinale 181

Cynofurus criftatus 150
Cyperus 153
Cypripedium Calce-

olus 4225-4797
Cytifus hirfutus ; 302

— Pepo D.

| Page
Cytifus Laburnum ib.
fefilifolius ib.

D.
Dalechampia 476
Daphne Laureola 259

Mezereum ib.
Datura ferox 193
Stramonium ib.
+ Tatula “rs
Daucus Carota 232
Delphinium Ajacis 298

Confolida ib.

- elatum ib.

a

Dianthus barbatus 271
—— Caryophylus ib.
— chinenfis ib.
——-~- ——- plumarius ib.
Didamnus 206, 481
Digitalis purpurea 316
Dionza Mutcipula 267
Diofma 209, 478
Dipfacus fullonum 160
fylveftris ib.
Dodecatheon Meadia 175
Doronicum Bellidiaf-
trum 395

pardalianches 3,4

——- plantagineum ib.

Dracocephalum cana-
rienfe

310
mr:
Echinops fpærocephalus 404
Echites

472
Echium vulgare 18 3
Epidendrum 477, 478
Epilobium anguftifo-
lium 257
birfutum ib.
Epimedium 478
Equif:tum arvenfe 488

— hyemale ib.

da 0

INDEX OF

Page
Equifetum limofum ib.
—- fylvaticum ib.

Erica cinerea 258
— Tetralix ib.
vulgaris ib.
Eriophorum 153
Erodium 340
Eryfimum Alliaria 323
Barbarea ib.
officinale 322
Erythronium 474
Erythroxylon ib.
Eupatorium cannabi-
num 384
Euphorbia amygdalo-
ides 283
antiquorum 282

a ——— canarienfis ib.

— Caput Me-

dufæ ib.
—— Cypariffias 284
——— heliofcopia 283
—-—— Lathyris 284
— officinarum 282

—— ——~ Peplus 283
Euphrafia officinalis 313

F.
Fagus Caftanea 440

fylvatica ib.
Ferula Affa foetida

237

communis ib.
Feftuca fluitans 139
ovina 138
Fevillea 479, 481
Ficus carica 469
Fragaria fterilis 294
vefca ib.
Frankenia 475
Fraxinus americana 468
excelfior ib.

Ornus ib.

Page

Fritillaria 475
Fucus 500
346

Fumaria officinalis
G.

Galanthus nivalis 244, 47 5

Galium Aparine 165
Mollugo ib.
paluftre ib.
verum ib.

Gardenia florida 122, 215

Garidella 479

Genifta anglica 352
tinctoria 351

Gentiana acaulis 226

— Centaurium ib.

— lutea 225
Geranium arduinum 337
capitatum 335

——— ciconium 337

——.

cicutarium 336
— columbinum 339

——cucullatum 334
—— difletum 339
———fulgidum 333
——— gruinum 337
———— inquinans 333
——— lucidum 338
————.molle abs
— mofchatum 337
— odoratiffi-
os 335
— papiliona-
ceum 334
— phæum 337
——— pratenfe ib.

— Robertianum 338
—— rotundifolium ib.
fanguineum 339
— trifte 336
— vitifolium 335
—— — zonale 334
Glechoma

ee

LATIN NAMES:

Page
Glechoma hederacea 306
Gleditfia inermis 467
triacanthos ib.

Glycyrrhiza glabra 365
Gnaphalium margari-
taceum 387
—— orientale ib.
Gomphrena globofa 223
Goflypium 341
Grewia 474
Grielum 473
Gualtheria 480
H.
Hamamelis 478
Hartogia 476

Hedyfarum coronarium 366
— Onobrychis ib.

Helianthus annuus

399

—— multiflorus ib.

— tuberofus 400

Heliéteres 476
Heliotropium europæ-

um 179

peruvianum ib.
Helleborus fcetidus

299

—— —— hyemalis ib.

—— niger ib.
Heracleum Sphondylium

237

Hermannia 331, 480

Hernandia 472

Hefperis 27, 329

Hibifcus Abelmofchus 344

efculentus ie

Rofa Sinenfis ib.

—— Sabdariffa ib.

—-—— fyriacus . 343

vitifolius 344

Hieracium murorum 381

— Pilofella ib.

Hippuris vulgaris 115

Page

Holcus lanatus 152
mollis ib.
Hordeum diftichon 144
——— hexaftichon ib.
——— murinum ib.
pratenfe 145

vulgare 144
Zeocriton ib.
Hottonia paluftris 177
Humulus Lupulus 456

Hyacinthus non fcrip-

tus 475) 250
orientalis ib.
Hydrophyllum 480

Hyofcyamus niger 193
Hypericum Androfæ-

mum | 374
———— Afcyron ib.
—— balearicum ib.
— canarienfe ib.
——————— INfCIQUM

373

humifufum ib.
monogynum 375
perforatum 372
pulchium 373
quadrangulum 1b.

eee

CS

ee

ee

Hypnum fericeum 495
Iberis amara “ai
Iberis umbellata ib.
Dlicium 476
Impatiens 477
— Balfamina 407

oo Noli tangere ib.
Indigofera 364,
Inula crithmoides 233
dyfenterica 294

—— Helenium 393
pulicaria 304
Ipomza 185
Irefine 473 481

4 1T1$*

PMD EX yy OF

Page

{ris + 474 475
-—— florentina 155
—— germanica ib.
perfica 157

—— Pfeudacorus 155
fufiana 157

lfatis tinctoria 324
Tfopyrum 479
Juglans alba 439
——— regia ib,
Juncus 153; 252

Juniperus barbadenfis 460
—— bermudiana 459
——— communis ib.
———— lycina 460

———— oxycedrus © ib.
——— ——— phoenicea ib.
——- Sabine 459
= thurifera 469
— —— virginiana ib.
K.
Kiggelaria 474, 481
Kleinhovia 478
Krameria 432
Lamium album 43
Lathræa 472, 481
Lathyrus Aphaca 357
——--. latifolius 358
—-- Nifflolia 357
odoratus ib.
paluftris 358
pratenfis ib.
fylveftris ib.
tingitanus 357
Laurus 474
nobilis 262
Lecythis 475
Leontice 474
Lichen caninus 49)
geographicus 497

Page

Lichen parietinus 497.

puimonarius 498

rangiferinus 499
—— {criptus 497
Lilium candidum 22
Limeum 430.
Limodorum 477
Linum ufitatifimum 248

Liriodendron Tulipifera 300
Lithofpermum arvenfe 1815
officinale 180

Lolium perenne 149
temulentum ib.
Lonicera alpigena 205
— Caprifolium 204
——— Periclymenum ib.
fempervirens ib.
Xylofteum 205
Lotus corniculatus 367
Lunaria annua 320
rediviva ib.
Lupinus albus 354
anguftifolius 355
hirfutus 354
luteus 355
perennis 354
pilofus 355
varius ib.
Lychnis chalcedonica 275
dioica 276
Flofcuculi 276
Vifcaria 275
Lycoperdon Bovifta 502
—————— Tuber ib.
Lycopodium 492
Lycopfis arvenfis 182
Lythrum Salicaria 278
Malpighia 473, 481
Malva Alcea 342

— capeniis ib.

Mulva

'L'ATRIN
Page
Malva Mofchata 342
rotundifolia ib.
— fylveftris 341

Marchantia polymorpha 496
arrubium album 308
Matricaria Parthenium 397

Medicago lupulina 368
— polymorpha ib.

— —- fativa 367
Melaftoma 473
Melia 470
Melianthus 481
Melica 135
Meliffa Calamintha 310
——— Nepeta ib.
officinalis ib.
Menyanthes trifoliata 176
Mercurialis 475
. perennis 458
Mefembryanthemum 292
Mefpilus 291
Mimofa nilotica 466
pudica ib.
Mirabilis 480
dichotoma 211

Jalapa 210

- longiflora 211

Mnium hygrometricum 494
Momordica Elaterium 451

Monnieria 473
Monotropa 481
Morus alba 435
nigra 436
—— papyrifera jb.
tinctoria ib.
Mufa 476
paradifiaca 493

fapientum ib.

Myofotis fcorpiodes 180
Myofurus 480
Myrtus communis 289

NAMES.
N. Page
Narciflus 478
Jonquilla 245
———— poeticus ib.

Pfeudonarciflus ib,
Tazetta ib.
Nepeta Cataria 307
Nerium Oleander 214, 478
Nicotiana ruftica

395
— Tabacum ib.
Nigella 479
Nyctanthes 122
Nymphza alba 296

— lutea ib.
O.
Oenanthe crocata 231
wi — fiftulofa ib.
Oenothera biennis 256
Olax 478
Ononis inermis 353
{pinofa ib.

Onopordon Acanthium 383
Ophioglofium vulgatum 489

Ophioxylon 48i
Ophrys 419, 477
apifera 420
aranifera 421
infectifera 420
mufcifera ib.

ovata 419

fpiralis ib.

Orchis 412, 477
+=... -bifolia 413
- conopfea 417
fuciflora 420
latifolia 416
maculata ib.
—— mafcula 414
morio ib.
mufcifora 420
—— pyramidalis 413
— uftulata 4i5

Origanum

INDEX OF

Page
Origanum Diétamnus 310
—— — heracleoticum 309

——— Majorana ib.
eee Onites ib.
vulgare ib.

Orobanche major 312, 472

Oryza fativa 252
Ofmunda Lunaria 489
—— regalis ib.
—— Spicant ib.
Pancratium 478
Papaver cambricum 296

orientale 295

Rhoeas ib.
—— + fomniferum ib.
Parietaria officinalis 465$

Parnafha paluftris 239, 473

Paffiflora cærulea 424
incarnata 425
laurifolia 426

-——= maliformis 425

Paftinaca fativa 235

Paullinia 482

Peganum 479

Pelargonium 340

Peloria 314

Periploca 478

Phalaris canarienfis 133

Phallus efculentus 502

Phafcum 492

Phellandrium aquaticum 231
Philadelphus coronarius 289

Phleum pratenfe 133
Phlox 210
Phyllanthus 480
Phyfalis Alkekengi 199°
Pinguicula 124, 477
Pinus Abies 445
-—— Balfamea 446
—— Cedrus 445

Page

Pinus Cembra 444
Larix 445

— Picea ib,
Pinea 444

—— Strobus ib.
fyiveftris 443
— Teda 444
Plantago lanceolata 166
—— major ib.
media ib.
Platanus occidentalis 442
orientalis ib.
Plukenetia 472
Plumbago 474, 481
Plumeria rubra 216
Poa 137

Polemonium cæruleum 189

Polygala myrtifolia 347
Senega ib.
vulgaris ib.

Polygonum aviculare 261

— Biftorta 260

— Convolvulus 261
— Fagopyrum ib.
Polypodium Filix mas 491
vulgare 490
Polytrichum commune 493

Populus alba 457
balfamifera 458
nigra ib.
tremula 457

Porella 492

Portulaca oleracea 270%

Potamogeton crifpum 170

— natans ib.
perfeliatum ib.
Poterium Sanguiforba 449

Primula acaulis 172
Auricula ae
veris 172
—— vulgaris ib,

Prunella

LATIN NAMES.

Prunella vulgaris
Prunus Armeniaca
Cerafus
domettica.
Pteris aquilina
Quaffia
Quercus coccifera
Ilex.
Robur
Suber
KR.
Ranunculus
— acris
— aquatilis
ee arvenfis
——-—— afiaticus
ee auricomus
— bulbofus
—— — Ficaria
——— -——— hederaceus
—— —— repens
—— {celeratus
Reaumuria
Refeda
Luteola
-——— odorata
Rhamnus Alaternus
catharticus
— Frangula
— Paliurus
Rheum compaétum
palmatum
Rhabarbarum’
Rhaponticum

‘Rhinanthus Criftagalli
Rhodiola

Rhus typhinum
Ricinus communis
Robinia Caragana
— Picudacacia

395

Page

Roella 474, 485
Rofa canina 293
rubiginofa ib,
Rumex Acetofa 253
Acetofella ib.

acutus ib.

—-—— crifpus 252

Hydrolapathum 25

obtufus ib.

—— pulcher 252
~—-—- fanguineus ib.
Rufcus 478, 481
—— aculeatus 4601
androgynus ib.

——— Hypogloffum ib.
Hypophyllum ib.
racemofus 462

Ruta graveolens 267

Saccharum officinarum

153

Sagittaria fagittifolia, 449
Salicornia europæa 233
Salix 473
alba 454
amygdalina ib.
babylonica 455

——— caprea ib.
purpurea 454
viminalis ib.

Salix vitellina 452
Salfola Kali 222
Soda ib.

Salvia officinalis 125
— pratenfis ib.
verbenaca ib.
Samyda 474
Sanguiforba officinalis 450
Sapindus 482
Satyrium 477
hircinum 417
œ—— viride ib.

Sauvagefia

INDEX OF

Page
Sauvagéfia 476
Saxifraga Cotyledon 269
granulata 270
hypnoides 271
umbrofa 270
Scabiofa arvenfis 161
atropurpurea 163
columbaria 162
Succifa 161
Scandix Anthrifcus 227
Cerefolium ib.
Peëten 238
Schoenus 153
Schrebera 473
Scirpus 153
Scorpiurus 369
Scorzonera hifpanica 380
Scrophularia aquatica 316

nodofa
Scutellaria galericulata
Secale cereale

Sedum

——— -

acre 274
Sempervivum tectorum 284

Senecio elegans 390
Jacobæa ib.
vifcofus 389

——— vulgaris ib.

Serapias 477

Serratula arvenfis 382

Silene 273, 478

Sinapis alba 326
arvenfis ib.

-~ nigra ib.

Sifymbrium Sophia 327

-———- Nafturtium

229, 326

Sium nodiflorum 229

Solanum Dulcamara 200
Lycoperficum 201

——— Melongena 202

SERRE

Solanum nigrum 201
Pleudocapficum 20e
tuberofum 201
Solidago cambrica 302
Virgaurea ib.
Sonchus oleraceus 380
Sophora 349
Sorbus aucupari2 29€
domeftica ib.
Sparganium érectum 431
Ramofuim ~~ ib:

—— — fimplex ib.
Spartium junceum 350

— Scoparium ~ ib.

—— monofpermum
‘350
fpinofum ib.
Sphagnum paluftre 492
Spinacia fera 456
— oleracea —ib.
Stapelia 217, 480, 482
Staphylæa 478
Statice Armeria 240
Stellaria 273
Swertia 474
Swietenia 476

Symphytum officinale 181
5

Tabernemontana 472
Tagetes erecta 395
patula ib.

Tamus communis 457, 474

Tanacetum vulgare 386
Taxus baccata 460
Teucrium 307
Theobroma 47
—— Cacao 370
Thymus Serpyllum 308
vulgaris 309
Tilia europæa 296
Tinus 478

Tradefcantia

LATIN

Page

Tradefcantia virginica 244

Tragopogon porrifoli- .
um

379

pratenfe ib.

Trichilia 479

Trifolium pratenfe 39, 367

——-— repens 367

Triticum æftivum 140

caninum 147

— hybernum 145

— polonicum 146

—— repens 147

— Spelta 140

— turgidum ib.

Trollius 479

Tropæolum 477; 481

majus 256

———— minus ib.

Tulipa gefneriana 248

fylveftris ib.

Tuffilago Farfara 388

Petafites 389

Typha anguftifolia 431

——- latifolia 430
Vii

Valantia Cruciata 464

Vallifneria 475

Verbafcum nigrum 192

Thapius 191

Veronica agrettis 124

arventis ib.

— Becabunga ib.

Veronica Chamædrys 123

-————— hederifolia 124

NAMES.
Page
Veronica officinalis 123
Viburnum Lantana 239
— Opulus ib.
—— Tinus ib.
Vicia 478
—— Cracca 359
dumetorum ib.
Faba 360
lathyroides 359
— fativa ib.
fylvatica ib.
Vinca major 213
minor ib.
— rofea 214
Viola canina 405
odorata ib.
-—— tricolor ib.
Vifcum album 455
Ulex europzus 352
Ulmus campeftris 224
Ulva 500
Urtica 447, 478
Utricularia 477
Uvularia 475

W.

Winterana 478
X.
Xeranthemum annuum 388

fpeciofiffi-
mum ib.
Zi.
Zea Mays 432
Zagophyllum 476, 481

NATURAL

NATURAL TRIBES, OR ORDERS OF

Polo A: Nas bo dy

Mentioned or explained

’

Pag
GGREGATE,
Let. vi. xv;
Alge 106, 495
Amentaceæ 442

Apetalous, Let. xvii.
Afperifoliæ, Let. xvi. 177

Calamariæ 430
Campanaceæ, Let. xvi. 183
Caryophylleous, Let.
XIX. 272
Columniferous, Let. xxiv.
___ 330
Compound, Let. vi, xxvi.
Conifer

_ 440
Contortæ, Let. xvi. 272
Coronariæ 248
Cruciform, Let. ii. xxiii.
Cucurbitaceæ 451
Enfate 145, 244
Ferns 105, 487
Fungi 106, 501
Grafles, Let. xiii.
Juliferæ 442

Labiate, Let. iv. xxii,

in the foregoing Letters.

Page
Lecuminous, Let. iii.
Liliaceous, Let. i. xviii.

Luridæ, Let. xvi. 190
Mofles, Let. xxxii. 106
Multifiliquæ 297

Oleraceæ, Let. xvii. xix.
Orchideæ, Let. xxvii.

Palms 107

Papilionaceous, Let. iii.
XXV.

Perfonate, Let. iv. xxii.

Preciæ, Let. xvi. 17k
Ringent, Let. iv. xxii.
Sarmentaceæ 248
Scitamineæ, Let. xi.
Siliculofæ, Let. xxii.
Siliquofæ, ib.
Solanaceæ, Let. xvi. 199
Spathaceæ 248
Stellatæ, Let. xv. 163
Verticillate 306

Umbellate, Let. v. xvii.

INDEX.

I N

ta El

D E X

oO

F

RM oS,

Cafually explained in the Courfe of this Work.

A Page

CEROSE leaves

Aggregate flowers
103,
la
Algæ 105;
Ancipital

Angiofpermia 99, 306,
Anther

Apetalous flowers
Apophyfis

Aril Lait Bs A TE
Afperifoliæ

Awn

Axil 50,
Axillary

Banner
Beard
Biennial plants
Biñd Stigma
Bilocuiar
Bipinnate
Boat
Border of a petal
Braéte 149
Bulb

Cc;
Calycled
Calyptre

445
67,
159

50

114

373

Page
Calyx 25, 28, 63, 05
Campanaceæ 183

Campanulate flowers 185
Capitate flowers 67, 377
Capfule 45
258

Capfula circumfciffa

Caryophylleous plants 272
Cafque 43, 125
Chaff 130
Ciliate 134
Circumfciffa capfula 278
Claw of a petal 28
Columniferous 330

Complete flowers 87, 95

Compound flowers 63, 66,
9+
Conjugate leaves 199
Connate 204.
Contortæ 222
Convergent 198
Cordate Le
Corolla ao
É monopetalous 23
—~ polypetalous 22
Crenate 435
Crenulate 414
Cruciform flowers i
Cryptogamia 96, 105, 114
Culm 130

Mm Cyathiform

ENT D'ELX

Page
Cyathiform 316, 478
Cyme 55
D.
Decandria 89
Decurrent leaves 181
Diadelphia 31, 36, 93, 349
Diandria 87
Dichotomous 450
Dicotyledonous 131
Didynamia A9 O15 305
Digitate leaves i
Digyni ia
Dicecia 96, 105, 113, ae
Difcous or Difcoid
flowers 102, 377
Difk 65
Dodecandria 69
Down 69
Ess
Emarginate 525 371
Enneandria 89
Enfiform leaves 155
Falls 155
Farina 23
Ferns 105
Filament 23
Filices 105
Florets 64, 68, 377
Flofcules 64
Flofculous flowers 65, 100
Folioles 28, 168
Follicle 2.13
Frond 490
Fructification 22
Fulcra 484
Fungior Fungufes 106,114,
soi
G.
Germ or Ovary 73
Gibbous 30, 380
Glands 47, 48

Page
Gymnofpermia 99, 306
Gynandria 95, 112, 409
H.
Habit 60
Head 67
Helmet 42
Heptandria 88
Herbaceous 168
Hexandria 88
Hortus ficcus 76
Hybernacula 25
Hybridous plants 314, 390
LE:
Icofandria 75, 89
Imbricate 68, 166
Inconfpicuous flowers 96
Inferior flowers 52
Inflorefcence 292,
Involucre 56, 301
Irregular flowers 34
Ki
Keel 36
L.
Labiate 42, 312
Lamina 29
Leaflets 28, 130
Legume 38, 93
Leguminous 39
Ligulate flofcules 64, 101,
377
Liliaceous 22, 243
Linear leaf 139
Lurid plants 190
M.
Monadelphia 92, 330
Monandria 87, 115
Monocotyledonous 131
Moneecia 95, 104, 113, 429
Monogamia 104
Monogynia 99
Monopetalous 23, 44
Mono-

ee

OLF YT 8, Ry Mes;

Page

Monophyllous 35

Moffes 105, 114, 491

Mulci ib.
N

Neétary 117, 1 30, 217, XXXi

Neuter flofcules IOI
Obcordate 347
Obfolete 418
Oandria 89
Oleraceous plants 222
Ovary 23
Ovato-cordate 400
Palmate leaves 424
roots 410

Palms 107, 114
Panicle 132
Papilionaceous 39
Peduncle 35
Peltate leaf 250
Pentandria 88
Perfect flofcules IO1
flowers 95
Pericarp 24, 130
Perichætium 494
Permanent fae)
Perfonate 495 465 272
Petals 22
Pinnate 343
Pinnatifid 150
Piftil 23
Piftilliferous flowers 95
—— flofcules 101

Pointal 23
Pollen 23
Polyadelphia 94, 369
Polyandria go
Polygamia 06, 114, 403

—- Equalis 377, 101
——-—— Fruftranea 102

Page

Polygamia Neceflaria 103
Segregata ib.

Superflua 102
Polymorphous 368
Polypetalous 22, 44
Polyphyllous 160
Precize 171
Primary flowers 268
Proliferous 217

mes

Quadrifid corollas 161

Quadrivalvular 193

Quinquefid corollas 162
R.
Raceme 122
Rachis 146
Radiate flowers 65
Ray ib.
Receptacle €7, 93, 132, 160
Regular flowers 34
Repand 200, 374

Ringent flowers 42,306,312

Rotate corol 123
Sagittate leaves 184, 324
Scape 166, 198, 249
Scariofe 249, 383, 400
Scitamineæ 118
Sea- weeds 106
Secunda panicula 138
Semiflorets 64, 70, 377
Semiflofculous flowers 64,

510
Serrate 160, 434
Setaceous 139
Silicle 31; 32, 100
Siliculofa ICO
Silique 30, ICO
Siliquofa 100
Simple flowers 104
Solanaceæ 199

Spadix

m'*
or

IN DE X, “&e

Page

Spadix 107
Spathe 107, 154, 244
Sphacelate 389
Spicule. ' 135
Spike 132
Squamous 24
Squarrofe 208
Stamen 23
Staminiferous flowers 95
— fiofcules 101
Standard 35 155
Stellated 103
Stigma 23
Stiped 378
Stipitate ib.
Stipule 484
Strobile 300, 309
Style 22
Superior flowers 52
Syngenefia 94, 376
Tendril 348
Ternate leaves 315

Tetradynamia 31, 92, 319

FES N

Page
Tetrandria 88
Triandrta 87
Frilccular 199
Tricecia 105
Trivalvular 154
‘Fruncate 184, 300
‘Tuberous roots 24
Tubulcus flofcules 100
Turbinate 478
V.
Valves 130
Ventricofe 179, 281
Verticillate 43, 116, 306
Bi |
Umbel 51, 217
Umbellate Beste
Umbellule 51
Unzguis of a petal - 28
Unilocular 1h38
Urceolate 478
W.
Vhorl 116
W ings à 36
E “5.

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